Assets (Balance Sheet #1)

by Shannon Dermott

  “Yes,” I said, wanting more of his mouth. Yet, I restrained myself. We were in close quarters with someone else. It seemed a bit rude to put on a display. We didn’t talk, but again there wasn’t any privacy. Instead he placed a warm palm on my thigh and let it slowly descend towards my intimate depths, sending my pulse racing.

  Alarmed, I turned and looked up at him. Mischief was writing all in his expression. His sly expression said he knew exactly what he was up to. Once his hand hit pay dirt, I sucked in a breath. His thumb expertly stroked over my nub, sending my body into a frenzy. It took my whole being not to arch my back and moan in pleasure. His grin spread and I could feel my own dampness spread. The SUV came to a stop and his hand moved slowly away as not to draw attention to what he’d been doing.

  The driver got out and opened the door for us. Being that I was on the side nearest to the open door, the driver helped me out and Kalen was right behind me. We were inside a parking garage, sub level I assumed. My attention had been focused on Kalen and not where we were going. Therefore, I wasn’t sure where we were. Another door opened and we went inside, immediately entering an elevator. I caught a glimpse of woodworking on the walls that looked expensive before Kalen trapped me in a corner.

  His mouth was hot and warm on mine. Taking his tongue deep, I tangoed with him, giving as good as he gave. His hands were on my hips, sliding underneath the fabric of my dress. “I need you, Lass.” Just as a finger delved underneath the lace boy shorts I wore, the elevator dinged. Pulling back, he said, “I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

  The finger that had touched my most intimate part slipped between his lips. His tasting of me was as erotic this time as it had been the first. Breathless, he took my other hand and we walked out onto a rooftop wonderland. Encased in glass, we were greeted with a table set for two and an open fire pit that danced with flames. All around, we had a view of the New York skyline. On the other side of the pit was a pool, also in the enclosure. There were doors on the pool end that led outside. But there really was no reason to bare the elements. The roof was vast and the half we stood on only held the one table. This private dinner was specifically and only for us.

  “Kalen,” I breathed. The table was set with a candle as fire light. It was warm here and he reached to help me out of my coat.

  Sucking in a breath, he handed my coat to the waiter, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Then he handed the guy his coat. Kalen said something to the guy and the waiter left saying, “Very good, sir.”

  Looking around, I turned in a three-sixty, trying to figure out just what part of the city we were in. We hadn’t driven long. And then I spotted it. I saw the park and knew we weren’t too far from there. Taking my hand, he spun me around. “Aye, ye a bonnie lass.”

  Giggling, I asked, “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re absolutely stunning.” Tugging me close, his hand snuck in the slit in the back of my dress, sending shivers through me at the touch of his hand on my bare skin. “You tempt me too much tonight. I’m trying my best not to maul you.” He walked me over to the table and pulled out my chair. I sat and he sat across from me.

  When the waiter appeared again out of thin air, I began to wonder if he waited in the shadows or if we were on close circuit camera. In his hand, he held a bottle of wine for Kalen’s approval. When Kalen nodded, the man uncorked the wine and poured Kalen a finger full. After tasting, he nodded again, giving the waiter a signal to pour us both a generous portion. With nothing else to do, I took the glass and tasted. The flavors bloomed on my tongue. “This is very good.”

  “That it is,” he said. “But it holds nothing to the taste of your natural nectar.”

  My face filled with heat. Thank goodness a couple of waiters walked in with our first course. Damn Kalen and his sexy way of eating. It was hard to enjoy the food without squirming in my seat. The dinner was a well orchestrated machine. The food was brought in, timed well so that we didn’t really have time to talk much other than commenting on the meal and making small talk.

  After dessert, he leaned back. The waiters swept the food away. “You didn’t get to tell me about your beginnings.”

  “Not much to tell,” I began. He had told me a little about his past, so I felt compelled to do the same. “My family believes that technology ruined the world. We live a simple life in a community of like-minded people.”

