by Melody Anne
She paused for a second as his words processed. “Why in the world is he calling you?”
“There was a mix-up in communication. He called in to personnel and they directed him to our number for some reason. I told him he’d best call them back, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
McKenzie was instantly irritated. Did Byron already know about this? Had he been trying to keep it from her? She doubted she’d get the answers even if she did try to talk to him about it.
“Thanks, Zach. And I promise I won’t be here very much longer.”
“I see you’re on the phone again.” Byron’s irritated voice interrupted her call.
McKenzie looked up to find him standing in her doorway, looking less than pleased.
“I’ll talk with you later, Zach. See you very soon,” she told him, looking directly into Byron’s eyes as she said it. Then she hung up the phone.
“What do you mean by that, McKenzie?” Byron asked her as he came closer.
She decided to answer a question with a question. “Did you know that Norm wasn’t coming back?”
He didn’t respond immediately, and as always she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, because he blanked his expression. She really wished she could do that as well as him. She would pay just about every last dime of her precious savings to know what was going on behind that mask.
“Yes. I was going to inform you today. I’ve decided to hire Mary to replace him.”
This was what McKenzie wanted, so she didn’t understand the sudden sadness that was creeping through her. There was no way she would allow that to show on her face, though. Not a chance.
“That’s wonderful. I can tell her right away, if you’d like, and get her in here and up to speed.” She was speaking as stiffly right now as he’d just been.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll have our human resources people set her up in an office here and go over everything. She was very capable. It won’t take long for her to catch on.”
McKenzie was stunned. This man had been plunging in and out of her body at this same time the day before, and now he looked so cool, so professional…so indifferent. It was more than obvious that he’d gotten what he wanted, and now he was more than ready to be rid of her.
She smiled brightly. “That’s wonderful. Then I guess I’ll clean up my stuff and head out of here,” she said, trying to infuse some excitement into her tone.
“Thank you for filling in, McKenzie.”
And then he turned and walked from her office.
Yes, her time with Byron was truly over. As quickly as it had begun, it had ended. She sat there in silence for a long while and tried to process it all. She’d heard all sorts of things about Byron Knight — what a tyrant he was, how cold he was, how he treated women — but being at the receiving end of his dismissal was humiliating and depressing, She was fighting tears when she stood up, gathered up the few things she had there in her office, and left.
For years, she’d worn a hard shell — an outer shell. Who cared what people thought of her? She simply chose not to care. She’d built up her defenses to keep people from getting inside her head or her heart, but somehow Byron had managed to do both.
No! She wouldn’t even think such a thing. She was a successful woman, a woman who had a lot going for her and a busy road ahead of her. Why would she ever let a man mess with her head or make her think foolish schoolgirl thoughts? She wouldn’t.
She barely remembered the drive from Knight Construction back to her accounting firm, but when she found herself parked in the garage beneath the building, she took a few moments to collect herself.
Zach would be thrilled to have her back, and even sooner than he’d been expecting. She fought down the tears that wanted to surface, looked in her small mirror, and gave herself a pep talk before she fell apart.
Only then did she struggle out of her car and grab her briefcase. It was time to get to work. She’d been trying to keep up, but doing two jobs made that impossible. She would forget all about Byron as soon as she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer.
Before she even had a chance to sit, Zach rushed headlong into her office. “Didn’t we just get off the phone?” he said as she pulled out her chair.
“That we did,” she replied with the best cheerful voice she could manage.
“Did something happen? Not that I’m complaining at having you here, but I wasn’t expecting you. Are you okay? You look a bit…off.” Zach’s concern came through loud and clear.
Dammit! Tears welled up in her eyes, and there was now no way in hell that she’d be able to tell Zach there was nothing wrong. He sat there on the corner of her desk, silent for once, and he looked at her in shock. She understood that. She’d never so much as blinked before. It wasn’t who she was. McKenzie took pride in the fact that she showed herself to the world only with the most perfect of poise.
Slowly, so slowly, as if approaching a snake, Zach slid down from her desk and actually knelt down in front of her. “You know you can talk to me, right? We’re friends, McKenzie.”
She wanted to laugh at that. She had no friends — well, maybe McKenzie could consider Jewell a friend now, but not really, if she thought about it. A friend knew you inside and out and loved you anyway. There wasn’t a single living soul who knew the real her.
“I’m just an idiot, Zach, and I behaved like a typical idiot does,” she said, pushing back the tears with a will of iron forged on the anvil of a hard life.
“The last time I checked, doll, you were about the most brilliant person I’ve ever met, so we both know that’s not true. Tell me about it. I swear it will make you feel better,” he assured her.
She tried to hold back, but she felt her mouth open and the words pour out. “I had sex with Byron…a lot of sex,” she muttered.
Her statement was met with silence. But then a smile appeared on Zach’s face. “Well, he must be incredibly bad in the bedroom if you’re looking so melancholy about it.”
She was so flabbergasted by his words, she didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting, but then again, she had no clue what reaction to expect — she’d never had a conversation quite like this one before.
