Assets (Balance Sheet #1)

by Shannon Dermott

  “Goodnight,” I said foolishly. He was halfway around the world, it wouldn’t be night where he was.

  “Sleep well, Lass.” And he clicked off.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  On Tuesday, after reviewing my findings, Kevin gave me the green light to look at an additional few more accounts. I drafted an e-mail and sent it to the accounting team requesting more information regarding those weird wires.

  Wednesday morning, in my chair I found a folded piece of paper. Upon opening it, I discovered a symbol that took up most of the eight-by-ten sheet of paper, a stop sign. Immediately, I looked around. But the floor we were on didn’t hold the accounting people. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for.

  Showing it to Kevin and Jim, Kevin laughed it off. “It’s just a paper. It doesn’t have your name on it or anything. The cleaning people could have left it.”

  I, on the other hand, didn’t think so. But what could I do? Call the police and suggest that someone was threatening me with a stop sign in regard to several minor amount wires? There was no writing to suggest this was directed at me, nor any hint at repercussion. No, they would think I was crazy. Instead, I didn’t stay late at work for the next few days. Whatever I needed to do after hours, I would do at home. Anna was still laid up with the flu and Jim wasn’t one to go against Kevin. So I plodded through.

  “Maybe you need to go ahead and tell someone else about this or go back to your boss and explain that you feel threatened,” Kalen said on video. His hands were balled into fists and he looked like he was ready to punch someone.

  “Kevin is just a jerk. And after I turned down his advances, I doubt he’ll listen to me.” When Kalen’s face contorted into rage, I realized my mistake.

  “Your boss hit on you,” he said very slowly and very carefully.

  “Yeah, but I handled it.” I omitted the how of it. I didn’t think he’d appreciate the lengths Matt went to, to get my boss to buy into the boyfriend ruse.

  “Bailey, did he touch you?” he asked, referring to my boss. His eyes looked dark and dangerous.

  “No, nothing like that. Honestly, he’s left me alone since I made it very clear I wasn’t interested.”

  “But are you telling me that he is possibly blocking you from getting your job done because you won’t sleep with him?”

  “No, I didn’t say anything about sleeping with him. He asked me out and made it seem like I was hitting on him.” My damn mouth. Kalen flustered me. I said more that only made things worse.

  “He did what?” he growled.

  Shit, shit, shit. “It’s over. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I am worried,” he grumbled. “Don’t be alone with him ever. And don’t stay at the office after hours. I’m not there to protect you.” He made anger noises. “I know you haven’t gotten any other threats. And it’s likely whoever left that paper isn’t a hardened criminal. Still, you need to keep your wits about you. This person may get desperate.”

  It felt good that Kalen believed me and was concerned, unlike Kevin. He also knew that calling the police at this point was futile. “Yes. I’ll do what you ask,” I said, trying to calm him.

  “I want to see you Friday. As soon as my plane lands, I’ll meet you at your job.”

  “Okay,” I agreed because I honestly wanted to see him too.

  The week went by with no more subtle messages. Kalen called me every night and wanted to set me up with my own personal security. But I refused. I wouldn’t be able to explain to my boss or client why I was allowing someone to follow me around. And that was where the possible threat was.

  Thankfully, Lizzy had been home the past few nights. We talked about her adventures with Hans and she played off the fact that he wasn’t the right guy for her. I didn’t press. She wanted to try it out with him. I’d given her advice but wouldn’t keep hounding her about it because, from what I was told, he wasn’t a bad guy. More importantly, he wasn’t treating her bad.

  By Friday, a very pale Anna showed up. She was swamped, so I let her be most of the day. When Kalen texted that his plane was going to be later than expected, I went to Sully’s with the team and only because Anna begged me. Lizzy was out, and being at home alone waiting didn’t seem appealing.

  “You’re okay, right?” I asked sitting next to her in the booth. She made the move so I wouldn’t sit next to Kevin. He, on the other hand, wasn’t paying much attention to me at all, thankfully. In fact, he’d called a girl over who apparently worked at our firm. A girl that I’d never met. He did some heavy flirting. And I was just grateful he’d moved on.

