“This is not as easy as it looks,” she said. “Especially since the letters are in French. We didn’t consider that, you know. I can decipher the dates, and figure out if they’re bills and things because they look like invoices. But, when it comes time to figure out what the letters actually say, I might have a little trouble.”
“I had thought about that, after your rather disastrous showing last night while trying to speak French.” She sneered at him, angry when he gave her a sweet smile. “I have a computer, printer and scanner in the adjoining room. You can scan letters, then put them through an on-line translator. While they’re not perfect, they are close, and will give you a very good idea of what the letter says.”
“Not a bad idea, I guess.”
“Just make sure you print out what the translation says and staple it together.”
The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. “I can figure that out on my own. I’m not an idiot.”
“Of course not.” He still sounded amused and she stood. “As a matter of fact, you’re far from an idiot. You’re a very intelligent, very strong woman. I like that.”
“You know, you think everything’s funny this afternoon. Why is that?”
“I’m not sure. But I have a gift for you, and you probably need to change before we go for dinner.”
“I don’t have much to change into, remember?”
“Yes, I do. I called Bea earlier, and she said the airline had not called. If they have not called by tomorrow I’ll call them myself. I can be very persuasive.”
‘I don’t doubt that.”
“Come with me.” He nodded his head toward the hallway. She mentally memorized where she was in her work, then turned off the light and shut the door. He was already partway down the stairs, and she fell into step behind him. She thought he would go to her room, so she was surprised when he stepped past them and stopped at his own door.
“Come in.”
“Why?”
“Not because of what you’re thinking, trust me. Just come inside.” He disappeared inside the doorway, and she thought about telling him no. But still, curiosity got the better of her and she went inside. He stood at the open French doors, staring out at the winery.
The room was exactly as she thought it would look. Dark wood furniture dominated the huge room, a bed against one wall, a desk and chairs arranged in a conversation area against another. It was decorated in deep greens and reds and looked very masculine.
She looked around the room, wondering what he was doing, why he was being so cryptic. And then she saw it, the end of it hanging off the desk. He’d actually had the audacity to wrap a red ribbon around it.
“A paddle? Are you serious?”
“Very.” He kept his face turned to the fields. “I want this work done, and if you need … let’s call it motivation … then I’ll be happy to provide it.”
“I don’t believe you. Listen, buster, I don’t know how things are done here, but in America, bosses don’t spank their workers for not getting things done. They fire them. So, if you think I’m not being productive, you can fire my ass, but you can’t spank it.”
“Well, this is a different sort of work environment, isn’t it?”
“I don’t care.”
“We’ll set goals. Four stacks a day should give you a pretty good idea of what you’re up against, and should get it done fairly quickly. If you have Alex with you, then I’ll be lenient, and take that into consideration. When you start going through letters, though, I realize it might take a while longer, because of the language difference. So, we’ll stay two stacks a day when that starts to happen. If you don’t make your goal, the first “motivational spanking” will be ten swats. We’ll build from there.”
She was too shocked to say anything. She stared at him, her eyes wide. Finally, she cleared her throat, opened her mouth, and then shut it again.
“You need to find someone else.” She knew she should leave. Instead, she just stood and stared at him, her mind reeling with what he was proposing.
“I’ve been unsuccessful in that endeavor.”
“Well, if you threatened to spank them all, I can see why.”
“I never threatened to spank any of them. They saw what needed to be done, and they balked. You, however, didn’t do that, did you? You like the challenge of turning this mess into neatly stacked papers that show what is what.”
“That may be, but I won’t be threatened with physical punishment for not going by your time table. There is no way to know how many stacks I’ll be able to go through during a day. And I can’t believe you would just assume you could spank me.”
“Some women like to be spanked.” He still looked quite pleased with himself, and it made her blood boil.
“Not me.”
“How very wrong you are. If the idea repulsed you, or made you so angry that you wanted to quit, you would have stormed out of the room instead of standing here, talking with me.”
“That’s just bull.” His words hit her full in the chest. She started to breath harder, her chest rising and falling rapidly. He wasn’t right, was he? “Maybe I just refuse to be bullied.”
His laughter was soft. “Tell yourself that, you might actually believe it.”
“You’re an ass, you know that? I mean, what kind of man has a paddle lying around anyway?” She stopped speaking as she realized what she’d just said. “Oh. You’re an … oh.”
“Yes, I am an, ‘oh.’” He continued to smile, not a gleeful smile, but just a little smirk, that made her swallow hard. “And, before you get angry with Bea and Luc for putting you in this situation, they don’t know I’m a Dom.”
“I’m not into that.”
