Girl On the Beach

He smiled. "Thanks. Same goes. And I'd be honored to work for you."

Then we both looked up as Jack strode in. Though he had just turned seventy-five, he still looked really good, and was still sharp as a tack, too.

Once he'd taken his seat across from us, he looked at us and smiled. "I guess you know why we're here. And I want you to know, that I think you're both equally qualified to follow in my footsteps. I'm sure you can imagine, that this wasn't an easy decision to make. But since I've been wanting to step away and do some travelling while I've still got my health, I knew it was time to choose someone.

Then he looked up and smiled as the door opened. "And here she is now, my daughter's daughter, my granddaughter Madison Westcott."

Shocked beyond belief, I stared at her as she walked into the room. Then I watched her stop in her tracks and freeze when she noticed me sitting at the boardroom table.

"And Madison, these are the two young men I mentioned who you'll be working with, J.P. Comeau, and Peter McCann. And gentleman, I hope I can count on you to work alongside my granddaughter to help teach her ropes while she gets herself acclimatized, and prepares herself to take over from me and run the company."

Jack stood then, looked at his watch and said, "I think I'd better go and find out what's happened to the breakfast I ordered for us."

Just then, Peter's phone rang, and once he answered, he stood and mouthed, "It's my wife. Sorry, I think I better take this in my office. I'll be back as soon as I can."

After they'd gone, the two of us stood staring at each other.

"You're J.P.? My grandfather mentioned both of you, but I had no idea that he was talking about you. Why does he call you J.P.?"

"The first day I started here twenty years ago, he asked if he could call me 'Jean', you know, like the woman's name. Or, if I preferred J.P., he'd call me that. So, I said, 'Sure, J.P. works for me. And now that's how everyone knows me, at least here in the office."

She smirked. "Well, I'd prefer to call you Jean-Pierre, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"But I thought you said you lived in Montreal. I didn't know you worked here in Toronto."

"I said I came from Montreal. I was born there. But when I saw this job online, I decided I'd move here."

"So, that's why you don't have an accent."

"Actually, I do when I go home. It kind of comes back whenever I speak French."

She grinned. "Okay, then say something for me in French."

Though I laughed and rolled my eyes, I stepped closer and whispered, "Je suis vraiment heureuse de vous revoir."

I stroked a finger across her cheek and said, "It means, that 'I'm really happy to see you again." And I really was, since I thought I'd lost her.

Biting into her lip, she took a step back, locked the door and said, "Okay, then I just want two things."

"Well, you're the boss now."

She held up her hands. "Please, don't ever call me that."

I laughed. "Okay, I promise."

"First, I want a kiss. And I also want to spend the night with you. Because I've really missed you, too."

Before she even finished what she was saying I pulled her in for a steaming hot kiss. As I stroked my hand over her hair, I could hardly believe that I was actually holding her again and kissing her luscious lips.

Finally, she pulled back and looked up at me. "So, you're not too disappointed that my grandad chose me to take over for him? I think he decided that he wanted to keep the business in the family."

"I'd probably do the same thing, if I were in his shoes. But considering he brought you back into my life, I can't be upset."

"So, you think you'll be okay working with me?"

"I think we'll be great together." I wasn't just talking about working together in the office. For the first time in my life, I was thinking long term. Now that I had her back, no way did I want to let her go.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and I rushed to unlock it, before anyone wondered what we were up to.

Peter walked in smiling. "You're not going to believe this."

"So, what did she say?"

"She's pregnant! We've been trying for almost fifteen years, and we never thought it would happen. The doctor said the pregnancy hormones can make some women emotional. I can't believe that we're going to have a baby."

He sat down, shaking his head and I grabbed his hand and shook it. "Well, congratulations, Peter. I'm really happy for you."

"That is good news," Maddy said, just as her grandfather walked with a woman pushing a trolley with a tray of pastries and coffee. And of course, Peter was excited to share the news with both of them.

**

Naked in bed that night in my condo, Maddy sliding her fingers through my hair, sank her tongue into my mouth and nearly kissed me senseless. "Hmm, I've missed running my fingers through all this thick, dark hair," she whispered, playfully nipping at my bottom lip.