  “Yeah, I’m better. I’m not even sure it was the flu. Whatever it is, I’m ready to party,” she said, but the smile on her face was clouded by the tired look in her eyes. She may have been well enough to brave work, but she still wasn’t one hundred percent.

  Jim looked sorrowfully up and over at her. They hadn’t spoken much that day, but I assumed it was because she was behind. Thinking about it, she’d walked with me and we talked about the latest episode of the favorite TV show we shared. She hadn’t once spoken to him.

  We were finishing up nachos when I got a text from Kalen that he would be outside in five. I’d texted him earlier where he could meet me when I found out he was going to be late. Excusing myself, I told Anna that my boyfriend was here and the rest that I’d catch them later. I moved like the wind just shy of running to get outside and into Kalen’s arms. It felt like forever and sleep just hadn’t been good without him. Not to mention my libido was on full alert with all the sexting and Facetime we’d been doing.

  Flinging myself in his arms, he breathed, “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

  Lifting on my toes, I pressed my mouth to his. Nipping at his lower lip to gain entry, once inside, I tasted him like his mouth was the last place on earth to find peace. With my arms wrapped around his neck, I pressed as close as I could. He threaded his fingers in my hair. New Yorkers just streamed by us, ignoring all the PDA. When we finally separated, a voice spoke behind me that could forever change things.

  “Well, you sure are fast at changing boyfriends. This isn’t the finance you tongue fucked the other day in front of the office.” I didn’t have to turn to know Kevin was the one speaking. I closed my eyes unable to explain to Kalen at this very moment. Kevin just kept going. “If I were you, I’d drop her. She tried to hit on me too.”

  Stepping around me, Kalen moved to Kevin. I turned in time to see him plant a fist in Kevin’s face. Covering my mouth from horror, pedestrians didn’t even blink. They just stepped aside. “Don’t ever talk about her like that again.”

  Then Kalen wrapped a firm grip around my arm and led me to the dark SUV we’d driven in the other night.

  “Kalen, I can explain.”

  Putting his fingers on my lips, he shook his head. Opening the door, he spoke to his driver, “Take Miss Glicks home.” And he shut the door, not getting in. When the car drove off, Kalen hadn’t even bothered to look at me again or say goodbye.

  Tears sprang to my eyes. He would no doubt think I was cheating on him. But that kiss happened after we’d had a fight, and I hadn’t asked for it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I washed away my tears in the shower once I got home. And I cried myself to sleep, waking when the bed dipped. My eyes opened in alarm. There straddling my hips, looming over me like the grim reaper, was Kalen.

  “Kalen,” I said.

  “Don’t talk,” he growled.

  Blinking away the possibility of a dream, I asked, “Why are you here? Why did you come?”

  Brushing my bed head back away from my face, he said, “When you didn’t answer, I let myself in.”

  “I didn’t give you a key,” I mused stupidly.

  “I’m handy with a lock.” That answered the question about all the other times he’d gotten in. I would need to talk to Lizzy about beefing up security.

  His thumb brushed over my mouth, more tenderly than his expression revealed. He looked
beyond angry. Which led me to my next question. “Why are you here?”

  Capturing my wrists and planting them on either side of my head, he leaned down to whisper over my lips. “My cock has waited an entire week to be buried inside you.” He gently bit my ear and skimmed his teeth down the line of my throat, eliciting a groan from me. Moving quickly, he tugged my body down and took both wrists to pull them tight over my head while cupping my breast.

  Sucking in a breath, his words sent signals to my brain that I should be insulted, but the T-junction of my thighs had other ideas. Whispering, I said, “And what about you? Do you want to be here?” I questioned because when he’d left me earlier, I was certain he’d wanted to be anywhere but near me.

