Business: Phoenix #1 Read online

  Hannah informs me of the office gossip weekly over a glass or two of wine. The majority of it being the ladies swooning over Stephen. Sitting here and watching him I appreciate why so many of the girls admire him. The man is extremely good looking. Dark unruly hair which curls over the back of his collar, emerald eyes and chiseled cheek bones which I would expect to find on a male model. He is attractive, but not my type. Stephen is tall and lean, where as I prefer men broad with muscles – the rugby player type.

  Stephen finishes off his call and turns to face me.

  “Miss Phoenix, how lovely to see you – I have prepared some figures for us to discuss before the meeting with Jackson Industries this afternoon.” He smiles and passes me a large stapled document with over thirty pages.

  “Casey, please.” I return his smile before browsing through the documents, they show our profits over the past 2 years, profits of the individual projects from my dad’s buildings to Andrews garages, I notice that two of the spa's in particular haven’t made a profit in over a year and have been losing money on a monthly basis – I will have to arrange a trip for Michelle to go down and investigate this soon, I have no doubt she is the best person to whip the place into shape.

  After giving me some time to peruse the information in front of me Stephen passes me another large document – this one showing the profits of Jackson Industries, the company is almost double the size of ours and the profits are sky high. From as little as I know, Jackson Industries are an investing company based in USA. They have investments in all different companies from Football teams, race tracks, golf courses, holiday resorts and hell – they also have an investment in the music and movie industries.

  “After days of examining both company’s records and figures, I have found Jackson Industries have no major down falls and I have come to the conclusion that it would be a good move for Phoenix Corps. But the decision is entirely yours to make. Phoenix Corps has a very good future mapped out even if the merge didn’t go ahead. I have looked at the five year and ten year time scales and it looks promising.” He reports confident in every word he says, taking a mouthful of coffee.

  I take a few moments to weigh up the information I have been given, I know overall the merge would be a good decision – but I have never met the people who are proposing the merge. How could I possibly make a decision, and put the company I have put so much time and effort in to building on the line. How can I put the lives of all my employees who I care so much about in the hands of people I have never met?

  What if these Jackson people want to take over half of the company and shut down half of my businesses? That means half of my employees lose jobs, the majority of them have families and homes to pay for.

  “I can’t make a decision until I have met them Stephen, Hannah has been dealing with them over the phone and emails, she said they seem friendly and have plenty of good ideas, as much as I trust her judgment, I just feel like I need to see for myself.” I explain, hoping Stephen doesn’t think I’m being silly about this whole situation.

  “I understand where you’re coming from, Casey. It is a big deal and in order to make the right decision you’re going to have to spend a lot of time thinking about it. From what I’ve been told I understand, Matthew Jackson and a few members of his team will be over here for two weeks as they are attending the Sunday Times Rich List party. So that should give you a good chance to discuss the terms and conditions.” He glances down at his phone which has now started to ring, he looks at the caller ID before his eyes return back to me, “If you need any help you know where I am and I will support your decision one hundred percent.”

