Taming the Boss Lady [Masters of Submission 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (7 page)

Savoring the seductive atmosphere, she couldn’t stop her voice dropping a note or two. “I want what you’re offering, Matthew.”
I want it so badly, I can taste it.

He handed her a pen and notepad. “Next time, I’ll introduce you to more play techniques. Now we understand each other, it’s time to raise the stakes.”

The next day

With her heart in her mouth, Kelly’s car screeched to a halt in the hospital parking lot. How many times had she made this journey in the last few days? Five? Every time the call came through, she’d rush straight over. Somehow, her father had always managed to rally, but this time she feared the worst. Not bothering to secure her car, she rushed headlong for the main building.

As she strode down the corridor, her mind overflowed with intrusive what-if thoughts. What if…what if…what if…

Outside her father’s private room she took a deep breath, composed herself, and then pushed open the door. In the subdued lighting he looked small and wizened. His once-powerful body seemed to dissolve into the bedding. She had to hold back her tears as the monitor sounded out the fast but irregular rhythm of his heart.

A nurse sat beside him whom she recognized. She forced an unconvincing smile when she saw Kelly. “We’re making him as comfortable as possible, Ms. McCloud.” She watched her pull the oxygen mask from his face before gently wetting his lips with a sponge. His tongue snaked out and swiped away the moisture. “He’s still responding a little. He’s a strong man.”

Kelly’s voice croaked with emotion. “Yes, he is.” Her father had always been a larger-than-life character and to see him like this broke her heart. His maverick personality had suited the industry he’d dominated for the last forty years. Jed McCloud had become a legend in his own lifetime.

The nurse patted her hand as she walked past. “I’ll leave you alone with your father, Ms. McCloud. If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”

“Thank you so much. I appreciate your concern.” She sat down in the chair next to the bed, and squeezed his hand. “Hi, Dad. It’s Kelly. I’m here.” She knew her voice was shaky, but she didn’t care. She wondered if he even knew she was there, perhaps he didn’t—whatever, at this stage of his life, she just wanted to be with him.

With the exception of herself, her father had insisted on no visitors. He was a proud man, and would hate anyone seeing him in such a weakened, debilitated state. Here lay a man who’d sunk oil wells with his bare hands. A man who’d found oil where nobody else thought it existed.

“You proved them all wrong, didn’t you, Dad.”

Kelly tenderly smoothed her fingers through his thinning silver hair. No man could match her father. “You outwitted them all, and made a fortune in the process.”
But at what cost? Did it make you happy?

She wanted to shout out,
because I’m not
, but didn’t. Instead she pulled her chair closer to the side of the bed, and gently stroked the back of his hand. “They broke the mold when they made you, Dad.” All her adult life, she’d been looking for a man as powerful as her father—an inspirational risk taker, with a gung ho attitude to life. Did that man even exist?

Her thoughts drifted to Matthew Strong. He was the only man who fit her demanding criteria. But she was a realist, and knew full well that Club Submission was selling a fantasy, nothing more than that.

Jed McCloud’s fingers suddenly flexed around hers.

“Dad, you’re awake.”

“They can’t keep…this old dog…down.” His voice was frail, and faltered with each breath he took.

“Shhh, rest now, I need you. You’re my rock.”

“You’ll be…fine…Kelly… Just fine… You don’t need me…anymore. I’m sorry if I…”

“Don’t speak, Dad. Rest.”

“There’s plenty of…rest where…I’m going.”

With tear-filled eyes she smoothed her hand over his, then squeezed it tightly.
“I need you to stay here with me.”

He sighed, and she thought he’d fallen back to sleep. Then he wearily said, “You remind…me so much…of your mother…Kelly.” Her father rarely spoke of her. The memories had always been too painful for him.

“Don’t talk, Dad, save your energy.”

“Kelly…there’s not much time…I need to say these things. It broke my heart when…Mary died. Every night I would go to sleep empty…but when I woke…and I saw you…my heart would fill again. You kept me going…Kelly. I see you sitting there…and it’s like she’s here with me now.”