  Holding my breath, I waited for his answer. “It’s up for debate.” This time my anger flared. If he didn’t want to be here…

  “You know what a safe word is?” he asked. I nodded, confused about what he was about to do. I’d read my fair share of hot romance books and was familiar with the term. “You’re safe phrase is Fuck You.” And with that, he stole the response I’d been about to use. His hand headed south like a runaway freight train, taking all reason with it. “Don’t move,” he demanded when I lifted my hips in order to rub myself more on his hand and possibly reach the buldge that was in his pants. When he let go of my wrist, I almost reached out to touch him. Then I remembered his command for me not to move. I so didn’t want him to stop because I was already teetering on the edge.

  When he reached up to loosen his tie, I recognized that he was still wearing what he had on from earlier. What I didn’t expect was for him to bind my wrists with it and tie me to one of the metal rungs of the headboard. “Why?” I asked.

  “Because you don’t deserve to touch me,” he said. There was no humor in his voice. “And I told you to keep quiet, Red.”

  Unable to comply, I muttered, “Red’s better than Sweetheart, but it’s not Lass.”

  “You lost the right to be called Lass when you let him kiss you.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. “It remains to be seen if you will ever be Lass again. And it will be Sweetheart if you open that pretty little mouth of yours again. The only time it should open is if I’m shoving my cock in it.”

  Honestly, I would have spoken, but he kissed me then rough and hard, tender and sweet. I couldn’t make head or tails of his mood. When he took his mouth away from my bruised lips and sucked in my nipple, I couldn’t stop the moan. He assaulted my breast, pinching one and sucking the other before gently biting, taking me to the edge and back before doing the same to the other. He kissed his way down my body and sucked on my nub. Gritting my teeth, I choked down the noise I wanted to make for fear he would stop and leave me hanging.

  So close, I panted, hoping he would just continue for another few seconds. As if he purposefully wanted to torture me, he removed his mouth. Seconds later, he flipped me over so fast I’d barely caught my breath before he lifted my hips and entered me so slowly. “You’re so tight,” he said taking his time, inch by inch. When I felt his balls on my ass, and the tip of his penis at the end of me, he leaned over my shoulder and picked a hell of a time to want to talk.

  “Is Matt your finance?” Keeping to his directive, I shook my head no. “Has he ever been your finance?” Again I shook my head. He started to kiss the nape of my neck and I wiggled my ass. “Stop moving,” he said, swatting me lightly on the side of my bottom. “Have you fucked him?” I shook my head again, hearing the anger behind his voice. I wanted to explain. Right then however, I knew he didn’t want to listen. “You let him kiss you, though.” Swallowing, I neither confirmed nor denied. He rose up and slammed into me. Pulling almost all the way out, he slammed into me again. Tears pricked at my eyes. And not because he was causing me pain. But because I’d caused him pain. He gripped my hair and tugged my head back only to assault my neck with kisses that sent shivers down my spine. He made his way up to my ear and spoke very clearly. “When you wrapped your lips around my cock, they became mine. You are mine, Bailey.”

  A whimper left my lips. “Say it,” he demanded.

  “I’m yours,” I said right before he rammed into me again and again, building my orgasm with each stroke. His hips shifted and he angled his stroke to make contact with my g-spot over and over again. When he took his free hand and cupped my breast, squeezing it just a little, I moaned again.

  “Come for me.” And like that I came apart bit by bit, stifling a scream. His breaths became more erratic when he followed me to ecstasy.

  I woke alone. This time there was no note. But my hands were unbound. Slowly, I got up, my legs felt weak, my innards sweetly bruised, my heart shattered. I didn’t bother to call. I had my pride. Instead, I texted him a lame apology and got ready for the day.

  Lizzy came home Saturday afternoon to find me curled up in a chair, eyes red-rimmed, or so she claimed. And I told her everything that happened.

  “Hon,” she said, taking me in a hug. I released more tears than I thought I had left.

  “He hates me,” I cried.

  Chuckling, she said, “He wouldn’t come over to fuck someone he hates.”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “Maybe my ass. Honey, he’s not hard on the eyes. It wouldn’t be hard for him to find someone to sleep with. But he came here to you. Give him some time.”

