Touch Me, Daddy

BOOK FIVE: PICTURE PERFECT.

The first time I set my eyes on Mariselle Adams, my d**k goes hard, attentive.

It's a picture of hers. She's lying on the bed in nothing but a silky, red lingerie, staring at the camera with a dirty smirk.

Curvy. Audacious. Natural.

I'm instantly intrigued.

No, I'm obsessed.

I don't think twice before hiring her for a campaign, aimed for my new Lingerie Collection launch. And when I eventually meet her in flesh, for the first time, I try my best not to pin her on the wall, right there and kiss her senseless.

Mariselle Adams drives me crazy, and I would do anything to prove to her that she belongs to me.

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1 - Cello.

"This is madness," I scowl, looking up from the binder full of charts and other management statistics in front of me. My sales manager, Harrison, fidgets, his eyes not meeting mine. "These are so damn low, Harry. What is going on? Are the goods not sexy enough?"

The test sales charts of Sweet Treats, a lingerie line I've been working really hard on launching for the past two months are nothing to write home about. I've never had a venture bleed out so much money like this. This is worse than a failure, and I'm so close to scarping the entire thing before we even launch.

I have enough on my plate as it is.

Harrison clears his throat, finally finding his voice. "I believe why we recorded low sales is because the test frame is way too short. Civilians won't trust a new brand that easily, so we need more campaigns. More time. More effort..."

I plop down on my leather seat and adjust my tie loose with a sigh. He has a point. I have plans to make this big. As big as Victoria's Secret if possible. The pitch was good and the women's market was one I'd been trying to work my way into for a year now. Harrison said it was something he could handle, and his enthusiasm encouraged me.

Personally, I'm not the most fashionable man on the block. I wear basic corporate dresses which I even pay someone to shop for me. What on earth would I know about women's undergarments.

Fuck, I can't even remember the last time I saw a real woman in her underwear.

I run my hands over my face, trying to relieve some of the tension headache that's starting to build. It's already six o'clock and it looks like I'm going to be here another four hours at least.

"We found a new marketing expert, and he's outside. I have full confidence that he'll come up with something genius." Harrison says quietly. The unease wafting off him is strong, and I know he's probably scared I'm going to fire him.

Harrison has been my trusted assistant for years. He complements me in ways no other assistant I had before him had done. But this is the first time he's ever missed the mark like this before. He's eager and good at his job, but if I had a wife and three kids, I'd probably worry if I f****d up, too.

You can't win them all, and I can't fault him for this. We just need to come up with fresh marketing ideas, and work on making the quality of our lingerie better.

I flip through the last marketing ads in the folder again. They look standard, but there's nothing special about the pictures, nothing that draws attention. They look like every other ad for women's underwear you've ever seen. There's no clear branding and nothing that stands out about this line.

"Well, no wonder these weren't successful. Throw these away, and I hope whatever that guy out there comes up with is miles better. I want to see a good improvement." I toss the folder back across the desk at him.

"He's worked with Victoria's Secret before, Sir. I have full faith in him..."

I cut him off. I want to get this show on the road and head back out. "Good, good. Let him in, and let's see what he's got."

Harrison nods before heading over towards the door, letting the new expert, Bosco into my office. He shuffles over to my desk clutching his own pile of binders so high I can't even see his face.

"Sir, can I get you or anyone else a drink?" Sally, my assistant, asks as she stands in the doorway to my office.

"I'm good, Sally." I look to Bosco and Harrison, who both say, "No, thanks," before Bosco goes back to trying to get his binders in the order he likes.

One falls off the top, landing open, making my whole body go still at the image.

Holy s**t.

The woman in the photo is lying on a bed, her legs in the air and crossed at the ankles. She has on fishnet stockings that lead up her legs to her thick thighs. She's wearing high-waisted black underwear that shows off her wide hips, giving her an old-school pinup feel, and a sexy bra that barely contains her full breasts, the material just covering the essentials. Every part of her is thick and luscious.

All the blood in my body flows to my d**k.

I've never had a reaction like this to a woman. I'm too old to get a f*****g hard-on from seeing a woman in a picture. She's not even naked. Just the sight of her in her underwear has me nearly bursting in my slacks.

Imagine if she was...God...

I see Harry out of the corner of my eye as he takes a step towards my desk to see what's caught my attention. I slam the binder closed, not wanting him to see her. Possessiveness flows through me, and I look at Bosco, who's still going through the binders. When I look at Harry, he has his eyebrows raised in question.

"Who's this?" I pick the binder up and open it to show Bosco. When Harry takes another step to see what I'm showing her, I can't stop myself.

"Stop," I bite out, making him pause, the confusion on his face growing.

"Who is this?" I demand again, needing more information on her. Anything.

"Oh. Just an idea I was thinking about. Going a little old school with some of the looks and appealing to all body types."

"Her name?" I push, and he reaches for the binder. I pull it back, not wanting it taken from me. Almost like a toddler with his favorite toy.

"If you flip a few pages, it should be in the front. Before her pictures start," he says, seeing that I'm not going to give him back the binder.

I turn the book around to me and hurriedly flip through the pages until I get to the front.

Marseille Adams.

Measurements: 40"/32"/48" (Bust/Waist/Hips)

Dress size: 14 Shoe Size: 8

I turn the page, hoping there's another picture of her. The one on the bed made it hard to see her face. I flip to the next page, and I literally have to sit down in my chair. She's smirking in the picture. Her full lips are just as lush as the rest of her. Her skin is flawless, a creamy white making the little freckles that sprinkle her upturned button nose even more noticeable.

But what really gets me are her stunning eyes. They're a deep green like nothing I've never seen before. In contrast with her red hair, they are unmissable.

"Sir," I hear Bosco say, and I look up at him. I have no idea how long I've been staring at the picture.

"I want her on whatever new campaign you eventually come up with. Understand?"

He nods. "Okay. I'll put her on the list. I have a few more for you to look at."

He tries to hand me another binder, but I have no desire to look at pictures of other women. What would be the point? They'd all pale in comparison. I've just seen perfection and I know nothing could beat it.

"No, I'm good with just her. I'll leave it to you and Harry to handpick the rest of the girls for the shoot." I stand up from my chair.

"Or course, sir. We'll get it all worked out."

"The shoot will be next week," I tell them. I want to see her as soon as possible.

"But Sir. I don't think—"

"It will be next weekend. If the model's photographer or something can't make it, book someone else. But she," I hold up the binder with her picture in it, "better be there. I don't care what it costs."

Standing up, I hold the binder in front of my crotch to hide my erection. I click the intercom.

"Sally, can you call my driver? I'm going down," I inform her.

"Leaving already?" I can hear the shock in her voice.

"Yes." I release the button. "Feel free to use my office until you're done. I'll see you tomorrow, Harry." I head for the door with the binder still in front of me, hiding my very prominent arousal. I stop before I exit. "Send me any and all information you have on her, Bosco."

"You'll have it this evening," he says, looking at me with big eyes.

I nod before exiting my office. I had better things to do tonight than spend it in my office. I have a binder half-full of pictures of my Marseille.