Risking It All: London Calling Book Three (2 page)

“You’re right you won’t tell anyone.” Although she moderated her volume, Dominic felt her fury snap at him through the connection. “There won’t be anything to tell. We’re finished—I quit.”

“Now wait—”
 

MP killed the call. Frustrated, Dominic whirled out of his chair and paced the room. How could he have been so careless?
 

He would apologize. Beg her to reconsider. Going back to his desk, he typed out a text.
 

I’m sorry.
 

He waited, drumming his fingers. After several long moments, there was still no return message. Why was MP so secretive? She’d practically grown up in the public eye.
 

Forgetting her outraged protests, Dom slid his chair closer to the desk and leaned forward, peering at the monitor. His eyes rapidly scanned the information, beginning with the oldest press releases. About seven years ago, she had dropped off the radar, canceled her contracts, and disappeared.
 

He clicked a link, revealing dozens of hospital bills.
 

Dom’s belly knotted, and he couldn’t breathe deeply enough to fill his lungs. Without reading any further, he knew something terrible had happened to Madeleine Price. Shaking his head in unconscious denial, he closed the documents.
 

He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. Quite literally, he hurt for her.
 

Reaching over, Dom grabbed his phone to see whether she’d answered.
 

Nothing.
 

With a faint grimace, he tried again.
 

MP, please let me apologize. I didn’t know.

After a brief pause, she replied.

Because I didn’t want you to.

Dominic winced. She’d suffered, and he unwittingly layered on another injury.
 

He wondered if he was fatally flawed in some way, bringing pain and betrayal to those he cared about. Guilt rode him, but he decided the best approach was to leave her be. They’d only worked together about a year, and remotely at that. But he understood her enough to know she wouldn’t forgive this easily.

His mind leapt back to Natalie, another woman he’d failed. After his actions last year, she’d felt obligated to walk away from her career alongside Bennett Sterling. An abrupt departure from the financial sector usually signaled scandal. Dominic seriously doubted she had time to professionally bounce back.
 

He clicked over the possibilities. He hated to lose Moneypenny, but maybe there was a way to turn this around so he could help Nat.
 

Natalie was a PA, likely unemployed.

After today, Dominic had no assistant.

He would figure out how to make amends with MP. But for now, the solution was so obvious, so perfect.
 

Natalie couldn’t fail to see it that way herself.

***

Natalie Enfeld walked in a slow circle, surveying the empty rooms she’d called home for the past five years. Excitement warred with melancholy as she checked cupboards and closets, making sure nothing was left behind. The moving company had already done all of that, but she needed to see for herself. It gave her the chance to say goodbye.

She ran her hand over the wood mantelpiece, testing the ridges and grooves. In the early days, she’d sanded it herself after removing layer upon layer of chipped paint. Every week since, she’d lovingly waxed, buffed, or oiled it to preserve its smooth patina.
 

Letting her hand fall back to her side, she walked to the curved bay window. She’d installed seating that concealed hidden storage beneath padded cushions and pillows. Lush indigo velvet drapes hung on each side, pooling onto refinished oak herringbone floors.

She would miss it. Over and over, she turned it around in her mind. But in the end, she couldn’t stay in her beloved space without remembering Dominic. It took months for her to realize she was grieving the loss of him and everything they shared. No matter how much she loved her home, she wouldn’t stand for it to become a shrine to a man who’d betrayed and deceived her.

Natalie’s breath hitched. It was just a place, and she was about to discover another.
 

At least that’s what she told herself.

A knock on the door roused her from the bittersweet memories. She unlatched the chain and opened it to find a young delivery woman.
 

Natalie was surprised as she’d been expecting Sebastian Payne, her employer for the past nine months. He was supposed to be picking her up any minute now.

“Can I help you?”

“Ms. Natalie Enfeld?” The young woman brought a beautifully wrapped package out of a large carrier bag.
 

