by Ivy Nelson
Elijah laughed and raised his palms. “Be my guest. I’m sure anyone with access to the drive will be grateful, myself included. I will never say no to you improving things. If you need help, task a couple of interns with it.”
Holly grinned. “Excellent, because I’m about halfway through the expense reports folder already.”
Elijah sat across from her desk, making himself comfortable. “I admire your initiative.”
Holly tabbed over to his calendar. “Don’t you have a meeting in five minutes?”
Elijah leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “I do, but these guys have been giving me the runaround on a software contract for weeks, so I’m making them wait. Let me know when I’m about ten minutes late. I thought I would sit here and get to know my new assistant for a little while.”
Holly felt her face heat. Why would that make her blush? “What would you like to know?”
“What do you do for fun?”
“Fun?” God, she sounded like a bimbo.
“You know… the thing you do when you’re not working?”
Holly ran a hand down her ponytail and twisted the ends in her fingers. “I read a lot. Sometimes I like to go hear live music if a band I like is playing. I’m a fan of supporting the local arts.”
Elijah leaned back. “Have you ever heard Beyond Red?”
Holly flipped through her mental filing cabinet for the band name. “I think they were at a bar I like downtown a few months ago but I’ve never actually heard them.”
“I enjoy them. They play once a month or so down at The Mint. We’ll go next time they play.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Holly blurted.
Elijah frowned. “I’ll turn it into a company team building event.”
Bold mother fucker, wasn’t he?
“I’ll think about it,” Holly finally agreed.
“Excellent.”
“What about you? What do you do for fun?”
Elijah smiled. “A lot of things. Lately, I spend a lot of time in Colorado for fun, but I also enjoy Vegas.”
“I’ve never been to either place.”
“We’ll fix that. Do you ski?”
Holly shook her head. “Daddy always said it was too dangerous. He’s very overprotective.”
Elijah tensed when she mentioned her father and she wanted to push. But the timer she’d set on her computer was blinking.
“I’m afraid that’s all the time we have. You’re officially ten minutes late for your meeting.”
Elijah grinned and stood up. “Perfect. In twenty minutes, I want you to come to conference room C and tell me that Dallas is on the phone and ready to sign.”
Holly looked at him quizzically. “More billionaire power games?”
“Something like that. Isn’t it fun?” With a wink, he left her office as she stared at his disappearing form. When she could no longer see him, she set another timer on her computer and tried to put her new boss out of her head while she organized files. It was difficult to do since most of the files had his name on it.
Elijah Barrett would get under her skin if she wasn’t careful.
Chapter Ten
Holly was used to traveling in style, her father had a private jet and on the rare occasions she traveled, that’s usually how she did it. But nothing prepared her for the company jet Elijah owned. It was opulent and luxurious and had every amenity one could imagine. When Holly’s mouth fell open upon stepping into the main cabin, Elijah had just shrugged and said he traveled enough to justify the expense. Comfort was important to him.
Now they were halfway to Colorado and Holly was still working on reorganizing the records his previous assistants had kept. Most of it was just renaming files and setting up a hierarchy of folders. But some of the spreadsheets themselves were a wreck and the data needed to be resorted and even reentered in some cases. It was a massive undertaking, but Holly intended to impress her boss with the job she was doing.
“When the plane lands, we’ll be met by a driver who will need to take me straight to Solitaire so I’m not late. You can either come with me and work from my office there or you can have the driver take you to the hotel,” Elijah said from his seat across from her.
Holly looked up from her laptop. “I’ll just come with you if that’s OK. You’re expecting that call from London and I would rather be able to put you through to them right away.”
Elijah smiled. “I had forgotten all about that. You’re right. That’s a better plan. Just please stay in my office and don’t go wandering. You’re not a member so the front of the property is really all I can let you see.”
Holly nodded her agreement despite the fact that she was more curious than ever about what lay beyond the restricted area at Solitaire. Over the past several evenings she had taken to reading a series of romance novels about a BDSM club and she wondered if they were at all accurate.
For the rest of the plane ride, Holly had a hard time concentrating on filing systems, so she closed her laptop and pulled out her tablet to read instead.
“Everything OK, Holly? You look a little flush.”
Holly’s head shot up and she felt her face go even more red. “Sorry, yes. Everything is fine. Just lost in my book.”
“What are you reading?”
Shit. Of course, he would ask. “Oh, just a silly fiction novel. Nothing special.”
Elijah opened his mouth to say something, but the pilot came over the intercom to announce that they were landing soon. Saved by the bell, Holly thought as she tucked her tablet back into her bag. Elijah stared at her as she busied herself with tidying up.
“Now I really want to know what you’re reading,” he murmured as he fastened his seatbelt.
The plane dropped, a sign that they were almost on the ground and Holly snapped her own seatbelt secure, ignoring his comment.
“OK. I’ll let you off the hook this time,” he said with a grin as the plane bumped along the runway. “We’re in a hurry anyway.”
