Drawing The Line (Mistaken Identity Series)

by Sylvia Hubbard

  A buzzer interceded their meeting. It was Rachel to remind him of his five o'clock

  Shane had not realized how much time had passed since coming upstairs.

  "You'll probably be done with the businesses in a couple of months," he surmised as she gathered her report and other items she had brought up to the loft.

  "That's my intentions, Andrew." For some reason after the "episode," which she had started calling it, saying his name wasn't as difficult, anymore. It was as if that kissed had loosened her tongue, but Shane didn't know if she liked her new outlook on Andrew Watkins. He made her forget her self and want to drown in the beauty of his masculine essence.

  "Although there is one business that's difficult to find background information for. I spoke with Mrs. St. Charles and she said she doesn't remember that property on her list and that she would look into it and give me a call back." She pointed out the property she was speaking about on the report that was in front of him. This consisted of her leaning down close to him and looking at the report he was looking over. She maintained her breathing knowing his eyes were looking at her and not the paper.

  "Did you do an Internet search at the sites suggested?" he questioned.

  She nodded not daring to look at him. His face would be too close and there was no chance for her to resist any advance he would make or what she might do to him. "I was going to go out to the site tomorrow and see what I can find out." Standing up and moving away from him, she said, "Unless you had something planned other than our meeting, I was going to use that time?"

  He smirked. "You wouldn't be trying to stand me up, would you Shane?"

  Faking innocence, she gasped, "I would never do something so drastic to get away from you."

  Andrew's chuckle was of genuine amusement. "Fine, then you won't mind me accompanying you to the site tomorrow."

  Looking away from him to hide her nervousness, she said, "No, I won't, Andrew."

  As she descended down the stairs to go back to her office they shared she realized, not once had she thought about Paul.

  ***

  Andrew had not come back to the office before leaving. Instead Troy came in and gathered Andrew's traveling essential and left out as quietly as he had come, not speaking a word to Shane.

  Why Troy did not like her, she couldn't understand. To her knowledge she had not offended him in any way, yet the assistant had some kind of predisposition about Shane that she could not figure out.

  A few minutes after Troy left, Rachel came in and closed the door behind her. Shane had a feeling whatever was on Rachel's mind was pretty serious from the look on the office manager's face.

  Before Rachel could address her, Shane brought up her own concerns. "Does Troy hate you?"

  This threw Rachel off track a moment. "I don't know...well, I do and Troy hates any woman trying to be around him."

  "Is he gay?" Shane asked.

  "No, I mean, he's rather strange, but he was engaged a year ago, although I don't know what happened with that since no wedding invitations ever came my way," Rachel explained and then changed the subject. "Were you going out for lunch? I know you were pretty hungry this morning."

  "No," Shane said nonchalantly. "I had lunch upstairs with Mr. Watkins." She wasn't trying to brag about it, but from the look on Rachel's face, Shane could tell immediately the woman was hurt by this knowledge.

  "You had lunch? Upstairs?"

  Shane nodded. "Is something wrong with that?"

  Rachel tried to fake her discontent with what Shane had admitted. "I just should let you know that I lied to you," Rachel announced.

  This was something to make Shane look up from her work and look at Rachel. "About what, Ms. Peck?"

  "Oh please call me Rachel when he's not around. I get enough of that from him," Rachel insisted.

  "Alright, Rachel." She sat back in her chair to brace herself. "What did you lie to me about?"

  "I told you Mr. Watkins does not get involved with employees, but he has done so."

  Shane kept her outer expression placid, while her inner turmoil was going crazy. She wondered what would make Rachel point this out to her. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

  Rachel leaned in keeping her voice low. "I see the way he looks at you. I know you're different from all the other women that have come through here. You aren't affected by the magnetism he has with women."

  "Well, obviously whoever the other woman was, she had something special that you think I have."

  The office manager looked a little hurt, "Unfortunately, she never caught his attention like you have."

  "You must watch him pretty closely to know him so well," Shane said suspiciously.

  "I should, I was the other woman," Rachel said.

  Chapter 11

  Shane didn't know what to say to this revelation. If she questioned too much, then Rachel would know Shane really couldn't resist the magnetism that Andrew had, and if she asked too little from Rachel, she wouldn't know what had happened and why hadn't Andrew wanted to stay with Rachel.

  The office manager was really sweet, hardworking, and gorgeous in the Ms. America way and highly intelligent. So why wouldn't Andrew want to be with Rachel? What was he trying to accomplish with Shane? What motives did he have?

  She carefully worded her questions, keeping her indifference in the forefront. "So how did this relationship happen?"

  Rachel snorted. "I wouldn't call it a relationship, Shane. More like a mistake and a horrible one on my part. I told you I was an intern when I first started and when he came I was still an intern pushing my way through college. I watched the other women drool over him, but I never approached him with my attraction until the Christmas office party when he was well into his bottle. I waited around until everyone had left and Mr. Watkins was lying here in the office all by himself," Rachel explained.

  "So you and he had sex in this office?" Shane asked, shifting her weight around uncomfortably.

  Rachel nodded. "On a couch that used to be right where you're sitting."

