Corporate Seduction (22 page)

“Do you want to do the honors or shall I?” Tacoma asked.

With another deep breath she told Cienna the story.

“You have got to be kidding.” Cienna put a hand to her forehead. “I swear this firm must be a magnet for crazy sexual antics. Tyrese? Are you sure it was her?”

Reka nodded. “Positive. I did a double take myself. But then there were so many pictures that her face became clearer in each one. She’s definitely not the stuck up ghetto I-married-well-so-now-I’m-all-that twit we thought she was.”

Tacoma grinned. “Ain’t that the truth. But she is a bimbo, so I say we treat her like one and put the smack down on her.” He was up and out of his chair again.

“Sit down, Tacoma,” Cienna sighed. “No fighting in the office.”

“Then you go down there and fire her skinny ass,” Tacoma rebutted as he took his seat again.

Cienna shook her head. “Fire her for what? Having a sex life outside of the office? She’ll sue Page & Associates so quick we won’t have time to get to the unemployment line.”

“But isn’t it insubordination or something to bring photos like this into the workplace?” Reka asked. The thought of seeing Tyrese every day from here on out made her sick.

“Not unless you can prove that she brought them here. And you said they were in a FedEx envelope. It’s easy enough to find out who sent the package, but if it wasn’t her there’s really nothing I can do.”

“Well, she’s not getting off that easy!” Tacoma was up again.

“Sit down, Tacoma!” Reka and Cienna yelled in unison.

Tacoma frowned.

“I can’t fire her,” Cienna said thoughtfully, “but if she were to resign I’d have no problem accepting it.” She looked at Reka.

“So what does that tell us? She’s not going to quit and you know it,” Tacoma fired back.

Reka kept her eyes on Cienna, getting her meaning and smiling. “Oh she’s going to quit. It’ll just take a little convincing.” She turned to Tacoma. “I know you’re up for convincing her, aren’t you?”

A smile spread across Tacoma’s face. “You know I am,” he said, rubbing his hands together happily.

* * *

Khalil breathed a heavy sigh as he let himself into his apartment. It was after seven and he was tired from driving around the city trying to get his thoughts together. Keith had pointed out something he hadn’t even considered. As a result he’d looked at the pictures over and over again until he almost had them memorized. Was he wrong?

He dropped the infamous envelope onto his dresser, for the first time looking for the sender’s address. There was none. But finding out the identity wasn’t a problem. Taking the envelope into his office, he booted up his computer. Rolling his head around, he tried to crack his neck in the hope that some of the tension would be relieved. When that didn’t work he opted for a shower. He could research the package when he finished.

Hot water streamed over his honey-toned skin as he stood beneath the sprinkler, head bowed, eyes closed. He loved her, of that there was no doubt. And if these pictures weren’t of her, which he was now reasonably sure they weren’t, then he had two problems. Who would go to such drastic measures to separate them, and how would he win Reka back?

He remembered the look on her face when he walked into her office: concern. But when he spoke to her, when he instructed her to open the envelope, that concern had quickly faded. Shock. Confusion. Then realization. He recalled the exact moment that the pictures and their impact settled into her mind. The usual gleam in her eyes had shifted. Anger was clear, disappointment presumed, but hurt, that was definite. As if he thought he’d been in enough pain, remembering the look she’d given him only squeezed his heart tighter. Could a woman who was caught in her lies still manage to look that way?

He hadn’t verbally accused her, but then he didn’t need to. The pictures and his attitude most likely spoke for themselves. Cursing again, he washed, then stepped out of the shower. He’d dried off and was just slipping on a pair of shorts when his doorbell rang. He paused, looked toward his bedroom door and felt a jolt of his heart. Was it Reka? Had she come to talk about this?

His feet moved him to find out even as he thought it would be more likely for Reka to be stopping by to finish the argument. She’d wanted to say more to him; he’d seen her struggle to hold back. But now he was probably about to receive the full brunt of her anger.

Swinging the door open, he looked into familiar eyes, but not the ones he wanted to see. Before he could speak she’d brushed past him. “Hi, darling. I hated the way we ended things the last time we talked, so I thought I’d stop by.”