  “Thanks Stephen, you’re a star.” I gather up the documents and the now empty bowl which contained my fruit and walk out of his office and make my way up to my office on the fifth and top floor.

  ~~~~~

  After spending what seemed like hours reviewing the information, my head has started to feel like it is going to burst; I have taken so much information in, in so little time. Needing a break, I tap my keyboard and the screensaver disappears. Ignoring the numerous emails in my inbox, I open Chrome and begin to search. Many images to my “Matthew Jackson” inquiry appear.

  I am pleasantly surprised at what I see, an attractive man on the majority of the images. He’s dressed in expensive suits, dark hair, tan skin, broad shoulders, and an impressive tight jawline which is shadowed by dark stubble. I find a close up image of him and study his face more; he has deep chocolate brown eyes and all of a sudden I wonder if the dress I have chosen to wear today is nice enough.

  I continue browsing the images, some of them he is alone – some of them he is with another man who looks a little older but has the same good looks but a few lines here and there. I learn this is his brother, James. Matthew is also pictured with quite a few different women but I have noticed one in particular is a regular occurrence at events – a blonde beauty who, in some ways reminds me of Hannah, tall, long blonde hair with flawless skin. I bet that’s his girlfriend.

  My search comes to a halt when there is a knock at my office door, I quickly close the browser down and open my emails.

  “Come in,” I call out, inviting whoever it may be in. I regret the invitation instantly when William comes walking in, an expensive arrangement of flowers in hand.

  “You look outstanding today Miss Phoenix.” He hurries towards me as I stand to greet him holding out my right hand which he takes and shakes a little bit longer than necessary, before handing me the flowers.

  “Thank you, they’re lovely. Please take a seat,” I offer him the chair opposite me and quickly sit back in my chair, behind my desk, away from him. He smiles at me before sitting.

  “I was just calling in to see how you are, my mother said she hasn’t heard from you in a while and so I figured I should call in to check on you and bring you something to cheer you up.” He gives me a wide grin, which gives me the creeps. I wish he didn’t bother coming.

  “Oh that’s a nice Idea William, How thoughtful.”

  William Smith is the son of Barbara Smith, she was one of my first accountants I employed when I started the business a few years ago, she has only recently retired but Hannah and I always knew she secretly wished I would marry her son. In a way he would have been carrying on the family name. But, William Smith has never been my type and he never will. He has short, messy mousey blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin and always dresses as if his mother has dressed him. Today he is wearing some sort of beige trousers and a tight polo shirt which does nothing for his slim frame. I cringe for him.

  “So, when are you going to let me take you on a date?” he stares at me with a glimpse of hope in his eyes. He has asked me this same question on numerous occasions and I have always given him the same answer.

  Somehow, I don’t think I am ever going to give him another answer. I cross my legs and rest my elbows on my desk, ensuring I don’t knock the flowers to the floor, before looking straight at him. Thanking the lord my choice of dress doesn’t reveal my girls too much.

  “Look William, I have told you – I don’t want to ruin our friendship by going on a date with you. I see you as a friend whose friendship I value a lot. Why fix something when it’s not broken?” Ha! What a load of rubbish.

  He sighs, “Okay, I get it you’re seeing somebody aren’t you?”

  “Nope, I’m most definitely not seeing anybody Will.” It’s true, as pathetic as it may sound, I haven’t been with anybody since Darren – I have been too busy building my company up to what it is today and also the fact that the bastard has made it hard for me to trust anybody.

  “Liar!” He shouts before dashing to the door which closes with a slam. I knew it wouldn’t be long until he had one of his brat fits; go running to mummy dear boy.

  I shake my head; take in a deep breath before dumping the flowers in the bin near the door. Realizing the time I quickly dash to the ladies room where I fix my hair and makeup. Actually, I look quite good today.


  I make my way down to the fourth floor conference room where I know there is a table full of people waiting for me. As I approach the door I can hear numerous voices, I take a deep breath and open the door.

  Chapter Three

  Matt

  I can’t help but stare at the woman who has just walked into the conference room. She is magnificent. A black dress which fits every one of her curves like a glove, stops just above her knees which gives me a fantastic view of her long tan legs, her heels clicking on the floor as she approaches to shake my assistant Kate’s hand and then moves towards me, her hands are smooth and her long manicured nails slightly dig in to me.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Casey Phoenix.” She smiles, the first thing I notice are her lips. Nice, plump and for one moment, I start to imagine what they would look like wrapped around my cock. I force myself to look away from her lips and meet her blue eyes for the first time, they draw me in for a few moments and I eventually pull myself away.

  “Matthew Jackson.” I nod before glancing back down to those gorgeous lips. I watch her fine ass walk round to the other side of the table, her hips swaying from side to side is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen, I deal with beautiful business women daily all wearing skirts and dresses but Casey is something different, something better, even though she is not my usual type. She eventually makes it to the chair between Hannah and Stephen who we had previously met.

  Once she is sitting, I take my seat and watch her as she takes a sip of water that is in front of her. I thank the fucking Lord that James sent me on this business trip instead of him.

  I smile at Hannah, Casey’s assistant, she is more my ‘type’ – tall, long blonde hair and big tits. I look at the two women before me and can’t help but wonder if all English women are like this? Hot as hell. If they are, I am buying a place out here.

  We all discuss the business proposal in deep measures, all debating the pros and cons. I explain that Jackson Industries are looking to extend their business empire overseas and when we came across Phoenix Corporate we knew that it would be the perfect first purchase for us to make. I explain that the name of the company wouldn’t change, and the merge would mean that as we get fifty percent of Phoenix corporate, Miss Phoenix will also get fifty percent of our empire. I watch her stunning blue eyes widen with disbelieve as she struggles to take it all in. I glance to Hannah and over to her accountant who also didn’t expect it.

  “So, can you tell us a little bit about Jackson industries?” Casey asks softly in her sexy English accent.

  I clear my throat, “Of course, Jackson Industries started 10 years ago when I was 21 years old, my brother James, who unfortunately couldn’t make this trip as he had prior engagements over in California, and I decided we wanted to invest money into different businesses, first, we started within local hotels and gradually climbed the ladder from there. We now have over 70 businesses ranging from hotels, holiday parks but the well-known range from American football teams to race tracks. Our most recent signing is with a record label again based in USA. As you can see on the paperwork we have provided, every year our turnover has almost doubled and we are confident that it will continue to do so.” I explain confidently taking a moment for my tongue to dash out and wet my bottom lip.

  Kate explains the figures in more detail and I can see by the look on the faces of the three people sitting opposite me that they are all impressed. I spend a little bit longer than I should watching Casey Phoenix because moments later she glances over to me as if she can feel my eyes admiring her. The sides of her mouth turn up in an adorable smile before she turns her attention back toward Kate.

  I follow the length of her brunette hair which is dyed blonde half way before it stops just above her tits. Now her tits, I can’t really see much of them as the dress she is wearing doesn’t really show much of her cleavage, but I can see they are a nice size – definitely more than a handful. I can’t help myself wishing that she put a more revealing dress on. Hopefully the next time I see her she will.

  She reaches out to the glass of water in front of her and takes a small sip before placing the glass back down in front of her, long slim fingers with long manicured nails with white tips wrapped around the glass. I begin to imagine how sexy those manicured fingers would look wrapped around my cock. I’ll keep the vision in my head so I can jack off over it in the shower when I get back to the hotel later. Oh and I’ll make sure to remember her lovely lips. I silently curse myself for ignoring James when he rambled on about her. I expected a spinster type woman, not a British bombshell.

  Before she pulls her hand back to her lap I search her fingers for a sign of a man in her life, any engagement, wedding rings? I am relieved when I don’t see one.

  I can’t believe how a woman like her has built such a large scale company; there is nothing better than a confident, sexy intelligent woman. In Cali I always seem to be drawn to the same type of women – blonde, fake tits, who can’t hold an intelligent conversation for more than a couple minutes. That’s all I need though, a couple minutes talk. Those women have their purpose. I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

  When we finish the meeting all shake hands again, I arrange to meet up with Casey tomorrow to go over the terms and conditions with her after giving her a little bit more time to think about things, by the look on her face I will be very surprised if she decided not to go with the merge. She doesn’t seem stupid enough not to.

  As I take her hand for one last time I get a quick hint of her scent, she smells heavenly. She smells as sweet as flowers nectar. I wonder if this woman can get any more tempting if she tried.

  I can already tell tonight is going to be a long fucking night and it’s starting in the shower.

