by M. S. Parker
She came through my door just as I rose from my desk.
Fawna paused there, grinning at me. “Well, it’s not like I was going to leave him with a babysitter. He’s too young.”
Cautious, I edged closer.
“He’s not going to bite, Dominic,” she said, her voice full of laughter.
I cocked a brow. “I’ve seen babies. They do bite. It’s that teething thing.”
“He won’t be teething for a long time.” She put the car seat down and whipped off a soft, fuzzy blue blanket, revealing a wide-eyed, red-cheeked little baby who looked almost nothing like the fragile little guy I’d last seen hooked up to a tube and machines that did all his breathing for him.
“Wow,” I murmured. “He’s gotten bigger.”
“They do that.” With the same competence she always displayed, Fawna undid the straps that held him in place and hefted her grandson out, cradling him in her arms before turning to me, displaying him. “Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to hold him. I can already see the panic in your eyes.”
“I’m not panicking,” I lied.
“Sure.” She gave me a knowing smile. She sat down and I took the chair across from her.
“You look…” I paused and then sighed. “You look happy, Fawna.”
“I am.” She smiled at me. “Thank you, Dominic. For everything.”
Unable to figure out how to respond to that, I just nodded.
“You look rather happy yourself.”
Rising, I moved over to the window. I slid my hands into my pockets and rocked back. I didn’t know what to say or how to handle that. I couldn’t lie to her. I could lie to a lot of people, but never Fawna. So I didn’t bother. “I’m sleeping with Aleena.”
The silence was so abrupt and brittle, I almost cringed.
Finally, Fawna cleared her throat and then softly said, “Dammit.”
I turned to look at her, but she wasn’t looking at me. She fiddled around in the bag next to her and I watched as she pulled out a bottle, popped it open somehow and then shook it. She slid out of the room and I heard a faint beep a moment later. A couple of minutes passed and she returned, the bottle popped in the baby’s mouth.
She sat down and then before I even had a chance to brace myself, she pinned me with a hard, direct stare.
“Why?”
Not exactly what I’d been expecting.
I could have said a hundred things and I would have said any of them if it had been anybody but Fawna. This was the woman who had basically become my mother, in all the ways that counted. Seriously, was there a guy out there who'd be comfortable telling his mother something like…looking at her makes my dick hard and my brain go blank?
Because that was the first thing that came to mind.
I couldn’t comfortably say that. And I wouldn’t have said that to anybody—not about Aleena.
“Isn’t that my business?”
Fawna’s eyes narrowed. “Dominic, I like that girl.”
“I like her too.” That was another one of the things I could have said. Should I have started off with that one? I shoved a hand through my hair and stood up to pace.
I hadn’t even taken three steps before Fawna’s voice stopped me. “Then why are you doing this? Complicating things?”
“How is it complicating things?” I snapped and glared at her. “Hell, you’re the one who told me she could be good for me.”
“Yes! Professionally. This isn’t professional.” The baby in her arms squawked and Fawna sighed, bringing him to her shoulder. She hummed to him in that way women seemed to always know how to do. As he calmed, Fawna rose and started to move. Not exactly pacing, but swaying. “Dominic, this isn’t smart. Surely you have to know that. You’ve never done this before. Why start now?”
“Because nobody ever got to me like she does,” I answered bluntly.
That made Fawna turn back to me and the look in her eyes was faintly surprised.
She slowly returned to the couch, still rocking the baby.
I glanced at him, then away. Then back. “He’s asleep.”
“They do that too,” she said, her voice wry. She settled him down in his car seat and then moved it to the floor. A couple of moments passed and I said nothing. She was thinking, but I recognized this mood. She was…considering.
Finally, she sighed and looked back at me.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with an employee, you know that.” She laughed and shook her head, brushing her hair back from her face. It donned on me then that she’d left it down. I don’t know if I’d ever seen her looking so casual. I studied her more closely and realized the subtle differences were numerous. Her hair was down, her make-up a little lighter, but brighter. She wore blue jeans and a bright blue sweater. And tennis shoes. I’d never seen her in tennis shoes.
But everything that made her Fawna? None of that had changed.
She still cut right to the chase.
“I think you probably know it’s not a good idea too,” she added, her eyes watchful.
“It’s not like I planned it.” I felt defensive now. “Hell, you're the one who brought her to that so-called second interview.”
“I know. And I’m sitting here now, talking to you and I realize you seem…happy. Dominic, I don’t know when I’ve ever seen you look happy.” She held out a hand to me. “Not for real.”
I’d never been able to refuse such a simple gesture from her, so I took it and when she tugged me down to sit, I accepted. The scrutiny she subjected me to was thorough and intense. Whatever she saw made her face relax.
“Maybe she is good for you.” Fawna nodded. Then she pointed a finger at me. “But you better be careful, Dominic. Don’t you hurt that girl. I mean it.”
Later, after she’d left, I wandered the empty silence of the penthouse.
Aleena had sent me a text and told me that Molly had wanted to meet for lunch. Did I need her for anything?
My instinctive response had been Yes.
So I’d told her she was welcome to take all the time she needed.
