Page 1 of Seductive Desires

ChapterOne

No one will noticeif it’s just once, right?

I eyed the decadent chocolate that someone had just dropped off. Truffles, my absolute favorite. My boss and best friend Carlos was an artist and women liked to send him gifts and sweets in hopes that he’d make them a model in his next exhibit, or maybe just to get into his pants. Little did they know, he’s gay and his boyfriend, Andrew, is one of the prettiest men I’ve ever seen. They both had the pretty boy aesthetic, and honestly, it could bring a girl’s self esteem down quite a bit to go out with them together.

Luckily, Andrew was pretty introverted and preferred game nights instead of going out with us so it worked out pretty well. Carlos and I pretended to be together to keep the perverts away, we both got to have a good time, and we went home safely. We lived near each other too, so we never had to worry about going home alone.

Carlos didn’t share his life with the world though, so no one knew about Andrew unless you were a close friend. He worked under a different name and stayed out of the limelight. All showings, events and galas were attended by me or Melissa, his assistants. Melissa was an aspiring artist, so it was in her field and she loved to go but I was just working here until I finished my degree.

“Mariana! Don’t touch my chocolate!”

Busted. I glanced up from the gift basket, giving him a sheepish grin.

“Oh, come on, Carlos, just one.”

“No way amiga, you made me swear I wouldn’t let you near any chocolate.”

That was true. It had become my comfort food and I was wasting way too much money on it lately. Not to mention my hips and ass were taking the brunt of my emotional eating.

He glided across the floor, stopping in front of me with his hands on his hips. “I don’t know why you are so against it. Nothing wrong with a little sweetness in life.”

I rolled my eyes. “You can say that. Look at you. You should’ve been a model instead of an artist. Besides, it’s a luxury I don’t need to be spending my money on.”

He scoffed. “You don’t spend your money on any luxury. I swear you take frugal to a whole other level.”

“Shut up. So why am I here? It’s my day off, you know. I didn’t know when I signed up for this job that my boss would be such a hardass.” I grinned at him. He was the best boss, always worked around my school schedule and gave me extra time off closer to finals so I could focus.

“I need you at the spring gala this weekend.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? No way! That’s Melissa’s thing. You know I hate that stuff.”

Carlos generally sent Melissa out to the galas. She liked to get dressed up and schmooze with the rich people. I had an entirely different opinion on them and tended to speak my mind at the worst possible moments so I stuck to showings and smaller events.

“I know, Mari, but something came up and she can’t be there. And you know I’m not going. Please.” He widened his eyes, giving me the biggest puppy dog look he could muster.

I tried to ignore him, I really did. But he is my friend and I owe him a lot for taking me in when I had nowhere else to go. We’ve been inseparable since we met.

“Ugh. Fine.”

He beamed at me, throwing his arms around me. “Gracias, Mari. You really are the best.”

I scowled. “Yeah, yeah. Say that to me on Monday when I’ve accidentally offended half your patrons and we lose all our funding.”

He snickered, grabbing a truffle and handing it to me. “It’s a catered event. Just eat and stick to the sidelines. I only need you to introduce my work and then you’ll hand it off to the guy who’s throwing the damn thing and you’ll be all done.”

It sounded simple enough but I knew there were always strings attached. It was never that easy.

“What else?”

“Hmm?” He was trying to look innocent, batting his eyes at me.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Well…”

“Carlos…”

“Okay, so I do need you to talk to one person. Just one. He is interested in a showing at his new building, you know to draw people in, and I want you to hear him out and let me know if it’s worth our while.”

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