  “Are you Amish?” he asked.

  Not at all totally comfortable spilling my past, I said, “No, not exactly. Close but no.” He didn’t asked more, but his silence clearly stated that he waited for me to tell more. “We do have technology and use some electricity, but it is not in our homes. And it’s used for business purposes that the world demands and limited access for emergencies. But for the most part we live off the land and raise our own livestock and crops.”

  “And what made you leave?”

  That was the million dollar question. I wasn’t sure if I should explain about Turner. I decided that it wasn’t really important. It wasn’t like I would ever see Turner again. I wasn’t planning on ever going back home. There wasn’t a place for me there anymore. “My mom was kind of like your mom. She wasn’t from the community and met my father at market. She fell in love and married him, moving to the community where he’d grown up. She encouraged me to live my own life and leave home if it wasn’t where my heart was.” It was the simplest explanation that I could think of. But there had been so much more.

  Unnerved speaking about the past I tried to keep buried, I rose from my chair and drifted out the doors and into the frigid night. Standing against the brick wall that separated me from falling over the edge of the building, I held onto the metal pole that was welded on top like a railing. I leaned over the side to watch the city that never slept, move with life.

  Kalen’s silent approach shocked me when he covered me with his warmth and kissed my ear. Turning in his embrace, I pressed closer to him and his heat. His hand slipped in between my legs, fingers slipping in between the lace and, like that, my panties lost against his determination. With dexterity, he hoisted me up on the brick wall with my bottom pressed into the rail. His arms looped in between mine to grasp my shoulders. I held onto the rail as he rammed into me full to the hilt. My upper body hung over the edge of the building with nothing but my hands on the rail and his on my shoulders to keep me from falling to my death. His plunder in and out with solid thrust and the thrill of weightlessness as my hair swung with each slap of his balls, undid me.

  I had no time to wonder when and how he got his pants down as pleasure swelled within me. “You’re so wet and tight. I’m not going to last.”

  My climax built like a brick wall only to shatter at its peak. I screamed his name into the night as he continued his assault on me. It didn’t take long before he spilled inside me with his own guttural noise of pleasure. Pulling me up, he took my mouth with the same fever he’d taken me over the edge moments before.

  When his arms changed position and took me around the waist and lifted me under my ass, he bent down still inside me and pulled up his pants. Walking us inside, I wondered what this man couldn’t do. He was still hard and I was slick with our commingled wetness.

  On my way outside, I hadn’t really taken stock of the pool side. Kalen slipped out of me and stood me on my feet. I looked to see that we were in front of a deck table and chairs. When I looked back at him, he stepped over to me. His arms around my back, he undid the top button of my dress, sliding the material off my shoulders. The clasp of my bra was quickly released to fall down my arms. At my waist, he unzipped the skirt portion of the dress, letting it pool at my feet. I stood in ruined panties, which he quickly dispatched.

  “What if someone comes in?” I protested weakly, enthralled by this man.

  “No one is coming,” he said, starting to unbutton his shirt. I used my nimble fingers to help him hasten the task. I pushed his shirt and jacket off him much in the same fashion he’d done my dress. His p
ants had already fallen and I kneeled to pull down his boxer briefs. His hard cock sprang in my face and I dived in to taste him, tasting myself in the process. “Fuck, Lass,” he said, fisting his hand in my hair.

  Leaning his hips back, he pulled out of my mouth. Taking my hand, he helped me back to my feet. “Lean over and grip the edge.” It was clear he meant the table. I hesitated. “Do it,” he commanded.

  And I found myself unable not to comply. On my stomach, he wormed his way in between my legs, pushing them further apart. His large hand splayed under my belly and raised me up as he slid inside of me. Moaning my pleasure, he eased in and drew back with the same slow movement. His strokes hit that spot inside that built a sweet sensation. Nibbling on my shoulder and my neck, he made me cry out. Meeting him thrust for thrust, I held on as he tweaked my breast and stroke my clit. Unable to touch him, I was disappointed yet thrilled at the same time.

