Manhandling

by Karen Anders

  “How do you feel about this?” Mac asked.

  “I don’t feel anything.”

  “Come on, man. I’m your brother. You can tell me anything.”

  “Look, drop it. I really don’t want to discuss my old man or my feelings on the matter. He left us and it’s done with.”

  “But maybe he had his reasons, Tyler. There are always two sides to every story.”

  Tyler blew out a ragged breath. “Are you actually telling me that you’re on his side? That’s low.”

  “No. I’m not on his side. I’m on yours. I just don’t think you should throw away an opportunity to speak with him.”

  “No. Now drop it. We’ve got motorcycles to load and trucks to pack. Are you going to help, or stand there and harp?”

  “I’ll help anyway I can,” Mac said, hoping his brother understood that those words were an open invitation.

  As Mac loaded, his thoughts drifted back to Laurel and his problem with her. After this encounter with his brother, he felt dread snake up his spine. Sometimes love wasn’t enough to help someone understand what they needed to do. He would tell her and accept the consequences of his own actions.

  Even if that meant losing her.

  13

  If your hottie wants to bind you to make love, what’s your preference:

  a. silken scarves

  b. leather cuffs

  c. handcuffs

  d. his hands

  —Excerpt from Who’s Your Hottie? quiz,

  SPICE magazine

  MONDAY MORNING MAC WAS at his desk early. He’d woken up before his alarm and was unable to go back to sleep, so he decided to get a head start on the day.

  Regardless of how they had left it on Saturday, Mac smiled softly to himself remembering his time with Laurel.

  “Wow, you must have had quite a weekend.”

  Sherry stood in the doorway, her hand on her hip and a knowing light in her eyes.

  “Why do you say that?”

  She raised a disdaining eyebrow. “The secret smile you have on your face. Care to share?”

  Did she know? Had she recognized him at POSH? He wasn’t going to jump to any conclusions and blow it. He’d just bluff his way through it.

  He dredged up a smile. “It was a mundane weekend. Not very interesting.”

  “Really. I find that hard to believe,” she said as she walked into his office and ran her hand along the black leather of one of his visitor’s chairs.

  “Are you beating around the bush, Sherry?”

  “It was you. Wasn’t it?”

  “Where?”

  “Don’t play dumb. I saw you driving away from POSH with Laurel. You went after her. I have to give you points for having the balls to scam her.”

  “I’m not scamming her.”

  “No? You have an alter ego—Mac. Just what the hell is going on between you and Laurel?”

  Even though he knew this was coming, his stomach lurched.

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “And what do I think? Enlighten me.”

  And so he did, filling her in on the whole story from the beginning.

  “Oh, God. You may have wrecked any real chance you had with Laurel.”

  “Only if she finds out from another source. I have to explain it to her myself. You can’t tell her.”

  “She’s my friend,” Sherry said as she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

  Mac came out of his seat and grabbed her arm. “Sherry, wait. Give me a minute to explain. I have really important reasons why you shouldn’t.”

  She looked at him, her eyes dark with skepticism. “I’m listening. What are these reasons?”

  “It’s going to be a shock for her to hear it. She has that big presentation and the auction tomorrow. It’s important that I wait until she’s more relaxed. I think the explanation should come from me.”

  “Those are good reasons.”

  “I have another one.”

  “Spill it.”

  “I love her.”

  For a moment Sherry stared at him, sizing him up, weighing his answer. Her eyes softened and her tight shoulders loosened. “You make it very difficult to dislike you.”

  “I promise I’m going to tell her on Tuesday night. How do you think she’ll react?”

  “She’s going to freak out. You’ll have to be prepared for that. She doesn’t know you’re a stockbroker, you work in her father’s firm, and you deceived her.”

  Mac let out a rush of air. “I know, but I felt I wouldn’t have a chance if I didn’t deceive her.”

  “Doesn’t make it right.”

