Beyond the Velvet Rope (41 page)

Something frail shattered within Thandie. She went stiff for several seconds before her body began to convulse around her. The orgasm that ripped through her shook her to the core, causing tears to spring to her eyes and ripping Elliot’s name from her lips. She began to milk him, her wetness tightened around his cock and squeezed the very life out of him. Elliot gritted his teeth and swore under his breath.

Seconds before he was about to come, he withdrew. Hot strong spurts of liquid splashed onto her lower back. Using the flat of his hand, he smeared the moisture onto her ass and between her inner thighs. Turning her around, his lips were on her, kissing her hard and fervently.

It was at this point Thandie understood what this had all been about. He’d meant to make her pay for the incident with Rex earlier.

Hurt and wounded, Thandie shoved him away from her. Pulling down her skirt, she headed for his bathroom.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said casually. “My next appointment will be here shortly.”

“Appointment?”

He shrugged. “You’re welcome to stay if you like.”

Thandie did not know how to react. Elliot had never asked her to sit in on one if his meetings.

Elliot glanced at his watch, as if he had something better to do. The simple action made her feel cheap and insignificant. At that moment, Thandie hated him. Her eyes stung with tears and she turned away, but not before seeing a flicker of remorse in his eyes. It had only been there for a second, before vanishing.

There was a knock on the door. Elliot zipped up his pants, tucked his shirtfront in and raked a hand through his hair. He was perfect within a nanosecond.

Thandie on the other hand, having no time to react, looked as though she’d just had sex. Which was of course exactly how he wanted her to look.

“He’s here,” Michelle shouted from the door.

“Please let him in.” Elliot said.

Rex stepped inside. He hesitated when he saw Thandie and Elliot. “I could come back,” he offered.

“No,” Elliot said. “I want to hear about your trip. Please, come in.” Turning his dark head to Thandie, he asked quite coolly, “Will you be joining us?”

Thandie looked at Elliot, then to Rex, and back to Elliot. He’d set her up. The realization hit her like a bucket of cold water, drenching her in mortification. Her eyes blazed with anger. This was some malicious game of his. Too furious to speak, Thandie shook her head and headed for the door. She slipped out without a backward glance.

Chapter Twenty-Six

T
handie was furious with Elliot for what had occurred in his office. He’d used her to prove a point. And she had fallen into his trap.

When Thandie thought about how she must have looked to Rex, she cringed. With her hair mussed, her clothes disheveled and her lipstick smeared, she’d given the impression Elliot had hoped for. She looked as though she’d just had hot sex.

Thandie hadn’t been able to meet Rex’s gaze when she’d rushed from the room. With her head ducked, she’d left the club blushing with shame.

Asshole.

As soon as Thandie got home, she made a beeline for her bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she braced her hands on the sink. Hanging her head until her chin pressed against her chest, she promised herself she would not cry. She would not shed one tear over Elliot.

Lifting her head, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and was forced to look at the woman staring back at her. Gone was the independent, headstrong woman she’d always been so comfortable with.

The women who stared back at her was unsure and struggling to find balance and understanding.

She wasn’t happy with what she had become. Under Elliot’s charming persuasion, she had willingly become his sex slave, waiting and ready for his affections at a moment’s notice. She was ashamed of her dependency on him, her anxiety to see him and even worse, her need to have him near her. When had this happened? When had she become his groupie?

Unable to bear the sight of herself, she turned away from her image and began to strip off her clothes. After a thorough shower, she lay in bed wondering how she’d allowed herself to plummet so deeply into this shadowy world of uncertainty? What was Elliot playing at? He’d embarrassed her by flaunting their physical relationship in Rex’s face. But what had been the point of doing that? Just to prove he could?

Throwing her arm over her eyes, she tried to block out the waves of emotions that were crashing over her. She’d known the delicate strand holding her affair together would eventually snap, she just hadn’t thought it would be this abrupt, or this vicious.

Rolling on to her side, Thandie forced further thoughts of Elliot out of her mind. If she was going to survive the final weeks of her stay in Miami, she would focus on what she’d come here for in the first place—her job. And the sooner she finished it, the sooner she could return to New York.

Thandie slept hard but short. Determined to get on top of things, she started working on promotion details early. Locked away in her room, she didn’t dare leave to retrieve anything from the kitchen or dining room. If she saw Elliot’s smug face she might just snap.

As much as she’d grown to dislike Mira Dietrich, Thandie was actually relieved she had a lunch meeting scheduled with her today. Not only would it get her out of the house for a while, Mira would also do a good job of distracting Thandie.

Leaving a note for the girls, Thandie slipped out of the house an hour and a half early. She took the scenic route, wasting time by exploring the Coconut Grove neighborhood.

When she finally arrived at Green Street, Mira was waiting for her. As usual, she was seated at one of the patio tables, a cigarette clutched between two wrinkled fingers.

