Dear Reader - This is the first chapter of a six chapter saga that I will begin submitting with this first chapter. Please proceed with this chapter knowing that there is a long build-up before the sex really begins. While this first chapter is plenty sexy, there is no sex, per se, until the next chapter. Please read it with that long slow build-up in mind. I will pace the posting of the first five completed chapters over a few weeks and will complete chapter six based on the interest and comments I receive. Thanks for all of you who venture forth and dive in. I appreciate your interest in my writing and hope you enjoy this effort - several years in the making.
Gapster
*****
Friday – New York City
James twirled the pen through his fingers – a nervous habit that he'd developed in college – as he listened intently to the ad presentation. His partner, Paul, was floating ideas and a direction for the new campaign they were working on. Or, rather, the young female associate Paul had recruited for this particular project was doing her best to sell the concept, and she was doing very well. Their ideas were good: sound, creative, and thoroughly researched, as he would have expected. But it wasn't the dazzling graphics, clever word play, or provocative photos that had garnered his attention on this bright spring Friday morning. It was the exquisite form of Paul's young assistant, Jasmine, that had his mind wandering and fantasizing.
Jasmine had only been with the agency since the fall, hired by Paul. While James had certainly noticed her walking about the open high-ceilinged space of their sprawling Tribeca office, they had not yet crossed paths until this morning for anything work related. This was the first opportunity he'd had to both admire her up close and to hear what she had to say on a professional level. She was making a great first impression on him, and his first impressions were seldom wrong. She had the entire package.
"The market Caresse is trying to position themselves for is affordable, but sexy, lingerie – French, but not too pricey – American, but with a continental flair and sexiness. They feel that Victoria's Secret owns the American woman, but their message has become stale and homogenized. They dominate the market, but there is room for a newcomer. Caresse thinks that there is a growing desire for a sexier alterative to VS, and that is their focus – to fill that void. "That," she said, with emphasis and a little twist of her tight hips under her thin silk dress, "is what they want to bring to our shores." She smiled nervously, looking to James for approval. He shrugged and smiled back as his eyes grazed over the soft tight curves of her slender body. She was flirting with him and doing a damn good job of that too.
It was sinful what she did to the dress she was wearing. The thin slinky fabric had a small black check on a white background with slithering strips of color woven through the grid. It hugged her curves seductively, yet flowed and lay comfortably on her dancer's body. The thin ankle straps of her black high heels were a detail that further worked to attract James's attention. And the deep maroon manicure was a lovely way to complement the mahogany highlights that accented her auburn tresses. James snapped his attention back to the matter at hand, as difficult as that was.
She appeared to be on target with Caresse's corporate strategy. The French lingerie company had contacted their agency several months earlier about modifying their advertising approach for the American market and helping them bring their product to the US. James and Paul's company, Innova, was in the throes of creating that very response and it had to be a good one.
James, as the managing partner for the agency, had the final say in most of the corporate ventures. Paul, his partner of twenty plus years, was the creative director and James's alter ego. They had founded the agency and between them had a nice balance of complementary skills that accounted for their success. Innova had shown steady growth for several years and they were now attracting the best and brightest talent in New York, and Jasmine was a sure testament to that fact. James shook his head. Where had she come from and how had he not fully noticed her until now? She was a stunner and she knew it too. She had the deadly combo that often goes with beauty: innate confidence, but with a beguiling innocence
In just over a week James and Paul would be jetting off to Paris to present their ideas for the advertising campaign and, hopefully, coming to a contractual arrangement with the burgeoning French lingerie company. Caresse had found a wonderful niche in the European theater and was hoping, with Innova's able assistance, to bring their product to the young American woman. James and Paul were poised and ready to help. For them it would be a European client with a huge up-side. It was a great product: French, fashionable and affordable. It was a potential goldmine – for them, surely – but for Caresse as well. The success of their upcoming meeting in Paris was crucial.
"That sounds great, Jasmine. But what is it that we at Innova are bringing to the table? How are we altering and modifying their current strategy to resonate with American women? What's our angle?" James queried, as he stroked his chin with thumb and forefinger.
