Kyle’s Bargain (9 page)

It didn’t take long for the sensual onslaught to drive her
over the edge into a series of spasms that jerked her body up and down. They
launched her into a place of sublime pleasure. Tenderness for the man who took
her there filled every nook and cranny of her being.

He waited until the spasms had subsided before he
repositioned himself over her and nudged his cock inside. For the first few
plunges he took it slow and easy, testing her readiness for him. Meg reached up
to wind her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his hips, urging him
deeper. He looked into her eyes and smiled at what he saw there.

It reassured him enough that on the next drive into her he
pushed all the way, taking it as deep as he could. Meg gasped as his cock
roused a new kind of pleasure inside, building the tension again. The pistoning
in and out grew faster and harder, taking her on another hell-for-leather trip
into pleasure land. They crashed together, bodies slapping against each other
and breath heaving in and out on urgent, sobbing pants. She’d never felt so
close to another human being, so much a part of him, so driven to give him
everything she had to give and take all he could offer in return.

They reached the climax at nearly the same time. It was
breathtaking, spectacular, a new height of sublime pleasure for Meg. She
couldn’t bear for it to end and wound her arms around him to hold him close.
She didn’t let go even when he rolled over to his side. Since he kept his arms
around her as well, it felt less like clinging and more like acknowledging the
closeness growing between them.

A sudden blast of panic speared through her as she held on
to him. This was almost too good, too much. Already she was getting too attached
to him. After only a few days. What would happen over the next few weeks? And
when it ended, would her heart be able to recover from the damage?

The numbers didn’t look good. Kyle studied them, worked them
one way and another and couldn’t find an easy answer. Even with the extra
financing, it was going to take some doing to get the development finished and
make it pay off in time. That should’ve weighed on his mind more than it did
right then.

Instead he struggled to stay focused on work that Thursday
morning, dragging his thoughts back time and again from reliving the night
before. It had been an amazing night, a revelation, piled on top of the
astonishment of the previous weekend.

His world had tilted. The path of his life might just have taken
a new curve. Nothing quite like Meg had happened to him before.

He hadn’t dated much since Rita had died. He’d tried a few
dinners with women he met at social events and even a couple set up by his
mother. Most of the women had bored him silly. One talked incessantly about her
work with animal charities. Whenever he tried to bring up another topic, she’d
twisted it back to her favorite set of rants. Two others chattered at great
length about inane television reality shows and gossiped about everyone they
knew. The only one who’d interested him enough that they made it to intimacy
proved to be so passive in bed it was like making love to a stuffed doll.

Then there were the women at the club. There were always
more subs—of both sexes—than there were good masters. And he was a good master.
He didn’t think that was just ego speaking. The number of women and men who
threw themselves at him suggested others shared the opinion. He used to be
flattered by it and enjoyed playing with a wide variety of subs, sometimes more
than one at a time. Until he met Rita, who’d seemed like the perfect match for
him, and then the perfect life partner. He hadn’t even been too upset when she
told him she was pregnant, the result of a failed condom. He remembered the one
that had leaked. They’d gotten married right away, in a hasty ceremony that
infuriated his family and puzzled his friends.

The buzzing of the phone jerked him out of his thoughts. He
groaned at the number displayed but didn’t dare not pick it up.

“What the hell are you doing?” his father asked. “I just got
a call from Conrad and he said you wanted more money to rearrange the project?”

Kyle sighed. This was the downside of using one of his
father’s best friends as the main banker on the project. The upside, of course,
was that he’d gotten the funds in the first place. “New information,” he said.
“The tenants in the Shale strip have a bunch of serious sob stories. The papers
were about to get hold of them and make a major stink about it.” Yeah, it was a
lie but not much of one. Given how clever and persistent Meg Travis was, that
would probably have been her next step. “I’m making an end run. Rearrange a bit
and I come off looking like a white knight and I don’t have to mess with a long
legal or PR fight.”

His father hesitated for a moment before he said, “That’s BS
and you know it. They wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. The delays could potentially cost us more
than rearranging. And this way we come out looking like the good guys.”

“I hear there’s a woman involved. A very pretty one. And
you’ve been seen with her.”

“She represents the tenants there. And yes, I’ve taken her
to dinner a couple of times.”

“You’re out of your mind, Kyle. She’s a complication you
don’t need.”

Anger fired in his gut but he squashed it down. “Actually,
she may be exactly what I need. In more ways than one.”