For a moment Khalil still held the door open, shocked at seeing her and amazed at her casualness. But then, she had no idea he suspected her of being involved with those pictures. That could play to his advantage. “Ah, yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about that, too.” Closing the door, he walked into the living room where she’d already shed her coat, dropping it on the chair. She looked good in her ivory pant suit and shoes. Her hair was perfect, her face the picture of a model, but in her eyes—you could always tell the truth of a person through their eyes—he saw a spark of triumph.

“You look tired, Khalil. Are you sleeping okay?” Sonya asked.

Yeah, she was enjoying this. What she didn’t know was that he was about to have some fun himself. “Actually, no. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. Re-evaluating, I guess you could say.” He moved until he was standing directly in front of her, lifting his hand to toy with a strand of her hair.

Her smile warmed as she touched a palm to his cheek. “Oh, poor baby. Can I do anything to help?”

“I don’t think so. I’m just so confused right now.”

Sonya took a step closer, her victory all but bubbling over inside. He was naked except for his shorts, and she realized with a start how truly handsome Khalil was. All that smooth golden skin, the small splatter of dark curls on his chest, the tight muscles of his abs. Her mouth actually watered. With both hands she felt the strength in his shoulders, then let her hands roam the length of his torso. “I can make it better, Khalil. Remember how we were together?” she whispered into his ear. She remembered, but had a feeling that tonight with him would be different.

“I’m not sure sex is the solution for what I’m going through.” Khalil restrained himself, allowed her to touch him, though every second she spoke convinced him she was definitely in on the picture scheme. He wished he’d had the opportunity to find out who the sender was, but this might be even better. But how to get her to confess? Her hands wrapped around him, cupped his buttocks, and he found his answer.

“I can make you feel so much better, baby. If you let me.” She kissed along his chest, laving his nipple before slipping her hands beneath the band of his shorts.

Closing his eyes, Khalil convinced himself that this was the only way. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her closer. “You’re the only one I can trust, Sonya.”

She sighed. “That’s right, baby. I am.”

His hands moved up and down her back, stopping just before her bottom. “I just feel so betrayed right now. I feel like every time I give my trust it’s thrown back in my face.”

“You can trust me, Khalil.” She kissed his neck, the line of his jaw, then hovered momentarily over his lips. “I love you.”

“You do?” he asked, amazed at how well she lied.

“Yes, baby, I do. I’d do anything to keep us together, Khalil. Just tell me what you want me to do.” She traced her tongue over his bottom lip, was about to delve inside when he grabbed her hair roughly. Every bell inside her body rang, and heat and moisture soared to her center. “What do you want?” she whispered.

He tugged on her hair a little harder, until she arched backward, her throat bared, her pulse quickening. Her eyes had darkened, and he realized it was because his roughness had aroused her. This was not the Sonya he’d known. “Tell me how you know Donovan Jackson.”

Sonya blinked. “What? Who? What does he have to do with us?”

She grasped his arms, her nails skimming his skin. “If you want us to be together again I have to know how you know him. I have to make sure that it’s just me and you.”

Sonya licked her lips. “Yes, it’s just me and you, Khalil. I’ve never really wanted anybody else.”

“Did you want Donovan?”

“No.”

He pulled her hair a little more. “The truth, Sonya.” Then he lightened his grip. “Or we can’t get back together.”

Her breathing was erratic, her nipples hard and straining against her blouse. He looked positively dangerous, and his hands on her were rough and hard. She wanted him, oh she wanted him badly. “Just for a while. Just while you were running around with her. I needed somebody.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Where did you meet him?”

“At a party or something.” She was wiggling in his arms, trying like hell to increase the contact of their bodies. “Baby, let me take my jacket off.”

“Not yet. I like how you look right now.”

She smiled. “Is it over between you and her?”

He prayed it wasn’t. “I found out she was cheating.”

A smirk slipped over her lips. “I told you she wasn’t good enough for you. She’s just a tramp, just like Donovan. I knew you’d see that the moment…” Her words broke off.

