Professional Liaison (8 page)

Matthew shot her a frown, but sat back down in the chair before he looked at Drew. “How the hell are you involved in this, Andrew?”

Drew shot him a nasty look and she almost had to laugh.
He doesn’t like being put on the spot at all.

“He’s here at my request.”

Caroline started to cry and Melissa fought the urge to grind her teeth together.

Matthew wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side. “Shush. It’ll be fine, sweetheart. We’ll get through this.”

“I don’t know how much Caroline told you, Mr. Vincent, but she was being blackmailed by the owner of our major competition, Cockrill Enterprises. The fact that she had an affair with the son of the owner has put us in a difficult position.”

He spun around and pushed Caroline back. “You were fucking around with Jonathan Cockrill?”

Oh shit. Obviously Caroline hadn’t told him who she’d been having an affair with.

Caroline whimpered.

“Son of a bitch! You can’t do anything halfway, can you?”

“Mr. Vincent, calm down.”

“Calm down? You’re the one orchestrating this whole thing. How in the hell am I supposed to calm down?”

“You’ve been brought here because you are involved in this too. Caroline’s indiscretion with Mr. Cockrill has put her and this company in jeopardy. Her brother was forced to do something that could put him in jail.” She shot a look at Drew and she almost shook with the anger reflected in his eyes. “Mr. Masters here,” she pointed to the attorney, “is present to make sure we don’t have to go to that extreme.” After she inhaled a deep, fortifying breath, she continued. “Mr. Cockrill enlisted Drew’s help in attempting to steal information from this company for the sole purpose of putting us out of business. My understanding is that they threatened to kill Caroline if he didn’t help them. In turn, he had to steal my security key to the elevator which would give them access to these offices after hours.”

“How did he get the key from you?” Caroline’s husband asked.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Took you to bed, didn’t he?”

“I’ll repeat, Mr. Vincent. That’s none of your business. What’s between Drew and I has nothing to do with this.”

“Bullshit! You’re dragging my wife’s affair into the open yet the fact that you probably let Andrew fuck your brains out will be kept hush hush? I don’t fucking think so.”

She fought the urge to crush the now annoying man, beneath her heel. “What do you do for a living, Mr. Vincent?”

“What’s that got to do...”

“Answer my question,” she growled, forcing the irritated man’s gaze back to hers.

“I’m self-employed.”

“I’m a computer programmer.”

She sat back in her executive chair and tented her fingers under her chin. “And if I’m not mistaken, did you or did you not help to install the computer main frame for this company when they went to computerized documentation of their business assets?”

“Yes,” he groaned.

“I see.” She didn’t have to wait long for the man to get itchy and start to shift in his chair.

“What are you getting at?”

“The men, who invaded our company with the help of Drew’s access, attacked our computer program, Mr. Vincent.” With a quick look at Drew, she tried to communicate for him to be silent when she said, “They were able to gain access to our business proposals which means your program lacked the security to forestall their entry.”

“This makes you responsible for the loss of business, Mr. Vincent.” She shot a glance at the attorney. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Masters?”

He opened the portfolio he’d held in his hands during the entire conversation and said, “Yes ma’am. According to the contract you signed, Mr. Vincent, you accepted responsibility for any breech in security caused by your computer program.”

“You can’t be serious!”

Fury ricocheted through her at the man’s audacity. “I’m deadly serious. Caroline’s affair won’t be brought into the light unless absolutely necessary, but your lack of security will be if you don’t keep your mouth shut about Drew’s involvement. He did what he had to do to protect his sister and I don’t hold it against him.”

Some of the anger had dissipated from Drew’s eyes when she shot him another glance. He actually seemed pleased.

“I suggest you and Caroline work out your differences and come to some kind of agreement should any of this come out into the media. The team that will be put together to combat this breach is top of the line. They will keep anything out of the limelight that doesn’t need to be there, but in case there is a leak, you’d better be prepared.” She sat forward and braced her elbows on her desk. “Caroline.”

“Yes, ma’am?” the other woman whispered.

“Do you want to keep your job?”

Caroline sucked in a deep breath and nodded.

“Then I suggest if you should decide to have an affair again, you be a little more particular about who you do it with.”

Matthew Vincent stood quickly and almost screamed, “You bitch!”

“Mr. Vincent. I am the CEO of this company and as such, I would suggest you be careful who you call a bitch. I can be and believe me; you don’t want to push me. Otherwise I have the capability to crush you should I so decide.” With a straight look at her employee, she said, “I suggest you go home for the day, Caroline. Take your husband with you and work this out.”

Caroline stood on shaky legs and tugged her still furious husband after her.

The door shut behind them and Melissa exhaled before she pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

“Yes, Mr. Masters?”

“Are you finished with me?”

“Yes. Thank you for your participation. I appreciate the backup.”

“You’re very welcome and I’m glad I got to see you in action.” He shook her hand and smiled. “With you at the helm, we can’t go wrong.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

Mr. Masters nodded and disappeared out the door, shutting it softly behind him, leaving her alone with Drew.

He stood and stalked toward her like a panther following its prey.

“Drew.” She scooted back as he rounded the edge of her desk.

Fuck! I hate when he says my name in what I’ve come to think of as his Dom voice. I’m such a liar too. He can make me almost climax with that tone.
The low timbre and how he dropped the tone sent her pussy clenching under her skirt and she shifted in her chair. Her lips parted as she watched him come closer. The chair tipped back when he put his hands on the arms and leaned toward her.