I smiled, and squeezed her butt. "And I've missed staring into those pretty blue eyes."

"You know I still can't get over the shock of walking into that boardroom and seeing you sitting there today. I cried so hard on the flight home from Hawaii, thinking I'd never see you again, that the flight attendants kept asking me if I was okay. I think she thought I was having some kind of breakdown, after I'd left you at the airport."

"And I ended up drinking myself to sleep that first night I got home, after I'd watch you'd leave."

I decided it was time to put all my cards on the table, and let her know how I felt.

"You know I'm not entirely sure that I will be able to work with you, Maddy."

She looked a little startled. "Why? Because I'm woman?"

"Of course not."

"Is it because I'm so young, you think I won't be able to handle the pressure of running a company. You know, after I graduated from university, I worked for a big architectural firm in Vancouver, and I managed to handle everything they threw at me, even if I had to work weekends."

"It's not that. I know you're smart, and more than capable, and of course you can the handle the job."

"Then what is it?"

"The thing is, I love you. And feeling the way I do, I'm afraid it might interfere with our working relationship."

She flashed the sweetest smile as she realized what I was saying. "Well, I think the fact that we're in love can work to our advantage."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, we'll work hard all day, and then luckily for us, we've got the perfect way to unwind once we get home at night. So, we'll both head back to work feeling refreshed the next day."

Sliding her hand around my erection, stroking me up and down, she smirked. "You see what I mean? I know just what to do, to help take your mind off work."

I think my eyes rolled so far back in my head I swear I could almost see my spine, when she slithered down my body and slipped me between her lips.

Oh, yeah. As I twisted my hands in her hair, while she worked me into an orgasm to end all orgasms, I knew she was right, and we were going to work together just fine.

At first, I gotta admit I was a little disappointed when I realized that I'd been passed over for the top job. Though, it was April Fools Day, I didn't feel like I'd been pranked, especially after I discovered that I'd lost the job to the only woman I'd ever loved. Which also meant that I'd be able to work along side her every single day. And to know that she still wanted me, as much as I wanted her, was like icing on the cake.

God, she had the most amazing technique. Sliding her tongue over the length of me, before sinking me almost down her throat, then pulling back and softly moaning, as she licked all around my pulsing head. She had me so ready to come, I was throbbing.

The way she was working her tongue up and down on me, I knew that I wasn't going to last much longer. So, I pulled her up, put her legs over my shoulders, took hold of myself and eased my way inside her. And I gave her the ride of her life, just so she'd know how much I'd missed her.

After we'd both come insanely hard, we were on our backs, holding hands staring up at the ceiling, trying to catch our breath.

Looking over at her, I asked, "You still got your wedding dress?"

"Yes, and it's beautiful. I just wish I'd gotten a chance to wear it."

"Well, once we find you a ring, and we book a date, you'll be able to wear it when you walk up the aisle to marry me."

Looking over at me smiling, her eyes lit up, as she realized what I was saying. "Is that meant to be a proposal?"

Just to tease her, I leaned over and licked her nipple, and she giggled, as I asked, "Will you marry me, Madison?"

"Yes," she said, sliding her hand through my hair. "Because I can't imagine spending one more night without you."

**

And though I'd always been afraid of tying myself down to a house with a picket fence, I was delighted when we found the perfect home together.

But I was even more thrilled to discover that my gorgeous wife was about to have a baby.

We got a rescue dog, too. Figured, why not?

Jack Riley, seemed pretty happy when he came over to see his new great-grandson, Jacques, for the first time.

But I was pretty surprised when he leaned and quietly confided, "You know I never thought much of that young man that my grand daughter almost married. But I had a feeling that the two of you would hit it off. Which was why I recommended that you choose the same resort for your holiday, that I'd booked for her honeymoon in Maui, and had my assistant offer to book for you. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He chuckled as he slapped me on the back to congratulate me on my new son.

But now I wondered if the old guy was even sharper than I thought, if he was clever enough to set the two of us up without us ever suspecting.

Of course, when I crawled in bed with Maddy that night and pulled her into my arms for a kiss, I really didn't care how it happened, since he was right. We had found our soulmates, all thanks to him and his April Fools prank, that turned out to be just what the two of us needed.