Better that she not know that I was starting to need her for all sorts of things. I already had a list of questions I needed her to answer and another list of things I had no idea what I needed, but I knew she’d have the answers tucked inside that beautiful head.
Then there were all things unrelated to work that I needed from her.
Need…
It was something I wasn’t comfortable with.
I didn’t like needing anything. I didn’t like depending on anybody.
It took me back to ugly places and ugly times when I’d had to rely on somebody for every last fucking thing—from the very air I breathed to the food in my belly to even being allowed to take a piss.
I can’t breathe…memory shrieked through my brain and I drilled the heel of my hand into my eye socket, trying to expunge the voices. Mine. His.
You want me to let you breathe? Then beg me.
Please…please…Lungs burning, screaming. Hands on my throat.
What will you do…?
“Dominic! I’m home!”
The sound of her voice jerked me out of the past. That need, the one I’d been denying screamed that I go to her.
Instead, I braced my hands on the window and leaned forward, staring out the glass over the city.
Maybe I had made a mistake. But it wasn’t the employee thing that was starting to worry me.
It was Aleena and how much I was starting to need her.
I couldn’t do that though.
I couldn’t let myself need anybody or anything.
9
Aleena
The man was giving me whiplash.
He was also giving me a headache and what I preferred to think was indigestion rather than the miserable feeling of a broken heart.
He can’t be breaking your heart, girl, I thought broodingly. That would mean you fell in love and we aren’t doing that.
I frowned. No, I thought. We aren’t�
��but I could…
Miserable, I stared at my agenda without really seeing it. Dominic wasn’t here. I’d come in to meet with Amber to go over certain details about Trouver L'Amour. She was starting to look for her replacement since she never stayed at the new Winter Corporation businesses long. She would be back to the main offices of Winter Corporation soon enough, but first we needed to find somebody to take over at the dating agency.
I’d been pleasantly surprised, and pleased, when she asked if I’d help her go through the resumes. I really didn’t think I was qualified, and told her so, and she’d laughed it off.
“Trust me…you’re going to be spending a lot of time here for a while. You have to get along with whoever is sitting in this seat. If you’re not happy with her, or him, Dominic won’t be happy. So let’s just avoid it.” She rolled her eyes and sipped from her coffee. “How much time do we have?”
I checked my agenda. “He’s doing an interview.” I grinned at her.
“Lovely.” Amber gave me a solemn look over her coffee cup. “He’ll come back ready to bite heads off. He hates interviews.”
“I’ve noticed.” I paused as I read through one interview and then passed it onto the maybe file. “He’s only had me…”
The elevator doors whispered open and the two of us went quiet as a tall, elegant woman stepped through. Professionally cut brown hair and an outfit that cost more than most people made in a month.
“Ms. Rittenour.” Amber rose from behind the desk and moved out to greet the other woman. She didn’t hold out a hand though.
I wouldn’t have either. Something about the icily beautiful woman in front of me made me think the lady would expect you to bow over her hand, not shake it.
Her gaze flicked to me and then back to Amber. “Is he in?”
“I’m afraid not.” Amber’s voice was polite. Perfectly polite. And…that was it.
Okay. I’d gotten to know Amber over the past few weeks and that tone already had me cautious. Amber was an absolute doll from everything I could tell. If she was using that tone, that could only mean a few things—things could get ugly, things were likely to get ugly or they already were. She had a different manner for dealing with things if everything was either moving on track or just not going her way. I’d figured that out the first week of working here.
Since I didn’t know which way this would go, I started gathering up the resumes and slipping them back into the file. I didn't want to be here when whatever it was happened.
“When will he be returning to the office?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Ms. Rittenour.” Amber turned to me. There was a message in her eyes and I read it loud and clear. He isn’t going to be in.
I inclined my head and thought back. I knew the name. If I was right, this was Penelope Rittenour. I’d been fielding calls and emails from her for the past couple of weeks, and Amber was right. Dominic wasn’t very likely to be in.
Or at least, he wouldn’t want to be in for her.
“I can consult his schedule and see if he’ll be available any time soon, Ms…?” I purposefully left out her last name, as if she hadn't been important enough for me to remember.
“Rittenour,” she bit off. “It’s Penelope Rittenour.” She raked me with a dismissive look. “And you are…?”
I moved out from behind the desk. I don’t know what drove me. Maybe it was that dismissive look or maybe it was the way she spoke to me in almost the same tone Jacqueline St. James-Snow had used. But I found myself holding out my hand. “I’m Aleena Davison, Dominic’s personal assistant.”
One thing I knew about the New York elite by now. Most of them wouldn’t be caught dead actually being rude. Not in front of witnesses at least. They were more about the subtle insults.
After a hard stare at me, Penelope reached out and took my hand. I couldn’t call it a shake. She merely rested her hand in mine for the briefest pause. When she pulled away, I could see her resisting the urge to wipe her hand and I resisted an urge myself. Don’t worry, I wanted to say. Being middle class and biracial isn’t contagious, honey.
“His assistant.” Penelope flicked her fingers together, almost as if she was trying to dislodge the feel of the unwashed masses from her skin.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep a sneer from forming.
