Conquest of the Heart Read online

  Conquest of the Heart

  By R.J. Dillon

  Copyright 2010 R.J. Dillon

  Smashwords Edition

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  CHAPTER ONE

  It was a typical day at Carlisle &Associates, Inc. (C&A) - a multi-billion dollar sports marketing firm with offices located in Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and two international offices in Paris and Italy. The floors were buzzing with marketers and journalists, working feverishly to pull together sponsors for the upcoming NFL draft. This would be the biggest draft yet, and everyone had to be ready.

  Gavin Carlisle, the Vice President and son of founder and President Adrian Carlisle, was doing what he usually does on days like this - he was working on his next proposition. Gavin was forward thinking, and he never settled very long on the present activity. He was an excellent executive that way, and the reason why the company reached billion dollar status year after year. Gavin was of Italian descent, with piercing green eyes, wavy dark brown hair that barely touched his shoulders, and naturally tan skin. He stood six feet tall, and had a muscular build.

  More importantly, Gavin was still single. Every woman within all of the offices saw this as an opportunity, and it didn’t matter if they were married. Many joked that they would leave their current spouses for a chance to be with him. He used this to his advantage.

  Chandler, Gavin’s frequent and latest muse, stopped in to see him before heading to her desk.

  “Hey, baby. I enjoyed our time together last night.” She was leaning against the door with a sultry smile on her face.

  “Don’t get used to it,” he said flatly, annoyed that she was there. “I know you ladies talk. You know we won’t be together for very long before I move on to something better, but I appreciate the accolades. I enjoyed it, too.” Gavin didn’t even look up as he spoke. He stayed focused on his work.

  She walked into his office, stood next to him as he sat at his desk and turned his chair around to face her. “Well, you never know what might happen. You might find that my lovin’ is just what you were looking for,” she said in a sexy tone, leaning down so he could see her breasts, and staring straight into his eyes. Chandler didn’t believe in dressing conservatively. Gavin didn’t squint, and never looked down.

  As he pushed her away from him, he said, “Chandler, you’re not my type. I got what I wanted from you, and that was sex. There’s nothing else I need from you. Now please leave and tend to your work so I can think.”

  “Fine,” she huffed. “I don’t know why so many women throw themselves at you. You’re such a pig.”

  “Money. That’s all they want. That’s all you want. As long as that’s all you want, I will get what I want. Right now, until I find that special person, all I want is sex.”

  “Have a good day,” she said sarcastically as she stormed out.

  Chandler was the only one who could speak to Gavin like that and not risk getting fired. She had slept with him numerous times. She was also one of the top marketers of the company, having signed several large accounts, including Tiger Woods and Venus and Serena Williams. She wasn’t going anywhere and she knew it. She was an average woman, of average height, with long strawberry blonde hair, and brown eyes. Out of all the women that Gavin “enjoyed,” he enjoyed her the most. He always threatened not to see her again, but always came back. He could count on her for a booty call at any time.

  Gavin checked his calendar for upcoming meetings. He saw that Adrian had set up a meeting with the executives to introduce a new director. They were in need of improved public relations. All he could remember about her was her name was Faith. All he could think about was how much faith he had that she would end up in his bed provided she was to his liking.

  As Gavin stood up to go to the meeting, he stopped to glance out of his window. He could see the Statue of Liberty from his office. ‘Now THAT is a lady,’ he thought.

  He walked down the hallway, receiving the usual hellos, and stopped to chat with Carter. They went to college together and were best friends. Carter was the Director of Promotions. He had met more sports moguls, both nationally and internationally than one could imagine. He could party with them too, which at times could get him into trouble. Carter was a few inches shorter than Gavin, with short blonde hair, and baby blue eyes. He had a boyish look about him, which often caused problems when he was with Gavin. With Gavin looking more mature than the two of them, women often overlooked Carter. Though this was no fault of Gavin’s, Carter was slightly envious of his friend for this, as well as other reasons.

  “When did you get back?” asked Gavin.

  “This morning. The only reason I’m here is for this meeting. Do you have any ideas about this woman your dad hired? What sort of experience does she have?”

  “Must be enough if Adrian found her. He probably met her at some seminar. You know how he is about new talent. He can discover someone anywhere.”

  “Already got plans for her?” asked Carter coyly.

  “Of course.”

  “Your father’s not going to like that. She’s going to be a Director. He already disapproves of you sleeping with the marketers and sales personnel. But a Director? That won’t go over well at all.”

  “I can handle Adrian.”

  “Maybe so, but I’d like to see you deal with your mother.”

  “Now that’s a different story,” Gavin chuckled. “Are you ready? Let’s go meet my new prey.”

  “You know, it’d be nice if you’d share the wealth a little bit,” Carter joked.

  “I can’t help looking this good. Women are drawn to me.” The men both laughed as they approached the boardroom.

