Tied and True

by Marie Harte

  TIED AND TRUE

  Marie Harte

  ®

  www.loose-id.com

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id® e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  * * * * *

  This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.

  Tied and True

  Marie Harte

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by

  Loose Id LLC

  1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-2924

  Carson City NV 89701-1215

  www.loose-id.com

  Copyright © June 2007 by Marie Harte

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

  ISBN 978-1-59632-492-3

  Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader Printed in the United States of America

  Editor: Ann M. Curtis

  Cover Artist: April Martinez

  www.loose-id.com

  Chapter One

  “Well, friends, I finally did the unthinkable.”

  Lindsay Riordan froze behind the coffee station in the main office. The deep voice doing the bragging on the other side of the wall still had the unnerving ability to make her entire body throb. Jared Hunt. The new guy with a killer body and a to-die-for face, who continually asked her to dinner, taking her refusals with good-humored grace.

  “Yeah, I had a piece of what you’ve only been dreaming about.”

  She blinked. That didn’t sound like the Jared she knew at all. However, the whistles and derogatory comments that could only belong to the idiot twins Dale Maclearn and Ken Simmons made her head ache. Lindsay had been dodging those two jerks since she’d started with the company. Luckily, they both worked several floors below her in tech services, so she rarely had to put up with them.

  Which begged the question, what were they doing up here on a Wednesday morning?

  And why were they so chummy with Jared Hunt?

  “Come on, Hunt,” Maclearn murmured. “Tell us what she was like. Those tits, they’re real, aren’t they?”

  “I’ve got ten that says they’re fake,” Simmons encouraged.

  2 Marie Harte

  She frowned. From Maclearn and Simmons she expected such juvenile behavior. Both were in their late twenties, they acted like they were God’s gift to women, and they were anything but. Jared, however, seemed the complete opposite. He struck her as more reserved, despite his obvious appeal. The office wunderkind, in the last month he’d brought in two new clients that had the entire sales division abuzz. And if that weren’t enough, Hunt possessed the charm, astonishingly good looks, and bearing of an office go-getter. His light green eyes promised heaven in the bedroom to any woman with a pulse.

  Glaring down at her thundering chest, Lindsay wished she had some immunity to his appeal. But the best she’d been able to do thus far in his short tenure at Tron Corp was ignore him. Politely, but firmly, she’d declined several of Jared’s invitations to dinner, having seen too many office relationships that hadn’t worked. Lindsay couldn’t say she hadn’t been tempted, but now hearing him pal around with the idiot twins, she was glad she’d done her best to steer clear of him.

  “Riordan is hell on wheels, I’ll say that.” Hunt laughed, a deep, throaty chuckle that momentarily distracted her from hearing her name on his lips. “That professional act is all fake.”

  “I knew it!” Simmons interrupted.

  “She gives killer head, and those breasts, they’re definitely real. And much more than a handful.”

  She blinked and lowered her coffee mug to the table. Had Hunt just said what she thought she’d heard?

  “You should see what I have at home. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words?” Jared chuckled. “How much would a money shot of Riordan be worth?”

  “No shit.” Simmons whistled. “Jared, you are the man. So, when do we get to see it?”

  Tied and True

  3

  “We’ll see. For now I like keeping that treasure close by my bed, if you know what I mean. Maybe sometime we’ll hang out, and I’ll bring it with me. But you’ll have to buy the beer.”

  “Come on, man. Have a heart.”

  “Is she a screamer?” Maclearn wanted to know. He sounded almost out of breath, pubescent excitement no doubt arousing the asshole.

  She couldn’t make out what Hunt said next since he lowered his voice, but two loud guffaws made her see red.

  That creep! That sexist jerk! While she’d been politely rejecting him, he’d been making up stories to impress those two! She’d been right all along to be cautious of him.

  Lindsay bit her lip. It made no sense for her to feel hurt by his crude comments. And what the hell was a money shot? She’d never been out on a date with him, so it couldn’t have been an intimate photo. Unless Hunt had stalked her at home, he had to be making it up.

  Debating whether to face him now and most likely scald him with hot coffee, or confront him later, Lindsay waited a minute too long. Nancy Clement, a sales supervisor, joined the men, and the discourse took a swift turn in another direction. Fuming that she’d lost her opportunity, Lindsay resolved to nip this situation in the bud.

  Too bad her boss was as useless as, well, a snow shovel in Miami. He, like the rest of Tron Corp, held Hunt in high esteem, and Todd didn’t have the fortitude to deal with bullies like Maclearn and Simmons. And frankly, Lindsay had never really considered either creep worth the effort.

  But Hunt’s blatant lies bothered her more than they should. Maybe it was because she had held a few secret fantasies about him she’d stubbornly refused to let go. Or maybe it irked her that a man who looked so perfect was far from the mark. Regardless, she wouldn’t tolerate his behavior.

