by Tina Folsom
When Sabrina reached her apartment, she ran into her room and shut the door before she allowed the tears to run down her face. Holly knew her well enough to leave her alone until she was ready to talk. This time she wouldn’t talk. She couldn’t tell anybody about the shame she felt or the hurt in her heart.
Why had she let this happen? She should have quit while she was ahead. After the first night with him, she should have never gone back. She felt like a gambler in Las Vegas who’d won big the first night and then gone back to put all her chips on the table the next night and lost it all.
She’d let her guard down and allowed him to come close, not just sexually, but more so emotionally. Maybe there wouldn’t be the embarrassment this time since she’d never see him again, but it didn’t diminish the pain she felt. This hurt more than what had happened to her in law school.
It was a relief when sleep finally claimed her and stopped her mind from clicking.
***
Daniel’s night wasn’t quite over yet. Audrey was in hysterics. When she’d realized that her seduction efforts didn’t pay off, she’d tried the tearful route. This time it wouldn’t work on him. She might as well talk to a stone statue.
“I’m not listening to any more of this. It’s time for you to leave.” He’d had it with her. She’d completely destroyed his perfect evening with Holly and caused her to run out on him. He wanted nothing more to do with Audrey.
“What does this little tramp have that I don’t?” she provoked him.
Daniel gave her an angry glare. “She’s not a tramp!”
“She must be. This is your third night here, and already she’s sleeping with you. Only a whore would do that!”
“Who the hell are you, calling her a whore? Are you any better? No, your price is just higher. But you spread your legs for a man just as quickly if he’s got enough money or prestige and you think you can get him to marry you. Don’t think you can stay on your high horse and look down on other women.”
The shocked look on her face told him she hadn’t expected his reaction.
“So don’t you call her a whore! She’s got more honesty in her little finger than you can muster in your entire body. And yes, I’ve been sleeping with her. And I’ve never had better sex in my entire life. And I’m going to go right back to her. You and I were over the minute you jumped into bed with Judd. Go right back to him, and see if he can make you happy. ‘Cause I’m not interested.”
By now he was fuming. Not only did it hit close to home when she’d called Holly a whore, but in that instant he’d realized that he didn’t care if she was a whore or not, he just cared about having her back in his arms. At least, Holly was honest about selling herself, which was more than could be said for those society whores, who pretended to be so high and mighty but sold themselves for another currency: power, prestige, and a rich husband.
“Get out!” Daniel snapped, and Audrey finally seemed to see the rage in him. Yes, she should fear him, because if she kept him from Holly any longer, he’d forget his good upbringing and toss her out of his room without the benefit of clothes other than the ones she wore at present.
Less than a minute later, she’d grabbed her suitcase, thrown a coat over her negligee and stomped through the door he held open for her. He’d never seen her act this quickly on anything.
“You’ll regret this, and then you’ll beg me to come back to you,” she hissed.
Daniel shook his head. “Don’t hold your breath. I can guarantee you, you’ll suffocate.”
He let the door slam behind her. It was the best sound he’d heard in the last half hour.
On his Blackberry, he found the number for the agency and dialed it. He needed to get in touch with Holly.
A female voice answered. “Good evening.” No name.
“Yes, I’m trying to get in touch with one of your employees. We accidentally got separated this evening, and I need to … I need to contact her to give her my whereabouts.” He hoped it sounded believable enough.
“I’m sorry, Sir, but it’s company policy not to give out our employees’ contact information. It’s for their protection, I’m sure you’ll understand.” She was friendly enough but firm.
“But this is really an emergency. As I said, we got separated, and our evening isn’t over yet.”
He needed to see her.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she repeated in the same tone. “I can take a message and pass it on to her tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow morning?” Unacceptable. Too late.
“Yes, sir. We don’t contact our employees after midnight.”
“Forget it.”
He disconnected the call. Damn Audrey! He could be in bed with Holly now, having the most amazing sex of his life, and instead, here he stood, angry, frustrated and without a means to contact her.
Handsome Adonis seeks Goddess of Love.
Where was she, his love goddess? Why had she run off? Maybe it was company policy to avoid fights with clients’ spouses or girlfriends. It was probably survival instinct for any escort not to get between a client and his angry other half.
Hell, if he’d only known how to get in contact with her, then they could continue where they’d left off. His body was yearning for her. Her taste was still on his tongue, and he hadn’t had nearly enough of her. He couldn’t explain it to himself, and he didn’t want to analyze it, but he knew he wanted her. And by God, he’d have her.
The way she’d felt in his arms when he’d made her come on the bench, and how she’d kissed him after that, wasn’t something anybody could buy. No, what she’d given him wasn’t for sale. The way she’d kissed him wasn’t because he was paying for it. He was convinced of it. Holly wanted him too. It had to be. It just had to be that way.
***
Sabrina had a hard time getting up and would have liked to call in sick, but then she would have moped around the flat all day long and just cried some more. She knew it was better not to allow herself to sink any deeper into her sorrow and pull herself up. She had to pretend that everything was okay, even though she knew it wasn’t.
