Fall Into You (27 page)

“Yes, sir. But what does this have to do with my training?”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “That’s for me to determine and you not to worry
about.”

He’d figured out pretty quickly that Charli didn’t have a femininity problem, she
had a confidence problem. She expected people to be critical and steeled herself up
for it, which inevitably came across as her being bristly and harsh. And he knew if
he put her in a room of businessmen who were probably similar to that board of
directors she was trying to impress, he could show her that she had everything she
could possibly need to wow them.

He could honestly give a shit if she messed up in front of his colleagues, but he
wanted to put the added pressure on her so she’d know how to pull it off when she
had everything riding on her performance. Plus, a little role-playing would provide
some much needed distance between the two of them. Things had gotten too raw last
night. Too real. A fun little game was just what the doctor ordered.

He stepped back from Charli and removed something from the inner pocket of his jacket.
“You look so prim and proper with your hair pinned up like that. I think these will
be the perfect final touch.”

He handed her the dark-rimmed glasses and her eyebrow arched. “Last I checked, I don’t
have a vision problem.”

“The lenses aren’t prescription. Put them on.” She slid the glasses on, and he grinned.
“Oh, what some of my members up at The Ranch would do to have you. Anyone with a naughty
teacher or librarian fantasy would fall to his knees at your feet and beg.”

She put her hand to her hip and tilted her head, batting her eyelashes in mock coyness.
“What? You don’t have one of those fantasies, cowboy?”

He grabbed her wrist and put her hand against his quickly hardening erection. “Not
really. But maybe I have one about a hot little secretary.”

Her fingers curled along the outline of his cock, stroked. “I’m not that kind of employee,
Mr. Waters. Or that kind of girl.”

Nice. Already she was slipping into character. “We’ll see. I know how badly you need
this job, Ms. Beaumonde.”

He clasped her arm and moved her hand away before she pushed him past the point of
self-control. “Let’s go. If you make me late for my own business meeting, I’ll be
very unhappy.”

And oh, what fun he’d have disciplining her for the tardiness.

Charli had to work hard to keep up with Grant’s long strides as they headed over to
the biggest building on the non-Ranch side of the property—home to Water’s Edge Wines.
Walking in heels along gravel was like learning to drive a stick shift on a steep
hill; it took all of her concentration. While she worked on not face-planting, Grant
explained that the main operation of Water’s Edge and its employees worked out of
a satellite office in Dallas, but that he liked to bring clients out here for meetings
sometimes because they enjoyed seeing the vineyards.

Hearing him talk about his business, she could hear the pride in his voice, the dedication.
This was no side business for him. It was a passion.

When they reached the building, he opened the door for her and let her walk inside
first. The inside was rustic, not unlike the building at The Ranch, but there was
a refined elegance present as well. The wall opposite the entrance was covered with
smooth river rock, and a hidden spotlight projected the logo for Water’s Edge Wines
onto the stones. Water slid over the rocks, making the logo seem to ripple before
falling into a fountain below.

To the right was a curved reception desk. A tall, gray-haired woman rose from behind
the desk, greeting Charli and Grant with a warm smile. “Hello, Mr. Waters. Everyone
is already here and set up in the conference room.”

“Thank you, Madeleine. I should have everything covered from here. Charlotte is going
to assist me in the meeting today. You can head back to your normal post.”

Madeleine gave Charli a sly look, like they were sharing some unspoken secret, then
nodded. “Very well.”

Madeline glided from behind the desk with an elegance Charli could only dream of having.
She walked with the confidence of royalty, the effect making her appear much younger
than she probably
was. Madeleine put a hand on Grant’s biceps as she passed and gave him a little squeeze
and a wink. “Good boy.”

Charli watched her leave, a little stunned, then turned to Grant. “Why do I feel like
I missed a joke?”

He shook his head, but seemed amused. “Maddy isn’t just an employee, she’s a good
friend and one of the fiercest dommes you’ll ever meet. She’s been badgering me to
take on a new sub for months. Told me celibacy will age me before my time.”

“But how did she know what—who I was?”

Grant put his hand to the small of her back, guiding her forward. “Apparently, her
radar for submissives is more finely tuned than mine.”

Charli pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. That couldn’t possibly have
been Grant admitting he’d been wrong about her. That maybe his initial assessment
of her had been a swing and a miss. She should buy a helmet—the sky might collapse.

“Gloating isn’t becoming, Ms. Beaumonde,” he said, his tone as cool as the air in
the quiet hallway. “You just earned yourself a reprimand from the boss after this
meeting is done.”

The smile she’d been fighting broke through anyway. “Sorry, sir.”

He stopped in front of pair of frosted glass doors. “Now don’t embarrass me. I expect
you to be professional. These people are important.”

The warning had her grin sagging and her back straightening. Nerves settled around
her like high-strung little birds, twittering all the what-ifs in her ear. She and
Grant may be playing roles, but the people on the other side of that door were real.
Grant’s business and reputation weren’t a game. She rubbed her lips together, smoothing
her lipstick, and nodded her readiness.

