by Dara Girard
But Dominic made that difficult. Throughout dinner—which consisted of smoked salmon, sweet potatoes, asparagus, sweet rolls and red wine—he refused to talk about why she was there. He was a great conversationalist and they talked about everything but that. After her favorite dessert, chocolate mousse, Brenda felt more relaxed and Dominic finally brought up the topic, while leading her into the family room.
“I’m happy you called me,” he said taking a seat on a large sofa. “I was a little worried about you.”
“You don’t have to be.” Brenda adjusted her skirt as she sat down in a side chair and faced him.
“Madeline left me a letter.”
Brenda paused, surprised. “She did?”
He nodded. “Did she leave you one too?”
“Yes.”
“What did yours say?”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
He shrugged. “Fair enough, but after what happened did it make you want to change?”
“It made me think about my life.”
“Now you’re ready to have one.”
“Oh, that’s hilarious coming from you. How much time do you actually spend in this house?”
“I told you,” he said slowly. “I’ve altered my priorities. I don’t work as much as I used to.”
“Really?” She glanced at his organizer on the side table next to him.
“Yes.”
She held out her hand. “Let me see your schedule for next week.”
“No.”
“Why not? Do you have something to hide?”
He rubbed his nose, uncomfortable. “This month’s a bit crowded.”
“I knew you hadn’t changed.”
He opened his organizer and handed it to her. She glanced through it. “I’m surprised you have time to sleep.”
“Yes, it looks crowded, but that’s only because I’m not seeing anyone at the moment. I guarantee you, if I were, my schedule would look differently.”
“I’m sure it would.”
He let her sarcasm slide. “So what can I do for you?”
Brenda cleared her throat. She’d practiced what she would say, but oddly, she felt awkward. “I didn’t get funding for phase two of my project and I need a loan.”
“A loan?” he repeated.
“Yes, a loan. I had thought of you as an investor, but that would include too much paperwork and involvement.”
He sat back, his gaze sharp. “And you just want my money, not me.”
“It’s more complicated than that. I—”
He folded his arms. “How much do you want?”
“About a million.”
“I don’t deal in ‘abouts’. How much do you need?”
“One point five million.”
“How do you plan to pay back this loan?”
She opened her briefcase. “I’ve sketched it all out here.” Brenda spread several papers out on the glass center table, confident that he would be impressed.
Dominic glanced at the papers, then shook his head. “I’m not in the mood to read. Just tell me.”
“But I have everything laid out. If you’d just—”
“Brenda, it’s a simple question. If I have to go through four pages to find out the answer, it’s a bad risk.” He leaned forward. “I know you. You can be very straightforward when you want to be. But when you don’t know an answer, you stall. You create complex replies. That may work with others, but it doesn’t work with me.” He traced the edge of the table, his tone unrelenting. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. How do you plan to pay back this loan?”
Brenda stared down at her carefully laid out illusion: the typed pages with all her projections. He was smart, she should have known better. She should have remembered she couldn’t deceive him. “I don’t know.” She raised her gaze, determined. “But I will. You know my word is good.”
He sat back. “Your word may be good, but I can’t depend on your vows.”
The words hit her like a slap, making her angry.
“Don’t give me that. You wanted the divorce as much as I did.”
He blinked, but didn’t respond.
“Are you going to give me the loan or not?”
“No.”
Brenda cooled her anger, quickly gathered her papers, then stood. “Okay.”
“Sit down. I haven’t finished yet.”
“Then talk to your dog.” She turned to leave.
“I said sit.”
“I’m not staying to hear your explanation.”
His gaze remained on her like a laser and each moment she defied him the laser burned hotter. He rarely shouted at anyone, and definitely not at her. He just became very quiet with all the calm of an approaching tornado.
She sat, reluctantly.
Dominic did not smile with triumph. Instead, he lowered his gaze and kept his voice soft. “I’m not going to loan you the money, I’m going to give it to you.”
“Give it to me?”
“Yes, but I want you to do something for me in return.”
“I knew there would be a catch,” she said in disgust.
He got up and started to leave.
“No, wait,” she said, realizing her error. “Okay, I’m listening.”
He settled back in his chair. “I’m working on a book and I need an illustrator.”
“Your publisher will hire one for you.”
“I know that, but I want you.”
She shook her head. “Impossible. I haven’t illustrated in years.”
“Is that a no?”
“It’s a ‘you’re out of your mind.’”
“Okay.” He stood up again and left.
Brenda jumped up and followed him.
“Dominic, be reasonable.”
“I’m willing to give you over a million dollars for twenty illustrations and you’re asking me to be reasonable? Are you afraid? Is that why you’re turning me down?”
“I’m not afraid.” She was terrified. She couldn’t remember the last time she had had to work on a drawing assignment.
“Then what’s holding you back?”
She couldn’t admit weakness to him and besides, she needed the money. She took a deep breath, determined to think rationally, not emotionally. “What’s the project?”