“Yes.” Natalie narrowed her eyes at the box. Shifting slightly backward, she made no attempt to take the parcel from the woman holding it out to her.

The delivery woman stepped forward. “This is for you.” She extended the present even further, giving Natalie no choice but to accept it.
 

“Thank you.” Natalie was being acutely awkward, so she focused on the other woman. She couldn’t be much more than a teenager. “Hold on a second.” Waving the delivery woman inside, she stepped over to the window seat and retrieved her purse. She extracted a few pound notes and held them out. “For you.”

After the girl left, Natalie turned the package over and over in her hands, eyeing it darkly. It was wrapped in embossed cream paper and tied with a deep crimson bow. It was the bow that told her everything.

She’d amassed a collection of them over the past ten months.

Walking over to the only place left to sit, she gingerly lowered herself on the window’s padded seat. She gave the box a shake then untied the heavy satin ribbon, placing it beside her. Removing the lid, she exerted the same reluctance she might exhibit opening a basket full of snakes.

A card lay atop matching dark-red tissue paper. It simply read,
Toff
.

Her heartbeat kicked to a stop then painfully restarted. She pressed her palm down hard on the seat beside her.

Why couldn’t he leave her be? Every time a delivery arrived, it was like Dominic ripped the scab off a slow-healing wound.
 

She was sick of it—sick of him. She was especially sick of the damning weakness that caused her breath to hitch every time she remembered him. His eyes, his hair, his wicked humor.

The way he kissed her.

She put the card aside without opening the message. Enough of this. Unable to stop herself, she peeked under the folds of tissue paper to see cellophane-wrapped toffee squares topped with glistening ganache.
 

Damn him.

Natalie told herself she preferred toffee plain, with no chocolate or nuts. Aggravated, she snapped the lid on the box before grabbing the card and rising to her feet. She would not allow him to do this to her.

She tramped down the hallway to the trash chute and tossed the card down. Eyeing the box of toffee, she couldn’t make herself dump it.

No, she’d give it to the doorman. He had a weakness for sweets.

She skipped the elevator and marched down three flights of stairs to the lobby. At each floor, her righteous indignation grew until she was simmering with temper.
 

How dare Dominic Martin try to get around what he’d done with a few candies?
 

Or the wine, gourmet teas, and flowers by the dozens. Even jewelry.

She cleared her throat, unconsciously fidgeting with the hammered gold bangle on her wrist.

Well, she wouldn’t throw away good accessories. If the man wanted to waste his money buying her expensive baubles, she’d accept them with nary a thank you. He was the fool for not getting the message when she refused to communicate.

Absently, she fingered the satin ribbon she’d tucked into her jacket pocket. By the time she reached the lobby, she’d coiled it into a neat roll.

The doorman swung around as she approached. “Ms. Enfeld! I’m glad I got to see you one more time.”

Natalie smiled warmly. She liked the older man, having gotten to know him the past few years. Already retired, he took the post to fend off boredom and give his wife of forty-five years a break from his presence. He said the job saved both sanity and marriage all in one go.

Natalie held out the box. “For you.”

His eyes twinkled a little. Natalie was certain he’d seen the delivery woman up to her flat. He took the outstretched package and wrested the box open. Seeing the toffee, he exclaimed, “Toffee! The missus loves the stuff.”

It was a running joke that the doorman blamed his wife for gobbling the candies and treats the residents gave him.

“I hope she enjoys them.” Turning around, Natalie felt a pang. She’d miss this too.

“Sure you don’t want to try one?”

She shook her head. At that moment she noticed a very tall, very large male walking through the front entrance. Stiffening her spine against thoughts of Dominic, she strode to greet her employer.

 
He looked up. “Hello Natalie.” His voice was deep and graveled. “Sorry, I ran a bit late.”