  4 Marie Harte

  Sexual harassment has no place in the workplace. She huffed. As if that ideal applied.

  The last woman to complain about harassment had been transferred out of tech services to the corporate office in Maryland. Great deal for Susie Hutchins -- more pay, a major move, a shift, and advancement. But Lindsay liked her job in Augusta. And damn it, she was one of the best logistics officers they had in the company. If anyone should move, it should be Hunt or his buddies.

  Clenching her jaw, she listened as the foursome on the other side of the wall dispersed.

  Lindsay grabbed her mug and returned to her office. Along the way she passed Hunt, who stunned her by pasting a warm smile on his face as he murmured, “Good morning.”

  She glared, telling him to go to hell with a frosty gaze. He looked puzzled at first. Then his eyes narrowed as he looked past her to the coffee station.

  “Lindsay,” he began.

  She swept past him and firmly closed her door, hoping to lose herself in her work. It usually worked. However, as she sat typing, Lindsay couldn’t help reliving old hurts, mostly dealing with past slander and innuendo. The proverbial blue-eyed blonde, Lindsay knew she looked more like a California beach bunny than the summa cum laud
e graduate who’d worked her ass off to put herself through school. In college, her forays through the job market, and now here at Tron Corp…well, unfortunately, people remained the same. There were always at least one or two men who didn’t sit well with rejection, and at least a handful of jealous women with catty snipes and hateful glares.

  A friendly but aloof attitude provided a measure of self-preservation when dealing with these people, but frankly, Lindsay was tired of constantly having to defend herself. Her looks had nothing to do with her character, and everything to do with her parents. She didn’t date much, if at all, kept her nose clean at work, and stayed away from the gossip mill. Why, then, did she continue to find herself in the midst of nasty rumors?

  Tied and True

  5

  Enough was enough already. After leaving two previous jobs due to her supervisors’

  inability to accept the word “no,” Lindsay refused to be treated like a victim again. She’d been working at Tron Corp for two years now, and everyone knew she kept her business life professional. Bad enough Maclearn and Simmons made crass comments. She thought she’d dealt with them effectively by ignoring them.

  But Jared Hunt had gained popularity here in his short tenure. Who the hell was he to make up stories about her? Stories that people she worked with every day might believe. She could envision her hard-won reputation and career starting to crumble. Lindsay saw red. She refused to leave this job because Hunt couldn’t deal with rejection.

  “Lindsay,” Janice, her assistant and friend, called through the door. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Come on in.”

  Janice closed the door behind her and stood uncomfortably in front of Lindsay’s desk.

  Even dressed conservatively in tan slacks and a pink, short-sleeved sweater, Janice shouted

  “different” with her tattoos and nose ring. A free spirit, she was a genius when it came to Tron Corp’s logistics software and a great friend when the chips were down.

  “What’s up?”

  “I, ah, shoot. There’s no easy way to say this. I just heard Ken Simmons talking about you to Dale Maclearn. And what they were saying was X-rated to the extreme.” Janice swallowed audibly. “Could there be any truth to the rumor that you and Jared Hunt were caught in a compromising position and captured on film?”

  “Not unless I have an evil twin.” Lindsay grimaced. “I overheard the idiot twins and Hunt earlier. But I hadn’t realized they’d started spreading rumors through the office.”

  Already. She fumed.

  “Well, I overheard Ken and Dale whispering about it. Jared was nowhere near. So maybe it’s just the idiot twins.”

  6 Marie Harte

  Lindsay chewed her lip in thought. “Janice, there’s no way Hunt could have a picture of me doing anything like…that. And speaking of ‘that,’ I have a question for you. Do you know what a ‘money shot’ is?”

  “Huh?”

  “I overheard Hunt telling the others he had a picture of me, and it was a money shot.”

  Janice looked confused, and then blushed scarlet and met Lindsay’s eyes in horror.

  “Good Lord. My old boyfriend used to be really into porn.” Janice glanced around, as if anyone outside the office could hear them, and lowered her voice. She leaned closer. “The money shot is when the man, um, ejaculates into the woman’s mouth.”

  Lindsay knocked her coffee to the floor. “Shit.”

  “Yeah. Not a picture you’d want circulated around the office.” Janice looked sympathetic.

  “You don’t understand. I didn’t do that, any of it.” Though I’d fantasized about it with Hunt once or twice. Now I’d rather strangle him than swallow him, good looks or not.

  “Then maybe Hunt has a hell of a graphics program. Heck, you can make anything nowadays. My brother Photoshopped his picture next to Pamela Anderson in a Baywatch ad as a gag. I guess anything’s possible.”

  Lindsay was horrified. Though she hadn’t been in a compromising position with Hunt, she had been a little tipsy at the last company party. What if he’d pieced together some damning photographs out of context? Pasted her alongside him in some embarrassing position? God, just what she didn’t need after all she’d done to project a professional image.

  “I need to get my hands on Hunt’s picture.”

