by M. S. Parker
My phone chimed and I pulled it out, reading the text from Amber. She had a firm date set in Philadelphia. In two weeks, I’d be meeting with White and the heads of Devoted. A nice, low-key—bring your spouse and significant others...we’re all friends here—sort of event. I would attend, and then I’d cut them off at the knees and hand them their balls, financially speaking.
I had work to do.
Blowing out a breath, I wondered if maybe I should have waited to piss Penelope off until after this event had passed. She would have made an excellent ice princess to have on my arm.
Although, really…Aleena could cut people off the knees rather well.
After all, she’d done a hell of a job on me.
6
Aleena
Pacing never accomplished anything.
Except it burned off energy and it was better than chewing on my nails.
I’d paced until I’d all but worn a trail into the plush carpet and I didn’t feel any better for it.
It was almost seven and I’d given up trying to work at least an hour ago.
I’d expected to be done well before now, but less than thirty minutes after my lunch with Molly, my phone had rung and it had been Amber on a conference call. Dominic had been the third person.
“We’ve got work to do,” Dominic had announced and then he named a date. “That evening, Eddie White will be having a dinner party at his office location. It’s for the VIPs at Devoted and other key personnel. The plan, they think, is for him to get them to lay off and let him work out until he’s ready to retire. What is going to happen is that they are going to have their asses handed to them. Aleena, are you ready? I’ve got a list of names and I need you to dig up information on them. You should know what sort of information I need. I’ll give you a couple names of some investigators you can trust to help out with some of the...less savory aspects.”
That had taken up most of my day, and now he was due home. He’d want an update and I wanted to talk.
Could I convince him to go out for a drink? That would be…well, like a date, right? At least it would show he didn’t mind being seen with me in public on something other than official business.
Before I could think the idea through and debate the merits of it, the door opened and I spun around, my head spinning from all the noise inside it. Dominic came striding inside and stopped abruptly, as though the sight of me standing there caught him off guard.
“Aleena.”
My heart did a strange little dance, almost flipped around inside my chest at the sight of him, the sound of my name on his lips. “Dominic.”
His eyes started to slide over me and heat danced along my spine. Then, abruptly, he looked away.
Cold replaced heat.
“Ah…”
“Did you get started on the information I needed?” he asked, his voice taking on that blunt, all-business tone I was so familiar with.
The one he hardly ever used with me anymore.
Slowly, I nodded, trying not to feel hurt. He was probably just concentrating on the deal. It was complicated.
Moving forward, I gestured toward the folders I’d organized on the low-lying coffee table. There were groups who’d have a field day with so much paperwork, but Dominic did better when he had hard copy in front of him. I made sure everything was recycled when he was done with it and we were careful to use recycled products as much as possible. Personally, I had too much data to deal with and did better when I could organize digitally, but one thing I’d learned quickly: everybody dealt with things better in their own way.
As he sat down and started to flip through my organized piles, I slid into the seat across from him.
He didn’t even look at me.
There was no reason, really, for my heart to give a funny little lurch. Or the slightly sick feeling in my stomach when he kept his head down.
“Annette and I had to reschedule for the meeting out to the house,” I said tentatively. “She…um…she’s not feeling well. She wanted me to apologize.”
“That’s fine.” He was clearly distracted, his gaze racing over the data I’d compiled for him. I’d already committed much of it to memory and I knew he was doing the same thing. It was strange that I’d found myself working with somebody whose brain worked in a way not similar to mine, but complementary. “She’s asthmatic, she told me. Did you know that?” I don’t know what made me blurt it out, but there it was.
He flicked a look up at me finally, his blue eyes faintly annoyed. “I think she mentioned it once. Why?”
“Spring. Allergies. It’s why she’s sick. I was just…” The words trailed off.
He didn’t look surprised. Or concerned. Or…well, much of anything. He just shrugged. “She can get to it when she’s feeling better. There’s no rush. The Devoted project is now front and center.”
I nodded and looked down at the piles he was making. My brain was already making sense of it. I knew what he was planning and there were some who wouldn’t fit for what he needed, others who were a bad risk. Those went into one pile. I’d guessed many of them, I was happy to see. A few surprised me, but there were a couple I would have pegged for that pile that didn’t go.
When one of them ended up in the other pile, I went to say something and then stopped myself.
Dominic looked up. “What?”
“She…” Then I shook my head.
“If I didn’t want your opinion on things, Aleena, you wouldn’t be here.” Some of the distance left his eyes and he crooked a smile at me.
For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, the ice in my chest receded and I smiled back. Then I gestured at the employee data he held on one of the top matchmakers for Devoted. “Miriam Beckman. Are you sure you want to contact her? She’s one of their top people and she…” I stopped, cleared my throat and then continued, “At one point, she was engaged to the owner.”
“I know,” he said mildly.
I pressed on. “She must be incredibly loyal to the company to still be working there. Are you certain you want to contact her?”
He stacked the pages, tapping them on his hand. “What makes you think these are the ones I want to contact?”
