To The Top: An Older Alpha Male and Curvy Younger Woman Romance Read online

  A Ride to the Top

  Table of Contents

  A Ride to the Top

  Copyright

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  About This Book

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  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Scorched

  Chapter One

  Also by Adele Niles

  Stalk me...

  Copyright

  First Edition, July 2019

  Copyright © 2019 by Adele Niles

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations are the product of the author's imagination.

  All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.

  License

  This book is available exclusively on Amazon.com. If you found this book for free or from a site other than an Amazon.com country specific website it means the author was not compensated for this book and you have likely obtained this book through an unapproved distribution channel.

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  About This Book

  To The Top

  When an older, alpha man meets the curvy and powerful woman that puts him in his place, will he survive the power struggle or will she be the one that ends up on top?

  Riley

  This is the job of a lifetime. Using my background, education and all of the assets I’ve gained over the years. It’s not easy being strong and powerful. Some men can’t handle it. But then Sam, my new temporary boss shows up and for once, I’ve met my match in a man, but what he doesn’t know is that I’m fighting for my favorite position, on top.

  Sam

  Riley wasn’t what I expected at all. She’s smart, sexy, savvy and curvy. A total and complete package and the last thing I ever knew I wanted. When she ended up on my team for the big project I knew she was perfect for this position… and just about every position I can think of… it’s because she’s all I can think of, and it’s affecting my job and possible promotion. But for Riley, I’m more than willing to share a little control.

  To The Top is an older alpha male, smart and sexy curvy younger women insta love romance that heats up quickly. TTT contains no cheating and has a HEA.

  If you love over the top Alpha Men and curvy woman they get their man, you love this book, and all of Adele’s short reads that feature curvy women/BBW and alpha men.

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  Chapter One

  Sam

  Not having a coffee before coming to work had been a mistake.

  At eight a.m. I was already wiped out. I’d been here since six, skipping my normal morning workout for a little more time on the advertising campaign.

  I needed this to succeed.

  I had a promotion riding on this one. Not just any promotion—if I got this deal, I’d be made a partner in the company.

  But it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Acres Automotive was never going to be easy. They’d rejected every proposal they’d gotten so far, and other agencies had been trying to secure a contract with them for months.

  But that’s why the higher-ups had given this job to me—I was the only one here who stood a chance of impressing them.

  But before I could impress them, I needed a cup of coffee.

  I stood at the elevator doors, one hand in my pocket, watching the numbers on the screen above the door tick upward. While there was a break room with a coffee pot on this floor, the better coffee pot was on the top floor.

  I had permission to use it, since I was being considered for partner.

  As the door chimed, I took a step forward, already thinking about the hazelnut syrup I wanted to pour into my coffee. I looked down at my phone to check the time and collided with something sturdy, but surprisingly soft.

  “Oh!” The voice was unfamiliar, but I recognized the sound of someone who’d just been surprised.

  I looked up from my phone and felt my jaw drop.

  She was stunning. Almost a foot shorter than me, but curvy, with full breasts and wide hips. I could only guess at how gorgeous her ass probably was, since I couldn’t see it. Judging from the rest of her, though, it had to be perfect. Her blond hair was cut to her chin with side swept bangs, and her eyes were shockingly green, like jade.

  I’d never seen her before in my life.

  For a moment, she and I just stared at each other.

  I hesitated, then took a step to my right.

  She moved at the same time, right in front of me.

  I took a step to the left. So did she.

  I laughed.

  She smiled shyly.

  “You go,” I said, standing still.

  She laughed and nodded. “Okay, okay. Um…good morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  She passed me.

  I caught the scent of something in the air, something flowery. It took me a few seconds to place it.

  Lavender.

  As I stepped into the elevator, it was all I could smell. Was it her perfume?

  It suited her.

  I turned. She was walking down the hall, dressed in a plain tan skirt and wearing flat shoes.

  Her ass did look incredible.

  I stood there watching until she turned a corner, away from my side of the office.

  Damn.

  I wanted her to work close to me.

  The elevator doors closed.

  Where was I trying to go?

  Shit, right—coffee.

  But why hadn’t I asked for her name?

  I pushed the door open button and hurried down the hall in the direction she’d gone, turning left where I thought she had.

  It was another hallway, and there was no sign of her.

  Shit.

  Maybe I’d see her later. Maybe I’d catch her in the elevator again.

  I sighed and turned, walking back toward the elevator.