  “I guess.”

  “Do you love this guy?” she asked point blank.

  My eyes looked at the tiled ceiling as if it held the answer. “I don’t know if it’s love,” I confessed. “I’ve only known him for a couple of weeks. But it certainly feels like I’m falling in love.”

  She hugged me one more time. “Should I cancel my trip?”

  “Trip?” I questioned.

  “Don’t you remember? I’m going to Chicago to hang out with Matt. This was already planned before he showed up the other week. Still, I think I should go. I need to convince him to forgive dad, you know?”

  Nodding, I did know. “No, you should go. I’ll be fine.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Time turned into days. I’d spent the weekend working the mystery of the cash. By Monday after work, I’d gone through all the accounts. There were over a hundred. Kevin hadn’t shown up that day, for which I was thankful. So engrossed in my work, I made a mistake. I found myself in a lit room staring out the glass into the dark. The low-walled cubes made it easy to see that no one was around.

  Packing up, I headed out the door expecting the light to turn on with my movement outside the conference room. Nothing. I started to take swift steps to the elevator when computer screens across the room lit up. The message that scrolled across the array of neon colored backgrounds on various monitors throughout the open space said, “Last warning, STOP.”

  Feet don’t fail me now, was my mantra when I hightailed it to the elevator banks. Hitting the down button with rapid fingers that mirrored my heartbeats, I stopped breathing until the ding of the elevator alerted me to its arrival. Jumping in, I did the same furious tapping on the L button.

  With the final ding, I ran out of the lobby into the dark with New Yorkers streaming down the sidewalk. The walkway wasn’t thick with people, but there were enough to make me feel marginally safe.

  After heading to the subway, I leaned against the wall. I pulled out my phone and remembered that Lizzy was in Chicago with Matt. If I called they would both be worried and catch a flight back. So I made a decision and dialed Kalen instead.

  When he answered, I hadn’t expected it. “Kalen,” I breathed.

  He’d obviously heard the panic in my voice and said, “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m scared,” I began. Then I explained what happened.

  “Stay where you are. I’ll be right there.”

  And I did. I didn’t feel safe until his hands cupped the sides of my face and peeled me from the wall. Tucking me in his embrace, I breathed in his scent and the comfort that came along with it.

  Taking my hand, we
walked over to the SUV and got in the back. He didn’t speak to the driver, but we headed away. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  It was the only thing he said to me. “Yes,” I said, still shaking.

  Puzzled, we ended up in that same garage from our last date. We entered the same elevator, except this time it opened into a lavish apartment. Floor to ceiling windows lined the wall ahead. Dark wood floors filled the place as far as my eye could see. A spacious living room and dining room area was filled with minimal furniture. Each piece had been carefully selected to look more like art that cozy pieces. A floating, twisting staircase led upstairs to places unknown.

  The kitchen was large with wood cabinets complementary to the dark floors. Shiny stainless steel appliances sent shine to the granite countertops. It was all mastery decorated with splashings of brick red, oranges and green placed fluidly throughout the space. Apparently he liked the outdoors, because that was what the space felt like, bringing the outdoors in.

  And as exciting as it was to finally see his place, all the emotional fear and sorrow from the past few days caught up with me and I began to crumble inside. First there was a tear. Then my knees felt weak. I wasn’t weak normally, except in his presence, but today I couldn’t help it.

  Kalen had me in his arms. “I’m sorry,” I cried on his shoulder.

  He didn’t speak. And I had to get it out. “You’d left me the night before pissed. I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again. Then Matt offered to help. I didn’t know he was going to kiss me. And I told him afterwards that my heart belonged to you.” Stepping back, he searched my face. In response, I added, “Yes, even though I wasn’t sure if I would see you again, I turned him down. It was always you.”

  Without any words, he closed the little distance he’d created and kissed me. It felt so right being with him. The L word bubbled in my chest. Could you love someone after about a month of knowing them? I didn’t know. I did know that I was in deeper than my waist in a lake of L feelings with this guy, like, lust, and maybe on my way to love.