  ~~~~~

  Casey

  Hannah shows Matthew and Kate out but told me that she would be coming up to my office straight after to recap everything that was discussed in the meeting but I know her too well and know the reason she is really coming is to talk about Matthew Jackson. That man is hotter in person than he was in the images I had looked at previously. When he took my hand to shake it I almost got an electric shock. He is the hottest man I have ever laid eyes on and I have never seen anything sexier than his jaw line, especially when he spoke, when his jaw was closed tightly when he was listening. And his eyes, I could get lost looking in them and I loved the way I could feel his eyes watching my every movement.

  I would normally get a little uncomfortable when a man watches me so intently, but with Matthew, I didn’t mind. I felt a deep hunger for his eyes whenever he looked away from me.

  I quickly look at my emails and see there are a number of new ones, I quickly filter through them and forward each one to the relevant member of staff to deal with them. Then I see an email from the same address that has emailed me daily for the past month.

  How was your fruit salad today Casey? I can’t wait to see you at the Rich List party… Keep an eye out for me.

  I shudder. I haven’t got a clue who they are from – the email address doesn’t give anything away and it just seems like a random selection of letters. I have replied a few times asking who the hell it is and why they keep contacting me but I never get an answer so I have resorted to just deleting them. I haven’t bothered reporting the messages to the police or anybody else. They don’t make me fear for my safety and I know I have a good security team around me at work and at home.

  “Well he was sexy!” Hannah pulls me away from my thoughts

  “Tell me about it, he was gorgeous!” I gush, resting my elbows on my desk to look at her.

  “I definitely think he was a fan of you Case. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.” Oh God, Hannah noticed it too. I am definitely in for a grilling.

  “Do you think? I never noticed.” I lie.

  “Mhmm… as if I believe you Case, I noticed the way you looked at him too. It was quite awkward being in the same room as you both if I’m honest.” She playfully winks at me and I try to keep
my lips from curling up to a smile but I can’t help myself “I knew it, you like him!”

  “How can I like somebody I have just met silly, but yes, I think he is attractive, but he probably has a girlfriend or someone back home in America.” I sigh remembering the women in the photographs with him when I did a little bit of investigating earlier.

  “Ask him if he is single when you see him tomorrow, that’s the only way you’re going to find out.” Hannah urges, this girl is forever trying to get me set up, I think she is worried if I leave it much longer I will end up a lesbian, maybe she is scared that I will actually turn lesbian and fall in love with her? Hmmm, maybe I should try that as a prank one day, I can imagine her face now. I remember when Lauren Daniels, a girl in our school told her that she was attractive, Hannah was mortified and I found it hilarious.

  My thoughts make me laugh out loud and Hannah raises her eye brows at me. “You’re considering it aren’t you?” she asks.

  “No silly, I was thinking about something else. No way am I going to ask a potential business partner if he is single, for this to work our relationship must be strictly business and then it won’t complicate things.” I try not to show any disappointment on my face and in my voice; if I do she will instantly know I am bothered about it all.

  “Complicate things how?” She questions, looking at me straight on-trying to read my eyes for any tell-tale signs that will give me away. Shit, she’s onto me. Sometimes I forget how well Hannah knows me; I can’t keep anything away from her.

  “Well for example, say if I did seal the deal, which I still am not one hundred percent on yet, by the way. And we, you know…got together…”

  “You mean if you fuck…” she points out and I roll my eyes.