  It was going to be hard to stay focused today, I could already tell.

  Chapter Two

  Riley

  Everybody here was so glamorous.

  Every woman who walked past looked like she could be a movie star in a movie about a fashion magazine. Pencil skirts, perfectly tailored blouses, gorgeous high-heeled shoes and flawless makeup.

  I’d felt good about myself when I got dressed this morning. I’d ironed everything perfectly. I thought the khaki shirt was fl
attering, especially with the delicately embellished black cardigan I wore it with (buttoned up, with a camisole underneath—no blouse.) And the black flats were nice, comfortable, reliable.

  But next to all these beautiful women, I felt like crap.

  How long was I going to have to wait for HR? Pamela had said to be here at eight, and I’d gotten here on time, even with the little kerfuffle at the elevator. But now it was getting close to nine, and I was still waiting.

  And thinking about the guy from the elevator.

  He’d been so tall, and he looked strong. Maybe a little older than me, but so handsome that it didn’t matter. Black hair and blue eyes had always been hot to me. And he was so perfectly dressed, his pinstriped suit fitting him perfectly.

  His smile had been really handsome, too.

  I wanted a guy like him to look at me like that, even if just for a minute.

  And not because he was laughing over us colliding in the elevator. I wanted him to look at me like that because of, well…me. I wanted to be attractive to someone like him.

  I sighed softly.

  That would never happen.

  Especially not in an office like this.

  “Riley Drake?”

  My head snapped up at the sound of my name. I rose immediately, smiling. “Hi! Um, that—that’s me.”

  The woman—Pamela from HR, I assumed—looked at me over her glasses. She nodded. “Right this way, hon. I’ll show you where your desk is and get you set up.”

  “Thank you!” I smiled and followed her back the way we’d come.

  The central part of the office, where the elevator was, was open-plan, with desks situated in neat rows.

  Pamela led me to a desk that looked unoccupied and patted the chair. “Here you go, hon. Let’s see, your computer password is cramer1221, all lower case. The email address is going to be last name-dot-first name at Cramer Marketing dot-com…”

  Pamela continued, rattling off information faster than I could process it. She started to talk about the phone, and I was still on the email password. “Wait, I—”

  “Keep up, hon, I’ve got more people to see.” Pamela gave me a disapproving look and continued, rattling off instructions for the phone and what my first job was going to be.

  I was screwed already.

  Could they fire me for asking too many questions?

  Pamela smiled. “You got all that, hon?”

  “I—I don’t—”

  “You’ll figure it out as you go. Come find me if you need anything.” And with that, she turned on her heel and power-walked back down the hall.

  I groaned, dropping my purse on the surface of the desk.

  This wasn’t going to end well.

  A sudden banging sound made me jump. I looked across the office in the direction it had come from. One of the office doors had just slammed open, and a tall, slim woman with her hair in a neat bun came stomping out of the room.

  “And you can go fuck yourself!” she shouted, pointing toward the room.

  Who was in there?

  I couldn’t tell—there were blinds on the windows, all shut.

  The woman crossed the hall and went into another room. She came back seconds later, holding a cardboard box and her purse.

  She walked toward the elevator and hit the button. It opened immediately, and she was gone.

  Silence fell.

  I lowered my head, suddenly very interested in trying to log into my computer.

  Whatever had happened, it looked ugly.

  A few minutes passed. I still had not logged into my computer—the password Pamela had given me wasn’t working.

  I heard footsteps, and then a quiet throat-clearing.

  I looked up.

  Pamela was back.

  “Miss Drake? Um…could you come with me, please? It seems, uh, you’ve just been given an unexpected promotion.”

  “Me?” I blinked. “I—but—I just started here.”

  “I know. However, the campaign you did for that funeral home, it was on the bosses’ minds, and they want to talk to you.”

  I blushed deeply, but nodded. “Okay.”

  And I rose to follow her into the office the angry woman had left.

  Chapter Three

  Sam

  Pamela appeared in the door of my office. “Mr. Cramer, Mr. Waters? I’ve got Miss Drake here for you.”

  Martin looked up. He looked far too pleased with himself, sitting in one of the chairs across from my desk and sipping his coffee. I knew he’d never liked Rachel, but I’d never expected him to be so happy somebody had quit. Especially like that.

  I hadn’t expected him to already have her replacement in mind, either.

  He waved for the mysterious Miss Drake to come in. All I knew about her was that she’d done an incredible campaign for a funeral home that had gone viral.

