Page 36 of At Her Pleasure
She picked up her phone and found two texts waiting.
One was work-related. Polly was pregnant and going to be late because of morning sickness.
Work from home today if it’s easier to get it done, Cyn typed back.
They didn’t have enough offices for all the employees they had now, but rather than add facilities, they’d implemented a staggered schedule where the employees, full time and contract, were here three days a week, working from home for two. Everyone had what they needed to be productive, here or at home.
The next text was from Mick.
It said Mick, not a random unidentified phone number. When he’d taken her phone last night, the bastard had put himself in her contact list.
The number had a New Orleans area code, which suggested he was using a burner. An odd decision, because an event planner would presumably want to accumulate contacts for repeat business.
She opened the text. It had an animation, a skeleton with a top hat dancing in the rain. He was exuberantly twirling and dipping an umbrella in the puddles as his bony feet splashed through them. On his third turn, a piano dropped out of the sky, squashing him with a comic plume of purple dust.
Her burst of laughter made her swallow wrong, and she had to reach for her coffee to clear her throat. The only time she really laughed like that was when she was with Vera and the others. When she was expecting it. She read the text as she coughed.
You’re a hell of a fighter, Mistress. I need a freezer full of bagged peas for my bruises. Come have lunch with me.
She typed a response without hesitation. Got meetings. I work for a living.
But her finger hovered over the send button. After this morning’s interview, she didn’t have any more meetings.
She deleted the message and sent him a different one. Come to the address I’m sending you. Eat something beforehand if you need it. Don’t wear underwear.
She followed it up with an interoffice message to the top floor women, Bastion and her project managers, letting them know she was taking a long lunch. Long enough she might not be back today.
Again, she reminded herself he’d be gone in a few days. That sword cut a lot of ways, but could also point toward a forward charge. There was no reason to hold back on everything she’d imagined about him over the past decade. Was there?
Practically, what she had in mind would also allow her to test out the wisdom of doing a public session with him. The CNC scene she hadn’t told him she wasn’t doing.
She turned back to her computer and hit the gas on finishing up. She wanted to get there ahead of him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Soon after Cyn left for lunch, Vera appeared in Ros’s doorway. “Got a minute?”
Ros looked up from the monthly sales report. She wasn’t a hands-off CEO. She was still the face of the business and landed most of the corporate accounts that allowed them to take riskier, smaller projects. She also represented the occasional client herself, to stay in tune with the latest in marketing developments, and because she enjoyed customer contact. Her one nod to being CEO was she could cherry pick who she wanted to personally represent.
“What do you have? Abby already sent me budget projections to review, so anything will seem easier. Even legal matters.”
Vera gave her a half smile and took a seat in a guest chair. “It’s about Cyn and Mick.”
“So I’m not the only one who thinks that’s why we won’t see her back today.” Ros’s humor died away at Vera’s troubled expression. “We’ve been hoping someone would inspire her to explore a relationship outside the club. I know he's not here long. Is that why you don’t look happy about it?”
Vera shook her head. “That’s a concern, but no. It’s Tiger’s reaction to him. Neil and Lawrence felt some of that, too. It bugged me, so I did some digging. You know everyone who comes to Club Progeny gets vetted, even if they have reciprocity from other clubs and groups.”
“I’m aware.” Ros’s jewel-like blue eyes sharpened.
“Well, he didn’t go through the vetting. He was vouched for by one of Progeny’s co-owners, your friend Tyler Winterman. You know he holds majority interest in The Zone down in Florida. He told management that Mick had already been cleared through them, plus a dozen other clubs, so the effort wasn’t needed.”
“Mick’s here for a short time and the staff is busy arranging the LIC event,” Ros noted reasonably. “Tyler didn’t want them spending redundant time and energy.”
“Maybe. But Tyler doesn’t encourage club management to skip steps, or play the ‘I’m the owner who doesn’t have to follow the rules’ card. If anything, he goes the opposite direction. It bugs me.”
“Worries you,” Ros corrected. “Because of her.”
Vera crossed her legs. “She’s getting tighter, more closed in. Since the near misses with you and Abby, and after you two and Skye paired up.”