“Mmm.” The hum of his murmur sent her heart to her toes. His lips were a mere hairbreadth away from her mouth and it tingled for the pressure of his. Brown eyes bored into hers; challenging her with the twinkle he didn’t even try to hide. “You’re magnificent.”

“Why do you say that?” she whispered.

“You are such a double personality. So in control, so dynamic except when you’re under me, my little sub.”

“I don’t want to see you anymore.”

* * * *

The Fourth of July.

Heat seared the concrete under her feet as she headed toward Mandy and Brad.

God I hope they didn’t invite Drew.

The smell of hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill made her mouth water.
Brad sure knows how to make hamburgers.
Coolers with beer and soda were placed in strategic locales for the party-goers with bowls of potato chips and platters with carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and ranch dressing for dipping set in several places, too. Brad and Mandy knew how to throw a party. Several of Brad’s workers slipped in and out of the crowd and Melissa had to smile. The set up to get all of their friends happily into a relationship was clear.

“Hey, Lissa.” Mandy kissed her cheek and drew her into a hug. “How have you been, sweetie? You haven’t even called me in weeks.”

“I know and I’m sorry. With the attempted takeover, I’ve been buried in work. My nine o’clock quitting time has become the norm for me over the last six weeks.”

“Well, get something to drink and forget your troubles for the day. There’s beer and soda over there and stuff to munch on until the burgers are done.”

She smiled. “Sounds good to me. I need a break.” Heading for the beers encased in the cooler, she bent over to grab one and lift it from the ice when a tan hand grasped her wrist. Her startled gaze clashed with the brown eyes of Drew.

Aw fuck!

Shit! His Dom voice.

“Drew,” she whispered and yanked her wrist from his grasp. Pulling her shoulders back, she cleared her throat and said louder, “Why am I not surprised to see you here?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners and she was reminded of how dark his eyes got when he made love to her and made her scream his name.

His shoulder lifted in a half shrug. “You know how Brad is.”

“Yeah, I know.” She struggled to open the beer in her hand before he took it from her and twisted the cap off and then handed it back. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“If you’ll excuse me.”

“Not so fast, babe.” His hand wrapped around her wrist again and he started tugging her toward a shadowed corner of the patio.

“Let go, Drew.”

“We need to talk.” He tugged harder. “We can do this is the open where everyone can hear or you can stop fighting me and cooperate.”

“Fine,” she spat through clenched teeth, but he only smiled again.

Once they had disappeared from everyone’s immediate eyesight, he pushed her against the wall and brought his lips very close to hers.

“You’re avoiding me.”

“I told you I didn’t want to see you anymore. It’s not my fault that you can’t get that through your thick, over-inflated, big head.”

His warm chuckle reached her ear and she fought the urge to melt like butter in the hot sun. God she missed him and how he could make her do anything he wanted her to do. He tipped his head and kissed her neck, right below her ear.

“Did you miss me?”

“I think we’re up to ten swats now with that little lie.”

Shit!

The wet pad of his tongue slid up her neck before he took her earlobe between his teeth and tugged.

“Drew, please.”

“What do you want, Liss?” His hand slipped down over her nipple and she trapped the groan that bubbled in her throat before it could escape her lips. The traitorous nub puckered against his hand.

“Leave me alone.”

He stepped back but quickly brushed her lips with his before he smiled and turned on his heel leaving her sputtering in the corner.

The rest of the day, he watched her from a distance, smiling his wicked grin and making her almost come in her shorts when he’d run his tongue over his lips.

Jealousy surged in her heart when he started talking to a pretty brunette she didn’t know.
Jealous? I’d have to care to be jealous.

His rich laughter reached her ear where she stood next to fire pit Brad and Mandy had started when the sun began to sink in the sky. Melissa tipped the beer in her hand to her lips and took a long swallow.

I can’t believe I’m letting him get to me like this. I’m the one who told him I didn’t want to see him anymore.

“What a fucking liar you are, Melissa,” her heart whispered as she watched him wrap his arm around the brunette and head in her direction.

“Hey, Lissa,” he said when he reached her side. “Do you know Audrey?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

“Audrey, this is Melissa Gordon. She’s Mandy’s cousin.” He pulled the woman tighter to his side. “Melissa, this is Audrey Ramor.” He turned to the woman next to him and laughed. “I don’t even know how you’re acquainted with Brad and Mandy.”

“I’m Brad’s secretary.”

Great! I’m going to have to have a talk with Mandy about this chick.

“I haven’t seen you in the office before.”

“Ah.” He looked at Melissa and said, “Anyway, isn’t she cute?”

“Darling,” Melissa murmured through gritted teeth. “If you’ll excuse me.”

She left him standing there and headed toward where Mandy and Brad stood snuggled together.

“Listen, Mandy, I’m headed home. It’s been a long day. Thanks for having me over.”

“Can I talk to you a minute?” she asked before she grabbed Melissa’s hand and pulled her toward the house. Once the managed to get inside and close the door, her cousin rounded on her with snapping eyes. “What’s your problem?”

“You might be able to convince everyone at this party that you don’t want anything to do with Drew, but I’ve seen the way you practically drool when he’s nearby. And now he’s out there snuggled up to Audrey, who, by the way, I can’t stand. I’ll be talking to Brad about getting rid of her shortly.”

“Why are you pushing him away? I know you’re hot for him and he is for you, too. I don’t get it.”

She sighed and moved to the window to stare out into the front yard. “I wish I knew, Mandy. He’s trouble with a capital T.”