  The other executives began to fill the room, and they all began to chatter amongst themselves as they waited for the President to join them. As Adrian Carlisle entered, the whole room stood at attention. He was a man who commanded respect, and had great authority. On a more personal level, he was charming, kind, and gentle. Adrian was tall, with cleanly cut salt and pepper gray hair. He was highly intelligent, having graduated from Cambridge, and received his Masters in Marketing from Northwestern. He founded C&A when he was only twenty-five. Adrian had an uncanny ability to recognize and recruit talent. He employed them at a level that was both challenging and exciting, and provided the most competitive salaries in the world. C&A was his baby. Now sixty-five years of age, he was still operating at his peak.

  “Good morning,” Adrian spoke as he walked in the room.

  “Good morning,” everyone said. Gavin and Carter were standing on the outside of the table, with their backs leaning against the windows.

  “I’m sure you’ve all been wondering who our new Director of Public Relations is. This position gets a great deal of exposure to the media, and I knew it was going to take a special person to fill the role. C&A is not just a family owned business, it’s about family. It’s about you, and it’s about the clients for whom we promote and market. The person we trust to publicly represent our company must be strong, wise, witty, bright, and smart. At the same time, they must be tough enough to stand in the trenches when necessary.

  “My last trip to Paris was very productive. Our international promotions are steadily growing, and our presence is having a positive impact on the French community. Our sales team and marketer
s are doing commendable work. When I’m there, I always meet with a friend from a fellow company, Amusement Printanier. For those of you who don’t speak French, that’s Spring Entertainment. We’ve known each other for a long time. He told me about a young lady, who had the qualities that I was looking for, and invited her to dine with us one afternoon. I was more than impressed. She is an incredible person, who works and lives with integrity. We can all learn a lot from her, and I look forward to seeing the positive changes that occur over time with her help. Now, I know that you’ll have many questions for her, and I assure you, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know her at the party. That memo is going out as we speak. This meeting is to welcome her to the family. She will speak briefly, and is anxious to get started.

  “So, without further ado, I would like to introduce our new Director of Promotions, Faith Scott!”

  As everyone clapped, Faith walked into the boardroom, smiling and looking around at everyone. Carter had to push Gavin’s mouth shut, who was taken aback from what he was seeing. He had never seen a more beautiful woman. She had light brown eyes, beautiful caramel brown skin, and dark brown hair that fell just below her shoulder blades, which was tied back with a jeweled brooch. She wore a burgundy pencil skirt suit, complemented perfectly with diamond earrings and a designer necklace. Her outfit was completed with matching burgundy pumps. She had a slender, but fit figure. The only makeup she wore, from what he could tell, was her lipstick, burgundy, which highlighted how beautiful her skin was, and tied the whole outfit together. ‘What a vision,’ Gavin thought. She spoke a few words.

  “Good morning,” she said, scanning the room again. Faith’s voice was clear, smooth, and confident. “I asked Mr. Carlisle - ”

  “Adrian, Faith. Please call me Adrian. She’s so proper.” Adrian smiled.

  “I asked Adrian not to make this a big deal. But I understand he has a reputation for doing the opposite of what you ask.” She paused as everyone chuckled over the comment. Adrian smiled and pointed a playful finger at her.

  As she continued to speak, Carter leaned over and whispered to Gavin. “So how do you plan to conquer this one? She might be harder than you think.” Gavin didn’t answer. He was so encapsulated by her voice, all he could do was listen.

  “I’m excited to be among such wonderful people and working for this excellent company. I have an open door policy, so please feel free to stop by my office any time, which is located near Adrian’s office. Though I’ve done some studying on my own, I will need your help getting to know the ins and outs of the company. There’s nothing like good ‘ole hands on experience. I look forward to getting to know all of you and learning from you. Thanks for making me feel at home.”

  Everyone clapped and nodded their approval as Faith concluded her short speech. Adrian gave her a big hug, like a father hugging his daughter. He led her from the room and directed her to her office.

  “You’ve been begging for that office for months!” exclaimed Carter. When he didn’t get a response, he looked over at Gavin. Gavin was still motionless. This had never happened to him before. This feeling inside was different.

  “Are you okay? Hey – snap out of it.” Carter waved a hand in front of Gavin’s face.

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”

  “I’ve only been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes. What’s gotten into you? I’ve never seen you like this.” Carter leaned back against the wall. “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she? How are you going to approach this one? She’s right next to your father, an office you couldn’t even buy! He’s going to be guarding her from you.”

  “I told you. I can deal with Adrian.”

  “So you are going to pursue her?” Carter had to ask this question again. He had never been quite moved by anyone he worked with. He wouldn’t mind getting to know Faith himself, but always backed down from anyone that Gavin was interested in. It was something they had agreed to do after college. Although, this time, he might deviate from that agreement.