  When she walked in, I almost gasped.

  It was the woman from the elevator.

  Martin rose and extended his hand to her. “Miss Drake! I’m Martin Cramer, owner of the company. And this is Sam Waters, my very best. His right-hand girl has just, well…I’m sure you saw. A real disappointment. But you’re already quite impressive. That funeral home campaign was magnificent. With that in mind, we’d like you to take a crack at assisting Sam on this project.”

  “I—oh—thank you!” she said, looking shocked, but pleased. “I won’t disappoint, I promise!”

  “I hope not.” He let go of her hand and sank back into his chair, reclining comfortably.

  What was going on in that old man’s head? I liked Martin, but he always seemed like he was up to something.

  I rose from behind my desk, extending my hand to Miss Drake. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sam.”

  “I’m Riley.” She blushed and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to be working with you, Mr. Waters.”

  “Please, call me Sam. Now, this is going to be a trial by fire. You understand that, right?”

  Riley nodded, blond hair bouncing. “Yes, sir. I’ve been in high-pressure situations before, so I’m ready.”

  “Good.” I gestured for her to come around my desk. “The preliminary meeting for the project is this afternoon. All that fuss earlier was because Rachel didn’t finish the PowerPoint for the meeting.”

  Riley’s eyes went wide. “That’s bad.”

  “Yes. I’m glad you see the gravity of the situation.”

  She nodded, moving closer to look at the screen of my computer.

  The scent of lavender filled the air.

  Concentrating with Riley next to me was going to be a big problem.

  “Pull up a chair,” I told her. “This has to start right now.”

  She nodded and turned, going to grab a chair from the table Martin was still at. She rolled it behind my desk and sat down.

  As she sat, I got a perfect view straight down the neckline of her sweater.

  God, her tits were perfect.

  I sat down slowly and looked across the desk at Martin.

  He smiled and sipped his coffee.

  Riley settled, tilting her head to look at the screen. Immediately, she started to ask me questions about the campaign we were presenting—the mood, what we were trying to highlight about Acres, what we wanted the viewer to think when they looked at the ads. I explained everything to her, showed her the graphics and art we were working from.

  She immediately started to give me ideas, and could back them up with examples of other successful campaigns and data from marketing studies.

  She was sexy and smart. An incredible combination.

  Together, we started to work through the slides. I had Pamela bring Riley a laptop and got her logged in, because Pamela never gave the right passwords. I helped her connect to the server so she could access the graphics.

  Together, we started to tear through the slides.

  Riley was working hard, and I appreciated that. But I also appreciated being close to her. She smelled great, and the cardigan she was wearing hugged h
er curves just right. It didn’t seem intentional, but it worked.

  Every time I stole a glance at her, I felt my cock twitch.

  I didn’t look at the clock for a while; finally, I did, and saw that three hours had passed. We were getting close to time for the meeting.

  Martin was gone. When had he left?

  I frowned. Martin was definitely up to something. I just wasn’t sure what yet.

  But I didn’t mind being alone with Riley.

  We worked in silence a little longer before I caught sight of movement outside my door. I glanced up.

  Christ.

  Why was Sarah hanging around my office?

  Chapter Four

  Riley

  I was so caught up in my work that the knock on the office door surprised me. I jumped, gasping softly at the unexpected sound.

  Beside me, Sam glanced up, then immediately looked back at his computer. “Yeah, come in.”

  The door opened.

  I looked up at the woman who walked in. She was pretty—model-thin, blond, and dressed stylishly. I liked her blouse and pencil skirt.

  But she made me acutely aware of what I was wearing, and I felt my face heat up.

  She walked in, stilettos clicking on the floor. She had a flirty smile on her face. “Sam, hey.”

  He looked up, sighing. “What’s up?”

  It took her a second to reply—from the change in her expression, I could tell she’d just noticed me. She looked at me with pure disgust for a moment, but it passed, the smile returning. “I just wanted to check in and see if you needed help for the meeting? I heard about what happened with Rachel.”

  Sam shook his head. “No, I’m good. Riley stepped up to bat for me and she’s doing a great job.”

  “Oh.” Sarah’s voice was disappointed.

  Even with her negative response, I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride.

  Sam thought I was doing a great job.

  Sarah opened her mouth, closed it again, and then smiled. “Well, we should do something to celebrate after the meeting today. What about drinks, huh? I’ll buy.”

  I sank down in my chair, just slightly.