He went into another room, then returned with some papers. “This.”
She stared at the outlined description. “This could take an entire year to complete. I don’t have that kind of time to take away from my research.”
“Yes, you do. Your research is progressing well. And that fellow you work with, Chuck, is a brilliant scientist and can take the lead. You have the lab and the researchers. It doesn’t need your daily involvement anymore, you’re basically just supervising so you have time to help me.”
“Who’s the publisher? What if they don’t like my style?”
A sly grin touched his face. “You’re afraid.”
She stiffened. “No, I’m not.”
He held out his hand. “Then we’ll be working together.”
“Maybe we should have a trial run first. I could produce a few samples and—”
He rested his hands on his hips. “It’s all or nothing.” He pinned her with an intense stare.
She hesitated. “There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“Well, my water heater just busted.”
“And you need money to replace it.”
“Yes.”
“Now that changes things,” he said, thoughtful.
“Why?”
“Because that’s a personal request.”
She tilted her head to the side and folded her arms. “It’s not that personal.”
“If you want money for your water heater you have to invite me over for dinner.”
“Why?”
“That’s my condition. Take it or leave it.”
“But I don’t cook, you know that.”
“You can order something.”
“T
his doesn’t make any sense to me. First you want illustrations and then dinner. Why?”
Dominic pulled her against his hard, solid body and covered her mouth with his. His mouth was even sweeter than she remembered. Her body shamelessly responded to being in his arms again. He always made her feel wicked and wild. But before she could completely lose control, he abruptly pulled away, his voice as unsteady as she felt. “That’s why.”
“You’re not getting that as part of our partnership,” she said, breathless.
“No, I expect to get that for free.”
His arrogance infuriated her. She raised her fists to hit him in the chest, but he grabbed them before she struck him. “Go on and fight me, Brenda,” he whispered. “Fight me long. Fight me hard, fight me with all your might until you’re weak. Then when you surrender, I’ll be ready.”
“I’ll never surrender to you.”
“You want me.” He kissed her fist, easing his leg between hers. “Don’t think I don’t feel it.”
“It’s just the fact that you’re a man, not that it’s you.”
His jaw twitched and anger briefly darkened his eyes, then passed. “I’m going to forgive you for that, but watch your mouth because I know how to close it.” He kissed her neck. “You smell good and feel even better. I’d take you to bed tonight if I knew you were ready. But you’d convince yourself it was all a mistake and regret it in the morning no matter how good it was. And you’d lie just to punish me.”
She blinked at him as if she were bored. “May I go now?”
His gaze locked into hers and she could see him measuring how far he was going to push her, then he stepped back. “We start next week. You have a few days to prepare.”
“For what?”
“The fact that I’m going to seduce you.”
“You can try.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up in a wicked grin. “You know me better than that, Brenda. I don’t try. I succeed.”
She wasn’t scared, Brenda told herself on her drive home. That wasn’t her problem. No, she wasn’t scared, she was aroused. Dangerously so. But that had always been her weakness when it came to Dominic. However, this time she was determined to resist. She could handle him. And no matter what seductive ploy he used she would fight it.
As she changed her clothes, his kiss still lingered on her lips. If she licked them she was certain she could taste him. She was afraid that if she looked at her body she’d see where his hands had been as if he’d imprinted himself on her, not that she needed to see anything, her body remembered everything. Thank God she still had a working shower—cold water was all she needed.
Thomas stared at Dominic, stunned. He leaned on the desk. “Are you out of your mind?”
Dominic tossed his yo-yo in the air. “No, I’ve made my decision.”
“You want to forgo the opportunity of a lifetime so you can write a book?”
He directed the yo-yo to the ground. “Yes.”
“Okay, what about the other deal we discussed?”
Dominic caught his yo-yo in a quick decisive motion. “I’m saying no to that too.”
Thomas took a deep breath. Dominic and his damn yo-yo. He could strangle him with it. But then again, the guy was making him rich so he couldn’t do that. He had to reason with him. “But this is TV. This is the next level for you.”
“TV is nothing new for me.”
“This is the National Geographic channel and they want you to be their technical advisor on a major new series.”
“I’m not interested.”
“You don’t understand what this means. Think about the money.”
“I have plenty of money.”
“The prestige.”
“I have that too. I’ve been on radio, TV, in magazines, newspapers, trade journals. I’ve traveled the world and met fascinating people. I’ve done a lot of things, but after doing them, I go home alone.”
“Is that what you want? A woman? I can get you one. Hell, you can get one yourself, but if you’re too busy I’ll find one for you. Just tell me the type you like and she’s yours.”
“I found my type years ago and I plan to get her back.”
“You mean Brenda?” he said with such disgust that Dominic sent him a look as powerful as a punch. He cleared his throat. “You know second chances are rare.”
“But not impossible.”
“Improbable.”
“But not impossible,” he repeated. “You should have seen her last night. She was amazing and she did it all for me. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll find out soon enough.”
