by Kris Calvert
“One second,” she whispered, holding a finger to my lips. “I need to lock the door and cloud the windows.”
“Good idea.” I gasped, completely out of breath. Not wanting her to leave me for even a moment, I followed her like a lost puppy to the other end of the boardroom.
I heard the click of the door locking as I watched the windows instantly cloud. She was immediately at my side again. I wanted her, and she happily obliged me, dropping my pants and boxer briefs in one swift and fluid motion. Placing my hand behind her head, I gently pulled her back to meet my lips and watched her wince in pain.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I kissed her forehead.
“It’s okay. I just fell the other day and hit my head. It’s still a little sore.”
“Baby, I’m so sorry.” I pulled her away from me holding her by the shoulders to look her in the eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. In fact, King was by today to check on me because he was there when it happened.”
I did a double take but didn’t say a word.
“He was afraid I might have a concussion so he gave me three words to remember, and then when he came in to meet with me and go over his old contract, he checked my head.”
“I’m such a jealous fool,” I said, kissing each eyelid as I worked my way back down her face. Her hands roamed over my ass and moved forward, lightly teasing me and driving me crazy.
“I won’t ever doubt you again, Samantha,” I promised, kissing her as deeply as possible. I couldn’t get enough of her. I swept my arm across the table, sending stacks of papers flying into the air and sliding onto the floor. Picking her up, she wrapped her legs around me, dropping her stilettos. I sat her on the boardroom table as the last of the papers floated to the ground. She put her hands to my face and slid them down my neck, loosening my tie and taking it off. Grabbing the bottom of my shirt and yanking in one motion, Samantha sent every button flying across the room. I laid her on the table—legs dangling off the side—and began to undo the line of buttons along the front of her dress. Working from her neck to her knees, I paused only a to unbuckle her blue belt.
I opened her dress completely from the front to reveal white lacy see-through panties and matching bra.
“Christ, Sam. You don’t know what you do to me.”
She sat up and began to caress my hard-on with authority. I leaned in and slowly removed her panties, sliding them with care down her legs.
“You drive me crazy,” I moaned as I began to kiss up her thighs, stopping short of her sexy Brazilian wax to move on to her taut stomach. I grabbed her tight and muscular bottom and pulled her to the edge of the table, sliding into her in one swift motion. It took my breath away.
“Yes,” she gasped.
We moved together, slowly—perfectly. I knew her body so well. I grabbed her bra, pulling it down to expose a perfectly pink nipple. Taking it in my mouth, I swirled it around with my tongue, never lapsing in our sublime rhythm.
She sat up and kissed me hard, pulling me into her deeper. I reached for her knees, pushing them back and bringing her feet to the edge of the table. Lunging forward, Sam gasped again and I closed my eyes, doing my best to hang on.
“Oh, yes.” She moaned and I held my breath, afraid I would end it all too soon. There was no way I would be recanting World Series winners, I could only see the beauty that lay before me.
She cried out again as I pushed harder, unable to control my urge. “Aw hell, Sam,” I groaned. “I can’t take it.”
“Yes. Yes, don’t stop.”
I did as she asked, pulling her to me and pressing forward, hard. I was about to explode, but I wanted to wait for Sam.
“Come for me, baby,” I whispered in ragged breaths.
She grabbed another pile of paper near her hand and pushed it off as she sat up leaning into me. “Yes, sweetheart,” I said softly. I could feel it build inside her, squeezing me, taking me to the edge of no return.
“Oh God,” she said, falling into my arms, giving in to the waves of ecstasy. “Yes!”
She relaxed completely and I held her close, rocking against her. The pressure built until I could no longer hold it together.
“Oh, yeah.” I said, bucking my hips forward. My legs shook and nearly gave way as I poured myself into her. It was a new height of rapture, and I collapsed on top of her in a heap, knowing I would be too heavy for her tiny body.
“Sweet Lord, Samantha,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I love you.”
“Yes, you do,” she whispered happily. I knew in that moment, when it came to Samantha I would forever be undone.
I stood and reached for her hands. There we were: me naked except my open and now useless shirt, and her—pantyless with her bra askew and dress wide open.
“We’re a mess.”
“We’re a happy mess,” she said.
Looking down at my shirt, I smiled at her. “Now, what am I supposed to wear home?” I asked with a laugh.
“I’ll find you an Autumn Valley T-shirt around here somewhere,” she said, pulling me in for another luscious kiss.
“You’re going to make me want to have my way with you again,” I growled.
“We’ve probably pressed our luck already in here tonight, don’t you think?” she asked, looking around the room with a giggle.
I stooped down to look for what was left of our clothes on the floor. Papers littered the boardroom.
“We’ve messed up all your work,” I said, as I found her white silk panties and handed them to her.
“It’s okay. Now, instead of being bored to tears with all of these documents, I can recount our evening together as I continue to sort.”
I discovered my pants and black boxer briefs buried beneath a stack of papers and receipts under the boardroom table. Sam ever so elegantly stepped into her panties, one foot at a time, and began to button her dress again, from the top down. It was just as sexy going back on as it was coming off.