  “No, it makes it a desperate move of a desperate man. I had to meet her.”

  “Laurel is one of the sweetest people I know, Mr. Tolliver. I think it’ll be okay.”

  “My friends call me Mac.”

  Sherry nodded. “You might not have gone about it the right way, but your heart was in the right place.”

  “I know I messed up, but I have to be the one to fix it. I’m asking you to please hold off. That’s all.”

  “You really love her?” Sherry asked, the resolve in her voice weakening.

  “Yes. I really do.”

  Sherry was silent a moment. “You’ve always treated me fairly and I think you’re a good person. So, good luck, Mac. I hope it works out for you, but if it doesn’t, I’ll be there for her.” The phone rang and Sherry left his office to pick it up.

  Mac spied Mr. Malone heading down the hall toward Mac’s office. He braced himself to meet the stern man that was Laurel’s father.

  “Ted,” Mr. Malone said, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

  “Mr. Malone. What can I do for you?”

  “I got a call from Kevin Coyle. He’d like us to meet with him at ten thirty today. Any problem with that?”

  “No, sir.” He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Laurel had her meeting tomorrow morning. There was no chance they would cross paths.

  “Good.”

  “Ms. Black,” he said as he passed Sherry.

  After Mr. Malone left, Mac went to the window and looked out at the New York City skyline. He bet Laurel would freak out. She might be a mild-mannered woman, but she had a temper when pushed. He’d say he was going to push her. He couldn’t blame her if she did go up one side and down the other. He had lied to her and damn it, but he just couldn’t seem to feel as sorry about it as he should.

  Mostly because he had discovered an adventurous streak inside him that had been dormant. He loved riding motorcycles and mixing it up in bed. He’d had an incredible time with her, found the woman of his dreams, wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It scared him that he might lose it all, panic washed through him, making his pulse run thick and heavy.

  His thoughts went back to the way they had made love in the garage. The minute he had touched her, it had been like quicksand—once he was in, there was no damned way he could get out. But what made his gut clench even more was knowing that she could believe it was nothing more than part of the fling with her bad boy. But it wasn’t. It had been more than that. One hell of a lot more.

  She had held nothing back, and what she had given him had been real—her passion, her need. She had been with him every step of the way; there was no doubt in his mind about that. If she chose to walk away and he lost her, the memory of what they had shared would haunt him for a long time to come. He didn’t know if it was guilt or regret, but his throat closed up every time that image took shape in his mind, and the hollow feeling in his chest spread a little more.

  He wished he could talk to her today, but he had to wait until tomorrow. It was going to be a long forty-eight hours before he finally gave her his confession.

  He could only hope that she could forgive him.

  LAUREL HAD NEVER FELT so alone and miserable in her entire life, even while being surrounded with colleagues and clients at Waterford Scott. She’d kept her mind and hands busy all day yesterday in an attempt to w
ork off the restless, anxious, edgy feeling that had settled within her since she’d driven away from Mac on Saturday morning.

  But Monday morning hadn’t dawned any brighter and she sat at her desk and brooded. She took a sip of the coffee she’d picked up downstairs and almost spilled it down the front of her blouse when the sudden ringing of the phone jarred her hand.

  “Yes,” Laurel said to Kelly, her assistant.

  “Susan Hamilton is on the line for you.”

  “Put her through,” Laurel instructed.

  As soon as the line clicked, Laurel said, “Hello Susan, what can I do for you?”

  “I’m sorry to give you such short notice, but Kevin and I have to go out of town this afternoon for an emergency meeting in London and I’m afraid we’ll need you to pitch your presentation to us as soon as you can get here. Will that be a problem?”

  “No. I’m fully prepared.”

  “Thank you. We don’t want to postpone the meeting since we need an accounting firm, and we’re just not sure when we’ll be back from London.”

  “I’ll see you soon.”

