by M. S. Parker
You want me to let you breathe? Then beg me.
Please…please…Lungs burning, screaming. Hands on my throat.
What will you do…?
“Dominic! I’m home!”
The sound of her voice jerked me out of the past. That need, the one I’d been denying screamed that I go to her.
Instead, I braced my hands on the window and leaned forward, staring out the glass over the city.
Maybe I had made a mistake. But it wasn’t the employee thing that was starting to worry me.
It was Aleena and how much I was starting to need her.
I couldn’t do that though.
I couldn’t let myself need anybody or anything.
Chapter 9
Aleena
The man was giving me whiplash.
He was also giving me a headache and what I preferred to think was indigestion rather than the miserable feeling of a broken heart.
He can’t be breaking your heart, girl, I thought broodingly. That would mean you fell in love and we aren’t doing that.
I frowned. No, I thought. We aren’t…but I could…
Miserable, I stared at my agenda without really seeing it. Dominic wasn’t here. I’d come in to meet with Amber to go over certain details about Trouver L'Amour. She was starting to look for her replacement since she never stayed at the new Winter Corporation businesses long. She would be back to the main offices of Winter Corporation soon enough, but first we needed to find somebody to take over at the dating agency.
I’d been pleasantly surprised, and pleased, when she asked if I’d help her go through the resumes. I really didn’t think I was qualified, and told her so, and she’d laughed it off.
“Trust me…you’re going to be spending a lot of time here for a while. You have to get along with whoever is sitting in this seat. If you’re not happy with her, or him, Dominic won’t be happy. So let’s just avoid it.” She rolled her eyes and sipped from her coffee. “How much time do we have?”
I checked my agenda. “He’s doing an interview.” I grinned at her.
“Lovely.” Amber gave me a solemn look over her coffee cup. “He’ll come back ready to bite heads off. He hates interviews.”
“I’ve noticed.” I paused as I read through one interview and then passed it onto the maybe file. “He’s only had me…”
The elevator doors whispered open and the two of us went quiet as a tall, elegant woman stepped through. Professionally cut brown hair and an outfit that cost more than most people made in a month.
“Ms. Rittenour.” Amber rose from behind the desk and moved out to greet the other woman. She didn’t hold out a hand though.
I wouldn’t have either. Something about the icily beautiful woman in front of me made me think the lady would expect you to bow over her hand, not shake it.
Her gaze flicked to me and then back to Amber. “Is he in?”
“I’m afraid not.” Amber’s voice was polite. Perfectly polite. And…that was it.
Okay. I’d gotten to know Amber over the past few weeks and that tone already had me cautious. Amber was an absolute doll from everything I could tell. If she was using that tone, that could only mean a few things—things could get ugly, things were likely to get ugly or they already were. She had a different manner for dealing with things if everything was either moving on track or just not going her way. I’d figured that out the first week of working here.
Since I didn’t know which way this would go, I started gathering up the resumes and slipping them back into the file. I didn't want to be here when whatever it was happened.
“When will he be returning to the office?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Ms. Rittenour.” Amber turned to me. There was a message in her eyes and I read it loud and clear. He isn’t going to be in.
I inclined my head and thought back. I knew the name. If I was right, this was Penelope Rittenour. I’d been fielding calls and emails from her for the past couple of weeks, and Amber was right. Dominic wasn’t very likely to be in.
Or at least, he wouldn’t want to be in for her.
“I can consult his schedule and see if he’ll be available any time soon, Ms…?” I purposefully left out her last name, as if she hadn't been important enough for me to remember.
“Rittenour,” she bit off. “It’s Penelope Rittenour.” She raked me with a dismissive look. “And you are…?”
I moved out from behind the desk. I don’t know what drove me. Maybe it was that dismissive look or maybe it was the way she spoke to me in almost the same tone Jacqueline St. James-Snow had used. But I found myself holding out my hand. “I’m Aleena Davison, Dominic’s personal assistant.”
One thing I knew about the New York elite by now. Most of them wouldn’t be caught dead actually being rude. Not in front of witnesses at least. They were more about the subtle insults.
After a hard stare at me, Penelope reached out and took my hand. I couldn’t call it a shake. She merely rested her hand in mine for the briefest pause. When she pulled away, I could see her resisting the urge to wipe her hand and I resisted an urge myself. Don’t worry, I wanted to say. Being middle class and biracial isn’t contagious, honey.
“His assistant.” Penelope flicked her fingers together, almost as if she was trying to dislodge the feel of the unwashed masses from her skin.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep a sneer from forming.
“Yes.” I pretended to consider it and glanced over at Amber. “I think it’s been…oh, about six weeks or so since I’ve started. Does that sound right?”
“Yes.” She nodded, giving me a small smile. “We’re very happy with Ms. Davison.”
“Lovely.” Penelope looked bored. “I imagine it’s…pleasant work, keeping up with a man like Dominic.” She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow and smiled at me, but there was nothing polite in the smile. It was one-hundred percent, grade-A bitch. “His mother and I had lunch the other day. Just chatting, of course. We get together every so often, have been friends for years. She’s…well.” She shrugged. “Dominic and I have always been close, so I’m glad…”
The elevator doors whispered open, all but soundless.