Smiling pleasantly, Thandie took the seat opposite Mira’s chair. “Hello, Mira.”

“I haven’t been able to get photos inside the club,” she declared.

“I warned you security would be tighter,” Thandie said.

“We all have wants, Thandie dear. If you want a nice fluff piece in
Look,
then I want photos. It’s that simple.”

“I’m working on it, Mira.”

“Your time is almost up,” the older woman pointed out. “You’re on this project for what...three more weeks? Meanwhile, I have papers to sell.”

“I’ll handle it,” Thandie assured her.

“I certainly home so. Otherwise—” her small ruby red lips split into a tight smile “—I’ll have to report what I can get my hands on.”

“Such as stories about Elliot and me?” Thandie asked.

Mira waved her cigarette in the air. “A necessary evil, as you well know. People want to know about Elliot and his fabulous lifestyle. He’s intriguing. Thus, he will always be in the public eye. Anyone acquainted with him is bound to be caught in the limelight. So, if you don’t like the heat, Thandie, I’d advise you to stay out of the kitchen.” She tapped ash off the tip of her cigarette. “And you my dear are definitely in the kitchen.”

“What does that mean?” Thandie asked wearily.

“You may not like my tactics, but pictures don’t lie.” Like a grenade, Mira slid a newspaper across the table. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Suspicious of anything Mira offered, Thandie spread the paper out slowly. It was another article printout with tomorrow’s date posted at the top. She read the headline first: “Back Together Again!” Above the article was a picture of Elliot and the beautiful dark-haired woman arm in arm. They appeared to be leaving a restaurant together.

“Who is she?” Thandie heard herself ask.

“Who is she?” Mira repeated. “Surely you know who she is?” Realization came to her slowly, and when it did the smile that inked over her face was so evil she could been mistaken for the Grinch. “She’s the reason why Elliot never hires women. Well, except for you, of course, but that was a rule of hers. Her name is Laurent.” Mira paused for dramatic effect. “Laurent Richards. She’s Elliot’s wife.”

* * *

For a moment Thandie just stared at Mira. She could feel the blood draining from her face. His wife? Elliot was married? The idea was so unbelievable, she had a hard time processing the words. But Thandie knew Mira was telling the truth.

This was the secret she’d always felt he was hiding. She could not explain it but somehow she just knew this was the closest she’d ever been to seeing Elliot for who he was. This was the true Elliot Richards.

Feeling Mira’s eyes on her, Thandie abruptly folded the paper and slid it across the table. She swallowed hard before meeting Mira’s hawklike gaze. “I guess I owe you thanks,” she said in a voice barren of any life. “You spelled Elliot’s name right.”

Mira leaned back in her chair and studied Thandie. “You didn’t read the story.”

“I don’t need to. Any news is good news, right?” Pulling her purse into her shoulder, Thandie smiled. “Forgive me, Mira. I have somewhere I need to be.” Giving what she hoped was a convincing smile, she mouthed the words “I’ll call you” before walking briskly to the patio exit.

Thandie couldn’t wait to get into her car. She squeezed her hands into tight balls as she waited impatiently for the attendant to bring her vehicle around. When he finally did, she drove half a mile up the road, parked, and simply stared out the windshield.

He was married.

Somehow everything became clear. It was as if a veil had been ripped away from her eyes, allowing her to see for the first time in months. And then she plummeted headlong down a dark spiral.

Elliot was married.

She could not make herself say the words aloud. Even thinking them was painful. How had he hidden this from her? She gasped. Was she the only one who didn’t know? Was this what Warren had tried to forewarn her of? A vision of Rex’s angry face loomed before her. He’d been about to tell her something the day he’d figured out she was involved with Elliot. But he’d stopped himself. Had this been it? Had he stopped himself from telling her she was sleeping with a married man?

She felt betrayed. Why would anyone think she would be all right with sleeping with a married man? Did they assume Elliot had told her, so there was no need to make an issue of it? Were they really so jaded? For a span of five minutes, she berated them for not telling her. That eventually fizzled out, because it was had been Elliot’s responsibility to tell her. He alone would bear the weight of her fury.

Thandie’s mind went into overdrive, running through all the things she should have questioned. However, even in hindsight, there were few clues to go from. Elliot had been very good at concealing so much from her, it was hard to zero in on anything. But that did not stop her from trying. For a full hour, Thandie sat motionless in her car, searching her mind.

And after that, she began to plot.

* * *

Elliot slammed down the phone. He’d tried to call Thandie twice already, and both times she’d ignored him. It was bad enough he was feeling low about what he’d done the night before, arranging things so that Rex would see Thandie was his. He’d meant to belittle Rex by letting him know he wasn’t in Elliot’s league.