She smiled, relieved to see the one man she could count on. Nearly a year ago, he had helped her pick up the pieces of her shattered career. “That’s okay, you’re always running a little late.” He also disappeared sometimes, flying out of the country on last-minute business jaunts. She’d learned to expect the unexpected.

He returned her smile, transforming his strong features into something more approaching handsome. Lines crinkled outward from his dark eyes in a rare show of humor.
 

“You got me there,” he said. “Ready to go?”

Unspoken but tangible, Natalie soaked in his silent encouragement. He’d seen her at her worst, yet steadfastly retained his belief in her. He was generous and honest, something she’d desperately needed after the disaster with Dominic Martin.

Following his lead, she stepped out of the building to his waiting car and driver. She steeled herself from looking back.
 

It was past time to move forward.

***

Dominic jumped in a London taxi, leaning forward to speak to the driver. “Notes café near Trafalgar Square. Do you know it?” Dominic hoped so, because he’d be hard pressed to remember the exact address.

“I believe so. If not, I’ll get you close and you can direct me.” The driver nodded, shifted the cab into drive, and pulled forward. In practically no time, they slipped into London’s typical early traffic.

Dom relaxed back in his seat, watching the city speed by. Checking his watch, he thought he might barely make it on time. Rather remarkably, he’d skimmed into Chicago O’Hare just in time for his international flight. He blamed MP for cutting it close, since he had made a last-ditch attempt to make things up with her.
 

Unfortunately, that attempt at reconciliation was as ineffective as all the rest. So he chocked it up to experience, called his attorney, and made arrangements for one hell of a parting gift. During his poorly conceived foray into MP’s life, he couldn’t help but notice her financial situation.
 

It wasn’t nearly as good as it should have been, considering she started working as a child. Genuinely remorseful, he stopped himself from delving any further to find out why.
 

His trip out of Chicago suffered a minor delay. Between that and his actual flight time, he had plenty of time to contemplate the wisdom of his idea to ask Natalie to work for him.
 

The thing was, it was a perfect idea. She was more than qualified to do the work. Besides, costing her the job she loved had given him more than enough bad moments in the past year.
 

She’d quit her job with Sterling International after the truth came out behind Dominic’s plan. Now he would offer her a replacement position, well paid with more vacation than Bennett had offered.

Hell, he’d throw in some ownership stock to further sweeten the deal.

He planned the logistics throughout the flight, tying all the loose ends into a nice, neat bow. They were meeting for coffee and he could present the idea to her at that time.
 

Because of the delay, Dominic didn’t have time to check into his hotel or speak with Bennett and Devon. If he was completely honest, he didn’t mind putting off Devon. Although she professed forgiveness, he still saw shadows in her eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking.
 

He shifted in his seat, remembering the promise she extracted from him, his father, and John Sinclair.

At the time, he’d thought it a miracle the heat from her temper hadn’t singed them all into ash. After an hour of her fiery tirade, they gladly promised to stop bending and breaking laws. Devon insisted they reform, saying they would be better versions of themselves. Dominic thought it more like law-abiding, above-board, and boring versions of themselves, but he wisely kept his opinion to himself.

They honored her wishes, each committed to making up for their abandonment during the fallout from Bennett. John led the charge, mumbling something to Patrick about her being only one of two women that could make them clean up their act.
 

Dominic’s father laughed heartily, agreeing.

“Like it or not, she’s cut from the same cloth, John.”
 

John scowled back, but with a faint flush in his cheeks. Dominic couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it.

Actually, keeping their promises was simpler than he imagined. He was well established in his field. Adding his new contacts along with Bennett Sterling as a partner, he was a formidable force in the London business scene.

As for Moneypenny, prying through her details, current and past, didn’t seem like a breach of his word. His reasons were sound, and it wasn’t as though he could have anticipated the findings.

And he would keep her secrets. Hopefully, she’d see he meant no harm, and they could talk. It would probably happen sooner than later, considering his recent gift to her. He grinned, thinking how she might react. He was sorry to miss the show.