I had my teeth clenched together so hard, it nearly gave me a headache and that promise of a headache sprang into full, throbbing existence when Dominic stepped out.
Penelope gave both Amber and I cutting looks before she turned and strode toward him. “Dominic!” She had her hands stretched out. “Really, you need to hire better help…” She infused laughter into the words, but the spite was clear, all the same. “Neither of these…ladies seemed to think you’d be back for hours.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be,” he said, his voice dark. He flicked Amber and me a look before settling his gaze on Amber. “Amber, contact the florist and send something to...”
Penelope was stroking a hand up and down his arm.
I was going to throw up.
Dominic looked down at her and she gave him a saccharine smile. He gave her a polite one back and then strode over to stand closer to me. “Dammit. I can’t even remember where we were,” he said.
“Is everything okay, Dominic?” I asked guardedly. He looked…odd.
He shook his head. “We were having sushi. Mr. Kim, his assistant and the translator, plus another man…fuck…” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I should have had you there because we ended up covering a lot more than I’d planned and now my head is shot. Anyway, the translator had a reaction to something she ate and they had to call an ambulance.”
“A reaction?”
Penelope clearly felt left out. “Dominic, I was wondering if—”
“A few minutes, Penelope.” He flicked a hand in her direction, the tone and gesture clearly dismissive. “My phone’s busted. I dropped it during the commotion and it was smashed. Order me a new one and make sure it’s set up.”
I nodded and turned over my phone, watching as he pulled up the agenda. “Yeah, that’s t
he place,” he muttered. He fired off the name to Amber. “Find out where the ambulance would have taken the woman who had the allergic reaction.” He bent over and wrote her name down. “Send flowers. And then send a case of scotch to Mr. Kim’s hotel.”
“I’d think she’d need it more,” I muttered as I mentally ran down all the things I'd need to do to get Dominic's phone set up.
He flashed me a grin despite the clear stress lines on his face. “She’s alive because of him. He figured out what was happening, knocked me out of my chair and laid her out flat, bellowed at me to call 911 and then demanded that I find an epi-pen.”
I blinked, trying to imagine the diminutive man I knew to be Mr. Kim barking demands at anybody, much less Dominic. Amber seemed to be picturing the same thing and I saw her fighting the same smile I was.
“She’s going to be fine, though, right?” I asked.
“I hope so.” He blew out a breath and then finally looked over at Penelope, his polite, professional mask back in place. He gestured toward his office. “Why don’t we step inside, Penelope?”
He nodded at me. “Aleena, take care of the phone, please. Oh, if either of you hear from Mr. Kim, set up another meeting whenever it’s convenient for him. A man capable of making decisions like that is definitely a man I want to do business with.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, turning it over to me. “Start researching his company, Aleena. Get some background information.”
I looked down at the card as he closed the door, locking himself and Penelope inside.
The name card made my eyes widen.
“Ah…” Heat flooded my face.
Amber glanced up at me, then reached over and plucked the card out of my hand.
A moment later, we were both giggling like a couple of silly teenagers. Maybe it was some sort of hysterical distraction, but I’d much rather be thinking about quiet, reserved Mr. Kim, who apparently was the head of a massive sex toy operation, than the fact that Dominic was inside his office…with the rich, beautiful Penelope Rittenour.
Chapter 10
Dominic
“You know, if you would like some assistance finding some quality help, I’d be happy to…” Penelope paused and when I looked at her, she smiled. “Well, I have some experience in this area.”
Frowning, I asked, “What area?” What was she talking about?
She gestured back toward the door. “Your new personal assistant doesn’t seem to have much experience, Dominic. She’s certainly attractive, but wherever did you find her?”
“I didn’t.” Folding my arms my chest, I gave her a hard stare. “Fawna did, and I have to say, Aleena already has my life compartmentalized and organized down to the last dotted i and the last crossed t. I’m not sure how you could possibly hope to find anybody who could do any better—especially not if they’re expected get along with me twenty-four seven.” I surprised myself by the extent to which I'd defended her.
Penelope’s eyes widened. “She…” She pursed her lips. “She lives in Fawna’s apartment?”
“Where else?” I shrugged and moved back to my desk, trying to make it seem like thinking about Aleena living just down the hall from me wasn't distracting. It had been an insane day, and the last thing I wanted to do was deal with Penelope, but she was here. Gesturing to the seat across from my desk, I gave her a smile she would have recognized if she knew me at all well. It was the let’s get this over so you can get out smile.
Penelope must have read it as my Please…make a move smile because she came around the desk and leaned a hip against it. “I’ve missed seeing you, Dominic,” she said.
She lifted a hand and, instinctively, I froze.
Most people would recognize when somebody didn't want a physical touch.
Penelope, however, was one of those people who couldn't imagine why somebody wouldn’t want her touch and she continued on her course, stroking her hand through my hair. I tolerated it because I refused to let her see me jerking away and recoiling. That would look too much like weakness.
