In His Cuffs (21 page)

“That was Cindy Hoskins RSVP’ing for our open house.”

Her heart stuttered.

“Something you’d like to tell me about?”

She wondered how much he knew. Then she sighed, realising it didn’t matter. He could never trust a woman who hid anything, and she’d already committed a huge gaffe. “We had an issue with a contract not being delivered on time. I chatted with Cindy, asked for an extension, and we offered them the same terms as last year. I got the contract over to her, and the copy with her original signature arrived today.” She picked up a pen and toyed with it. The same pen she’d used to sign the document in his stead.

“At what point were you going to tell me?”

She met his gaze. “I wasn’t.”

“Thank you for your honesty.” Without another word, he left. He didn’t ask for explanations or lose his temper. In fact, his control gave her goosebumps.

Just then, she acknowledged how badly she’d screwed up. She had tried to reach him by phone, but the missed connection was no reason to have kept quiet. To him, siding with her mother and covering the situation up must feel like a betrayal.

She dropped the pen.

At first, she cloaked herself in righteous indignation. He was overreacting. This was why they shouldn’t have got involved. Her business decision should feel like that, nothing more serious. In fact, she had told him she didn’t want a BDSM relationship, just to play in the bedroom.

Then she admitted the truth, in agreeing to go home with him tomorrow night, they were in a relationship. She thought of him, remembered him, fantasised about him.

He’d placed her in a position of trust in his organisation when he could have brought in his own people. He’d kept on her mother and had done his best to help her flourish, and now he was brokering a deal with another company so her mom’s dream could become an even bigger reality.

She’d thought she was brave by putting a stop to the name-calling. In actuality, she should have done that months before.

He wasn’t the one who had ever mixed things up. She was.

Could it be any worse? She took a drink of water for courage before walking to his office. His door was closed, so she knocked. She turned the knob and peeked in when he didn’t answer. He was sitting with his back to the door, staring out of the window. “Can I come in?” she asked.

“No, Maggie. I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“I’d like to talk.”

“I wouldn’t.”

She trembled as she pulled the door closed. In her office, she stalled, hoping he’d relent and come after her, but he didn’t.

All night, she kept her phone next to her, waking up every hour to check the screen.

There was no contact, and, as she got ready the following day, she had no idea how to dress. David had told her to wear a short skirt. He’d also invited her to spend the night. She was sure that wasn’t happening, since he hadn’t said a word to her after he’d refused to invite her into his office.

She opted for her usual wear, pretending her soul didn’t feel fractured.

Pain split her head, made worse by the several blocks’ walk from her car. When she entered the front door, she headed straight for the medicine cabinet in the break room. She downed two aspirin with the black coffee Barb poured.

“Too much fun last night?”

Maggie shook her head, and even that hurt. “Not enough sleep.”

The morning passed in a blur of activity as the caterers arrived and centrepieces and new marketing pieces were delivered. She instructed an intern on how to set up the booth they used for trade shows, and the IT techs tested their projectors.

A copywriter entered her office and handed her the final script they’d be using during the announcements to ensure they thanked everyone who was there. He also handed her David’s bio to use when she introduced him as the new owner.

Gloria swooped in wearing a red maxi dress with at least three metal belts wrapped around her waist. “Things are looking good. You’ve done a great job on the organisation, and I understand all of our biggest clients will be here. I just hope the tyrant can be bothered to show up during his part.”

“Out.” Maggie pointed at the door.

“What do you mean?”

“I warned you that I won’t listen to that. Go find someone else who will. And if they do, I’ll fire them. It’s insidious and it stops now. Here.”

“I never,” Gloria protested.

“Yeah, you did. Never gave him a chance, and neither did I. You’ve got a fat pay cheque coming that you wouldn’t have had otherwise.” And still might not if he chose to fire her for insubordination. She wouldn’t blame him if he did. “You might try a little cooperation when all else fails.” She knew that, to others, he might not look engaged because he spent so much time working offsite on the other deal. But speculation about his work hours had to end too, particularly when almost everyone at World Wide Now set their own schedules.