  She gathered up the papers and hastily set them in her briefcase. It took her moments to get down to the lobby of the building. Just at that moment, Mr. Scott was walking through the revolving doors and Laurel hesitated, but couldn’t give up this opportunity to talk with him.

  “Mr. Scott, could I speak with you.”

  “Yes, Laurel.”

  “Mr. Herman told me that you overruled his decision to promote Mark Dalton.”

  He frowned and nodded.

  “He said that you insisted that I be promoted instead. Could you tell me why?”

  He cleared his throat and looked away.

  “I don’t have nearly as much experience as Mark or a proven track record.”

  “Laurel, this is best handled in my office. Not in the lobby.”

  “I don’t have time. I have that presentation at Coyle and Hamilton.”

  He sighed. “I guess you’re not aware that I went to school with your father.”

  “My father?” Then it dawned on her. “You promoted me because my father asked you to?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve got to go,” she said abruptly. She couldn’t afford to let this throw her. She had to get herself under control.

  She didn’t give Mr. Scott a chance to say anything else because the shock of hearing that her father had meddled in her work life was inconceivable to her. Sure, he was adamant about giving her advice, but as far as she knew, he’d never actually done anything like this.

  She hailed a cab and took the time to compose herself. She would talk to him about this and express her outrage to him once she’d calmed down.

  Laurel closed her eyes. Yes, that’s what her mother had done. Waited until all the ugly emotions had passed then she would calmly and rationally lay out her concerns and arguments.

  At the reception desk for Coyle and Hamilton, she was greeted warmly by Susan Hamilton, who ushered her to the plush conference room and Laurel gave herself over to the presentation completely.

  She presented her unitedthinking concept effectively showcasing what Waterford Scott could do for Coyle and Hamilton. At the end of the presentation, Susan smiled and rose.

  “Laurel, it’s our pleasure to award Waterford Scott our business.”

  Kevin Coyle stood and shook Laurel’s hand. “Welcome aboard. I’ve got a meeting I have to run to, but thanks again for coming on such short notice.”

  Laurel waited for the sense of satisfaction and triumph to overwhelm her, but although she was happy, nothing could compare to how she felt after she’d finished a piece of her furniture and this feeling was mediocre to that.

  As the attendees began to file out of the conference room, Laurel realized that what she was doing with her life wasn’t as important or rewarding as working with her hands. It didn’t come close to the sheer, almost spiritual feeling of creating.

  In that instant, Laurel wanted that storefront on 27th Street, she wanted to fill those windows with her creations. Her mother had wanted her to be fulfilled. That’s why she left her so much money to do with as she wished. This was her opportunity to honor that wish.

  She wasn’t her mother. That was true. She had to stop trying to be like her and be herself. Her mother wouldn’t have carried on a relationship with a tough, sensitive bad boy. But Mac suited her; she was going to go to him and tell him that she loved him.

  Saying the words to herself seemed to break down the wall she’d built up against it. Now she knew the reason she’d picked a fight with Mac. He was getting too close and she had been running scared.

  She loved Mac Hayes and she was going to tell him so.

  She realized that it was her own life and that she should direct it as she saw fit. She intended to do just that.

  With those liberating thoughts, she picked up her briefcase and stepped into the hall. She spied her father talking to Kevin Coyle and a man who had an achingly familiar build. Silently she appreciated his lean, rock-solid body and the confident way he held himself. The dark blue jacket accentuated his broad shoulders. He was impeccably groomed, but there was a rugged edge to him, as familiar as her own face.

  Drawn down the hall, she walked closer to the charismatic man. Suddenly her breathing deepened, her body responded with warmth and a sizzle that played along her nerve endings like fire. She swallowed to wet her dry throat.

  Sexual chemistry.

  Hot temptation.

  It was inside her, making her insides feel on fire, increasing her steps.

  Her father saw her and beckoned her over. But she would have come anyway. She had to see that man’s face, knowing instinctively that he would have a sensuous mouth, his eyes would be heartbreaking, eyes that could reach out and touch her soul.