Penelope was one of the women who fell outside my normal categories for women. I wouldn’t fuck her, but I hadn’t initiated a social relationship, so I hadn't explained my rules for either of those two categories.
My rules were simple in either case. For social events, I made sure the groundwork was set before we went anywhere. This isn’t love. I’m not going to fall in love with you. I’m not interested in a romantic relationship so I’d like to avoid things that go with them. I’ll hold your arm as we go to and from events, but beyond that, let’s keep all physical contact to a minimum.
Penelope seemed to think I might be a catch or some bullshit.
That wasn’t going to happen.
Perhaps it was time to explain that.
But as I rose from the chair, my thoughts wandered, shifted, then slid to Aleena. If she’d reached up and brushed my hair back, I wouldn’t mind. Those little casual touches others engaged in…well, she didn’t do them, but I was starting to wish she would. I was starting to miss the fact that she didn’t.
I was starting to regret things and miss them and want them. And it would only get worse, I knew, because as I’d already admitted to myself, I was coming to need her.
Two seconds from explaining the ugly facts of Dominic Snow to Penelope Rittenour, I stopped.
The phone rang before I could think things through a second time and I moved to answer it. I almost didn’t when I saw my mother’s name flash up on the display, but in the end, I closed my hand around the receiver and lifted it to my ear.
If I didn’t talk to her, eventually, she might try to contact Aleena.
I wouldn’t subject Aleena to that.
“Hello, Mom.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Penelope move into the seat behind my desk. I set my jaw and gave her a hard look. She smiled innocently at me and crossed her legs.
Damn, she was annoying. Sucking in a breath through my teeth, I turned my back.
“Darling. How are you?”
“I’m well enough.” I didn’t bother to ask how she was.
“I…” After a moment, she tried haltingly to break the silence. “I assume you’re…”
“Aleena still works for me if that’s what you’re fumbling around to ask, Mom. Nothing has changed. If you’re disappointed…” I let the words trail off. I wouldn’t lie and offer a false apology. And there was no way in hell I was going to tell her the one thing that had changed.
“You’re still angry with me.” She sounded almost amused.
“What clued you in?”
“Really, Dominic,” she said, her voice chiding. “There’s no reason for you to be so rude.”
“Of course.” I nodded and gazed outside. “That’s your domain, isn’t it, Mom?”
Her harsh intake of breath was audible. “Dominic, I am sorry if I upset you.”
“And her?” I asked, gazing restlessly out over the city skyline.
“I…whatever do you mean?”
“I wasn’t the one you insulted, Mom.”
“Well. Of course. Listen, Dominic. I think this would be best if we discussed it in person. Can we…can we talk? Please?”
Closing my eyes, I blocked out the entreating tone of her voice. I knew better.
“Dominic, I feel terrible about Friday. I made several missteps and I’d like to…well, make amends. Can you please come? It’s been so long since the two of us have even had any real time together.”
I mentally snorted. She made missteps, yeah. I almost pointed out that her missteps had mostly been with Aleena and both of us had screwed up there. But one thing was certain. My mother needed to understand that she would never make those missteps with Aleena again. And as much as I hated her machinations, Jacqueline St. James-Snow was my mother. She’d been the one to stand by me, to make sure I got help, care…everything. After.
I didn’t like having a wall between us even if our relationship was stilted at best.
>
“Fine, Mom,” I said softly. “When?”
“Tomorrow night?” The hesitant tone in her voice was unlike her.
Maybe she was trying.
“Okay.” I realized I was nodding to myself. A few moments later, I turned and stared at Penelope. She was still in my chair.
“That’s my desk,” I pointed out.
“Oh.” She gave me a wide, startled look. “I’m sorry…I just…well. I was trying to give you some privacy, Dominic.”
I glanced pointedly at the big doors that opened to the outer offices and then back at her. She colored slightly, but said nothing.
“What can I do for you, Penelope?” I asked, fighting the urge to sigh.
Penelope beamed at me.
“I think I want to try the service out.”
***
There are some things a rich bastard can do and not worry about.
There are some things a rich bastard can do and the shit will hit the fan and he can shrug it off.
The one thing a rich bastard can’t do it is tell a client—no, potential client—like Penelope Rittenour that I’d love to have her and then pass her off to one of his associates.
Especially as she’d made it clear that she’d come here specifically looking for me. I’d tried to be diplomatic and explain that in order to give her the best service, I’d really need to give her to my best people, but she hadn’t gone for it. I was one hell of a businessman and I knew it. I could sell shit to some of the savviest people out there and make them think they were buying diamonds, but Penelope hadn’t gone for it and in the end, I’d agreed to work with her. The last thing I needed was for her to go out there and start muttering to her friends that the company wasn’t delivering what I’d promised. Her friends were the clientele I needed in here, which meant I needed her happy.
Which meant I might have already screwed myself.
She wasn’t looking for a match through the company, though, and I knew it.
She was looking for a match with me.
After I’d escorted her to the elevator, I locked myself in my office, not speaking to either Amber or Aleena.