Despite what she’d promised herself, she’d gotten hurt. She’d fallen hard for Daniel. When it had happened, she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe during the cooking class when they’d kneaded the dough together, or maybe when he’d turned into a rascal and they’d trespassed. It didn’t matter when it had happened, just that it had.
And he wasn't worthy of her emotions. Daniel was a cheating, lying son of a bitch, not any better than the guy she’d slept with in law school. How could he? And all this time, he’d been so sweet to her, so caring. It made him even more of a cad.
No, she had to forget about him. He wasn’t worth it. She had to move on. And nobody could know about it, not even Holly. If Holly found out that she’d fallen in love with him, she’d blame herself. And it wasn’t Holly’s fault. It was hers.
Sabrina poured herself a quick cup of coffee and drank it standing in the kitchen. She wanted to avoid her roommate and get into work early, but she wasn’t lucky. Holly had obviously heard her and gotten up despite the fact that it was far too early for her. Holly never got up before ten in the morning.
“What happened last night?” Holly needed no preliminaries when she wanted to get to the bottom of things.
Sabrina avoided her gaze. “Nothing. Everything’s fine. I have to be at work early. Big case.”
She put her coffee mug down on the counter and snatched her briefcase.
“Sabrina, please,” Holly insisted.
“It’s fine.” She rushed out and let the door close behind her.
She had no big case to attend to. Nothing particularly important was waiting for her at work. But at least she could busy herself and make the day go by faster. When she arrived at work, the place was already buzzing like a beehive.
“What’s going on, Caroline?” she asked the receptionist. “Why’s everybody in so early?”
“Haven’t you heard? We picked up so
me really big client from the East Coast. He’s coming for a meeting in an hour.”
Sabrina shrugged. Nobody ever told her anything, and obviously she wasn’t going to be working on the new client’s case anyway, especially not if he was a really big client, as Caroline had put it. Nobody ever gave her any important assignments.
She opened the door to her tiny office and buried herself in boring depositions, which needed reviewing. Everybody left her alone. It appeared everybody but she was assigned to the new client. Perfect. Her love life was a mess, and her career was going nowhere.
Her intercom buzzed. “Hannigan wants a copy of the Fleming depositions. Do you have those, Sabrina?” Caroline’s voice came through.
“I’ve just finished reviewing them. You can pick them up and copy them for him.”
“Sorry, can’t. I’m not allowed to leave the reception desk today.”
“Then have Helen do it.”
“Helen is working on something for the new client. I’m sorry, but there’s nobody else to copy those. And Hannigan wants them now.”
Sabrina sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it myself.” Now she was even relegated to secretarial duties. Great! The day was getting better by the minute. What else was there that could go wrong?
She passed the conference room on her way to the copier room. The conference room was on one end of their floor and had glass walls. When they’d remodeled the office, the partners had insisted on something grand to impress the clients. The conference room looked out over the city, and the glass wall between the room and the foyer added to the impressive view.
All partners, several associates and other men Sabrina couldn’t quite make out were huddled over the conference table talking loudly amongst themselves and passing documents between them. A bunch of suits. In the end, they all looked the same. Not a single woman among them.
She entered the copier room and punched in her code to start copying the depositions. The machine made a loud humming noise as it started its job. Bored, she tapped her fingers on the control panel.
“Waiting for something?” a voice coming from the door startled her.
She turned in lightning speed and saw how Hannigan closed the door behind him and locked it from the inside. Instantly, cold sweat broke out on her skin. Oh God, he’d tricked her. He’d sent her to do the copying job knowing that none of the secretaries was available, so he could trap her in here.
Sabrina’s stomach turned, and she felt sick.
“I’m almost done here. I can bring the papers to your office.” She tried to remain calm and pretend she didn’t know what he was up to.
“That won’t be necessary.” His disgusting tongue snaked out and licked his lips.
She felt bile rise. There was only one exit to this room, and Hannigan was blocking it.
“It’s much cozier here anyway. What do you say, Sabrina?”
He made a step toward her, and she jerked back.
“Mr. Hannigan, I’ll bring the papers to your office.” She tried to be as formal as possible to tell him that he wasn’t welcome.
“Come on, Sabrina, I’m sure under this cool exterior there’s a whole lot of passion buried.” He was only too right, but the passion in her wasn’t meant for him, not even if he were the last men on earth and the future of the world depended on them procreating.
“Mr. Hannigan, I have to ask you to let me pass. I have work to do.” She tried to keep the shaking of her voice under control. She couldn’t show him how scared she was.
“I’ll tell you where your work is. It’s right here.” He grabbed his crotch.
“Mr. Hannigan, I have to ask you to stop this, or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll what? Tell the partners?” He laughed. “They’re not going to touch me, trust me.”