  “Definitely,” Gavin said under his breath.

  “Of course.” Carter was disappointed, however he had his own ideas. “I’ve got to get back to work. Talk to you later.”

  Gavin sighed and looked out of the window from which he was leaning. This conquest was going to have to be different.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Please join us for Employee Appreciation Night

  596 Mitchells Lane

  Brigdehampton, New York 11932

  Saturday, April 17th

  4:00p – 9:00p

  Just bring yourselves and dress casually

  The party was only a week away. Everyone always enjoyed the parties that Adrian threw because he opened up his home. To him, they were family, and family shouldn’t be escorted off to some cold and impersonal hotel. No, home is where the heart is, and that’s where he liked to celebrate.

  Faith was getting settled in her office. She had never had a space as big as this one before. The furniture was just to her liking – dark walnut. On the left side of the office, as you walked in the door, there was a square table with four black leather chairs situated around it. In front of her was a contemporary executive desk. It had a strip of white marble just underneath the desktop, accented with a beautiful off-white leather chair. To the right, there were large bookcases that matched the desk, with a modern contemporary off-white leather sofa that matched her chair. There was a small nook in the corner by the sofa that housed a medium-sized wet bar and refrigerator with dark walnut glass cabinets located overhead. This was a corner office, so there were windows to the right and to the front. She had a magnificent view of the outside world.

  Faith plopped down in her new leather chair. She practically sank into it. It was so comfortable. There was a giant bouquet on her desk with a card that read ‘Glad you’re finally here. Welcome to the family. Adrian’. She smiled and stood up to smell the flowers. As she was taking a deep breath in, her pleasure was interrupted by a knock.

  “Can I come in?” Faith looked up and saw Carter.

  “Sure. I’m just taking it all in,” she smiled and walked around her desk. “You are - ”

  “Carter. Director of Promotions. I’m just down the hall with the bottom feeders.”

  They shook hands. “Would you like something to drink? I think I’m pretty well stocked over here.”

  “No, no. I was just heading out, and wanted to stop by to meet you personally.”

  “Bottom feeders, huh? Are you going to tell me what you mean by that?” Faith was curious why he chose those particular words.

  “This office,” Carter grinned, “is the most coveted office on the floor. Gavin has been begging for this office for over a year now. Adrian wouldn’t budge. He was saving it for someone special he said. I guess that would be you.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” she smiled. “I’m just a normal person and I certainly don’t have anything more special than anyone else here. We’re all special in our own way. How long have you been with the company?”

  “Since I graduated from college, about fourteen years. Gavin and I went to school together. We took the same classes, yadda yadda yadda. I’m practically family. I haven’t quite convinced them to add me as a beneficiary, though.” They both laughed.

  “So where are you going?” asked Faith.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You said you were heading out?”

  “Oh yeah.” Carter had almost forgotten that he needed to catch a plane. He was meeting with some associates from Coca-Cola in Los Angeles for a new ad they were working on. He was so intrigued by their conversation that he didn’t want to lose the moment. She was so genuine. Her smile was absolutely magnetic. He couldn’t remember the last time that he felt so comfortable speaking to a woman. More importantly, he had mentioned Gavin twice, and she didn’t ask who he was. This could be promising.

  “I almost forgot. I have a meeting in Los Angeles this afternoon. Thanks for remindin
g me. You’ve managed to control this whole conversation and hone in on me. I’d like to hear more about you, if you don’t mind. It’ll have to wait until I get back. Will you be at the party? Perhaps you can continue then?”

  “I’ll see you there. Have a safe flight.”

  “Thanks.” Carter walked out of the office, feeling as light as a feather. No doubt Gavin would be next in line at her door. He would worry about him later. This was just the beginning.

  After Carter left, Faith logged onto her laptop to view her calendar. She only had one meeting today. It was with Adrian, and was going to last all afternoon. He had lunch reserved at noon. Following that, he was going to take her around to meet everyone and show her the office so she would be familiar with where everything was located. After that, he had a private meeting scheduled in his office to discuss her tasks for the upcoming months. Faith was self-motivated. All she needed was a list of items that needed to be completed, and she would get it done. That was one of the reasons Adrian hired her. Another reason was her level of integrity. She believed that integrity should be at the heart of every company. If this key ingredient was missing, it could disrupt operations, and could compromise the reputation of a company.

  Faith grabbed a pen and the personally engraved notebook (another gift from Adrian) that was sitting next to her flowers from her desk. She walked over to Adrian’s office, stopping at the executive assistants’ desk.

  Agnes beamed, “You must be Faith. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Agnes. If you need anything, I’m the first one you can come to.” She held out her hand.

  Faith shook Agnes’ hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Agnes. Is it alright if I go in?” she asked, motioning towards Adrian’s office.

  “Yes. He’s expecting you.”