I pulled up my briefs and suit pants quickly to begin the search for my socks and shoes.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, pulling her hair into a ponytail with the rubber band from her wrist.
“I guess it could’ve been worse,” I joked, nodding to the other end of the table filled with Chinese food and beer. “What if we had to clean that up?”
“I’ll find you a shirt.” She smiled as she walked to the other end of the room and opened a double door, exposing an impressive display of office supplies. “Not that I would mind looking at your six-pack abs while we eat.”
“I doubted you at first,” I said, nodding to the supply closet. “But seeing all of that makes me think you might actually find an extra shirt in there.” I marveled at the extensive inventory. “Is all of that for just this office?”
“Yup.” I watched as Sam began to dig through a box in the corner of the closet.
“No wonder it’s so expensive to keep my mother here. You need the income for office supplies.”
I couldn’t see Samantha but I could hear her giggling. “Here,” she said, emerging with a black T-shirt with the words Autumn Valley in green on the front pocket.
“Not bad. I’ll take it.”
“Good, because it’s all I have to offer.”
“Thank you, baby,” I said, taking the shirt from her hand and kissing her soft lips.
Sam stood at the end of the room after closing the supply closet and gave a heavy sigh. “Let’s eat. Then I’ll put it all back together again.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll help.”
I escorted her back to the clean end of the table and pulled out the chair for her.
“Thank you.”
I sat down and handed her the glass of beer she’d poured and her carton of Chinese. “This is not how I pictured this night going. You are unpredictable if anything, Samantha Peterson.”
“And you love me, Mac Callahan.” Her face glowed and I couldn’t take my eyes off of
her.
“Yes, ma’am. I certainly do.”
21
MAC
We finished devouring the Chinese and almost all of the beer, and sat exhausted but still giddy from the lovemaking. Neither one of us wanted to pick up all the papers in the room.
“Let’s just leave it. I’ll come in early and get it back in order.”
“That’s not fair. I shoved it all in the floor.”
Samantha gave me a sly look.
“Okay, well, I shoved most of it on the floor.”
We laughed and I collected our empty Chinese cartons and set them by the door to get rid of the evidence. “Okay,” I said, putting my palms together and rubbing them. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Anything that says ‘PDC’ or ‘Physicians Development Corporation’ put it in one pile.”
“I think I can handle that,” I said, picking up the first piece of paper.
“What if something says ‘Ansible Star Group’?” I asked.
“Separate stack,” she said, starting to dig herself. “That’s not physician recruiting, it’s part of the expansion deal.”
“Expansion?” I asked, suddenly intrigued.
“Part of the reason I was hired is to find new doctors to staff the extra fifty suites that Autumn Valley will gain with the expansion.”
“I never got anything about an expansion, and I handle all of Mom’s affairs here.”
“They didn’t send anything to current families,” she said. “I think they worried the construction might disturb some of the residents and didn’t want to make a big deal of it. The expansion will take over a year.”
“Interesting. So current residents don’t have the option to move into the new areas if they want?” I asked, looking through the papers.
“I’m not sure. Why? Do you want to move your mom?”
“No. Just curious,” I said, continuing to dig. “So if the PDC is the legal slush fund for Autumn Valley, then what is Ansible Star Group doing for the expansion?”
“Don’t know. By the time I’m finished, I should have a pretty good handle on everything that’s come in and out of here for that last couple of years.”
“And why do you need to know that?”
“Budget. PDC has to petition the board of directors for funds. I’ll be launching the biggest recruiting campaign ever, and that’s gonna require lots of money.”
“I suppose doctors want things when they sign on to work in Shadeland.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. It’s all pretty straightforward stuff, actually.”
“This doesn’t look like straightforward business to me at all,” I said with a nervous laugh.
“True. It’s part mess and part mystery. No one’s been minding the class while the teacher’s been sleeping. I’m just tidying up at this point, so I know where they’ve been and I can do a better job moving forward.”
“Here’s another paper for the Ansible Star Group,” I said. “This one’s a receipt for $9,775.00.”
“Doesn’t concern me,” Sam replied flatly. “Just put it in their pile, I can examine it later.”
As I helped Sam stack her files back onto the boardroom table, all I could think about was calling the office. I was doing my best to find as many Ansible Star Group papers as possible without looking totally conspicuous. I’d made mental notes and general calculations of close to a million dollars just in what I had found on the floor.
“I’m ready to go, Mac. I’ll sort out rest tomorrow.”
“Whatever you say, babe,” I said, taking her hands to help her up off the floor. I pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed her neck. “Samantha,” I whispered into her hair as I cradled her to my body. “I’m so in love with you.” I surprised myself with the ease in which the words came to me. Never able to say them before, they now seemed to flow naturally.
“I love you too, Mac.”
“I love you,” I repeated. “And I loved every moment of tonight.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “Even if there was some cleanup involved.”
I walked into the hall and waited for Sam to get her briefcase and purse. I wanted to check out Miller’s office, but found his door locked.