Lifting a hand, Khalil rubbed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. It quivered. “The moment I what?” he whispered.

It was a good thing he was holding her up or Sonya would have melted right then and there. Why hadn’t he showed her this side of him before? “I already knew she was still sleeping with him when I saw you on Thanksgiving. Donovan is into a lot of kinky stuff.”

“Kinky?” Khalil purposely rubbed his chest against hers and watched as her eyes fluttered. She was clearly aroused, and to a point that he’d never seen before. When had she become so wanton? “What do you know about kinky, Sonya? I thought you were a good girl.”

She purred. “I am a good girl, baby. I’m
your
good girl.” His finger was still close enough that when she extended her tongue it touched the lone digit. “But I can show you so many bad things.”

“Really?” He wanted nothing more than to throw her to the floor. A sick and disgusting feeling was roiling through him. “What can you show me?” She opened her mouth to speak and he quieted her with a finger over her lips. “Shhh, let me tell you what I want you to show me. I want to have you,” he dragged his finger down the line of her neck, watched her smile, “and another woman. I want us all in bed. Together.”

Her eyes lit up. “And then I want somebody to take pictures. No, better yet, I want it videotaped. Can you do that for me, baby?”

Sonya cooed. Marrying Khalil wasn’t going to be so bad after all. “Oh yes, baby, I can do that. I know just who to call.”

Khalil released her abruptly. “Then make the call.”

She looked startled for a moment, then moved to the phone. He walked behind her, watched as she dialed, committing the number to memory. He was so close to her he could hear when the woman answered the phone. Then he yanked the phone cord right out of the wall with one hand and grabbed Sonya’s shoulder with the other.

“How much did you pay them?” he yelled.

“What? Baby, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just going to make your fantasies come true.” She reached out for him again.

“My fantasies were coming true, but you put a stop to that, didn’t you? How much did you pay Donovan Jackson? How much did you pay Tyrese?”

Pulling her hands back, she stepped away from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her until her back slammed against the wall. “You know damned well what I’m talking about, and if you don’t tell me exactly what you did, your father is going to know as well!”

She was silent.

“You can’t live without his money, his prestige. He’ll disown you. You know how he hates a scandal. And what’s a bigger scandal than a sex one?”

With all her strength she pushed him away from her. “Get your hands off me!” she yelled, moving towards the sofa again to retrieve her coat. “You know what, Khalil? You’re not even worth it. I would say I wasted my money, but that would be a lie. I enjoyed it. And even though the outcome wasn’t what I had in mind, it’s okay. There’s so much more out there than you.”

“More like Donovan Jackson? More like the group sex you seem to be so into?” Against his upbringing and for the second time today, Khalil felt as if he could actually hit a woman. “Reka would never be involved in something like that.”

Sonya grinned as she slipped her arms into her coat. “Oh dear, you are truly taken by her, aren’t you? Well, didn’t you see the pictures, darling? Didn’t you see your little slut? She enjoys Donovan almost as much as I do.”

Like a flash he was across the room, his hands wrapped around her neck. She swatted at him even as she gasped for breath. “You are a cheap trick! I can’t believe I ever entertained the idea of marrying you. You fixed those pictures so I’d break up with her! You wanted me to believe it was her but it wasn’t, was it?”

She couldn’t feel the floor beneath her; the room was beginning to spin. “Stop! Khalil! Stop!” she croaked.

With one last bout of rage he dropped her to the floor. Looking down, he watched her crumble. He didn’t need her to admit it. He didn’t need her words.

“Get out of my house!”

* * *

Reka and Tacoma pulled up in front of the huge house in the wooded area. How many times had she seen pictures of the wood being nailed together to build this fortress? It was beautiful, she had to give her that much. But it was also empty on so many levels.

Tyrese lived alone, her husband having left her just last month for another woman. Her family had long since disowned her because of the change she’d made in her personality upon marrying well. She’d been the princess for a while, and now she was simply pathetic.

Even with those thoughts Reka still found it hard to believe that she’d be a part of this scandal. What made a woman do the things she’d done? And how had she known Donovan?

“Here we are,” Tacoma announced.