  Janice shook her head. “No, you need to put your hands on his computer. If he has a picture of you, it’s probably on his hard drive. And from there…well, it could be in Peru in two seconds with one touch of a button.”

  Lindsay stared blindly down at the documents on her desk.

  Tied and True

  7

  “Like I said, Lindsay, sorry to spread the bad news.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Janice.”

  Janice paused at the door. “You know, I heard Hunt has a date Friday night with Sara in accounting.” Lindsay looked up. “They’re going to dinner and a movie. Be gone for hours.”

  Janice smiled innocently. “Just thought you’d want to know.”

  Lindsay stared after her friend, not quite putting the dots together. Money shot? Home computers? And what was this about Hunt going out on a date?

  Her eyes widened when she noticed the memorandum on her desk. George Hower, Tron Corp’s CEO, would be making the rounds next week. Shit. If he heard a hint of the rumors about her, all her hard work the past few years would be out the window. Hower was a stickler for professionalism and ran a tight ship. She had to get her hands on that picture or, at the least, confirm that there wasn’t one, and find something to keep Hunt and the idiot twins quiet.

  Janice was right. Lindsay had to find out what Hunt had on his computer. Maybe through him, since the idiot twins seemed to hang on his every word, she could blackmail them all into silence. Because lately, when Hunt said “jump,” Maclearn and Simmons leaped for the sky.

  The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. No way would she let Hunt, the new guy, steal her thunder and ruin her in the office. She’d made a place for herself here, and refused to be the one to leave…again.

  Lindsay was through being nice, tired of always trying to turn the other cheek. No longer would the chauvinist males in her world hold the power. She visualized Jared Hunt in her mind’s eye and smiled -- an evil grin that would have unnerved him had he seen it. A plan formed, slowly, methodically, as she pledged to be no one’s fool ever again.

  * * * * *

  8 Marie Harte

  Lindsay used the next two days to organize the details of her Friday night mission. As the daughter and sister of three Marines, she knew well how to prepare for battle. She’d sketched out a plan of attack at home following work Wednesday, and with Janice’s help, had used Thursday to gather more information from Sara. After a full day’s work and a hasty dinner, tonight -- Friday night -- was go-time.

  She knew where Hunt lived, his habits -- heck, she’d even peeked at a copy of his recent physical, courtesy of her buddy in the insurance department -- and tonight’s agenda, thanks to Sara and Hunt’s chatty secretary, a woman old enough to be his mother, yet sincerely in lust with him. Lindsay grinned. She had no problem with Ruth dating Hunt, a much younger man, but she doubted Ruth’s husband and grandchildren would feel the same.

  Chuckling at her odd turn of thought, Lindsay gathered her tools and tucked them into a discreet black backpack. Pulling on a ball cap and tucking her blonde hair underneath as best she could, she resolved to keep to the shadows, grateful for the clouds and waning moon.

  Fifteen minutes after leaving her place, she arrived at Hunt’s home in an upscale section of town, a modest cottage on the Hill. She parked several houses down and glanced around, noting his black GTO was conspicuously absent.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Lindsay exited her car and locked it. She walked toward his home as if she were expected and tried to remain cool. The moon’s ambient light was nearly nonexistent, but she wanted no chance of being noticed. Hopefully, his neighbors were used to seeing w
omen coming and going at all hours of the night. And it was Friday, when normal people with a life were out dating and dancing.

  Lindsay frowned at the thought and walked up his drive. How the hell could she expect to have a life when no one treated her seriously? Most men wanted to date her for sex and little else, and in the past, those few she’d been passably interested in had listened to the rumors about her and believed them.

  Tied and True

  9

  Her anger returned in full force, and she hurried toward Hunt’s back door, out of sight of any passersby. Studying the exterior of his home, she noted the lack of motion detectors as well as security signs anywhere along the drive. Sara’d been right. Hunt hadn’t had the time to install security yet. Lindsay reached for the knob to the backdoor and was surprised when it turned easily.

  “So sure of yourself, hmm? No one would dare steal from the great Jared Hunt,” she murmured, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

  Letting herself in, Lindsay performed a quick survey of the premises using her handy little Maglite with a red lens. A galley kitchen overlooking a family room connected to a hallway, to which a bathroom and two bedrooms were joined. The décor was masculine but plain.

  Ignoring the family room and kitchen, she darted toward the bedrooms, where she’d most likely find something worthy of blackmail.

  A man like Hunt would have something he wanted to hide; she could feel it. A man who lied to gain admiration from bozos like Maclearn and Simmons had skeletons in his closet. She just needed to find that closet.

  Her search showed her a disturbingly organized man. In his bedroom, his dirty clothes actually lay in a hamper, and his shirts and pants hung divided in his closet. His shoes were all carefully grouped together, and his ties were hung to prevent wrinkles. For a moment she wondered if Hunt were perhaps gay.