Dangerous Pleasures (31 page)

“Oh, yes, sir! I love it here, and I love working for Mrs. Miller,” Mary said.

“Then you will be pleased to know that Annie has now been made the general manager of the Spa,” Mr. Nicholas told the girl.

“Oh, Mrs. Miller, congratulations!” Mary replied, as if she had not already been apprised of Annie’s situation.

“And you’ll come with me, of course,” Annie said quickly. Then she turned to Mr. Nicholas. “If Nora’s Margaret is coming back I could put her with Fyfe.”

“No, Margaret will remain with Nora, my dear. They are used to working together, and comfortable with each other’s habits. We shall have to find someone special for my nephew. I’m certain you will get the right girl,” Mr. Nicholas said.

“I’ll find him a worker bee,” Annie said with a small smile.

“Can she be pretty?” Fyfe MacKay asked dryly.

“It’s more important that she be competent,” Annie replied sharply.

Mr. Nicholas chuckled. “Annie’s devotion to duty is commendable, Fyfe. You could learn a great deal from her.”

“I hope to, sir,” Fyfe replied, looking directly at Annie.

“If you don’t need us, then, Mr. Nicholas,” Annie said, “Mary and I will return to my office. Fyfe, when you have bid your uncle good-bye, please come and see me. Anyone can direct you to my office, which will now be yours. I’ll get you started on your duties. Good-bye, sir, and thank you. I will do my best to justify your faith in me.”

“A delicious piece of goods,” Fyfe MacKay murmured when Annie and Mary had departed Mr. Nicholas’s office. “Why did you want her?”

Mr. Nicholas smiled. “Actually, it was her sister, Lizzie, whom I was after. Annie was quite a surprise, and a marvelous bonus. Now I have them both.”

“Totally?” his companion asked.

“Almost,” Mr. Nicholas said. “Elizabeth Bradford had been angling for the Channel Corporation’s business for at least two years. We’ve always used in-house counsel, as you know, dear boy, but it was time to retain a good outside firm. Hers is the best, but I didn’t want one of the senior partners handling our business. Too staid, too settled, too cautious, too careful of their worldly goods and reputations. I wanted someone who was hungry, eager, ambitious, and willing to take chances, and, you will forgive my small attempt at humor, devil take the hindmost.”

Fyfe MacKay laughed. “Uncle, you can be most amusing when you choose. But why Annie? She’s pretty, but seems otherwise ordinary to me.”

“It was simply too good an opportunity to resist. She won the contest we held just before we opened the Spa here. She was introduced to the Channel for the first time. She discovered she is a very sexual being both in and out of the Channel, although I believe she is reforming her ways outside of it now. No, Annie was easy to subvert and seduce. She was tired from struggling so hard to keep her family together, fed, and clothed. Her father, without meaning to do so, rubbed salt into her wounds by mentioning more often than not that he’d warned his son-in-law to have more insurance. Her mother always preferred Annie’s sister, Lizzie, and made no secret of it. She was forever praising her younger daughter’s success. And Lizzie, whose passion to get ahead in her career has caused her to block love from her life, dotes on Annie’s children, giving them those little luxuries their mother has not been able to give them. Annie resented it, and then felt guilty because she did.

“When Nora Buckley brought to my attention that this exhausted widow was highly intelligent and had excellent people skills, I took a closer look. I realized that Annie would be an excellent servant for me. She has brought the same devotion she has for her children to her job. And she believes everything she does now is for their betterment. That is why I saw her supplied with the perfect nanny, enabling her to feel no guilt for neglecting them and putting all her energies into her work. She has earned the position of general manager here at the Spa. Eventually, as I have with Nora Buckley, I will move her into positions of greater responsibility, Fyfe. I can see you want to take her as a lover, but do not destroy her spirit and render her useless to me,
nephew
. Remember, she is a fragile human being.”

“I want no long-term entanglements,
Uncle,
” Fyfe replied. “I just want someone to amuse me while I am here. How long will I be here?”

“Only until we open the island Spa in April, my boy,” Mr. Nicholas responded. “Annie is very smart, and extremely clever. Learn what you can from her. You are the youngest of my
nephews,
and I have high hopes for you, dear boy. Now run along and find Annie. It’s time you began your apprenticeship.”

“Will I see you again soon?” Fyfe asked him.

“You will see me when you see me,” Mr. Nicholas said.