Fortunately Jana, their marketing director, knocked on the
door to distract him.

“I’ve got to go,” he told his father. “Meeting in two
minutes. It’s not what you think with Meg.”

“Better not be. You don’t need another woman leading you
around by the balls like Rita did.”

Anger turned to fury. Fortunately he wasn’t alone or he
might have said something they’d both regret. Instead he just muttered, “Talk
to you later,” and set the phone down with more care than needed.

Jana raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on it, saying
instead, “I’ve got the groundbreaking ceremony set for ten o’clock tomorrow.
The newspapers and Channel Four will be covering. Maybe a couple of the other
networks. They wouldn’t commit, but they’ll come unless you get trumped by
something glorious or gruesome. Are you sure about the woman and girl showing
up? I promised the media guys a warm, fuzzy human-interest angle.”

“They’ll be there.”

“My name’s going to be mud if they don’t. Without them it’s
just another shopping center.”

“She promised.”

“Okey-doke.” Jana hesitated and looked as though she wanted
to stay and talk, but Kyle bent back toward his computer. He didn’t want to be
rude, but she was one of several single women in the office who’d shown
interest in being more than just coworkers. He didn’t want to encourage any of
them. He didn’t want to encourage any woman right now.

Except… He was perversely happy to have a reason to call Meg
and hear her voice.

She answered on the third ring. He explained about the
groundbreaking and why he needed both her and Laurie to attend. For a few long
seconds she said nothing and a curl of unease twisted in his stomach.

He heard her sigh through the line. “I’ll have to take
Laurie out of school for it, and that’s likely to make her a bit grumpy. She
doesn’t like anything messing with her routine.”

“I’m sorry, but this really is important.”

“You’re selling the softer side of Ryder & Harrison to
the public?”

“And to the investors and suppliers, but that’s pretty much
the idea. I need it to work too, to make the changes possible. Otherwise there
won’t be a Ryder & Harrison to have a softer side.”

She sucked in a breath. “You’re that far out on the limb?”

He thought about the figures he’d reviewed that morning.
“I’m that far out on a limb. Even if the banks do buy into it—and that’s far
from a sure thing—it’ll take three more years than we projected to recoup the
extra cost.”

She remained quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
realize what I was asking.”

“I know. But I have a conscience too, even if I’ve sometimes
tried to ignore it.”

“We’ll be there,” Meg said. “I’ll tell Laurie it’s because
you’re doing something important and I’d like her to see it. She… She thinks
highly of you, so that might make it worth it for her.”

“Some of the reporters may want to talk to you afterward and
take pictures.”

“Okay. I’ll be ready.” She laughed lightly. “I’m working on
my lines now. But you have to stay away. The words could be damaging to your
ego.”

“My ego can take a lot.”

“I know, but inflation would be harmful to its health.”

He choked for a moment then laughed out loud. “I wonder if
it’s safe to give you the ‘talking points’ my PR person came up with.”

“Those are the things she wants me to say to the media?”

“More or less. It’s also about shading those things to give
it the slant you want.”

“I figure it’s a lot about how great Ryder & Harrison
are to adapt their plans to avoid disrupting a bunch of little people with big
problems.”

“Right, but can we talk about it in nobler terms?”

“
Noblesse oblige
? Oh please!”

He laughed again. “Not that thick. But be sure to mention
all the people we talked to and how their lives and livelihood would have been
disrupted if I’d gone ahead with the original plan. And a couple of other
things…”

For the next ten minutes they discussed what she should tell
the press and how to handle various questions. He found himself laughing a
couple more times and turned back to the numbers in a lighter mood. Meg would
handle the reporters. She’d have them eating out of her hands, in fact.

It jolted him to realize he’d laughed more in the last few
days than he had all of the last year. Maybe the last several years. Of course
Rita’s illness and passing had been a time for struggle and mourning, but in
truth he hadn’t started to pull out of it until he’d met Meg.

He went back to juggling numbers in a better mood until it
occurred to him that Meg was only committed to seeing him for a few more weeks.
She’d probably want to continue the relationship, but he needed to tell her a
few things first. After hearing those, she might not be as interested.

* * * * *

The weather cooperated on Friday, presenting them with
near-perfect conditions—warm but not too hot, the slightest of breezes and the
deep blue sky of a low-humidity, late-spring morning. He noted that several of
the DC television networks had sent crews. A considerable crowd had already
gathered by the time he arrived and a steady stream of newcomers drove up
afterward.

