by Rita Sawyer
“Ms. Shadwell, come in here please,” he shouted, doing his best to keep his voice from sounding angry.
She came in, but stopped just inside the door, clasping her hands in front of her. “Yes, sir.”
“There’s something wrong with this coffee.”
“No there’s not. As you said, things here have been a bit tense lately, so I’ve switched to decaf. However, if you prefer, I can make you tea from now on.”
He was having trouble wrapping his head around what she was telling him, but she was straight faced, so he knew she wasn’t kidding. “Decaf? Tea?” If those were his only options, then he was about to become the coffee joint on the corner’s best customer.
“Yes, sir. I know you liked the other stuff, but it’s not good for people who work under stressful conditions, or those who lead busy lifestyles.”
He thought of a lot of things he could say to debate the issue, but he was surprised by how she was watching out for him.
~* * *~
Patsy watched as he looked down at the cup, then back up at her. She knew he would notice the difference, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Not that it mattered. Step one in her plan was in effect. Dexter obviously wasn’t happy about it either. She could see he was having trouble keeping his cool. His eyes narrowed on the cup, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from smiling. She was almost starting to feel sorry for him, and then he went and ruined it.
“Fine, if you say it’s a good idea, I’ll give it a shot.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, was he really giving in? “We’ll start with the decaf. I don’t see myself as a tea drinker.”
She hadn’t expected this turn of events and wasn’t sure what to do about it. “Yes, sir.”
“And maybe we should think about adding a touch of sugar.” She nodded, looking for any explanation as to why he would just give in like this.
Was he just playing with her? He looked more resigned than angry. This hadn’t gone the way she planned at all. He was supposed to fly off the handle and tell her she had no right to tell him what he could or couldn’t drink. She had the perfect comeback for him. She was going to say he gave her that right when he chose to force her to fulfill her contract. Of course, if he wanted to reconsider she was more than willing to leave and let him hire someone who wouldn’t care what he drank.
“You know,” he said, breaking into her runaway thoughts, “I kind of like having someone looking out for me. It’s a strange feeling, maybe I’ll get used to it.”
He winked and luckily, all her practice at ignoring him kicked in. She bit into her tongue to keep from standing there gaping like a fool. She’d thought the little smiles she gotten over the years were sexy as hell, but that wink was like dynamite. Maybe he just had something in his eye. When he smiled and lifted the nasty brew to his mouth to take another sip, she knew it had been a wink. She figured he must have caught onto her, because he’d never winked at her before. To tell the truth, it was quite unnerving.
The ringing phone on her desk helped her find her tongue again. “We’ll see. Um…I need to get that.”
She answered the call and confirmed the client’s appointment. Then she sat there staring at the phone wondering what the hell had just happened. He must have figured out what she was up to. It was the only explanation she could think of for his wacky behavior. Damn it, she was going to have to step it up if she wanted to push him into admitting this situation wasn’t working out for either of them. At least his schedule was so full today they wouldn’t have much time to interact alone. It would give her a chance to work on the next step of her plan.
8 Ways Onto The Naughty List
Chapter Three
By four–thirty Patsy was exhausted. Lack of sleep, and loud, or cranky, clients had her about ready to scream. She dropped her head to the desk and groaned, another half an hour before she could go home. A buzzing sound, she soon recognized as Dexter’s off-key humming, floated out of his office, along with a snappy version of a Christmas carol. He’d been chipper all day, which made her discomfort all the more perceptible. The steady stream of clients coming and going helped keep her attention off of him at first, but now that they were alone, she was forced to deal with him.
The phone rang, and she bolted upright. She took a deep breath and let it out, laying her hand over the phone. Hopefully, this would be her last call of the day. Better yet, if the client would keep him busy she might be able to make an escape without another confrontation.
“Thank you for calling TRS Financial. You’ve reached Dexter Chapman’s office. How may I help you?”
“Hi Patricia. It’s Callie. Is my brother in?” His sister’s perky voice chirped in her ear.
For just a second she was torn about how to answer, but a smile crossed her lips as she said, “He sure is. Would you like to talk to him?”
“Oh no, that’s okay. I’m upstairs so I’ll just pop down to see him.” She sounded so happy Patsy actually felt a twinge of guilt.
“We’ll be waiting,” she replied, before lowering the phone and sitting there staring at it.
Dexter’s sister was a sweet young woman he avoided as much as possible. Patsy even helped him by claiming he was out of the office or busy with a client. Patsy knew he wasn’t avoiding his sister to hurt her feelings, though she wasn’t exactly sure of his reasons. No matter his reasons, Patsy felt kind of shitty using his sister like this. She’d have to find a way to make it up to her. In the mean time, she was going to make sure Callie and Dexter had a nice visit.
She heard the ding of the elevator and glanced at his door to see if he’d heard it over all the noise he was making. Since he hadn’t stopped, she figured he was too busy doing whatever it was he was doing to care. She turned in time to see Callie come through the door bouncing a fussy baby against her shoulder while struggling with the diaper bag dangling at her elbow. Dexter’s beautiful four-month-old niece Abby looked miserable as she tried to stuff her whole hand into her mouth. Patsy had been around enough babies to know this one was teething. Her cheeks were all red, and she was practically gnawing her hand off.