He pushed open the doors and she followed behind him, focusing on putting one foot
in front of the other. The last thing she
needed was to trip and fall. The fearsome image of her doing a belly flop and exposing
her lack of underwear to a room full of businessmen had her walking with the deliberateness
of a gymnast on a balance beam.

The long conference table was filled with men in suits and one woman in a smart maroon
blouse. Conversation was humming between them all, but quieted when they noticed Grant.

“Afternoon, everyone,” Grant said, flashing one of his lazy cowboy smiles toward the
room. “I appreciate y’all venturing out to the country to visit today.”

Charli laced her fingers together in front of her, trying to blend into the background.
The less she was noticed, the less chance she had of doing something wrong.

Greetings were exchanged, and Grant let everyone make introductions. Most everyone
was involved with either a restaurant chain or a gourmet store—all places that could
stock Grant’s wine. Grant turned to her. “Charlotte, I have some brochures about the
new line we’re rolling out. They’re in the bottom drawer of that file cabinet in the
corner. Please retrieve them and make sure everyone has a copy.”

“Yes, sir.” She headed to the back corner of the room, happy to have a task as Grant
flipped open a laptop and turned on the slide projector to begin his presentation.
When she reached her destination, she realized the file cabinet was half blocked by
a man with shaggy blond hair who’d pushed his chair back a bit so he could hook an
ankle over his knee. He was making a note on the legal pad in his lap and didn’t seem
to notice he was in the way.

She leaned down, keeping her voice low “Excuse me, I’m sorry, but I need to get by.”

He glanced up, his blue-eyed gaze colliding with hers. The smile he gave her could
probably slay a cheerleading squad in one fell swoop. He was pretty in that way that
was almost too perfect. She
preferred the more rugged look, like Grant, but even she wasn’t immune to this version
of male beauty. He rocked forward in his seat, putting both feet on the ground, and
rolled the chair to the side. “No problem.”

Once he was out of the way, she moved toward the file cabinet, eyeing it warily. Grant
had said the bottom drawer. Her pencil skirt wasn’t overly short, but it was formfitting
and there was no bending over easily. She peeked up at the front of the room and caught
Grant watching her even though he was speaking easily about his new products. His
lips tugged up at the corner, letting her know he was well aware of the predicament
he’d put her in.

Dammit
. She looked at the cabinet again, and noticed Grant wasn’t the only one keeping an
eye on her. Blondie gave her a sideward glance as he made more notes. Apparently,
he had figured out her quandary, too. Not that he was offering any help or anything.
With a huff, she attempted to get to her knees gracefully. Using the rocking motion
she’d failed in the intro class, she managed to hit the floor without a sound and
without exposing her ass to the world. Win!

She grinned and Blondie coughed, the noise sounding suspiciously like a muffled laugh,
but she pretended to ignore him. The file drawer was full of materials, but she found
the stack of brochures Grant had requested and grabbed them. Of course, now she had
to get back up. She used her free hand to propel herself upward off the floor, but
before she got to a full stand, her heel caught in the carpet and she had to reach
out for the wall, dropping the papers all over the floor.

“Shit.”

All heads turned toward her. She cringed, her cheeks going hot. So much for blending
into the background. Blondie jumped up from his seat to help her.

Grant pinned her with a hard look, like an arrow shooting
across the room and fastening her to the wall. “Is there a problem, Charlotte?”

His words should have embarrassed her—he was admonishing her in front of all these
people—but hell if she didn’t go wet from his authoritative tone. Her nipples went
as hard as pebbles against the thin blouse.
Fuck
. “I’m sorry, sir. Just a little clumsy.”

He gave a put-upon sigh, letting her know she’d just earned a mark in the punishment
column. “Kade, thank you for helping. Now back to what I was saying…”

Grant returned to his presentation, and Charli crouched down as best she could to
help Kade. “Thank you, I’ve got it, really.”

“Clearly,” he said, his smile wry. He gathered the last of the brochures and handed
them to her, then took her wrist to help her to her feet. His thumb brushed across
the abrasion marks Grant’s rope had left. He shook his head, as if disappointed.

He bent close to her ear. “His?”

It was a simple word. A simple question. But the idea behind it had something strange
welling up inside her. An ache that seemed to open up a fissure right down the center
of her chest. She nodded even though it wasn’t true. She wasn’t Grant’s. Not really.
Would never be.

“Lucky bastard,” Kade whispered before returning to his seat.

She stood there for too long. Kade’s interest was flattering. A week ago, a guy like
him would’ve never given her a second glance. But for some reason, she wanted to cry.
She stared at Grant, watching him captivate the room with his knowledge and his easy
humor. He was so vibrant, so full of confidence. But she knew what lay beneath it,
saw how lonely and lost he’d been last night.

She’d only seen that look on one other man—her father. And that grief over love lost
had sucked the joy out of the last fifteen years of her dad’s life. A broken heart
had killed him slowly and painfully.

And she’d be damned if she was going to stand by and let Grant do the same thing to
himself. She may not be able to compete with the memory of his wife, but after that
kiss last night, maybe she had a shot of reminding him he could feel
something
.

Because like it or not, she was starting to feel more than lust toward the cocky cowboy.

Maybe it was time for the trainee to turn trainer.