He glanced around, searching for Meg but didn’t see her.
Just before panic set in, he looked up from talking to Jana and saw Meg walking
across the street toward them with her sister at her side.

Laurie didn’t run to him and hug him as she had before, but
she waved and smiled enthusiastically. He suspected Meg must have discussed
with her how to act for this. He saw no sign of any ill humor in the girl, just
a wide-eyed wonderment as she looked around at all the people. After a moment
she stepped closer to her sister, as if the crowd disturbed her.

Jana tapped on the microphone to draw attention and began
the proceedings. She gave a few preliminary remarks that included hints of what
he would say then he made the short speech she’d written and he’d revised. It
explained his original conception and how he’d altered it when he’d learned
about the hardship it would cause some existing tenants. He introduced Meg and
Laurie as examples and suggested Meg would be willing to answer any questions
the media had.

Finally the talks ended and he and his partner Gary Ryder
took up a pair of shovels decorated with bows and bangles. They each managed to
collect a shovelful of dirt and toss it to the side. Applause followed. Jana
stepped up to the microphone one last time to invite everyone to the tent set
up on the side for quick refreshments.

Kyle found himself surrounded by reporters with questions,
mostly about the difficulty of changing his plans and could he really pull it
off? Wouldn’t it cause him huge problems? He tried to sound more confident than
he felt when he assured everyone that he could indeed manage it. Yes, he’d take
a hit, but weren’t peoples’ lives more important than the money?

A few of the more experienced journalists gave him lifted
eyebrows and cynical twists of the mouth, but others ate it up. He tried to
keep an eye on Meg, but the throng around him prevented any sight of her. He
wished he could hear what she might be saying as well, and not just to feed his
ego. His own livelihood could be riding on her presenting the right image.

Eventually the newspeople drifted off to file their reports
or cover other stories. Kyle shook off Jana and Gary when he saw Meg and Laurie
walking across the field, heading back to the store. He strode after them,
calling for Meg.

She finally heard and turned then stopped to wait for him to
catch up.

“How’d it go with the media?” he asked her.

“I thought it went well enough, but you’ll have to check the
six o’clock news to see, won’t you?”

“Can you have lunch with me?” He hadn’t known he was going
to do that. He’d have to explain to his coworkers why he wouldn’t be eating
with them but…

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to get Laurie back
to school and there’s no one to watch the store.”

“Dinner tonight, then?”

A look of pain crossed her face. “I can’t. I have a meeting
with one of Laurie’s teachers.”

He was pushing this like a lovesick teenager. Kyle hoped it
was real regret and not compassion for his idiocy he saw in Meg’s expression.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait until Saturday then.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Really. I’d love to have dinner
with you, but it’s just not in the cards tonight.”

“Reserve next Wednesday for me, if you can.”

“I’ll check the calendar, but I think I’m free.” She watched
him for a moment as though she hated to say goodbye. Or maybe that was just his
hopeful imagining.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he said. “Ready at seven?”

She nodded. Her smile had a tinge of bittersweet. “See you
then.”

He had a hard time concentrating on the conversation during
lunch. Gary, who knew him pretty well, gave him a couple of odd looks and shook
his head at least once but covered for him when his mind wandered.

“I think your girl did pretty well,” Gary said when the
conversation veered past the speeches and limped over a few lame jokes about
their digging skills. “She’s good with the media…had those reporters eating out
of her hand. And she made you sound like a candidate for canonization.”

“I hope she didn’t lay it on too thick.”

“Don’t think so,” Gary answered. “I’d say she got it just
about right.”

Jana nodded and agreed. “She handled it pretty well—the
right blend of gratitude and admiration, concern and anticipation.”

That afternoon he forced himself to concentrate on the
numbers, though what he saw didn’t make him at all happy. Still, if the bank
would up their credit line by twenty percent, he thought they could pull it
off.

Kyle left the office earlier than usual so he could be home
in time for the six o’clock news. Traffic on the highway was the usual godawful
mess and he got home with only a few minutes to spare. Competing with politics,
murders and a scandal in the local police department, a groundbreaking for a
suburban Maryland shopping center got shoved to the bottom of the list for the
two networks that actually ran coverage. He had to flip back and forth between
channels but they didn’t overlap too much so he was able to watch most of each
report.