One of the catering assistants popped her head in the door. “I don’t know where you’d like the cake?”

Maggie wondered if it would be rude to cut a piece and eat it now. She could use the sugar boost. “Mother, can you help her?”

“This way,” Gloria said to the young lady, once again distracted. “The frosting doesn’t have dairy, does it?”

David showed up, dapper in grey with a blue tie. Wildly she wondered if that was the one he’d shoved in her mouth the first night at her condo.

“You’ve done a nice job on the event,” he told her. “I understand you got my bio?”

“Gloria will be reading it, if that’s all right?”

He nodded.

“You can do the acknowledgements. I thought I’d handle the welcome and the staff introductions. You up for a rehearsal?”

He nodded again.

They had a large presentation room and, except for a couple of bar-height tables, it had been cleared.

Their sound person joined them, showed them how the lapel microphones worked, ran through a check then stepped back while Maggie, Gloria and David read through their lines.

“We make a good team,” Gloria said.

By the time David’s introduction had been made to the crowd, Maggie agreed. When they worked together, things ran seamlessly. David even displayed some unexpected humour that caught some laughter and a smattering of applause.

She stayed through the end. And went home alone.

He hadn’t even stuck around to say goodnight.

What had she expected? She swallowed the lump in her throat. How could she have been so shallow? David had been open, if unyielding, about his expectations of her. There weren’t many. He even cooked and made Sunday-morning lattes.

She’d been so caught up in looking at the situation through fearful eyes that she’d blown her chance to be with the one man who satisfied her more than anyone ever had. He would have continually pushed her, but the rewards she’d already experienced were more than she could have imagined.

Feeling miserable, she picked up the phone and asked Vanessa to join her for a drink. Vanessa said she had only a little time before her two men were coming over. “I’ll share,” Vanessa added.

“I’ll pass. Thanks.”

“Come on over, I’ll make you a margarita. You don’t have to stay.”

She swung by Vanessa’s but just felt more miserable when the first taste of salt hit her tongue. She wasn’t in the mood to be cheered up. What should had been a celebratory evening following the mad success of the open house had ended up echoing with loneliness, amplified by Vanessa’s uncontained enthusiasm for her night ahead.

When the hunks in leather pants and no shirts arrived, Maggie excused herself.

“Not tempted?” Vanessa asked.

“Not even a little bit.”

“You’ve got it bad,” Vanessa said. “We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”

One of the guys grabbed Vanessa’s hair and pulled back her head.

“If you survive,” Maggie said with a grin. She let herself out and went home alone.

Chapter Nine

“Has anyone seen my sanity?” Maggie asked the next Friday morning as she accepted one of the frozen drinks Barb had brought in. “I lost it somewhere.” She stabbed a straw through the lid and took a grateful sip. Cold caffeine laced with chocolate hit her system, providing a much needed jolt. Not sleeping well for almost two weeks had caught up with her, leaving her mentally and emotionally weak. She’d worked dozens of extra hours, trying to stay busy and hoping David would finally speak to her.

“Did you look in the break room?” Barb asked. “Maybe it’s in that box of pastries. That’s where I found mine.”

“Pastries?” Gloria asked. She’d refused one of the milk-based drinks, but her tone went up an octave at the mention of sweets. “Any maple doughnuts?”

“I don’t know. I saw something with sprinkles, though.”

Gloria walked away.

“Will you bring me a petit four?” Barb called. “It will be my second,” she admitted to Maggie. “They’re so small, I figure I can eat about eight and only equal one piece of cake. Right?”

“I don’t judge.”

The front door opened and David walked in.

Breath vaporised in Maggie’s lungs. How was it possible for him to devastate her more every day?

His tailored navy blue suit emphasised the breadth of his shoulders and the colour of his eyes. His hair was getting longer, more rakish. He smelt shower-fresh, with a layer of masculine prowess.

“Morning, ladies.”