“Please.” I rolled my eyes. “Two of those in the other pile recently left Eddie to work for Devoted. The other one changes careers more often than I change my purse.”
Dominic lips curled in a smile. “You’ve changed your purse three times in the last five weeks, Aleena. This guy’s been at Devoted for eighteen months.”
“Before I started working for you, I used the same purse for five years.” I gave him a superior look. “I never had to worry about having a different one for different occasions or outfits.”
“Point made.” Then he tossed the pages he held down onto the couch next to him. “Yes, I’m contacting Miriam…and the rest.” He nodded to the carelessly thrown sheets of paper I’d spent the afternoon compiling into neat piles. “I’ve met Miri. I liked her. She doesn’t pull punches and if she agrees to come in, it will be because she wants to hear what I have to say. And she won’t sell me out.”
He shrugged and I knew that was that.
“Sounds fair.” Nodding, I went to stand.
“You did well,” he murmured, looking away again.
“Thank you.” I told myself I’d go up to my room, make myself something to eat, collapse into the tub. Relax. I walked four steps and then spun back to look at him. “Hey, why don’t we go out?”
Dominic slowly looked up and stared at me. “Out?”
“Yeah.” I managed a weak, wobbling smile. “Out. You know…for a drink. Dinner. We’ve never done that.”
His gaze seemed to hold me hostage and I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
Then, slowly, he shifted his attention back down to the work he had in front of him. “We can order in, Aleena. I wouldn’t mind a drink, though. Do you like scotch?”
I didn’t answer. Numbly, I turned away and moved into the kitchen.
I was nearing the top of the stairs when he called my name, but I ignored him.
Why in the hell hasn’t he taken you out?
He came to me later that night. I’d heard him knocking on the door to my suite but didn’t answer. I hadn’t locked it though so he came in anyway.
I was on my side, facing away from the door.
When he moved to stand between me and the window, I was tempted to feign sleep, but I didn’t have the energy.
Instead, when he crouched down in front of me, I just looked at him. I was so tired of all this.
He reached up and touched my mouth.
I turned my face away.
“What’s wrong?” Dominic asked softly.
Never let it be said that Dominic Snow can’t tell when a woman isn’t up for sex.
“I’m not feeling well,” I said honestly. Not that I was about to tell him that I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and then danced on. No. Not danced on. Smashed. Ground into the cool Italian marble by the heel of his Italian leather shoes while he calmly focused on the data of his upcoming business acquisition.
Rolling onto my belly, I pressed my face into the pillow and waited for the sound of the door to close.
Instead, the mattress made a soft sighing sound as he sat down next to me. I thought he could take a hint. If I wasn’t up for sex, what was the point in him hanging around? He’d made it clear that’s what our relationship was. His cheap little secret.
He ran his hand over my hair and I tensed.
“Relax,” he murmured.
I tensed even more.
He laid his hands on my shoulders and I gasped at the contact of his skin against mine. I was wearing a tank top, and a thin one at that. It had been days. Just a few really, but days. Too many of them. Yet the thought of being with him right now only made the misery inside me deepen.
My body didn’t seem to get the message though. My nipples tightened and I tried to ignore the tug down low between my thighs. Dammit! I still wanted him.
Talented, skilled fingers dug into the muscles along my neck and shoulders.
“Relax,” he said again.
I couldn’t possibly…
A startled moan escaped me.
He pressed his thumbs into the muscles at the base of my neck and I shuddered. He began to work the knots with surprising skill and a few minutes later, a warm, blissful lassitude spread through me.
Before he stood, I was asleep.
“Mr. Snow will see you now.” I smiled at the brunette who waited in the rose-colored, scoop styled chair.
We’d come to Philadelphia three days ago and I was exhausted. I hadn’t exactly lied last week when I told Dominic I wasn’t feeling well. I was heartsick, or at least close to it, and that didn’t manifest in happy, cheerful ways, right?
The massage he’d given me had resulted in one blissful night of sleep. The last I’d had, actually. The next morning, we’d hit the ground running and it hadn’t stopped since.
The phone calls had started that morning, followed by more calls, hours spent pouring over work histories and digging into backgrounds and unearthing everything I possibly could on the shortlist of the people Dominic needed to talk to at Devoted. On a few, I did end up using one of the investigators he’d recommended, but I did most of it myself.
This was the first time I’d be around when he instituted a takeover and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I couldn’t let him lose it because of me.
Amber was excited.
I was too stressed to feel anything but that.
Two nights ago, I’d practically staggered into the suite of rooms Amber had reserved for me, but before I’d been able to close the door, Dominic had slid inside behind me.
“I thought we could have a drink, maybe dinner,” he’d murmured, smoothing a hand down my arm, then curling it around my waist.
I might have been able to work up the interest, especially after he’d pressed his lips to my neck, but then he’d said the words room service and it was like he’d rubbed salt into an open wound.
More and more, it was starting to seem like he just didn’t want to be seen in public with me. Like I was exactly what I’d always feared I’d be: the dark-skinned mistress, the exotic indulgence.