“Well…um…I…” How in the world did she respond to what Zach had just said?
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
Again, she was so stunned by his question, she actually answered him. “It was amazing.” She was still in shock over that. Because of Nathan and that sicko rapist, she’d just assumed all sex was horrible. Never, ever could she have imagined how great it could actually be. If she were younger, OMG might come to mind.
“Well, then, I don’t understand the tears. You’re an adult, McKenzie and even though I’m a guy and I’m not supposed to say this, Byron Knight is one hot piece of ass. He’s single; you’re single. Enjoy the fact that you had some out-of-the-ballfield sex, and quit beating yourself up over it. It’s okay to let down your hair once in a while,” he told her, standing up and moving back to the door.
“I don’t even know how to address anything you just said.” She knew her mouth was hanging open as she spoke to him.
“You don’t have to. Just close your eyes and picture that moment of ecstasy,” he said with a sigh before his voice rose, startling her. “Damn, it’s been too long since I’ve had sex!”
“Um…sorry,” she told him, but finally she smiled.
“Since you’re all warmed up, you could help me out…,” he said with a lavish wink.
“I think I’ll pass, if you don’t mind,” she told him, but she actually laughed.
“Sucks to be me. Okay, my sweet, I’m going to let you get some actual work done now,” Zach told her. “If and when you need to vent again, call me in. I’m always here for you.”
McKenzie thanked him and then sat back and looked around her office. It was where she’d been trying to get back to for the past three weeks and now it seemed so lonely, so devoid of life.
The first thing she was going to do this weekend was head out on a mission — some major shopping. It was time to add color to her life. She’d known when she went into this thing with Byron that it wasn’t going to last, so she wouldn’t let it keep her down.
No way, no how.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I’m glad you decided to come.”
McKenzie glanced up at Byron and her hard-won calmness instantly evaporated. She hadn’t seen him since Monday morning, and she had gone back and forth on whether to show up at the fancy fundraiser.
She refused to give him a hint of the tremors that were rushing through her. “You promised me that it would be good exposure for my company for me to be here,” she replied calmly.
“Yes, a lot of people are here tonight. You’ll be able to make good contacts,” he assured her as he offered her his arm.
They were at the legendary Anderson mansion, and she couldn’t help but be happy to step inside its stately door. Yes, a number of jaw-dropping mansions could be found in this area, but none compared to the masterpiece Joseph Anderson had built for his wife over fifty years earlier.
The castle walls stood high, and the solid wooden doors opened to a home of marble and elegance unlike any other in the entire area. As she and Byron stepped inside, McKenzie had a difficult time holding in the gasp that she managed to suppress when first confronting the grand staircase and priceless works of art. And this was only the beginning.
She twisted a piece of her hair as she shifted from foot to foot. Yes, she’d run a high-class bordello, or whatever anyone wanted to call it, and, yes, she’d dealt with wealthy men for years, but she’d never, ever entered a home like this one.
“You are a stunning woman — a stunning person — and you fit in here, McKenzie. There’s no need for you to be nervous,” Byron whispered. “Remember that.”
“How would you know if I’m nervous?”
“I can see it in your eyes and from the fidgeting you’re doing. Hold your head up. You belong here.”
She wanted to remind him of what he thought of her, but she was already feeling out of place, and she didn’t need him to remember he though of her as nothing more than a two-cent whore. If he demeaned her, then her evening would be ruined. There was no way she wanted him aware that he had that sort of power of her, either.
Coming had been a mistake, but she’d been too tempted by the opportunity to draw in more business. And if she hadn’t come with Byron, she never would have been invited to attend an event at the Anderson mansion. She was just grateful to be there, so she had little choice but to push down the nerves.
Placing his hand on her back, he led her forward to another huge room with six-foot-long crystal chandeliers dripping from the ceiling, music hanging in the air, and a polished waitstaff serving hundreds of guests.
“I can’t imagine growing up in a home like this,” McKenzie said. “How in the world did they ever keep track of their children?”
Byron laughed. “For one, I’m sure they have an army of staff members to take care of the home and keep an eye out for missing children. But any home that you make comfortable is a home. It doesn’t matter if it’s a one-bedroom apartment or a colossal mansion. When it comes down to it, they’re are all the same,” he said, and he accepted two glasses of champagne from a waiter.
McKenzie looked at him for a moment before speaking. “That’s easy for you to say. This is obviously coming from a man who has never had to spend a day of his life in a small apartment.”
“No, I haven’t, but still…” He was wise enough to shut up on that subject before he changed topics altogether. “Do be careful while you’re in this home. There are rumors that the family patriarch, Joseph Anderson, is quite the matchmaker. All three of his boys fell quickly into matrimony, and many who know the family say it had everything to do with their father. And then his nieces and nephews began marrying one by one,” Byron said with another laugh.
McKenzie scoffed. “Say what? Their father —or the patriarch or whatever — can’t make them get married.”
“No. Joseph actually loves his sons, something you don’t often see in wealthy families. Hell, the children are often raised by the nanny. But rumors say he helped…shall we say, prod them along.”