“That’s fine, because I’m not asking for it. I can go to Paris for that, if need be. What I am doing is using some of the skills I’ve learned as a Dom to encourage you in your work. I’ll give you through dinner to think about it. If you’re not up to the challenge, then let me know. I’ll pay you for the day of work you’ve done, and you can leave. Otherwise, my terms stand. Ten swats at first, then it builds from there.”
She knew she should tell him no. She knew that what he was proposing wasn’t normal, or something that she should even consider. Still, his use of the words, “not up to the challenge,” made her angry. There was no way she would be accused of not being up to anything.
Despite the idea that she was setting herself up for a spanking, she refused to back down from his proposal. There was a huge part of her that was afraid he was right; the idea intrigued her. She sniffed and looked him straight in the eyes.
“No sex.” She narrowed her gaze at him to let him know she was serious.
“No sex. That’s not what I’m asking for. I’m asking for discipline on your part, and if it takes discipline, from me, to get you into that mood, then I’m prepared to deliver it.”
“Good. Then I don’t need time to think about it. I’ll accept your challenge, and all your paddle will do is gather dust.”
“We’ll see. Now, shall we get ready for dinner?”
*****
Alex woke her at three that morning. She stumbled into his room, her body heavy with the need for sleep. She was jetlagged, she knew that. It had been hard to get to sleep that night, but once she had, she’d fallen like a stone.
She stepped toward the bed, where he wiggled his hands and feet, screaming at the top of his lungs.
“Hush.” She picked him up and held him close. “It’s all right. Shush, are you hungry?”
He settled down somewhat as she held him, and within seconds, he was asleep again. She put him back in his crib, pulling the blanket over him. The minute she moved her hand away from his head he started to cry again, his sobs growing louder with each second. She picked him up and then warmed up a bottle, which he refused to take.
After two more unsuccessful attempts at putting him to bed, she settled them into the recliner that sat in a corner, pushing it back and settling him onto her chest.
He was asleep immediately, and she closed her eyes and tried to follow suit. But, instead of being able to sleep, all she could do was think of the man in bed in the next room.
Part of her wondered why he hadn’t come over to check on why Alex was crying so much, but then again, she realized that he knew she would be doing her job, however reluctantly. But then again, she’d been at Alex’s bedside very quick, so maybe Alliot hadn’t woken up, although somehow she doubted that.
He was the type of man who always had to be in control, and she was sure he’d been awake, and was possibly still awake. He’d been wonderfully polite during dinner, smiling at all the right places and making polite conversation. Of course he’d been nice and polite when he’d told her he was going to spank her for not doing as much work as he thought she could get done, either.
The thought of it still made her head spin. This hadn’t been what she’d expected when she’d come to France. She thought she’d stay at Bea’s house, come to work everyday and go “home” by five. But here she was, taking care of a baby and basically living with a Dom who intended to spank her if she didn’t live up to his expectations.
The thought of that brought up something that had preoccupied her during dinner, that had distracted her so much that Bea had asked, several times, what was wrong. Why hadn’t she simply told him to go to hell? That’s what she should have done. Instead, she let her pride get in the way. That was the reason, right? It couldn’t be what he said, that his idea intrigued her.
At least she didn’t think it did. She hoped it didn’t. Of course there was one way to find out. She could slack off today; see how she reacted to his promised spanking. And, if it bothered her the way she thought it would, she could quit right then and there.
Her eyes were growing heavier and she lowered the footrest slowly, lifting Alex gently and settling him back into his crib. He slept soundly, looking quite content as she covered him with the blanket.
Within seconds she was in her own bed, prepared to do absolutely nothing in the office today, just to see what her non-actions produced.
*****
It was harder to do nothing than Michelle had thought it would be. She’d spent a few hours in the morning working with Alex, feeding him and bathing him. Then, she’d spread a blanket on the porch and played with him out in the sunshine, trying to get him to crawl toward her. He’d rocked back and forth, but never quite made it to the crawling part.
She was surprised at how easily caring for him had come to her. She’d expected herself to be uncomfortable, to be frightened that something she did would hurt him. But it hadn’t, and each moment she spent with him she became more and more attached.
When it was time for his nap, she put him down, and then took the baby monitor up to the office, where the piles of papers still sat, mocking her. She could do a little work, she supposed. He’d set her a goal of four, but said he’d give her a little leeway when she had Alex, which she had all morning long.
Still, he’d moved a playpen up to the office, so she could have put Alex in that, and worked while he amused himself. So that excuse was out. What would she say when he asked why she hadn’t done anything? Would she just say, “I’m calling your bluff? I don’t believe you’ll really spank me?”