She looked him squarely in the eye and stood up straight as she responded, giving James another chance to visually explore her exquisite body. If she was nervous presenting to a senior partner for the first time, she didn't show it.
"We're selling sex, Mr. Morgan – plain and simple, and..."
He interrupted her. "Please, Jasmine – call me James," he stated unequivocally. Jasmine smiled before continuing.
"Well, James, American lingerie is mainly sold as a wholesome, white bread commodity. It's homogenized, R-rated sensuality. Caresse has a more underlying sexual approach that is a mix of hot bodies and beautiful photography, bordering on the erotic, but with a price tag that won't scare away the average buyer. Their advertising strategy in France may be a bit over the top, however, for the American marketplace. Our job is to temper that approach without losing the underlying sensuality of their product and marketing strategy. But they are, when all is said and done, selling a fantasy, an allure, a promise. They are selling sex," she said emphatically without flinching or letting go of his intense gaze. "And that's what led us to one of the tag lines: 'Caresse – if you're lucky.'"
James nodded knowingly as his eyes grazed again over this incredibly beautiful woman – young Jasmine. She had to be barely into her 30s, but retained a youthful glow that was palpable. She was 5'-8" and model slender. She had a long graceful dancer's body, but was not devoid, by any means, of seductive curves. Her breasts stretched the bodice of her dress quite nicely. She was a very full C cup from his estimation; perfectly shaped and most definitely all natural.
The dress left an exposure of deep soft cleavage that was subtle, but extremely seductive. The black and white grid of her dress strained sinfully to contain the fullness of her perfect bosom; definitely larger than one would expect on such a slender frame. The material lay smoothly across her lower torso and showed the graceful lines of her great legs and absolutely perfect ass. He detected no panty line. If she were wearing any panties at all, they were the thinnest and tiniest of thongs. Perhaps she was wearing nothing at all. James's mind raced at the thought and he brought his gaze politely back to look into Jasmine's eyes.
He saw her eyes flicker briefly as he scanned, gallantly, her long lean form. Her hips sloped seductively against the flimsy fabric of her dress and he had already surveyed the luscious curves of her backside. He kept looking for a flaw – a slight bulge or an extra pound or two – and found nothing but perfection.
And, if that wasn't enough, her face was a combination of sweetness and sin. She had an all-American glow, but with the glint of naughty in her deep green eyes. Her lips were just pouty enough to draw one's attention and her skin had a translucent glow of gossamer and lace. She was an exotic blend and the best of whatever races were coursing through her veins. Her breast-length auburn hair was highlighted with subtle streaks of reddish brown that gave her a devilish bent and an edginess that delivered a sexual curveball that contrasted with the simplicity of her underlying, girl-next-door appeal. Her long wild tresses fell in tempting waves across her square shoulders, framing her impeccable face. He was transfixed – plain and simple – and was determined to find out more about this intoxicating young lady. He was happy to see that there was no wedding ring.
James was one of the more eligible, yet aloof, bachelors in New York City. He had been married for 17 years, yet three years ago, at the age of 57, he'd found that his bicoastal marriage had disintegrated to a point where it could hardly be called a marriage. Beth had stayed out on the west coast and they had divorced as amicably as possible, given that a few dollars were at stake. Yet neither of them was greedy and no children were involved, so they had been able to split with a measure of decorum that wasn't always possible in high stakes divorces.
He'd been on his own for three years now, dating and enjoying himself to no end. But he did find, despite the plethora of beautiful and very available women in New York, that few seemed to satisfy the lofty standards he had set. Perhaps he was going to find out that his dream girl was just that – a dream. Or maybe he had stumbled upon her this very day.
He turned his gaze to Paul, who looked back at him with a knowing glint in his eye and a subtle shake of his head. 'Shame on you,' Paul's look said. Paul was familiar with James's taste in women after several decades of working together, and he knew the look on James's face all too well. Fortunately, Paul was gay, and Jasmine didn't have the same draw on him. But Paul knew his friend and partner well, and perhaps there was an underlying reason he had assigned Jasmine to this particular project.