“Oh the poor thing. Here, let me ¾ ” She intended to reach for the bag, but Callie surprised her by handing over the baby.
“Thanks. She’s been so fussy I can barely think, and her father is totally helpless when she’s like this.” Callie dropped the bag to the floor beside her desk and ran her hands through her hair.
“What are you doing here?” They both turned to find Dexter standing in the doorway to his office.
To say he was shocked to see his sister would have been an understatement. The way his head ricocheted between them made Patsy want to laugh. It was the look in his eyes that kept her from doing it. His gaze suddenly locked on hers. From the way his eyebrows pulled forward, making a deep v between them, she knew he wanted answers. He was angry and confused, and she was silently enjoying every minute. He glanced at the baby in her arms, then back to his sister.
“Well hello to you too,” Callie said with a smile that quickly faded.
“I told you I was busy today. I’ll stop by this weekend.” The harshness of his voice had his sister looking at the floor, but it pissed Patsy off.
Patsy wasn’t about to let him talk to her like that. “I invited her down, since our schedule was clear for the rest of the day.”
Dexter turned back to her and stared at Abby lying against her shoulder. His lips formed a thin line and a muscle twitched in his jaw. She wondered what he would have said or done if she hadn’t been holding her. Though Patsy wanted to look away, she couldn’t. She’d never seen him this angry before and strangely, it made his normal brooding attitude even sexier, if that were possible. She may have missed her mark this morning, but she was on the right track this time.
“I’m sorry, Cal, I had no idea.” He walked over and kissed his sister’s cheek.
Callie leaned into him, her smile returning full force. “No, you’re not. I’m not a fool,
I know you’ve been avoiding me again.”
“If you’d stop throwing women in my face left and right maybe I’d come around more.” He glanced over Callie’s shoulder at her, and she knew they’d be talking about this once Callie was gone.
“I just want you to be happy.”
Patsy knew Callie had every right to try and fix him up with whoever she saw fit, but it hurt to think of him with other women.
“Why don’t you come inside and I can tell you again how happy I am?” He took her by the hand and led her into the office, closing the door behind them.
“That went well,” Patsy said to Abby, jiggling her a bit as she walked into the kitchen.
She grabbed one of the small hand towels she kept in the cabinet. As she tossed it onto the table and headed for the fridge, she found herself wondering what type of women Callie was trying to hook him up with. Holding the baby securely with one arm, she opened the freezer and grabbed a couple pieces of ice and put them in the towel. Then she scooped it all up and carried it out to her desk. Since the women were most likely friends of Callie’s, they were probably upscale, high-maintenance types like her. Not that she wasn’t nice or anything, but that type of woman would drive Dexter crazy. He needed someone down to earth that was able to deal with his quiet nature. She could barely hear Dexter and Callie’s voices making it through the door.
His voice was getting a little louder each time he spoke. Patsy settled the fussing baby in her lap and quickly balled up the end of the cloth, securing it with an elastic band. She raised the bundle to the baby’s mouth, and Abby instantly began to chew on it. Within a few minutes, her crying stopped, and she started to fall asleep.
Dexter’s door flew open and Callie rushed out. “Is everything okay?”
“We’re fine.” She kept the slight rocking motion of her chair going as she turned so Callie could see Abby.
“What did you do to her? I mean, how did you get her to stop crying?” Her frazzled look from earlier was worse.
Patsy didn’t want Callie to feel bad so she said, “I just gave her some ice and texture to ease the pain from the teething. My cousins always did it with their babies, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
“She really seems to like it,” Dexter said as Abby let out a resounding snore that sent a shudder through her tiny body.
~* * *~
“I’ve tried every teething toy I could find, and she threw them on the floor. I even tried that goop you rub on their gums. All you did was tie a towel around some ice and she loves it.” Callie turned to him and burst into tears. “I told you I’m a failure.”
“No you’re not.” He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back. “Listen, why don’t I take you up to Kale’s office and he can drive you two home?”
Dexter looked over Callie’s shoulder at Patsy, who was now on her feet, swaying the sleeping baby. He inclined his head toward the phone and she nodded. Callie’s sobs had eased into sniffles and he sensed she was so exhausted she probably didn’t care that her make-up was going to be smudged. He curled her into his side and scooped up the heavy diaper bag. As if on cue, Patsy walked over and competently slid the baby into his free arm.
“There’s a stack of files on my desk, can you type up the notes up before you leave?” That should keep her here until I get back, he thought, heading for the elevator and ignoring her growl.
Carefully pushing the call button for the elevator, he decided it was Patsy’s own fault he was resorting to such underhanded tactics. If she had really invited his sister down for a visit knowing he always avoided her at the office, then she was more pissed than he originally thought. He’d lost track of that the second he saw her holding his niece in her arms. At that moment all he could think about was what would a kid of theirs look like? Did she even want kids? Without a word, he ushered his sister into the elevator, afraid if he spoke she’d start crying again.