He took another step toward her. Sabrina backed up against a stack of paper. To her left was the copier machine, which was too bulky for her to get around, and to her right were several cases of paper, but stacked only one foot high. It would be easy to step over them.
“Sabrina, I can make your work here easy or hard. You choose.”
She had the feeling he wasn’t here to give her a choice. He was here to force his choice on her. His position was pretty clear from where she stood. Either she gave into his demands, or he’d force himself on her. No, she couldn’t let this happen. She had to get out of here before he laid as much as a finger on her.
Sabrina sized up the situation quickly. In order for her to get behind him to unlock the door, she’d have to let him get closer. It was risky and not only that: the thought of having him come any closer was disgusting and made her want to puke.
But it had to be done. Eying the door behind him, she forced a smile on her lips. Hopefully, she’d learned enough from Holly to know how to trick him into thinking he’d get his way with her. She saw him relax when he noticed her smile. Slowly, Hannigan made another step toward her. Now was the time to act.
6
Daniel stared out the window of the conference room at the Law Offices of Brand, Freeman & Merriweather. Behind him, the lawyers discussed the best way to handle the contingency that was holding up the deal. He’d lost interest in the discussions half an hour ago, and his mind had drifted back to Holly. Before he’d met her, he’d never had any trouble keeping his mind squarely focused on business. It was different this time.
He suddenly didn’t care much about the deal he’d worked on for over a year. The thought that he had to sit through countless other meetings like this one in the next few days made him feel exhausted and weary.
“Mr. Sinclair, how about we ask them for a one million dollar bond to be released only if the contingency is met by our extended due date?” Mr. Merriweather suggested.
Daniel turned to consider the proposition and froze. His eyes had drifted toward the reception area. Holly—his Holly!—walked through one of the office doors into the foyer and crossed it hastily. She looked different. She wore a business suit, but her hair was disheveled and the collar of her blouse was out of place. As she disappeared through another door, his gaze was suddenly drawn back to the door she’d exited from. It opened again, and a man in his forties came out. He glanced to each side as if he didn’t want to be noticed while he tucked his tie back into his suit and adjusted his jacket. His face appeared flushed.
Damn! Oh, God, no! This couldn’t be happening. Holly was here to service another client.
“Mr. Sinclair?” Merriweather reminded him that he was still waiting for an answer.
“Sure, let’s do that. Why don’t I leave you to work out the details? You know my sentiments. Gentlemen, you know what to do,” he excused himself.
Daniel hurried out of the room, eager to catch Holly. The thought that she’d been with another man was as if a wire hanger was slowly being pushed through his guts. Excruciatingly slowly. Damn, if he’d let some other man touch her!
His search for her was fruitless. The door he’d seen her leave through went straight to the stairs, and by the time he’d reached the bottom and gotten outside, she was nowhere to be seen. She obviously knew how to make a quick escape, not that she’d seen him, but she probably knew how to get away unseen in case the office staff had noticed anything going on.
His hands balled into fists as he recalled the face of the man who’d come out of the room after her. The thought of that pig’s hands on her made him want to kick somebody, preferably that pig. He had to draw on all his self control not to go back up to the office and pummel that bastard’s face with his fists until his face was bloody mush.
Daniel pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
“Good morning,” a friendly female voice chirped.
“Miss Snyder, please. Daniel Sinclair.”
He was connected instantly. “Mr. Sinclair, how may I help you?”
“I’d like to book Holly.”
“Certainly. What time slot?”
“Exclusively starting from today through the entire next week. She’s
not to have any other clients,” he barked into the phone.
“Mr. Sinclair. This is highly unusual. I believe it would be better if we discussed this in my office.”
“Fine.”
“I can see you at 2 p.m. My assistant will give you instructions on how to get here.”
She transferred him back to the girl, who’d answered the phone. After she gave him the address, he cut her off.
“I know where it is.”
Daniel didn’t care that he sounded rude. He was in no mood to be polite. He knew exactly what the feeling in his gut was, but he wasn’t ready to acknowledge it. It was better not to think of it.
He headed for a dive and ordered a stiff drink at the bar. He had over two hours to kill, and while he was sure Tim would have loved to have lunch with him, he wasn’t sure he could face his all too perceptive friend right now. He’d see right through him and call him on it. And then what? He’d have to admit to himself what had happened. No, he wasn’t quite ready for that.
It was easier to kick back a couple of drinks at a bar and pretend to watch sports on the TV that hung over it. Right now, he was all for doing the easy thing. It would get much harder later.
The bartender gave him a look as if he knew what was going on inside his head. “You want nuts with that?”
“Sure.” He hadn’t had any lunch, and he wasn’t hungry, so nuts were as good a choice as any.
As the bartender shoved the bowl of nuts in front of him, Daniel only nodded.
“Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” the bartender suddenly said.
“Do I look like I want to listen to some clichés?” he snorted.
“Not really, but at least it got you talking.”
“Who says I want to talk?”
“Midday, alone in a bar, hard liquor. Yeah, you’re here for a talk. Seen the type.”