Kelly held a hand to her chest, her lower lip trembling as she tried to rein in her emotions. “She is, Dad. She’s watching over us both.”

He nodded, his silver gaze moist with unshed tears. “I didn’t…mean to take…your childhood away… I was so focused on the business…I couldn’t see what was right before…my eyes. You, my beautiful daughter.”

“Shhh, Dad, I wouldn’t change a single thing. I had a wonderful childhood, because I got to spend it with you.”

“I know you’ll…make a good job of…McCloud Energy.”

“I’ll never fill your shoes though, Dad. No one could.”

“Kelly.” His voice was barely audible, and she leaned in closer. “You’ll do just great…You already…have the board eating out of…your hand…I know you have plans.” He gently touched her arm. “Follow your gut…instinct. It’s what we McClouds do best.”

When he coughed up a little blood, and his eyes crinkled shut she knew the end was close. She wiped away the blood with a handkerchief.

“Dad, I’ll call the doctor.” Tears welled in her eyes. She was finding it hard to control her emotions.

He shook his head. “No…no need for doctors. Just wet my lips…sweet pea… They’re so damned dry.”

Kelly squeezed the damp sponge to his lips and watched him suck a little moisture for relief.

He coughed up some more blood, and shifted uneasily in the bed. A deep mournful sigh left his lips. “Kelly…don’t ever have regrets…they eat away at you.”

She patted the blood from his lips with her handkerchief. “Rest, Dad, rest.” She smoothed her hand over his furrowed brow, letting him know she was there, always.

“I had a second chance at love…but I was too wrapped up in…McCloud Energy. If only I’d made the time… Don’t make the same mistake as…your old man.”

“Shhh, I won’t. I promise.”

She looked at her lovely father lying small and wizened in the hospital bed. He’d given everything to McCloud Energy. He’d given his life. She wouldn’t make the same mistake. Her thoughts drifted to Matthew. She’d be damned if she’d let him slip through her fingers.

Kelly squeezed her father’s hand. “I love you, Dad.”

He squeezed her hand back. “I love you…too…sweet pea.” At that precise moment she felt at one with her father, and knew she would miss him immensely. She dragged her teeth over her quivering lower lip, trying to quell the emotions bubbling just beneath the surface.

When he drifted into a deep rasping sleep, Kelly laid her head next to his, listening to his breathing, knowing full well that he was close to the end. Each breath was slower and shallower than the last as his lungs struggled to fill with air.

The nurse returned to check on her father. She studied his vital signs on the monitor, shook her head and then patted her shoulder.

“Do you think he can still hear me?” Kelly asked.

“I’m sure he can. The hearing is the last sense to go. I’ll leave you to share what little time is left with your father.” With those final words the nurse walked from the room.

“Dad,” she whispered. “You were the best father a girl could ever wish for.” Kelly smoothed her hand over his brow as her father’s breathing faltered. After what seemed an eternity, he took another ragged breath, unwilling to quit life just yet. Suddenly, a sharp exhale left his lips, and his eyes flew wide open. His beautiful silver-gray eyes stared directly at her, then he spoke, his once powerful voice a mere whisper. “Mary…baby…you…came…I knew…you…would.”

The most wonderful human sigh flowed from his semi-parted lips, and then he was still. His soul and indomitable spirit had finally left this world. All that remained was his weakened body, and the flatline sounding out on the monitor.

Kelly unashamedly let her tears flow. She leaned over him and kissed his forehead. “Goodbye, my love.” With a serene smile on his lips, he looked like he’d just fallen asleep. Huge teardrops poured from her eyes and dripped onto his cheek. “You’re with Mom now.” He’d loved her mother deeply. “I’m so gonna miss you.” She caressed his face, and with a quavering voice, said, “Goodbye Jed McCloud. Until we meet again, sleep well, and God Bless.”