Holly breathed a sigh of relief. He would think she was a weirdo for reading a book like that, then he would wonder if it was out of curiosity about Solitaire. That was entirely too embarrassing to think about.
When they were off the plane and in the car, Elijah took a phone call, letting her further off the hook.
They drove into the hills of a Colorado ski town and were soon approaching a secluded area. When they drove up the path, a massive log structure came into view. It was a huge ski resort. Only it wasn’t a ski resort at all. A small plaque told her they had reached Solitaire. Though she hadn’t been expecting a sign that screamed kinky sex club, she wasn’t expecting something so simple either.
“Remember,” Elijah said as they stepped out of the car. “Do not go beyond the lobby or my office please.”
Holly fought the urge to salute since it was the fourth time he’d reminded her. Instead she gave him a curt nod and waited for him to open the door to the large building.
The inside wasn’t what she expected either. The lobby was well decorated but looked like it could belong to any upscale hotel in the country. Black and silver were the main colors, with small hints of red thrown in. Holly loved it.
The doors leading to what she assumed was the forbidden zone were red and flanked by two statues of half-naked women. The only sign there was anything sexual happening beyond the doors.
A reception desk dominated the center of the lobby and was likely where attendees checked in for events, but Holly wasn’t going to ask questions. She could tell the building was two stories, but the stairs must have been beyond the doors because she couldn’t find them.
“My office is this way, and I’ll be in the conference room across the lobby. Feel free to make yourself comfortable,” Elijah said as he strode toward his office.
The entrance to the forbidden zone burst open and a group of people poured out. Some of them she recognized from the news. There was Dakota Hylander, a cattle heiress, and Hunter Novak
, a casino owner in Vegas. The others she wasn’t sure she knew. Wait was that… Garrett Oliver? Holly was shocked. The man was a well-known political advisor who ran one of the country’s largest manufacturing companies. She did her best not to stare. But then she noticed everyone else was staring at her.
Holly gave a smile and a wave.
“What the hell, Elijah? I thought we agreed not to bring dates to board meetings.”
Elijah held up a hand and shot the man a glare.
“Hush, Lance. This is my new assistant and I need her here. She won’t be in the meeting. I was just showing her to my office.”
“Hi everyone. I’m Holly. Sorry if I caught you off guard.”
Dakota Hylander stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, Holly. I’m Dakota. I would introduce you to the rest of these jackasses, but they won’t remember your name by tomorrow anyway.”
All the men grumbled complaints at her calling them out, but none of them denied it which amused her greatly.
“Where the hell is Patrick? I thought he was coming early,” Dakota said.
Elijah shot her a glare.
“Patrick? Like… my brother?” Holly asked slowly. “Please don’t tell me my brother is a member here.”
Elijah chuckled. “It’s not my place to tell you that anyway.”
“Oh my God. I’m going to die. Please don’t let him see me here.”
The entrance doors opened, and Patrick stepped through. “Sorry I’m late everyo…” he trailed off as his eyes landed on Holly.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m accompanying Elijah on his business trip.”
“Jesus, Eli. You couldn’t have had her wait at the hotel? Or given me a God damn warning?”
Elijah shifted uncomfortably. “That was my mistake, not giving either of you a heads up. I see that now. But I need Holly here because I’m expecting an important call mid-meeting. She’s handling the preliminaries on it before she puts me on the phone. I thought I would have her tucked away in my office before anyone else got here if I’m being honest.”
Holly backed toward Elijah’s office. “I’m going to get out of here before things get any weirder. Elijah, should I text you when your call comes in, or do you want me to come get you?”
“Press the green button on the desk phone. It will patch you into the conference room. Don’t worry about interrupting us. This is important.”
Holly nodded and hurried into Elijah’s office.
Jesus fuck, she thought as she leaned against the closed door. Her brother was a member of a kinky sex club? This was not information she needed.
Her interest in finding out what was behind the forbidden doors had waned and she had no desire to pursue Elijah’s interest in kink. Not if her brother had the same interests.
Holly felt ill but did her best to push it out of her mind by turning on some music and settling in to work on her filing project.
An hour later, the call Elijah was expecting came in. Holly asked the preliminary questions about the contracts and wrote down the important information before putting them on hold.
With trembling fingers, she pushed the green button. “Sorry to interrupt but your call is on hold, Elijah.”
“We were just about to take a break. I’ll be right there. Thank you, Holly.”
When Elijah appeared in the doorway, he had an odd look on his face.
“Holly,” he said quietly. “I’m so sorry about surprising you with your brother. The opening of the club was so public, I honestly didn’t give it a second thought. That was a terrible mistake on my part.”
Holly stood and shook her head. “Please don’t worry about it. I’m sorry if I freaked anyone out by being here.”
Elijah smiled. “Not at all. Well… you might have freaked Patrick a little bit, but he’ll live.”
Holly groaned. How was she ever going to face him again?
Elijah closed the distance between them and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I hate to throw you to the wolves, but I need to have this conversation in private. We’ll talk more when I’m done here.”