  The crescendo to crest the peak was like no other before. As it turns out, I was a screamer. Never before, but it seemed like I could do nothing else but scream when I came each and every time with Kalen. He followed me to bliss soon after.

  Limp, I lay underneath him, trying to regain my wits. Turning my head, he captured my mouth and kissed me senseless. Once we finally stood, his eyes bore into me as I stood naked except for a pair of boots. “You are a vision,” he said before looking at the pool.

  Taking steps back, I said, “Oh, no. I’m not going swimming.”

  “Can you swim?” he asked.

  “Yes, but I’m too tired. And my boots.”

  “I suggest you take them off or they are going to get wet.” Shaking my head, I ran with nowhere really to go. He caught me easily and helped me out of my boots. “I’ll hold on to you.”

  And in we went. The water was warm and, true to his word, he held on. We ended up against the wall making out like teenagers. Eager and every bit hotter, he even fucked me one more time for good measure. With my back against the side of the pool, he said, “I want you to stay with me tonight.” The way he said it, it sounded like a but was coming. “I have an early flight in the morning. You are welcome to stay at my place for as long as you want, or I can take you home.”

  I thought about Lizzy who’d asked me once if I’d yet to see his place, but the idea of staying at his place alone wasn’t comforting. “I guess I’ll go home,” I said, reluctantly. “How long will you be gone?” I asked, disappointed.

  “I’ll be gone about a week if things go well.” Kissing me again, he said, “If you’re not coming home with me, I’m going home with you.”

  And so after toweling off and getting dressed, we ended up in my bed making love one more time before I finally fell asleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  After waking, my Sunday was spent alone. It was lonely in the apartment without Lizzy and Kalen. I ended up working and did some light cleaning around the apartment. Lizzy had a cleaning service, but I was bored and didn’t want to think too much. I could feel I was getting in too deep with this man. My dependency on his presence was growing. I longed for his touch and sleeping without him was going to be a chore.

  By Monday morning, I was in a foul mood. Kalen had called me to let me know he’d made it in. He was in East Asia and I knew a week would feel like eternity. Determined to get back to my routine, I tried to push thoughts of him aside and dive into work with vigor.

  My current task completed, I was in a holding pattern waiting for the company’s accounting people to get me information from my request so I could move forward. Anna was out with the flu, so I had no one to chat with. My progress through more accounts only showed more of the same odd transactions. This was definitely a pattern worth looking into. If it was all the same bank, I might have dismissed it like Kevin asked me to. However, there were multiple banks. This smelled wrong.

  By the afternoon, I walked over to the clerk’s desk to put on the pressure. “Sorry to bother you,” I said. “Have you by chance gotten any of the documentation I requested?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, handing me a stack of papers. Nervously, she looked towards the fish bowl of her supervisor’s office before looking back at me. “I haven’t gotten the wire request you asked for yet. I’m still waiting on the bank to send me that information.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help? Would you like me to try and contact the bank?” I asked sweetly.

  Shaking her head, she said, “I’ll call again today.”

  I nodded and told her thank you before I left, heading towards the elevators to get back to the floor they kept us on. Once I rounded the corner, I heard her supervisor call her into his office and knew what would come next.

  It didn’t take long for the guy to make his way to our conference room to speak to Kevin. They stood outside the room to chat. Kevin looked back through the glass at me a couple of times. That made it easy to know I was the topic of conversation. When the guy left and Kevin walked in, I braced myself.

  “I’m confused why you are still asking about those miscellaneous wires.” His arms were folded, and even Jim looked up only to quickly look back to his laptop, feeling the storm that was about to blow through.

  Holding my ground, I explained everything to Kevin. I showed him my spreadsheet with all the charges that looked like bank fees and the miscellaneous wires. He couldn’t deny that things looked suspicious. “I agree it’s weird. But total that.”

