by Leslie North
Suddenly, everything started to fall into place. The only link between everything that had been happening was Duncan. The only person that could possibly be sabotaging the company was Duncan.
“Duncan?”
Shit. He shook his head and cleared his throat. “It’s Stephen actually. Stephen Maxfield.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Stephen. I’m sorry about the mix-up. Why are you answering your father’s phone?”
“Right place, right time,” Stephen growled. “So Duncan is the reason there has been no press and no other job offers. Did he say why?”
“I think this is something you should discuss with him,” Garret said uneasily.
“Are you kidding me? Garret, I set this whole thing up. Everything going on with this job should go through me. Why the hell are you even talking to Duncan anyway?”
“It’s his company. At the end of the day, Stephen, your father owns the company. When he tells me he wants something, I have to listen to him.”
“Fine.” Stephen rubbed his eyes as he tried to think. “I don’t understand. Why would he ask you to do this? Seriously. What was his reasoning?”
“Well, he said that he was getting ready to sell the construction arm. So there was no reason to take any other jobs.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes, he did. And that’s why I took this job. You knew that, Garret. Dammit,” Stephen roared as he swept out his hand. Papers on the desk went flying as he slammed his palm down on the polished wood. “Is that why he’s cutting out the press? This is a fucking nightmare!”
“Stephen. You’re trying to save a company that you don’t own. I did everything I could to get this deal for you; but Stephen, Duncan owns the company. When the ink dries on the paper, it’s Duncan who runs the show.” Garret sighed on the other end. “I’m sorry. Talk to your father, Stephen.”
The line clicked, and Stephen slammed the phone down. He certainly was going to talk to Duncan.
He had a few choice words for him.
16
Gabe, Nathan, and Duncan were sitting around the kitchen table when Stephen finally got home. It was well into the night, but Stephen hadn’t been able to get home sooner. He’d gone back to his office to pore over the paperwork, and when he knew without a doubt that Duncan was the reason the business was deteriorating, he had to go for a run. Ten miles.
And he was still seething.
“I see that everyone is having a good time,” he said evenly. “It’s nice to see the family getting together.”
Duncan raised his eyebrows, and Gabe and Nathan both paled. They recognized the danger in his sarcastic tone.
“Care to join us?” Duncan said just as evenly.
With a forced smile, Stephen headed to the refrigerator and popped open a beer. “I would love to. What are you guys talking about?”
“We were talking about some childhood memories,” Gabe said slowly. “Funny childhood memories.”
“Funny, huh? Like the time he missed your little league games? Or the time he missed Nathan’s science fair award?” Stephen took a swig of his beer and cocked his head.
Duncan slowly stood. “Do you have something to say to me, boy?”
“I do, actually. I do have something to say to you. I met Michelle today. You remember Michelle? Cute? Tiny? Way underdeveloped social skills? She needed a checkbook from your office, so I got a key and took her down there so she could get it for you. And really, Duncan, you should give the woman her own key. After all, she’s clearly been doing your job for the last eight months anyway. But that’s not the point. While I was there, Garret called. And we had an interesting conversation about the job. And the press. Or rather, the lack of the press. And the fact that you’re turning down all the other jobs that have come in. Care to explain that, Duncan?”
Nathan slowly stood and faced him. “Wait. You’re turning down jobs? Really?”
“You had no right to be in my office,” Duncan growled. “To take my calls.”
“Maybe I crossed a line. And we can debate that after we talk about this. One subject at a time, Duncan. Didn’t you teach us that?” Stephen said as he tipped his bottle up and drained it. The beer wasn’t doing it for him. He really needed something stronger.
“You were in his office?” Gabe asked. He stared at Stephen. “You took a phone call? Are you kidding me? You’ve been here less than a month, and now you want to act like you’re running the place?”
Stephen’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about? Duncan is destroying the company you’ve kept running for ten years, and all you care about is that I was in his office for ten minutes?”
“It’s my company to do with as I damn well please,” Duncan thundered. “You shouldn’t even be here.”
“Why? Were you afraid I would find out your secret?” Stephen shook his head. “Don’t you get it, Gabe? You called us here to help you, and he’s the reason the company is failing. He is!” Jabbing the air in Duncan’s direction, Stephen moved from the counter to confront his father.
“Stephen, take a breather,” Gabe said as he moved to get in between them. “Let’s talk about this rationally.”
“Rationally? You yelled at me for being in the office!”
“Jesus. Did you know, Gabe?” Nathan raked his hand through his hair. “Why are you defending Duncan?”
“I’m not defending him. I’m saying we should talk about it calmly. Like adults.”
Stephen pushed past him until he was only inches away from his father. “Admit it. Admit that this is all your fault. Was this fun for you? To see us all worrying about your company when you’re fucking flushing it down the toilet? God, Mom wouldn’t even be able to look at you right now.” Rage seared through him as he raised his arm and slammed the bottle against the wall. As the glass shattered, everyone froze and stared at him.
“Don’t ever raise your hand against me in this house,” Duncan said in a tight voice. “And if you ever speak of your mother like that again… Get out. Now!”