When the door to Elijah’s office was closed, Holly turned to face the group of strangers in the lobby. They had abandoned the conference room and were lounging on the sofas that took up the wall space on the far side of the room.
Patrick immediately stood and motioned for her to follow him into the conference room.
“What the hell, Holly? Why are you here with him?”
Holly’s eyes went wide, and she tried to fight the tears that formed. “Why are you mad at me? You’re the one who got me the job with him. Why didn’t you tell me you were part of this place?”
Patrick closed his eyes. “Because, what I do with my personal time is private. And just because you work for him doesn’t mean he gets to drag you into this world.”
Holly understood now. This was some more overprotective big brother bullshit.
“He isn’t. In fact, he stressed about a million times that I wasn’t allowed anywhere beyond the lobby and his office. I feel weird even being in this room.”
Patrick ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you, sis. This is just weird.
Holly snorted. “You’re telling me.”
Patrick pulled her into a hug. “Can we please never speak of this again?”
Holly laughed. “Good enough for me.”
Patrick groaned. “This is so fucking weird.”
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about it anymore.
Patrick stepped away from her holding up his hands. “You’re right. Other than today’s little shit show, how do you like the new job? Is it better than working for the foundation?”
Holly plopped into one of the conference room chairs and spun around. “Yes. A million times better. I love Daddy, but I just couldn’t do it another minute.”
“I understand. Believe me.”
Before she could respond, the door opened, and Dakota stuck her head in. “Hey you two. Just making sure everything is OK in here.”
Patrick eyed her with a raised eyebrow. “You mean you’re just being nosy?”
Dakota grinned. “Guilty as charged.” Without an invitation, she came into the room and sat down next to Holly. “Don’t let him scare you off. I saw the way Elijah looked at you.”
“I’m leaving now. Don’t corrupt my sister,” Patrick said with a growl.
Dakota just waved.
“What do you mean?” Holly asked when her brother was gone.
“I mean, Elijah has the hots for you and if I had to guess, you’re attracted to him too.”
“He’s my boss. That’s unethical.”
Dakota snorted. “Do you know how many of these men have dated assistants? Is it really unethical if it’s consensual? I know Elijah, and he would never put pressure on anyone to date him and he sure as hell wouldn’t make employment contingent on it. He’s actually a goody-goody about that sort of thing. I don’t think he’s ever dated an assistant. That’s why I know he’s into you. He would never bring one of his old assistants here. You know you could have patched him into that call from the hotel.”
That was certainly true. But she wasn’t going to tell Dakota that she already knew Elijah was into her.
“Well, this is all too weird for me with my brother being here. I don’t even know if I like… kinky sex,” she said, whispering the last phrase.
Dakota tossed her head back and laughed. “Everyone likes a little kinky sex, sweetheart. You just have to figure out which kind you like.”
Holly cleared her throat. “Well I can’t. Elijah made it very clear that I’m not actually welcome here.”
Dakota shook her head as if she felt sorry for Holly. “Honey, if Elijah Barrett didn’t want you here, I guarantee you wouldn’t be here. What’s your travel schedule like?”
Holly pulled up her Calendar. “We’re flying to Phoenix in the morning and then we’ll be back here Saturday morning. Sunday afternoon we
fly to San Francisco for a series of meetings on Monday and then back home Tuesday morning.”
Dakota grinned. “I have the perfect idea. The reason you’re coming back here on Saturday is it’s our weekly party. Elijah is required to attend at least two a month and he missed the first two this month. I’m sure he’ll toss his credit card at you and invent some fake work for you to do while he’s here. But tell him you want the night off to explore the town. He’ll say yes. But then you’re going to come to the party as my guest. All board members are allowed to bring a guest who isn’t a member.”
Holly was shaking her head. “I don’t think Elijah would like that.”
“I wouldn’t like what?”
Holly whirled in her chair unsure of how to answer.
“Oh, I was just offering to give Holly a tour of the place while nobody was here.”
Elijah glared at Dakota. “Holly is right, Elijah wouldn’t like that.”
Dakota just folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at him. Holly watched Elijah’s hand twitch into a momentary fist before he turned to her and said, “Holly, I’m done with my call and I left you some notes. We should get back to our meeting now.”
Holly smiled and stood. “Of course. Dakota, it was nice meeting you.”
Before she could stop her, Dakota grabbed her phone from her and started tapping the screen. “I just sent myself a text from your phone. Now we have each other’s numbers,” she said with a wink.
Holly just stared at her, dumbfounded. Behind her, Elijah growled and opened the conference room door.
“Everyone, please come back in. Holly and I have dinner reservations with a client, and I need to wrap this up.”
Chapter Eleven
“Patrick, I’m sorry again about your sister,” Elijah said as the conference room door closed behind him. It was a quiet apology muttered under his breath. Patrick nodded his acceptance before taking his seat at the table.
When Elijah moved to the head of the table and sat, Dakota winked at him. “I like her,” she whispered.
Elijah glared at her. “You’re lucky you’re not a house submissive anymore or, I swear to God, I would strap you to a cross and spank the hell out of you right now.”