“I’ve got an extra chocolate caramel upside down latte, if you want it,” Barb said.

“I’ll just stick with coffee. Thanks,” he said.

Was Maggie the only one who felt the sizzling charge in the atmosphere?

He nodded and moved past her. She caught a glimpse of his supple leather belt and an erotic chill danced down her spine.

“Does he seem different to you?” Barb asked.

“In what way?”

“I don’t know, more distant.” Barb accepted the tiny pastry Gloria carried in. “I was just asking Mags if she thinks David seems different,” she said, including Gloria in the conversation.

“He’s always polite,” Gloria said. “In a frosty kind of way. He’s never given me the time of day. But I get what you mean. He spends more time in his office with the door closed than he ever has.”

At least Gloria was no longer making snide comments about his work habits. It would take a while for her to come around, but it was a start.

“See what I mean?” Barb asked.

Gloria sank her teeth into an éclair. “Damn, this is good.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Maggie said.

“We’re all being nicer and more respectful, like you told us to, but he seems to have become more remote. Maybe you could ask him if there’s something wrong,” Barb suggested.

“Me?” Maggie asked, horrified.

“He talks to you more than the rest of us.”

“Not true.”
Not anymore.

“It’s true,” Gloria disagreed. “You work more closely with him than anyone does.”

“Find out, Mags.”

She nodded since she couldn’t out-and-out lie.

“I need to check my email,” Gloria said as she licked cream from her finger and headed for her office.

“You didn’t tell her the filling is dairy,” Barb said.

“You tell her,” Maggie replied. “If you want me to talk to David, you have to deal with her. Only fair.”

“I guess both of us are keeping our mouths shut then?” Barb said with a grin, reaching for her treat.

She had a meeting with David to show him revisions to the new company’s logo. Even though he’d approved the eagle previously, she’d had one of the lines removed so that the talons appeared fiercer. It complemented the more streamlined lettering of the company name.

“I like it.” He signed his initials to the bottom of the page. “We’re still keeping it under wraps?”

“Of course.” It amazed her how natural it would have been to add the word Sir. Not just natural, but right.

He slid the paper across the conference room table towards her. “I miss you, Maggie.”

She froze.

“It’s probably better this way,” he said.

“Is it?” She could hardly force the words past the lump in her throat. “It’s not for me.”

“I’m a demanding bastard. I require any sub of mine to be honest and respectful at all times.”

“A submissive. Is that what I was to you?”

“I was hoping so. I thought we were moving that direction. Clearly it was not what you wanted.”

 She lowered her hands to her lap so he couldn’t see the way she was wringing them together beneath the table. The wall that faced the hallway was made of glass, so anyone passing by could see inside the room. This wasn’t where she would have chosen to have this discussion, where anyone could witness her humiliation, but she didn’t want to lose the opportunity. “It is what I want,” she confessed, voice raw. “I was out of line in more ways than one.” She took a breath, and he didn’t speak. Unsure if she’d have another chance to apologise, she continued, “You own the company, and I should have told you what I had done. I called your phone that day, but I could have,
should have
, left a message. Regardless, the relationship we have—or had—outside of the office demanded I show you more respect.” She blinked. “I’m not sure how to make it up to you, or if I can earn your forgiveness.”

He pressed his palms together in front of his face and tapped his index fingers.

The moment drew out over at least thirty excruciating seconds before he spoke.

“I want to be very clear about a few things. First, your immediate action saved the Hoskins Group account. Second, I see that you made systems changes to ensure it doesn’t occur again. I’m not happy the fuck-up happened to begin with, and I’m not happy we extended the term of the original agreement without giving the renewal due consideration.”

She absently picked at a cuticle.

“Where I take exception to your behaviour is with your deviousness.”

Maggie exhaled a shaky breath.

“You are supposed to be my most trusted adviser, Maggie. Is there another word that applies better? Distrustfulness, perhaps?”

That was worse. “No, Sir,” she said.

“Where do you want to go from here?” he asked, dropping his hands and leaning towards her.