“Yes.” I pretended to consider it and glanced over at Amber. “I think it’s been…oh, about six weeks or so since I’ve started. Does that sound right?”
“Yes.” She nodded, giving me a small smile. “We’re very happy with Ms. Davison.”
“Lovely.” Penelope looked bored. “I imagine it’s…pleasant work, keeping up with a man like Dominic.” She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow and smiled at me, but there was nothing polite in the smile. It was one-hundred percent, grade-A bitch. “His mother and I had lunch the other day. Just chatting, of course. We get together every so often, have been friends for years. She’s…well.” She shrugged. “Dominic and I have always been close, so I’m glad…”
The elevator doors whispered open, all but soundless.
I had my teeth clenched together so hard, it nearly gave me a headache and that promise of a headache sprang into full, throbbing existence when Dominic stepped out.
Penelope gave both Amber and I cutting looks before she turned and strode toward him. “Dominic!” She had her hands stretched out. “Really, you need to hire better help…” She infused laughter into the words, but the spite was clear, all the same. “Neither of these…ladies seemed to think you’d be back for hours.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be,” he said, his voice dark. He flicked Amber and me a look before settling his gaze on Amber. “Amber, contact the florist and send something to...”
Penelope was stroking a hand up and down his arm.
I was going to throw up.
Dominic looked down at her and she gave him a saccharine smile. He gave her a polite one back and then strode over to stand closer to me. “Dammit. I can’t even remember where we were,” he said.
“Is everything okay, Dominic?” I asked guardedly. He looked…odd.
He shook his head. “We were having sushi. Mr. Kim, his assistant and the translator, plus another man…fuck…” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I should have had you there because we ended up covering a lot more than I’d planned and now my head is shot. Anyway, the translator had a reaction to something she ate and they had to call an ambulance.”
“A reaction?”
Penelope clearly felt left out. “Dominic, I was wondering if—”
“A few minutes, Penelope.” He flicked a hand in her direction, the tone and gesture clearly dismissive. “My phone’s busted. I dropped it during the commotion and it was smashed. Order me a new one and make sure it’s set up.”
I nodded and turned over my phone, watching as he pulled up the agenda. “Yeah, that’s the place,” he muttered. He fired off the name to Amber. “Find out where the ambulance would have taken the woman who had the allergic reaction.” He bent over and wrote her name down. “Send flowers. And then send a case of scotch to Mr. Kim’s hotel.”
“I’d think she’d need it more,” I muttered as I mentally ran down all the things I'd need to do to get Dominic's phone set up.
He flashed me a grin despite the clear stress lines on his face. “She’s alive because of him. He figured out what was happening, knocked me out of my chair and laid her out flat, bellowed at me to call 911 and then demanded that I find an epi-pen.”
I blinked, trying to imagine the diminutive man I knew to be Mr. Kim barking demands at anybody, much less Dominic. Amber seemed to be picturing the same thing and I saw her fighting the same smile I was.
“She’s going to be fine, though, right?” I asked.
“I hope so.” He blew out a breath and then finally looked over at Penelope, his polite, professional mask back in place. He gestured toward his office. “Why don’t we step inside, Penelope?”
He nodded at me. �
�Aleena, take care of the phone, please. Oh, if either of you hear from Mr. Kim, set up another meeting whenever it’s convenient for him. A man capable of making decisions like that is definitely a man I want to do business with.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, turning it over to me. “Start researching his company, Aleena. Get some background information.”
I looked down at the card as he closed the door, locking himself and Penelope inside.
The name card made my eyes widen.
“Ah…” Heat flooded my face.
Amber glanced up at me, then reached over and plucked the card out of my hand.
A moment later, we were both giggling like a couple of silly teenagers. Maybe it was some sort of hysterical distraction, but I’d much rather be thinking about quiet, reserved Mr. Kim, who apparently was the head of a massive sex toy operation, than the fact that Dominic was inside his office…with the rich, beautiful Penelope Rittenour.
10
Dominic
“You know, if you would like some assistance finding some quality help, I’d be happy to…” Penelope paused and when I looked at her, she smiled. “Well, I have some experience in this area.”
Frowning, I asked, “What area?” What was she talking about?
She gestured back toward the door. “Your new personal assistant doesn’t seem to have much experience, Dominic. She’s certainly attractive, but wherever did you find her?”
“I didn’t.” Folding my arms my chest, I gave her a hard stare. “Fawna did, and I have to say, Aleena already has my life compartmentalized and organized down to the last dotted i and the last crossed t. I’m not sure how you could possibly hope to find anybody who could do any better—especially not if they’re expected get along with me twenty-four seven.” I surprised myself by the extent to which I'd defended her.
Penelope’s eyes widened. “She…” She pursed her lips. “She lives in Fawna’s apartment?”
“Where else?” I shrugged and moved back to my desk, trying to make it seem like thinking about Aleena living just down the hall from me wasn't distracting. It had been an insane day, and the last thing I wanted to do was deal with Penelope, but she was here. Gesturing to the seat across from my desk, I gave her a smile she would have recognized if she knew me at all well. It was the let’s get this over so you can get out smile.