He couldn’t help but smile as he glanced down at the sleeping baby sucking on the towel. With a natural ability like hers, it would be a shame if she didn’t have at least one, maybe two kids of her own. Personally, he always thought four was a good number. The elevator doors opened and his brother in–law stepped in. He tugged Callie into his embrace, whispering soothing words. Dexter wanted this. He wanted a woman to love and a family. He always had, but up until now, he’d never met anyone who made him want it so badly.
They all rode the elevator to the parking garage below the building. Dexter got the baby buckled in while Kale helped Callie get settled. After a quick slap on the back from Kale, Dexter was on his way back upstairs to face Patsy. They needed to discuss what just happened, and he wanted to give her the apology he’d been working on all day. The elevator dinged, coming to a stop. As the doors slid open, he heard Patsy’s voice drifting down the hall. He could have been a gentleman and waited a few minutes to let her vent, but he’d never been accused of a being a gentleman before, so why should he pretend to be one now.
“Insufferable. Egotistical. Please and thank you must not be in any of the dictionaries he’s ever used.” She stabbed the tiles on the keyboard so hard he figured it would be no time before it was going to need to be replaced.
He crossed his arms over his chest and listened as she called him some pretty nasty names. “When you’re done bashing me, maybe we could talk. Please.”
“That sounds so nice,” she flashed him a fake smile and batted her eyes, “but it’s time for me to go.”
He watched her close the open file on her desk. “You still have five minutes.”
“By the time I get these filed, I’ll have stayed an extra ten,” she countered, walking away and he let her go, enjoying the subtle sway of her hips.
She glanced back at him as she walked into the file/supply room. He stood his ground, refusing to give her the satisfaction of following her. They were going to talk before she left, but on his terms not hers. He sat on the edge of her desk and listened to her bang the drawers open and closed. She didn’t know it yet, but he could be patient when it was for his benefit. Then again, there were times he needed to act swiftly. It seemed to him that he was going to have to pace himself when it came to dealing with her, in and out of bed.
“How would you like it if I waltzed into your office and sat on your desk?” She called out from the other room, and though he tried not to react to the possibilities of her comment, his cock hardened of its own free will.
He got to his feet, giving it some much needed space. She had no idea how easily she could get a rise out of him. There were times he’d hear her laughing at something a client said, and he’d spend the next twenty minutes blatantly aroused, wondering why she didn’t laugh like that with him. The worse thing was when she’d walk past him and he’d catch a whiff of her perfume. He spent way too many hours trying to identify that damned smell.
Lately it had been so bad he’d been having dreams about exploring her body while trying to guess what it was. He’d start by sniffing her neck and arms, stripping off her clothes as he went. Once he had her naked, he’d search every inch of her to find out where it was the strongest. He’d use his nose to smell her, his hands to feel her silky skin, and his lips and tongue to taste every delectable inch of her. Just when he’d get her to the point where she was burning out of control and writhing beneath him, he’d wake up.
Waking up hard and aching, much like he was right now, thanks to his imagination, was becoming a ritual. One he’d like to end, unless she was going to be there to help him ease his suffering. He knew the first step in making that happen was apologizing. His gait was a little stiff as he walked over to the storage room. They reached the door at the same time, and he ended up blocking her way. Their bodies were inches apart and he couldn’t help but notice her hands shook slightly.
“Excuse me.” The high pitch of her voice was a dead giveaway that their closeness was bothering her too, though probably not for the reasons he wanted.
“Actually, I think this works fine
for me. We need to talk.” She opened her mouth and he held up a hand before she could argue. “If you don’t want to talk that’s fine, then you can just listen.”
“I’m off the clock so I don’t have to do either, but if it’ll make you happy, by all means, go right ahead.” She waved her hand between them, circulating the air, wafting that damned scent up to his nostrils.
Everything he planned on saying, his whole perfectly crafted speech, disintegrated in one carnal thought. What would it feel like to bury himself deep inside her? Filled with so much unleashed desire, he was surprised he was able to keep his hands by his sides. All he wanted to do was grab her by the arms and pull her against him. He would give just about anything right now to find out if her body was as soft as he thought it would be. His erection, which had finally started to soften, surged against his zipper once again, making him glad he preferred jeans to slacks.
“Well.” There was a note of gratification, probably at his delayed response evident in Patsy’s voice.
“Damn you!” He didn’t know what was stronger, his urge to throttle her or his need to claim that sassy mouth of hers.
“Me?” Her eyebrows scrunched together as her eyes narrowed on his and he knew he’d made another mistake.
The thin thread holding back his emotions snapped. “Yes, you. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but the smell of that goddamned perfume of yours is so distracting I forgot.”
Patsy smiled. The little tease actually had the nerve to smile up at him with those twinkling eyes. “I’m so glad you like it, now if that’s all you’ve got to say, I need to be going.”
With that parting shot, she ducked under his arm and fled into the other room. Stunned by her audacity, all he could do was turn and watch her go. With efficient, yet sexy movements she gathered her purse and coat from the closet and marched to the elevator. She stabbed the call button and didn’t even glance back while she stood there waiting for it to arrive. It took a few seconds for the haze to lift and his mind to clear, but in that small amount of time she’d managed to escape, yet again.