  Shane looked around knowing there was no couch in the office now. "What happened to the couch? Was it bronzed?" she asked sarcastically.

  Rachel laughed humored by Shane's sick sense of humor. "No. I threw it out."

  "I would think you to be the sentimental type, Rachel."

  "I am, but not for horrible experiences. Like I said, it wasn't even worth the effort. The only thing I remembered from the brief experience was the fact that he was extremely well endowed." The office manager sighed in disappointment.

  "You said brief?" Shane asked.

  Rachel snorted in displeasure. "By the time he got it in there, he was finished."

  Shane sat speechless gripping the chair unsure how to react to this news. This didn't sound like the same man she had just had been lip locked with.

  Not at all disturbed by Shane's awkward quietness, Rachel continued. "You would think a man with a face and body like that would be able to be a better lover, wouldn't you?"

  "He was drunk, wasn't he?" Shane asked clearing her throat. "You can't really expect a man to perform at peak condition in that state of mind."

  "I thought the same thing initially," Rachel admitted with discontentment. "Eight months after it all, I was still thinking the same thing so I went to him and asked him flat out had he been with other women. I mean that would be a viable explanation to his lack of potency."

  Shane chortled in shock that Rachel would do something like that. "What did he say?"

  Rachel chuckled to herself. "Actually he assumed since I never approached him until then that he had dreamed it all. I let him know the experience wasn't up to par and I deserved to be serviced again."

  "Serviced?" Shane asked with a deep amused grimace.

  "He said the same thing too." Rachel explained, "I deserved a good time physically, but this time I wanted him to be sober. Of course he did the usual protesting that he was my boss and there was no inter-office affairs allowed. Yet after s
ome negotiating, a lot of blackmailing on my part, he obliged me."

  Shane couldn't believe a woman of Rachel's caliber had to actually convince Andrew to sleep with her. "Do you think he isn't attracted to women?"

  Rachel snorted, "I know he is. I see him look at women when they aren't looking and the way he's been looking at you lately, I think I saw him drool a couple of times. I see them waiting in his vehicle or limousine when I'm getting off of work, but he keeps it all his affairs personal."

  "How was it this time?"

  The beautiful office manager made the weirdest expression on her face before saying, "Longer, but... lacking. You would think a man with that much equipment and intelligence would be perceptive to a woman's needs. He was rough, inept, and very displeasing."

  Shane still couldn't believe they were speaking of Andrew. "Maybe he was nervous about his performance," she tried to explain.

  "I've made all the excuses for him in the book, but eventually I faced the truth about Mr. Watkins," Rachel concluded. "He's a great boss, a valuable asset to the field of real estate, but as a lover, he couldn't turn on a light switch."

  Shane couldn't help but chuckled at the levity Rachel exhibited for the situation. She had to assume Rachel was either telling her this because the office manager was a little jealous at the attention Shane was receiving from Andrew. Although Shane didn't see what Rachel had said he was doing, or Rachel just wanted to warn her about Andrew if and when he expressed any wishes to sleep with her. "How do you manage to work here knowing what you know about him?" Shane inquired very curious.

  "I love my job, and I do good work so he doesn't have any reason to fire me. What happened is in the past, and look at him! He's like a rock. The event hasn't changed his emotional state towards me. Most times he treats me like an employee, but every once in a while, when he's actually being a human being, I know I probably hurt his feelings by not pursuing him more.

  "Maybe it was you that made the experience horrible?" Shane teased.

  Rachel snorted, "Never!"

  ***

  Andrew burst into the office just as she was preparing to leave. It looked as if he had rushed to get there. He was breathing heavily.

  "You're leaving?" he asked startled.

  "It's a little after eight, Andrew." The rest of the office had gone two hours ago. "Did you expect me to stay until you got back?"

  He tightened his lip and closed the office door. "I wanted to speak with you before you left today."

  Shane looked down at her watch. "I do have someone waiting for me."

  "A date?" he questioned.

  Folding her arms over her chest, she questioned defensively, "Are we being nosey?"

  "Yes," he admitted.

  "What do you wish to speak to me about, Andrew?" she asked exasperated.

  He approached her warily as if she were going to scream. "I'm not a humble man, Shane and I rarely apologize for my actions."

  She held up her hand to stop him from talking. "Before you go any further, Andrew, I don't want you to be sorry for what you did earlier."

  "Never that," he said arrogantly. "I just thought I should let you know my advances on you physically have nothing to do with your internship here. I wanted to let you know I don't want you thinking I can say and do whatever I please. I respect that you're not that type of employee or woman and I will show consideration for you on all levels. I've already sent Professor Henderson a letter of high recommendation for you and he's promised to put it in your file once your internship hours are met."

  That was a mouthful for him to say, Shane knew, but she didn't know how to respond to this or if she needed to respond.

  Andrew stepped out of her way so she could leave. Hesitantly, she gathered her things, and walked past him out the door.

  Yet why did she have the impression he had wanted her to say or do something?

  ***

  Arriving at a large Victorian styled mansion in Harper Woods, she sat back in the SUV to clear her mind from the day's events - mainly Andrew! She wanted to thoroughly enjoy her evening with Paul without her boss being on her mind.