Stephen looked around for support of his brothers, but neither even looked him in the eye.
“Fine. I’m done with you. I’m done with all of you,” he growled as he turned and walked away.
“And don’t you ever come back, boy.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. But I’ve already told you that I can’t make it. I told you that when you brought it up last week. It’s not like I’m canceling on you.” Angie carried her glass of whiskey from the kitchen into the living room and sank into the couch cushions. All she wanted to do was get stuck into some movie on TV and forget all about work.
“I know, but I was hoping that by now you could have made time for it. It’s important to me, Angie.”
Her mother was such an expert at making her feel guilty. “I’m sorry, Mom. Nothing has changed. I still have obligations at work.”
“Work, work, work! Angie, you used to be all about family. Now I feel lucky if I see you at Christmas.”
“Mom, you see me once a month. At least. Don’t be so dramatic. This is one show. One show. It’s playing all month.”
“It’s not about the show, Angie. It’s about us. It’s about family. Sure, we see you. But you don’t see us. Your mind is always on work. You’re on the phone, but you’re not here. You’re not with us.”
“Mom.” Angie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s okay for a woman to have a career these days. What happened to those moments when you told me how proud you were?”
Her mom was silent on the other end. “I was proud of you, Angie. I was proud of you when you realized your dreams. But now it seems like you’re realizing someone else’s dreams.”
“Mom, this is my dream. I’m so close to reaching my dream. Yes, it’s hard work, and it takes up a lot of time, but it’s going to be worth it. So I can’t go to a show with you. This isn’t the end of the world.”
“It’s not the show, Angie. I want to spend some one on one time with you. I want your attention.”
>
Angie sighed. Guilt and remorse. Everything with her mom was guilt and remorse. “We’ll do lunch this weekend, Mom. One on one attention. Okay?”
“You promise?”
She heard the hope in her mother’s voice, and she sighed again. Her mom wasn’t really only about guilt and remorse. If her mother was acting like this, then there was something wrong. And she should be paying more attention. “I promise.”
There was a loud knock on the door, and Angie straightened. “I’ve got to go, Mom. Lunch this weekend, I promise.” Hanging up, she crept to the door and looked out the peephole.
“Stephen? Jesus, it’s late. What are you doing here?” she said as she swung open the door.
There was a strange intensity in his eyes as he stormed in and slammed the door shut. “Duncan is blocking all my attempts to save the company because he wants to see it die. Did you know this? Did you know this?”
He trapped her against the wall, and her heart beat wildly. “Stephen, you have to calm down,” she said in a shaky voice. “Calm down.”
Slowly, the wildness left his eyes, and he relaxed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he rested his forehead on hers. “I’m sorry.”
“Okay. What’s going on?” Putting her arms around him, Angie rested her head on his chest.
“I don’t want to talk about it. Please don’t ask.” Tipping her chin back, he captured her mouth and pushed her back gently against the wall. “Just be with me tonight. Please.”
“Okay.” More than anything, she wanted to make him feel better. There was something almost demonic in his eyes, and she wanted to see it gone.
More than anything. More than the business. More than finding out what was going on with Duncan. She wanted to see Stephen smile again.
Sliding her hands under his shirt, she lost herself in the warmth of his body. His abs were hard and smooth, but his lips were soft and silky. Softly moaning, she pulled the hem of his shirt all the way up and off so there would be no barriers as she explored.
His hands were all over her, and she heard the fabric of her shirt tear as he pulled at it. But she had no complaints. He was angry, wild, and demanding, and she reveled in it.
Dropping to her knees, she flashed him a mischievous grin as she unbuttoned his jeans and slowly slid the zipper down. “Angie,” he moaned in a low and hoarse voice. Freeing him, she wrapped one fist around the base and slowly slid her lips over him. As she ran one hand over his thighs, she felt him tense. Even in his anger, even in lust, he controlled his body so he wouldn’t hurt her.
After a few minutes of tormenting him, he finally tugged her head away. She moved back up as he turned her and forced the palms of her hands against the wall. “Stephen,” she protested, but his mouth was on the crook of her neck, and his hands were sliding down her wet heat and delving inside of her. “Oh God,” she cried out.
Stephen pressed his body against her as he moved his fingers in and out, occasionally pressing against her clit. Her vision began to blur as he played, and soon her nails were pressing along the wall as she screamed his name and came.
Without giving her a chance to recover, he spun her back around again and hoisted her up against the wall. With his hands under her thighs, he entered her swiftly with a loud moan. “So perfect,” he whispered as he pressed his lips to her. “You feel so perfect.”
As he stretched and filled her, she arched her back. “Fuck. Oh, fuck,” she gasped. He moved, slowly at first, and she adjusted around him, but soon the demons took over, and he was wildly pounding her against the wall. She didn’t even feel any pain as the tension built inside of her once more. There was only him, and the way he made her feel.