She picked up half a stack and started to work, deciding it would be better to do a little work than to do nothing at all. Before long, she’d made it the whole way through the pile, and was just thinking of starting on another when she heard Alex’s soft cry over the baby monitor.
She hurried downstairs and picked him up, taking him to the kitchen to feed him a snack before heading back upstairs. She put him in the playpen, where he happily played with several of the toys that were littered about. She sat and watched him, then looked back at her work, deciding she’d done enough for the day.
Alliot’s reaction would be interesting, that was for sure. She didn’t doubt he would be angry, but somehow, she didn’t think he was going to give her ten swats with his paddle. After thirty minutes, she was so bored that she could no longer sit still. She took a stack of mail and sorted it by date. She’d almost made it through when Alliot stepped into the room. He looked around, sighed and nodded. Then he walked to the playpen and bent down.
Alex cooed at him, and he put his finger down for the baby to grasp. He didn’t speak to Michelle. Instead, he stood and left without even really looking at her.
“So much for that,” she said with a laugh. “Your uncle’s full of hot air, Alex. I didn’t think he would follow through on his threat, and I’m right.”
She picked up the baby, and then wrinkled her nose. “You’re ripe, young man. And this is the part of taking care of a baby that doesn’t thrill me.”
She took him to his room and changed him. When she was done, he yawned, and made no fuss when she laid him in the crib. She went into her own room and froze. The paddle lay across her bed, the ribbon on the handle still intact.
“Please pack some things for the baby.” She turned toward the doorway where Alliot stood. His voice was deep, and it made her shiver. “He’ll be staying at Bea’s tonight. They’re coming for dinner, and I asked her to take him home so we could talk and get some work done.”
“Alliot, I…”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You wanted to call my bluff, and that’s exactly what you’ve done. So now, it’s my turn. According to our agreement you’ll get at least ten swats tonight. Don’t push me and make it more.”
*****
“So, how’s it going?” Bea hugged her close, whispering in her ear.
“Fine.” Except for the fact I’m about to be spanked. I’m not really thrilled with that idea. Can I come stay with you tonight?
“I’m so glad. I was a little worried, I admit. But you seem to be doing great with Alex. He’s happier than I’ve seen him in a month.”
“Oh, you mean about the baby. Oh, that part. He’s a darling. I can’t say the same thing for his uncle.”
“I warned you. Alliot is difficult.”
You don’t know the half of it, Michelle thought, turning her gaze on the man in question, who drank a glass of wine as he talked with Luc. He was once again dressed impeccably, in fitted pants and a button-down. He looked ready for a casual business meeting compared to Luc, who wore jeans and a polo shirt.
Dinner had gone well, with Mrs. Thaxton serving, and then cleaning up afterward. Despite the delicious chicken and vegetables, Michelle had eaten hardly anything. She’d toyed with her food, taking the odd bite as Alliot’s words ran through her mind.
You broke our agreement. You get ten swats. Don’t push me and make it more.
Her thoughts kept straying to after dinner, to what was going to happen, and how she wanted to go back to eight this morning and redo the whole day.
No, she wanted to go back to last night, and tell Alliot that she didn’t accept his deal. She didn’t want to be spanked.
“Michelle?”
“What?”
“Your suitcase, have you heard anything?”
“No. I…”
“I’ve taken care of it,” Alliot said from across the room. “They have one more day, according to their regulations, and then they will have to pay to replace the case, and its contents.”
“Oh good.” Bea reached for Alex, and Michelle gave him over, reluctantly. The fact that Alliot had answered Bea’s question about the suitcase told her that he was paying as much attention to her as she was paying to him. Which meant he was as anxious for their guests to leave as she was for them to stay.
“You’re not leaving already, are you?”
“Yes, it’s getting late, and I need to get the children in bed. I’ll bring Alex back tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound?”
Michelle said no at the same time Alliot said yes, and Bea laughed. “Which is it?”
“Yes,” Michelle said. “Tomorrow afternoon is fine.”
Luc picked up Amelie, and then shouldered the bag th
at Michelle had packed for Alex.
“Maybe I should come down with you, to see that he gets to sleep properly.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Bea said with a laugh. “I think I can handle it. Georges, Thierry, let’s go boys. See you tomorrow.”
She leaned over and kissed Michelle’s cheek. When they were gone, Michelle stared after them.
“Why don’t you go up to your room. I’ll settle things down here and join you shortly.”
“No.”
“Michelle, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“I’ll go to the office and do the work I should have done today. I’m sorry I didn’t do it earlier, really I am.” She started for the stairs, stopping when he called her name again.
The Reluctant Au Pair Page 4