  After freshening up her makeup, she went to the door and rung the doorbell. A moment later Paul filled the doorway and embraced her just like before so amazed that she had come. Shane knew Andrew would never act like this. He wouldn't probably take the time to greet her at the door or even crease a smile to the stony expression he always wore.

  Immediately, she bit her tongue punishing herself for comparing Andrew to Paul. They were like night and day, although they were tied for looks. They were both devastatingly handsome for white guys.

  Paul asked her brief questions about her day to relax her as he led her inside the marble gray foyer. To the left of her were large brown double doors that were closed tightly. To the right of her were white double doors partially cracked, with dim lighting streaming from the doorway. She answered his questions rather evasively with a feeling of guilt on the back of her mind. When he leaned in for a kiss, she turned away.

  "I should let you know something, before we go any further tonight, Paul," she said looking terribly upset.

  Without delay, he became concerned. "What's wrong, Shane?" he asked leading her through the white double doors to a drop down white living room, which was awe-inspiring gorgeous with the French designed furniture. Whoever had designed the place had excellent taste.

  The only thing in the room that wasn't white, but cream colored was the fireplace. A very extraordinary large fireplace that was burning low giving the room a very romantic atmosphere Shane felt even guiltier, because of all the trouble he had gone through for her. Even though it had been a stolen kiss, she still felt as if she had cheated on Paul somehow.

  "Shane," Paul said. "What's wrong?"

  Remembering what she had planned to tell him, she faced him and sunk down on the couch bracing herself. "Something very wrong happened today." Pausing for a brief moment, she swallowed. "My boss kissed me."

  "The one you called an ass?" he asked, frowning remembering her too honest description of Andrew Watkins from their lunch date this afternoon. When she nodded, he tilted his head a little and questioned, "Was this a peck on the cheek?"

  Shane shook her head adamantly "It happened so fast, Paul. First we were arguing, then the next thing I know we were lip locked in his kitchen."

  "How'd you get in his kitchen?"

  She briefly explained the layout of the office in Detroit and then told him how it all happened. Paul listened with a slightly amused expression on his face.

  When she was done, he asked, "How did it make you feel, Shane?" he asked.

  "Horrible! I felt like I had cheated on you somehow, Paul," she replied with frustration.

  He scowled displeased. "That's not exactly the answer I was looking for," he said. "Are you getting upset over this matter because you enjoyed the kiss?"

  Shane thought for a moment before answering him. Wanting to be truthful with herself and Paul, she answered, "I think that's why I have a problem with it all. I did enjoy what he did to me and I know from now on I'll find it difficult to work with him."

  "Because you want more?" he assumed.

  Flushing culpably, she stood up and moved in front of the fire staring into the flickering flames that licked the air longingly. "Maybe it was just a burst of passion for him, although he stated he wanted more. Maybe it was just to shut me up and he was just trying to get some kind of rise out of me since he was upset over me not reacting to him in the first place. Either way, I know a man like that would make me forget myself and that's not something I can afford to do right now in my life and especially my career."

  He moved up behind her. "Maybe I can help make you forget him for tonight." Paul wrapped his arms around her waist and planted soft kisses on her neck and collarbone. The flames in the fireplace weren't the only things burning in the room. Whispering in her ear, Paul pledged, "I'll only give you unspeakable pleasure, Shane." Turning her around in his arm
s he kissed her mindlessly as his hands magically made her clothes disappear from her body.

  She succumbed to his will, enjoying every moment and every divine touch.

  His hands and mouth enraptured Shane as he slowly descended to his knees and delighted her skin with his lips and tongue.

  She lowered to her knees and soon her back, letting his head descend between her thighs and driving her to a maddening eruption. Shane bit her lip in the last moments of her first orgasm and thought about those mint green eyes staring deep into her own. Tears filled her eyes at the magnificent upsurge of unearthly gratification Paul made her feel, but she couldn't get Andrew out of her mind.

  As the night slowly passed, Paul continued his oral pleasure. Son she was forgetting everything, even that a world existed outside the white room. He never asked anything in return and held her close as she slept the morning away in the first peaceful sleep in a decade.

  ***

  The smell of bacon, toast, and eggs awakened her senses. She rolled over from her side in the extra large California King Size bed. Vaguely, Shane remembered Paul actually carrying her up some stairs and laying with her in the bed naked beside her, but he didn't want to make love so she fell back to sleep in his arms.

  Now as she sat up and looked around the bedroom, she stretched herself and released a long yawn, then curled back up in the warm thick white covers and comforter. This was another white and cream room. She was going to assume this was Paul's favorite color. The room's wall texture was of brick and the furniture was simple with the fixtures sometimes laced with gold as a delicate highlight to the room.

  She heard voices coming from downstairs, but couldn't make out whom they belong to. Paul had explained to her he did business on the other side of his home, so she had to assume it was him with a client.

  The smell of food prompted her to get up. There was a white silk and lace robe at the end of the bed with some matching heeled sandals on the floor. She beamed to herself at the thoughtfulness and luxury Paul provided for her.