And suddenly she was moving. The wall behind her disappeared, and she was falling. As she hit the mattress, he didn’t even slow his pace. Pulling her legs up, he kept going. His pupils had darkened, and the muscles in his neck were straining. Within minutes, her body tightened as her muscles contracted painfully causing him to falter as his body briefly wrestled with hers for control. Her orgasm won this round, spasming around him, milking every last drop out of him as his pelvis continued to pound against her.
“Thank you,” he whispered, later.
“Stephen, what’s going on? I’ve never seen you like this?” she said as she turned in his arms. He rested his head on her chest. They were both bathed in sweat, and she was still shaking.
“Duncan told Garret to block the press. And he’s turning down all the jobs that have come through. The plan is a failure. It’s a failure because Duncan wants it to be a failure.”
“What? Why? Why would he do that?” Her chest clenched. Had she put her entire life into a company that was deliberately being flushed down the toilet?
“I don’t know. Maybe he likes to see me fail,” Stephen said. “And I’m so tired of trying to prove to him that I’m worth it. I’m tired of trying to prove to him that I can do this. I should let it go. I should focus on my own company and my own life.”
He was giving up. He was going home. She shouldn’t care. She had always known that this day would come, but now that they were talking about it, she realized that she wasn’t ready.
And more than that, she feared what he would become if he gave up now.
“Why did you come here in the first place?” she asked softly.
“Gabe,” Stephen said. “I came for Gabe.”
Angie shook her head. She stroked her fingers through his hair. “No. If it was only for Gabe, you could have done that from home. He could have sent you reports, and you could have given him advice from there. But you actually came here and implanted yourself into this company. Why?”
“I wanted to prove to Duncan that I’m good. That I’m better than he ever thought I’d be.”
Angie snorted. “That’s your ego talking. And you could have done that by making your own business successful. So, why are you trying so hard to save Duncan Enterprises?”
He was quiet for a minute. She listened as his breathing finally slowed. His fingers slowly moved in lazy circles over her skin as he thought. “He put this company before everyone. Before his wife. Before his children. I don’t want to know what Duncan Maxfield will become if this company fails. This is our last link. Our last bond. And if he destroys the company, he could be destroying our whole family along with it.”
“And you are going to bail on your family because your ego is bruised?” she asked softly. Another question hung unspoken in her mind. Would he bail on her too?
“I don’t know how to get past this,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t know how to stop him.”
“But you’ll try?” she asked as she held her breath. “You’re not going to run now, are you?”
He didn’t say anything as he moved up and pressed his lips to hers. She wanted to push him, to find out where his head was, but he was already hard again. And now the man knew how to distract her. Soon the only coherent thought in her head was that she wanted more.
She needed more. And she knew he did too.
If they weren’t going to find a resolution by talking, at least they could chase their demons another way. Shifting so she was lying on top of him, she sat up, straddling his hips as he watched her. His eyes were conveying a mix of emotions that she couldn’t quite identify but the obvious press of his erection beneath her told her that he was ready for her.
Her own body was ready for him as she rocked her hips back and forth enjoying the sensation of his rapidly tightening skin against her slit. Lifting one leg, she wrapped her hand around his erection and guided it toward her waiting folds. She slowly sank down on top of him, her body easily handling his size, not stopping until he was deeply seated inside her.
Angie’s fingers trembled where they sat on his chest while her body became accustomed to him at this angle. Giving him a wicked grin, she lifted her hips and began drawing her body up as slow as she could manage before crashing back down against him.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep i
t up for long, her legs were already shaking but she loved the look on his face as her muscles pulsated around him with each turn. Tightening her stomach, she rotated her hips in a figure eight, digging her fingers into his chest as he rubbed against her more sensitive spots.
With a groan, he grabbed her hips, speeding her movements up as she leaned back, the movement causing him to bump against both her clit and her g-spot. What felt like tremors turned into shakes as pleasure worked its way through her body.
“That’s it,” she crooned. “Oh, Stephen, that’s it.”
Sitting up suddenly, Stephen held her on his lap while she shifted her legs, planting her feet on the mattress. Digging in with her heels, she bounced up and down on top of him, his grip on her hips controlling the increasing pace as her moans grew louder.
“I can’t hold out much longer,” he warned. Reaching between them, he pinched at her clit causing her to cry out, her orgasm rushing through her as he came with a roar.
Hugging her tightly, they stayed in that same position until her body stopped clenching wildly around him.
17
Stephen emptied the bottle of bourbon into his glass and stared at the white wall. He’d been in the hotel for a week trying to decide what he was going to do. Angie had stayed a few nights with him, and it had been enough to temper his anger. His nights with her were explosive, but when it was over, he felt a sense of loss. She still didn’t seem to want anything more from him.
Duncan didn’t call him. Gabe and Nathan didn’t call him. There were no emails or text messages. He had no doubt that if he returned to the company’s offices, he’d be escorted off the premises by security.
Even worse, he didn’t even want to deal with his own company. The two managers he’d hired were beyond frustrated. He could hear it in their voicemails, but Stephen was burnt out. He couldn’t think straight, and he certainly couldn’t strategize.
But he did take one phone call.
“Hey buddy,” he slurred a little when he saw Ben’s photo pop up on his screen.