Fyfe MacKay gave the older man a neat bow from the waist, then left him.

A young spa employee he stopped directed him to Annie’s office. He found her speaking with her little assistant. “My uncle is leaving now,” he told her.

“I’ll go and see him off,” Annie said. “Please wait for me. Mary will take you into my office.” She hurried out. Mr. Nicholas’s car was already drawn up beneath the portico of the Spa, waiting for him. Annie stood almost at attention by the lobby door, smiling as he came across the room. “Have a safe trip, sir,” she told him.

“Send me weekly reports on Fyfe, Annie, and don’t let him get away with murder,” Mr. Nicholas said. “His mother has spoiled him, I’m afraid, and his good looks have allowed him to get away with more than he should. Shape him up for me, my dear.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” Annie said as she walked with him to his car.

“I’m sure you will,” he answered her as he got into his vehicle. “Good-bye, now.”

“Travel safely, sir,” Annie said, and she stood watching as the limousine departed, easing down the driveway and out of sight. Then, returning to the lobby, she realized she had a meeting of the personal assistants in about ten minutes. Well, Fyfe MacKay could come with her and be introduced, and see what everything was all about.

“Mrs. Miller.” The head housekeeper stopped her. “The florist says it’s too early for daffodils. He suggested yellow and white mums.”

“Tell him no, it’s a lobby arrangement. If we can’t do spring yet let’s go tropical. Birds-of-paradise, those big green things with the long red whatevers. Exotic,” Annie said. “Remind him we’re making an impression on our arriving guests, and it’s not a funeral home.”

The head housekeeper giggled. “I will,” she said. “Is it true? You’re our new GM? The rumors have been all over the place this morning.”

“I’m the new GM, and Mr. Nicholas’s nephew is the new assistant manager,” Annie said. “You can spread the word. No need to go formal at this point.” She was smiling broadly.

“You deserve it!” the head housekeeper told her. “We all think so.”

“Thank you,” Annie told her, and then headed for her office again.

“Wondering when you would be back,” Fyfe MacKay said. Then he went into Annie’s office and sat down.

“I hope Mr. Nicholas got off,” Mary Finch said cheerfully.

“Why don’t you get someone to help you begin transferring our things over to Ms. Buckley’s old office, Mary? It’s ours now.”

“Okay, Mrs. Miller,” Mary replied. “I can’t wait! I’m going to have a window!”

Annie had to laugh. “And I get a fireplace, just like Mr. Nicholas’s office,” she said. “We’re really moving on up, Mary.”

“Mrs. Miller, could I make a suggestion for the new hire?” Mary asked, and when Annie nodded she continued, “My friend Sandra is a wonderful secretary. She’s been working for a temp agency locally. She would make Mr. MacKay a great assistant. There’s just one thing: She’s not the prettiest girl in the world.”

“It’s not a beauty contest, Mary,” Annie said. “Have her come in, and I’ll speak with her. It’s her skills I’m interested in, not her face.”

“I’ll give her a call today, Mrs. Miller. Thanks!”

Annie went into her office, where Fyfe MacKay was lounging in her chair behind her desk. “Get out of that chair,” Annie said.

“Isn’t this my office now?” he drawled.

“Not quite yet,” Annie told him.

He got up and strolled around the desk to seat himself in the chair in front of the desk. “Better now, boss?”

“You are going to have to ditch that obnoxious attitude,” Annie said through gritted teeth. “Your uncle has high hopes for you, and I won’t let you disappoint him on my watch. Do you understand that,
Mr.
MacKay?”

He smiled a slow smile. “I’ll bet you look great naked,” he said.

“Do you understand?”
Annie repeated.

“Do you ever lose your temper?” he wondered.

Annie sighed, exasperated. “No, Mr. MacKay, I don’t lose my temper with my underlings, and for now you fall into that category. Now, for the third time, do you understand what I have just said to you?”

“Yes,” he answered. Then he added, “You like order and discipline, don’t you?”

“A successful business requires order and discipline to function efficiently. I am delighted that you understand that, because the Spa is a business,” Annie told him. “If we weren’t financially feasible your uncle wouldn’t be opening more of them.”

“My uncle enjoys catering to people’s vices,” Fyfe said.

“A little pampering in a spa can hardly be considered a vice,” Annie replied.

Fyfe laughed. “A spa for women only, where the guests’ personal assistants do whatever is requested of them, including kinky sex?” He laughed again. “Are you that naive, Mrs. Miller? I don’t think so.”