“I’ll be up front!” I shouted.
“Okay.”
I walked back into the boardroom, taking one invoice from Ansible Star. Quietly, I took a photo with my phone and then wandered into the front reception area to inspect Stacy Little’s desk. I sat in her seat, regarding the photo of her and a young man who looked familiar. I moved on, looking for anything current, but there were no files. In fact, there was nothing. It was the cleanest desk I’d ever seen—a tip she was hiding something, or someone’s secrets.
“I’ll be right there,” Sam called from the back. “I just want to do a quick sweep of the boardroom to make sure I’ve got everything.”
“Sam, I’ve got the trash with me.”
“Do you maybe need this?” she asked, walking behind the reception desk and tossing my badge onto Stacy’s desk.
“Where was that?”
“It was under the table in the boardroom. It must’ve fallen out of your pants,” she said. “I did take them off pretty fast.”
“I didn’t know you were such an accomplished pickpocket.”
“That thing is scary,” she said, nodding to my badge.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s badass. That’s all. It looks very official.”
“It is,” I said in a sobering tone, placing it back in my pocket.
“Do you always carry it with you?” she asked, locking the office door.
“Yes. Why?”
“No reason. It’s just that you’re not here on FBI business in Shadeland. You’re here to visit your mom,” she paused. “Right?”
“Sam, the FBI isn’t what I do. It’s who I am,” I explained, getting serious.
“I understand.” She nodded, walking slowly with me down the main corridor to the front of the building.
“Do you carry your handcuffs with you at all times too?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Look at you, Samantha Peterson,” I crooned with a wink. “Do you want me to handcuff you and read you your Miranda rights?”
“Not tonight, thank you. But I’ll think about it.” She walked past me to Chuck standing guard at his post.
“Chuck, I need to sign this man out of the facility, please.”
“Sure, Miss Peterson,” he replied, returning her smile.
“Thank you, Chuck,” I added, approaching the door, holding Sam’s briefcase, a bag of trash and my worthless white shirt.
“Tough night, huh?” he asked, glancing at the dress shirt wadded up in my hand.
“I’m afraid my dinner had a mind of its own.”
“I put soda water on a stain for him,” Sam explained, quickly corroborating my story.
Chuck smiled at her and turned to me, again giving me a surly frown.
“After you,” I said as I opened the door. “Good night, Chuck.”
I waited until we were a safe distance from the front door to speak again. “Chuck doesn’t like me.”
“I don’t know why,” Sam teased. “You only humiliated him in front of the entire staff on the B Wing—slamming his face into the floor and wedging a knee in his back.”
“He threatened to use a Taser gun on me,” I said defending myself.
“Because you were scaring a little old lady.”
“Well, when you put it like that, you make me sound like an ass,” I replied with a smile. “Chuck needed to: number one, calm down, and number two, know that I was in charge.”
“You like being in charge,” Sam said, her face glowing in the moonlight.
“Maybe I do.” I put her briefcase in the back seat of her car.
She wrapped her arms around me tightly, burying her head in my chest. “Mac?” she asked sheepishly. “You know what you said to me tonig
ht?”
“What’s that?”
“You know,” she urged me on.
“What, baby?” I asked as my mind flooded with the phone calls I needed to make to track the Ansible Star Group.
“Maybe it was just an April Fool’s joke.”
“Sam,” I snapped. “Please speak English.”
“You’ve fallen in love with me.”
I nodded and kissed her head. “That’s no joke, sweetheart. I’ve fallen in love with you with all my heart.”
“I never thought I could feel this way,” Sam said. “Ever.”
“Neither did I.”
I kissed her in the moonlight, holding her as tightly as I could without taking the wind from her lungs. “Baby, I don’t want you out on the roads too late.” I pulled away from her. “You need to get going.”
“Okay.” She climbed into her SUV.
Leaning in the car window, I kissed her one last time, lingering on her lips before saying goodnight.
“Mac,” she said, looking into me with her deep blue eyes. “Don’t break my heart.”
“Ditto.”
*
“What’s up, Mac?” Micah quickly answered.
“I need you to check out a company for me,” I said, putting her on speakerphone to look at the photo I had taken.
“Okay, go.”
“Hang on, I’m driving.”
“Jesus, Mac,” she fired back. “You’re losing your touch.”
“Well, shit fuckin’ fire, Micah, hang on!” I shouted, getting angrier by the moment. “It’s the Ansible Star Group. The address is PO Box 7787 Macon, Georgia 31201.”
“Got it, Jethro. Anything else?”
“Jethro? What?”
“You really didn’t think I was going to let the shit fucking fire comment go unnoticed, did you?”
“Whatever. Even you can’t piss me off tonight. Email me the vacation forms. I’m taking some time off.” I hung up, not giving her our usual goodbye.
I rolled through the dark night, anxious to get back to Lone Oak, the Bureau database, and the files I’d brought with me. Sam had unknowingly helped me tonight. I could feasibly crack this case and be done in a couple of days. Maybe I could convince Sam to take a long weekend and we could spend some time alone—just the two of us.