But he’d miscalculated badly. He hadn’t anticipated the strength of his desire for Thandie. He’d meant to take her roughly, but not be unkind. As always, she melted into him, accepting his hunger with equal passion. He’d wanted to mark her, make it clear to her whom she belonged to.

It was not until they’d finished did he realize how poorly he’d treated her. And then Michelle had announced Rex’s arrival. There was an instant when he’d considered not going through with it. For a breath of time, he’d thought he might be going too far. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and he almost went after her. But he hadn’t.

He’d made his point loud and clear. With the smell of sex still in the air, Elliot smiled tightly at Rex while he gave his stiff account of his time in Vegas. He could see the discomfort in the man’s eyes, and was satisfied. He was a beaten man. But it occurred to Elliot, though he may have won this battle, he’d just lost the war in this chess match. He’d lost his queen to a petty affair, thus checkmating his own king piece.

After his meeting with Rex, he’d searched the building for Thandie, but learned she’d left the club. She was furious with him. He deserved that. He debated whether he should try to find her. He resisted the temptation. If she was as upset at him as he suspected, she needed time to cool off. Once she was calm, he would seek her out.

He decided not to go to her bedroom that night.

However, when she didn’t come down for breakfast, he’d gone to her room. She wasn’t there. Figuring Thandie was out running errands, he called her. No answer. He’d waited for her. Milling impatiently around the house, he’d frustrated his mother with his sulky mood until she’d given some excuse about visiting a cousin, before leaving the house.

Eventually, he’d had to go to his office for a meeting. He’d been cooped up in his office for hours, becoming more cross by the minute. Every time he checked his phone and saw there was no missed call from Thandie, his mood intensified. So far, Romero was getting the worst of it.

At the end of his third and final meeting, while people were still were filing out of his office, Elliot pulled his phone out and dialed Thandie’s number. Again, he received her voicemail. Refusing to leave a message, he’d hung up. For one sliver of a second he considered calling her assistants, but quickly rejected the idea. Thandie was protective of them. The last thing he needed was to create suspicion that he had any kind of involvement with either girl.

Deciding to wait until this evening seemed to be the best bet. If Thandie did not show herself tonight, he would have to go after her. Checking his watch, he furrowed his brows. Ten minutes until ten o’clock. The clock was ticking. He would give Thandie until midnight. If she wasn’t in the building by then, there would be hell to pay.

* * *

The house was quiet and empty when Thandie finally returned to Star Island. Len and Raja must have taken a taxi to Babylon. Thandie had intentionally arrived late. She wanted to stay in her thoughts while she figured out how to settle things with Elliot once and for all. Of course, she’d considered packing up their things and getting on the first flight to New York. But that would be too clean, and far too easy for Elliot. He needed to be taught a lesson.

Thandie took her time going through her outfits. She wanted to pick something that suited the occasion. Selecting a bright red bandage dress and a pair of her best fuck-me pumps, she dressed quickly but with care. She wanted to look desirable and, most importantly, leave a lasting impression.

When her makeup, hair and clothes were just right, she climbed into the Expedition and headed for Babylon.

For a Thursday night, the crowd of people lined up outside the building was a good sign. She wanted an audience. Skipping the trail of cars waiting for valet service, Thandie pulled up parallel to the curb, blocking someone in. Cars honked at her for skipping the queue, but the staff who recognized her car went into action. All smiles and warm greetings, an attendant held the door open and helped her out of the SUV. Seeing a glammed-up woman receive such quick attention quieted the car horns. Security waved her forward, ahead of the line. They squinted menacingly at anyone who got in her way.

“You look killer in that dress,” Tiny said as he held the door open for her.

“That’s the plan,” she said with a smile. Slipping inside the club, Thandie looked around the arena. The expanse was darkened with pops of green lighting along the walls. The hanging gardens had been lowered, giving the room a rain forest appeal.

Swiveling her head to the left, Thandie saw Elliot’s door was closed. The management meeting was still taking place.
All the better,
she thought. Stepping toward the bar, she settled onto a stool. This was the best perch to watch Elliot’s office door, and would give her ample opportunity to do what she’d come here to do.

Time being on her side, and knowing how particular Elliot was about keeping to a schedule, the office opened within minutes of when she’d expected it to. Eddie Bloom and Tom Comber were the first to exit the room, followed by Adam and Rex. Markie was the last to leave. The men filed out, taking the steps slowly as they chatted with each other. They looked noticeably less jubilant than the last time she’d seen them. Bad meeting?

A few minutes later, the office door opened again, and Elliot stepped onto the landing. Nicely dressed as always in a classic black suit and white dress shirt, he could have given James Bond a run for his money. Elliot bumped fists with Michelle, before looking out over the crowd. His expression was unreadable, but when his cool gray eyes landed on her, his expression was a mixture of surprise and then...relief?