“I don’t mean to poke holes in your theory, but have you considered that there could be someone else she’s trying to impress?”
“There’s nobody else.” He paused, suddenly unsure. “If there is, he won’t last long.”
“She could just want your money.”
“Brenda’s not like that. It’s as I told you. She’s changed and I’ve changed and it’s going to work out for the two of us. I’m going to get my wife back. And my first plan starts with fixing her water heater. I want you to handle that for me.” He opened a drawer, then placed an ad from the newspaper on the table. “Make sure it’s the best and I want it to be one of these. I want it installed immediately. See that it happens.”
Thomas pasted on a smile. “You can trust me.”
Thomas stuffed the ad in his pocket and swore as he walked to his car. He hated Brenda Everton. He had hated her ten years ago and he hated her even more now. Too much was at stake for her to get in his way again. Before, when Dominic was just getting started, she’d managed to confuse his priorities, making him feel guilty if he missed a couple dinners or their anniversary.
He’d been glad when she’d cut Dominic free by giving him a divorce. Finally, Dominic was all his and he’d worked with him to make him the success he was today. It was his effort that had got them there and he wouldn’t allow Brenda to get in the way. She was messing with his plan. He was going to make Ayers Corporation even bigger than it was, and he couldn’t have the president and CEO flake out on him now, not over a woman. He had to get Brenda out of the picture.
Thomas pulled out the ad and stared at the listed amount. Dominic was too generous. He’d get her the water heater, but it wouldn’t cost this much.
He called a friend. “I have a job for you. I want it done quick and cheap.”
Chapter 7
“Do you think this is a joke?” The voice on the phone was female and angry.
Brenda pulled the receiver from her ear and stared at it a moment, she’d had a long day and didn’t want to deal with prank calls. She placed the phone against her ear and demanded, “Who is this?”
“Marci, and you haven’t worn any of your new items to work.”
Busted. “I did wear the outfit you suggested on my date.”
“That was over a week ago.”
“How do you know?”
“I told you we have spies.”
“At least I wore it.”
“That’s not good enough. You wanted to see your life change, but you have to change too. I’m thinking of putting in a request to have some of your privileges revoked.”
“What privileges?”
“You won’t know about them if you don’t get them.”
“Now wait,” Brenda said, feeling hurt. “Change takes time.”
“You’re wasting my time with your excuses. Tomorrow you’re going to start dressing as the new Brenda. If you don’t, you’ll be sorry when you hear from me again.” She hung up.
Brenda replaced the receiver, annoyed. Marci could have given her credit for at least wearing the suit. But she didn’t want to get in trouble again. She didn’t want to fail.
What am I supposed to wear to work? Brenda wondered as she stood looking at her closet. Never before had she seen so much color in her wardrobe. She wasn’t against color. She liked color on flowers, cars, houses, but not on herself. When she was in art school, she wore
primarily black despite the brilliant watercolors she loved to paint. She admired the other students who could casually mix and match. But with her height, she stood out enough; she didn’t need or want to emphasize her presence.
Last week had been a hectic week and clothes hadn’t been a priority, but at least she’d gotten her water heater fixed. Brenda frowned. There were too many choices and no Marci to help guide her. Brenda stepped back and took a deep breath. She would create a color-coded system matching all the items with each other.
I can do this. I don’t want to hear from Marci again. Brenda worked into the evening, creating a color-coded fashion file. She translated her notes, detailing which color went with which basic item, such as a skirt, pants or jacket. Nothing in her wardrobe was left out, including accessories such as handbags, of which she only had two, belts, scarves, which she rarely wore, sweaters and shoes. She found shoes particularly challenging. While she had agreed to select several pairs with moderate heels, she wasn’t sure she would feel comfortable wearing them.
Once she was finished, Brenda arranged the cards in a large file box. Although she was exhausted, she felt accomplished. No more anxiety. She didn’t have to worry. She would always get an outfit right.
Her sense of accomplishment dwindled when she looked at the five leftover pieces of clothing on her bed. They were items Marci had insisted she needed: a backless silk halter top, a pair of brown leather straight-legged pants, a floor-length ball gown and a pink and black lace bra and panty set, which had made her blush when Marci handed it to her.
Brenda decided to put them in a large metal trunk she kept in her basement. It was unlikely she would wear any of them anyway. She had never worn anything like the backless halter top, and did not plan to start now. As for the leather pants, they reminded her of a girl she knew in college who only wore short leather skirts and tight leather pants, and probably hadn’t kept them on very long.
The floor-length ball gown seemed like a trivial item, although it was gorgeous. She hadn’t worn anything like it since attending her high school prom. Where would she wear something like that? Even when she was married to Dominic, their schedule had always been busy and they never attended any event where such an extravagant outfit would be needed. Last, but certainly not least, while she was not one to be prudish, the two-piece panty set verged on risqué. She’d really have to trust Mr. Ideal before she wore it for him.