“Sex, kinky or otherwise, is not a part of our menu of treatments,” Annie said primly. “However, we cannot control our guests’ needs, and I suppose as long as they are discreet we cannot judge them either.”

“Oh, how politically correct, Mrs. Miller.” Fyfe chuckled. “I do believe I am coming to see that my uncle’s faith in you is quite justified.”

“I have the weekly meeting with the PAs in two minutes. You will come with me, be introduced, and listen,” Annie told him. “Is that clear?”

“Yes, Mrs. Miller,” he answered her obediently.

“And no hitting on any woman who works here,” Annie said.

“Agreed,” he responded. “I understand that you don’t want to share me with anyone else while I’m your subordinate. You want my complete obedience while you are in charge, but when I fuck you, I’ll expect yours.”

“Since that isn’t going to happen, it’s a nonissue,” Annie said. “Let’s go.”

The personal assistants took immediately to Fyfe MacKay. He was a man’s man, and he knew how to speak to them. Annie decided to put him in charge of the PAs while he was here. It would leave her free to attend to more important things. She had noticed that the gift shop was not as well stocked as when she had been running it. She spoke to Nancy, who complained that the suppliers were being difficult. Annie discreetly phoned several of the suppliers she knew personally. They complained that the Spa was not paying them for several months at a stretch.

“Tell Nancy I want to see her books,” Annie told Mary. “And I want to see them now, not tomorrow or the day after.”

Mary nodded. “I’ll go right away. Oh, we’ve almost got all of our personal stuff moved over into the new office, and my friend Sandra could come in today at three.”

“Good, I’ll see her then,” Annie replied.

They were moved into their new offices by the time three o’clock came around. Mary’s friend arrived and was ushered into Annie’s office. Mary had spoken the truth: Sandra Burns was not a pretty girl. She was tall and painfully thin. Her face was long, and so was her nose. She had thin, mousy brown hair and watery blue eyes. But she was well-spoken, and her skills were excellent.

“I’m hiring you to be our new assistant manager’s executive assistant. He’s tall, dark, and handsome. He’s also the CEO of the Channel Corp.’s nephew, and he’s as arrogant as the dickens. Are you tough enough to stand up to him? If you aren’t, please don’t take the job. While I’m the only one who hires and fires, I don’t want you driven to tears by Mr. MacKay, who has just arrived to join us today. He doesn’t know any more about running a spa than you do. Mary will be your guide. I rely on her entirely.”

“I grew up with three older brothers, Mrs. Miller,” Sandra Burns said. “I don’t bully easily. And I never cry.”

Annie smiled. “You’re hired. When can you start?”

“Tomorrow too soon?”

“Not at all. Mary,” Annie called. “Go find Mr. MacKay and tell him I want to see him now.”

“Right away, Mrs. Miller,” Mary called back.

While they waited, Annie explained the salary and the benefits that came with working at the Spa. “Before you go today you can fill out all the paperwork, and Mary will take you downstairs for your Spa uniforms. Then, when you come in tomorrow, you will be all ready to work. Ah, Mr. MacKay, come in. We’ve found you an excellent assistant. This is Sandra Burns. Sandra, this is Mr. MacKay, who will be your boss.”

“You don’t dillydally, do you?” Fyfe said. “How do you do, Sandra.” Could they have found a more unattractive girl? She had a nose like an eagle’s beak, and a thin, prissy mouth. But he gave her his best smile. She would be more than competent, he knew, and the truth was, he would need someone who was capable and qualified. And if she was like all the women he knew, she would devote herself to him, because she would fall in love with him. She would want to protect him. They all did. Still, at least he wouldn’t mix business with pleasure with this tall, spindly female.

“Time is money,” Annie murmured. “Mary, dear, take Sandra to fill out her paperwork and get her uniforms. We’ll see you tomorrow, dear.”

Fyfe waited until the two girls had left the room. “She will do admirably,” he said.

“Good,” Annie replied crisply. “I told you I would look for office skills. You are both on an even playing field, as neither of you knows anything about the Spa. Mary will aid Sandra when she needs it, and I will direct you, Mr. MacKay.”

“Will I see you tonight?” he asked her.

“Certainly not!” Annie said indignantly. “When I finish here I go home, unless my work causes me to remain.”

“I meant in the Channel,” Fyfe MacKay said.