It had been easy to plead exhaustion and when he’d looked at me, I’d seen a flicker of something in his eyes, speculation, maybe something else, but there was also genuine concern. “You should rest, but make sure you eat, Aleena.”
I’d told him I would. Then I went straight to bed. I couldn’t have eaten anything if I tried. Not just because I’d been exhausted, but because I hadn’t thought my stomach could handle it.
The past three days had been the worst, though, a blur of interviews, meetings, interviews, more meetings and hurried meals. Those meetings, meals and interviews were all taking place at the very plush accommodations offered by Masque Philadelphia, the chain of luxury hotels that Dominic owned. It had been, I’d learned, his first real business enterprise, and still his most profitable.
I had to admit, having exquisite accommodations at just about any premiere destination available at your beck and call sure as hell made life easier. As I led Miriam Beckman across the steel gray carpet, I asked her about her drive in, whether she was enjoying the spring weather. Typical, polite small talk.
Instead of answering, she gave me a direct look. “Just how many of us is Mr. Snow seeing, Ms. Davison?”
I paused in the middle of reaching for the door that led to the offices Dominic was using.
I knew I couldn’t really answer that although I knew the answer. Amber and I had helped dig up and locate the information, then we’d set up the appointments with the people Dominic had decided would be ideal. But I wasn’t going to pass anything on. So I just smiled. “He’s speaking to people who caught his interest, Ms. Beckman.”
“Hmmm…” She nodded and then fell silent as I opened the door.
Dominic was sitting behind the desk, but rose at our arrival. He barely glanced at me, offering just a polite nod, all of his interest focused on the very sharp Miriam Beckman.
I went to shut the door, but just as I started to tug on it, Dominic’s gaze came to me. “Ms. Davison, I need my noon hour blocked out, absolutely no disturbances. See to it, will you?”
“Of course.” Once I’d pulled the door closed, I put in a call to Amber and relayed the message. She’d stayed back in New York, working on last minute details for the upcoming dinner and fine tuning things with Eddie’s assistant, Clarice. Most of the details appeared to be coming from Clarice at least. Couldn’t have anybody thinking Trouver L’Amour was footing the bill, right?
Amber was also doing the initial interviews for the person who’d take over for her at the company. She’d made noises that they needed to get somebody as top dog, too. Dominic’s going to be bored here soon. I’ve got to get my replacement in and ready before that happens.
Dominic and boredom didn’t mix well, I suspected. And he definitely seemed the type to get bored easily.
Longing twisted inside me and I looked down the hall toward the door that separated me from him. There was more than the expanse of carpet, more than a solid door of polished oak.
Why in the hell hasn’t he taken you out?
The hollow ache in my chest had become so familiar at this point, I’d almost expect to be used to it. But I wasn’t. I rubbed the heel of my hand over it as I slid into my chair. My phone rang and I answered it without looking at the display, something I really knew better than to do.
The slow, southern drawl added to the headache pounding at the base of my skull as I recognized the voice right off. I liked her, but I wasn’t in the mood for cheer right no
w. “Annette, I hope you’re feeling better.”
“I am, thank you! A dose of steroids will do wonders for you,” she said and I could hear the smile in her voice.
She definitely sounded better. I wondered if steroids would help a broken heart.
Broken hearts…dammit. Dammit. Damn it all to hell. I’m in love with him.
“Aleena, are you there?” She sounded concerned.
“I…” I struggled to clear my throat but couldn’t. “I can’t…”
Humiliation choked me and I hung up the phone, leaving it on my desk as I rushed into the small restroom tucked off to the side of the office. Pressing my back to the door, I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob.
I’m in love with him.
Rocking myself back and forth, I started to sob. It had hit me with all the force of a physical blow and I couldn’t breathe.
No, no, no, no…
There was a knock at the door.
I froze.
“Aleena?”
It wasn’t Dominic.
Clearing my throat, I said, “Ah…one moment.” It didn’t sound great, but it also didn’t sound like I’d just been freaking out, so that was good.
I moved to the sink and turned on the water. It wasn’t until I straightened that I saw her reflection in the mirror. It was Annette Shale. With water dripping off my face, I gaped at her.
“Hi.” She managed a strained smile. “I…well, damn, girl. I was in the area for an auction, picking up a few pieces for a client, and I heard you and Dominic were down here.”
She sighed and moved forward, tugging a soft towel from a rod just a foot away. While I continued to stare at her, she shoved it under the water and then twisted the excess out before moving to stand in front of me. “If Dr. Annette can offer some advice?” she said softly. “What you need is ice cream and a good, long talk with a girlfriend.”
“Um…” Great. I’d hoped it wasn’t that obvious.
She held out the towel. “Since it’s the middle of the day and I know what a pain in the ass Dominic can be to work for, you’ll have to settle for this and a few ibuprofen. Take this. I’ll grab the ibuprofen and meet you at your desk in a moment.”