  Hitting the sum button, I totaled the miscellaneous fees after sorting the data not to include the legitimate bank fees. The amount was minimal when compared to the total balance of the bank accounts. “There may be a problem, but it really isn’t worth the time to pursue.” I was about to argue when he held up a hand. “Look into the top five largest accounts and see if you find the same issue and get me your results. But I also need you to check the online confirms for banks before you leave tonight.”

  He’d given me a green light but put a stumbling block in my path. It was already getting late and they had a ton of accounts. Determination became my middle name. When I looked up after completing my task, I was alone. Kevin and Jim had left an hour earlier. Submitting my finding to Kevin via e-mail, I packed up. It was dark outside the glass windows of the room I was in. We’d been told that the lights were on a movement timer for conservation. Obviously, I was the last on the floor. When I stepped out, the light blinked on and I hastily made my way to the elevators. The lobby was equally deserted with only a lonely guard whose face was buried in a newspaper when I exited the building, grateful for the city that never slept. Pedestrians were headed about, making me feel less alone.

  At home, I ate a quick dinner. Lizzy texted me, she’d be out. I was beginning to miss her. She was hardly home these days, spending much of her time at her gallery or with Hans.

  When my phone rang, I reached for it like a heat-seeking missile, hoping Kalen was on the other end.

  “Hey you,” I said once I had the phone to my ear.

  “My Irish rose, I need to see you.”

  “I wish I could see you too,” I replied, soaking in his brogue that did wicked things to my insides.

  “Skype me. If I can’t touch you, I need to see you.”

  “Can I Facetime you instead?”

  Giving his consent, I set it up and got my fill of my Highlander. “What are you wearing under that tank top?”

  “This,” I said, pulling down a little to give him a peak of my cleavage.”

  “You like to tease, do you now?” he asked.

  Grinning, I said, “If you were here, then I’d show you how much I’m not a tease.”

  Groaning, he said, “I’m going to have to teach you another lesson about not teasing me when I’m about to head into a meeting.”

  That promise made me instantly wet. “Talk about a tease.”

  His husky laugh went well with his gorgeous face. I still couldn’t believe this man was mine or kind of mine. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Always.”

&nbs
p; “Assets,” I began.

  Even through the tiny screen, I could see that his eyes grew heavy. “And what a fine ass you have.”

  Tilting my head back on a laugh, I said, “Assets, not ass.” I shook my head a little and let my eye look north for a second to try and keep my head out of the gutter.

  Chuckling, he added, “Yes, you have very nice assets. Besides your ass, your breasts make my mouth water. Your balance sheet is so in line with an acquisition or rather I like the idea of a hostile takeover. And your -,”

  Clearly teasing me, he knew to what I was referring when he referenced a well known business term such as balance sheet. So I cut him off before we got sidetracked. I smirked before I said, “It about business assets.” Then I told him about my problem at work. I didn’t give him specifics about the client because of confidentiality. Still, I gave him enough information to ask the question I wanted. “I’m new at this. My training coming from books and all, but this just doesn’t seem right. My boss thinks that I should let it go.”

  “Bailey,” he said, sounding all too serious. All the fun was gone from his tone. His face was rigid and held a hint of worry. Added to that, I was taken aback at the use of my name. He hardly ever did. “I agree with you. Even though it may be a small amount, it doesn’t appear random but very deliberate.”

  “Yeah, exactly,” I said. It was good that someone else agreed with me.

  “If your supervisor doesn’t see it and you don’t get the cooperation from the accounting department, I would suggest you either go over your boss’s head to a partner in your firm or seek out the board or CEO for the company that you are working with. Better yet, both. Let them decide if they want to look into it further.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  He smiled deliciously at me. “I wish I could kiss that pretty face of yours. Still, seeing you makes it easier. I have to get to this meeting. But I’ll call you tomorrow.”