  But she couldn’t see any of his face since he was turned away from her, conversing with Kevin.

  She reached them, willing the man to turn toward her. Her father took her arm in a gentlemanly fashion and clapped a hand to the man’s expensively-clad shoulder.

  “Laurel, meet Ted Tolliver, newly hired from a rival firm.”

  The introduction was lost on her as he shifted to meet her. Her breath caught in her throat and she dropped her briefcase. It snapped open and her papers, cell phone and pens scattered across the carpet.

  “Laurel,” Mac said.

  Her Mac. Her motorcycle-riding, tattoo-wearing, leather-clad biker. At first, she was so disoriented she couldn’t say a word. Then her father’s words sank in. “…newly hired.” Oh God, he was one of her father’s employees.

  She dropped to the rug and frantically shoveled her items back into her briefcase.

  Mac bent down to help her, but Laurel slapped his hands away.

  “Laurel, I can explain,” he said, agony in his eyes.

  She rose. Softly, she addressed her father, “It’s bad enough you have to mess around in my professional life, but now you’re missing around in my love life. Dad, how could you?”

  “Laurel? What’s the matter?” her father asked.

  But she was already backing up, looking from her father to the man she’d bared her soul to, a man from the enemy’s camp. It was clear. He had joined forces with her father. If she wouldn’t kowtow to him by dating an up-standing guy in his office, her father would invent a man to pretend to be wild and sweet and oh-so-desirable. All those idiosyncratic characteristics fell into place like intricately cut pieces of a puzzle. The manners, the confidence, the concert tickets, everything had been staged.

  “I cannot believe this. You’re in this together.”

  “What…” her father started to say, but he was drowned out by Mac.

  “Laurel…please let me explain.”

  “Let you explain? I don’t have to let you do anything. That’s what I’ve learned from you.”

  She turned on her heel and walked quickly down the hallway. Tears burned at the back of her throat. Don’t let him see yo
u cry, she told herself sternly even as the tears welled in her eyes, blurring the gold metal of the elevator doors.

  She didn’t know how she got down to the lobby, but the cab at the door already had passengers, with more lined up waiting. She turned away and headed down the street.

  He caught up to her as she passed an alley. He grabbed her around the waist and manhandled her into a small alcove, giving them privacy.

  “Laurel, let me explain.”

  “Go ahead and explain, Mac or should I call you Ted. What a fool I am,” she said her voice filled with an edge she’d never heard before.

  “It was the only way I could meet you.”

  “I never thought my father would ever stoop this low, but you were the perfect bait and so good at your deception. Both of you think you can manhandle me, but you can’t.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t act dumb with me. He put you up to this and you know it. I know it.”

  “That’s not true, Laurel.”

  “You expect me to believe a word that comes out of your mouth. You lying bastard.”

  “I did not plan this with your father. It has to do with that stupid test you took.”

  “What test?”

  “That Hottie quiz. You dropped it.”

  “You’ll stoop to amazing levels, Mac.”

  “No. That’s not it. I saw you at the office and Sherry said you wouldn’t give me the time of day. I would have done anything to meet you. When you came into Hayes Cycles with Sherry, Tyler let you believe I was what I looked to be. I went along with it. You wouldn’t even look at me in the office, but at the dealership you couldn’t take your eyes off me. I know it was stupid, letting you believe that I’m someone I’m not, but I had to meet you.”

  “I think you cooked up this scheme with my father using that test and now that it’s backfired, you’ve come up with a nice little story. That’s really awful.” She swallowed hard feeling raw and provoked.

  “No, Laurel. I love you. As each moment passed, I fell harder. I found it more difficult to tell you. I should have. I know. Please forgive me.”

  “And I love Mac Hayes, but I don’t know who you are. I can’t believe a word you say. You’re a fake and you tricked me.”