“What do you mean by ‘prod them along’?”
Byron glanced around. “He played matchmaker. He hired the perfect assistant for his oldest son, a cook for his youngest — that sort of thing,” he said.
“Just because he hires certain people doesn’t mean he’s playing matchmaker,” she pointed out.
He looked down at her with such intensity, she found herself barely able to hold on to her glass. “You know more than anyone what happens when too sexually compatible people begin working closely together,” he said, taking her breath away.
“You’re being inappropriate,” she warned.
“Just filling you in on some local Anderson history. Not trying to be inappropriate at all,” he said, but his hand caressed down the length of her partially covered back.
“Do I hear you speaking about me?”
McKenzie jumped at the loud voice right behind her, and then both of them turned, and she found herself looking up, up, up. She had thought Byron was tall — heck, he was six foot three — but the man with the white hair and a groomed white beard seemed a giant compared with Byron.
“Only in the most respectful of ways,” Byron said. “How are you doing, Joseph?”
McKenzie was surprised to see genuine affection on Byron’s face.
“I can’t complain in my old age, Byron.” His attention was quickly diverted to McKenzie, and he gave her an intense look. “And how are you, little missy?”
“I’m sorry, Joseph. I’m being rude,” Byron said. “This is my date, McKenzie Beaumont”
McKenzie was flabbergasted. She didn’t want to correct him in front of their host and tell the man she wasn’t Byron’s date, but at the same time, she also didn’t want him thinking this was going to lead to a happy ending for anyone involved.
Joseph took the choice of her having to say anything at all away when his boisterous voice sounded again. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Beaumont. I hope you enjoy the party.” He ignored her hand and gave her a half-hug.
“Um…it’s a pleasure to meet you, too. Thank you for having me,” she said. “And please call me McKenzie.”
“McKenzie has recently opened up Seattle Accounting,” Byron said, “and she supplies temporary or full-time staff if you ever need anyone.”
“Is that so? I’ll have to come in and see you on Monday,” Joseph said. “Most certainly.” Someone called out to him. “I’m sorry to rush off. You know how these parties go. But, I won’t forget about Monday.” And just like that, he was gone.
McKenzie could barely even think, let alone get words out at how excited she was at the prospect of having Joseph Anderson coming in to see her business. “Do you really think he’ll come?” she asked. It was barely above a whisper.
“Joseph never says anything if he doesn’t plan to follow through,” Byron assured her.
“Oh, my gosh, Byron, do you have any idea what that would do for my company if he hired us?”
Byron laughed. “Hey. Am I now chopped liver?”
“Of course not!” she said as she grabbed his arm. “It’s just that it’s the Andersons…The Andersons!”
“Yeah, yeah, Seattle’s royalty,” he said, but with humor, not ill-will. Yes, the Andersons were a force to be reckoned with, but that didn’t make him any less of a force, McKenzie thought.
“You’re just pouting now,” she told him, but her nerves had completely evaporated. Her champagne had evaporated too, she realized, but before she could tell Byron she didn’t need any more of it, another cup was placed in her hand, and she found herself sipping on it.
“Come on. We have more people to meet,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing it before he wrapped his arm around her
. Then, she felt almost like royalty as they made their way across the beautiful marble floors and greeted a number of beautiful people in the process.
McKenzie got a rare glimpse into why Byron was such a successful man. Though he told everyone and anyone that he didn’t particularly like his fellow human beings, he was a natural crowd-pleaser, a person who knew the exact words to say to both the men and women. She was in awe of his ability to shine.
“Ah, another important person for you to meet,” Byron told her, and then she was standing in front of none other than Rafe Palazzo. He was standing next to a petite brunette wearing a gown that was worthy of the red carpet, and with emeralds so brilliant they seemed to outshine everything in the room.
“It’s been a while, my friend,” Rafe said, shaking Byron’s hand.
“Yes, we both work far too much,” Byron replied. “Rafe, this is my date, McKenzie Beaumont.”
“What’s a beautiful young woman doing with a man like this?” Rafe asked her, and he held out his hand.
Before McKenzie could answer, the woman next to him sent him a glare.
“Never mind my husband. He likes to shock people. I’m Ari.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” McKenzie said. The Palazzo family had come from Italy and then settled in San Francisco, where she had known of them. Everyone knew of them because they were beyond powerful. There was no way she could have grown up down there without knowing exactly who they were.
“Are you enjoying the party?” Rafe asked. “I have to say that Joseph sure knows how to throw one, and make sure the pockets of his guests are empty at the end of the night.”
“Yes, that’s for sure,” Byron told him. “But he and his wife, Katherine, always pick the best charities, ones that deserve every dollar in donations, though, so I give without a second thought.”
“That’s very true,” Rafe replied. “But the deductions don’t hurt.”
McKenzie stood there and listened, wondering whether she was too far out of her league. She wanted to hang out with people of this caliber, but at the same time she didn’t even come close to their level. Was she trying too hard to carve out a name for herself? Were they all secretly laughing at her? She’d run an escort service, and now she was trying to run a respectable business. Was that just too much?