Six days later

Matthew glanced at his watch as he circled the club for the final time that night. Although he was tired, he still had those damned accounts to see to. As joint owner of Club Submission, it was his job to make sure its members were happy with the service provided. The personal touch was essential to the smooth running of the club. He would make a point of calling all members by their names, regardless of whether they were real or fictional. He believed the individual touch paid dividends, and kept their members coming back, time after time. Good manners cost nothing, and he only had to look at his bank statements to know he was doing something right.

As he wearily pushed open the door marked “Private,” to gain access to the office, Ethan came running up behind him, and slapped him on the back. If he weren’t so tired, he’d have quenched his kid brother’s enthusiasm with a playful punch to the ribs. “Hey, Matt, you’ll never guess what I found out today, while I was waiting for the dentist to see me.”

“No, but I figure you’re about to tell me, whether I want to hear it or not.”

“I know who the Raven
really
is.” The way Ethan emphasized the word “really,” intrigued him.

“You mean, Kelly?”

“You bet.” Ethan slapped a rolled up copy of
The Oilman
magazine into his hand as they entered the office. “It’s all in here, big bro.”

Curious now, Matthew leaned back in his executive chair and placed his booted feet on the desk. He studied the front cover of the glossy magazine. “So what the fuck am I looking for, Ethan? It’s late, and I’m tired.” Apart from it being three months old, there seemed nothing unusual about the publication. He opened it up, and idly flicked through the pages. Still nothing of any real interest. There was an article on a recent oil disaster in Venezuela, and talk about the price of gas going up at the pumps.

Ethan lounged lazily in a chair. He was pissed at his younger brother for wasting his time. “Since when were you interested in the oil industry?”

“Since I had time to kill at the dentist this morning, waiting for the fucking Novocain to take effect. Four fucking injections I had. Root canal work is not to be recommended.
The Oilman
was the only magazine worth reading in the waiting room. That is of course, unless you’re into cookery, and soft furnishings. So I glanced through it to take my mind off things.” Ethan was clearly irritated. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Matt. My jaw still hurts. Just turn to page twenty-two will you, and then you’ll learn the truth about your beautiful Raven. I told you I recognized her. I must have looked through that very magazine the last time I was at the dentist.”

Matthew felt torn between wanting to know, yet wishing to respect Kelly’s privacy. She’d tearfully phoned him four days ago, and told him her father had passed away. She sounded so distraught and lost. Kelly couldn’t say when or even if she’d see him again. He was very disappointed, but had wished her well. Losing a loved one was hard enough, and he didn’t want to add to her distress by making selfish demands on her. He was unhappy that their relationship had seemingly ended before it had properly begun. Until she felt well enough to contact him again, there was nothing more he could do.

It was a real shame. They’d been so fucking great together. They were like two peas in a pod, and it saddened him to think he might never see his beautiful Kelly again. When he’d taken her back to his place, the sexual chemistry between them had been so intense. It was off the scale. The way she’d looked into his eyes as he’d fucked her made him feel like the luckiest guy on the planet. There was so much he wanted to show her and share with her, but other than her cell phone, which had been switched off for the last four days, he had no means of contacting her. All he could do was sit back and hope she called. Fuck it, he should have insisted on her address, too.

With a deep sigh, he opened the magazine to page twenty-two and immediately sat bolt upright in his chair. He was so surprised by what he found that his boots skidded off the desk and landed heavily on the floor.

Ethan chuckled. “I thought that would get your attention.”

Matthew studied the news article intensely. Could this be true? There was a double-page spread on McCloud Energy, and he couldn’t help swearing out loud when he saw a full-size photograph of an attractive young woman. She leaned elegantly against a corral fence, stroking a beautiful black stallion. It was unmistakably Kelly. The sunlight enhanced her wonderful glossy hair, and glinted alluringly in her scintillating silver eyes. The headline read.
Boss Lady. Meet the new acting CEO of McCloud Energy. Twenty-nine years old, Kelly McCloud takes over from her sick father. She’s tough, outspoken, and highly professional. If anyone can keep McCloud Energy on track, it’s the daughter of legendary, Jed “Digger” McCloud.