Masterful 3 (An Erotic Dark Romance)

by Jesse Joren

  Her face was turning a delicious shade of crimson. "You want to go up there to destroy important files before you leave," she said.

  "Fine," I snapped. "Send up a security guard with me, or you can come yourself. Unless you're scared."

  I stalked toward the elevator with Stella trailing behind me. Neither of us spoke on the ride up as we both crossed our arms and looked away from each other. My whole body felt hot with rage.

  Once the doors opened, I headed for my office, grabbing my phone and throwing my purse over my shoulder. My only other personal items were the tiny orchid and my still-warm mocha.

  I left them both. I wasn't making my exit while juggling a sad little flower and a cup with lipstick stains.

  Natalie came rushing down the hallway. Her face told me that Maggie had called her about what was happening.

  Stella tried for a recovery. "Eva's services are no longer required," she announced.

  I was gratified to see that even her expensive makeup couldn't hide her new blotchiness.

  Natalie's eyes narrowed. "You can't fire her. This is—"

  "No one is firing me." My voice was loud enough to bring all of the attorneys and analysts out of their offices. "I quit."

  "Let's call it a mutual decision," Stella sneered.

  I looked her straight in the eye.

  "I'm not leaving because I did anything wrong," I said. "I'm getting out of here because life is too short to put up with a bitch like you."

  A gasp rose around us, along with a couple of muffled laughs. Somewhere off to the side, I heard a muted Rebel yell.

  The grin that split Natalie's face was priceless. Stella's mouth was opening and closing like a beached catfish.

  "I'll sue you for slander!" she hissed.

  "It's called freedom of speech," I told her. "You're supposed to be an attorney. Look it up."

  The small crowd followed me to the elevator. I got on and pressed the button for the lobby.

  "Don't count on help from me," Stella said. "We'll see how far you get without it. You couldn't beg me to give you a reference."

  "That's the best news I've heard today." I gave her my sweetest smile. "Good luck with that stick in your ass, Stella. Oh, and p.s. Fuck you."

  The doors slid shut on cue, leaving me with a final glimpse of her enraged face. Natalie was giving me a wild, double thumbs-up behind Stella's back.

  Go back and say something else. Just in case a splinter of that bridge that isn't on fire.

  Down in the lobby, Maggie met me with a stricken expression and tears in her eyes. "Eva, I'm so sorry. I tried to tell her."

  "It's not your fault. She was looking for an excuse. Stand up to her, Maggie. Don't let her push you around."

  She gave me a small grin. "She might lay low after this. Are you going home?"

  "No. When the going gets tough, the tough get coffee."

  She laughed as I left with my head held high. I sent Hex a text while I was walking.

  Any chance you're free for coffee?

  He responded at once.

  Hex: What's wrong?

  Me: I just left my job.

  Hex: Define left.

  Me: Told Stella she had a stick up her ass. Etc.

  Hex: Congrats. Starbucks a block from your office?

  Me: You know me too well.

  Hex: I'm five minutes away. Try not to disarm any gunmen.

  Laughter bubbled up inside of me. Unemployed or not, relief and pride made me feel giddy with new possibilities. Until this moment, I hadn't realized how heavily the dread of Stella had weighed on me every day.

  It felt good to be free.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I'd never seen Hex grin quite like this. His face was boyish, his silvery eyes sparkling.

  "Did you really tell her to fuck off?"

  I nodded.

  He laughed into his cup. The brew he'd requested was something dark and thick called a Black Eye. Trust Hex to know all about the secret Starbucks menu.

  "Some people would say that was rash," he said, "but she was always going to be in your way. Best to leave on your own terms"

  "She'll bad-mouth me all over town."

  "Good. Anyone who ever met her will hire you on the spot."

  He was handsome and low-key today in jeans and a dark gray shirt, but I noticed a lot of girls second-glancing him. Probably some were wondering what he was doing with me.

  Somehow that thought made me smile instead of feel insecure. Sitting with him over coffee in midtown Atlanta seemed as natural as him tying me up. The subtle nuances of our new relationship kept surprising me.

  My phone rang. "Natalie," I mouthed before answering.

  "I'm almost there," she announced.

  "Where?"

  "Aren't you at the Starbucks by the office?"

  "How did you know?"

  "You left most of your mocha on your desk. I figured you went for a new one."

  "I'm impressed with your intuition."

  "Okay, so Maggie told me where you went, and your car was still in the garage. Phillip is with me. We'll be there in two minutes."

  "Just a second." I muted my phone. "Natalie and Phillip are on the way here. In case you don't want to—"

  "Good. I'd like to meet them in person," he said, looking perfectly casual.

  Who are you, and what have you done with Hex?

  "Stephen is with me," I told Natalie. "I guess y'all are finally going to meet."

  "It's about time," she said after a tiny pause. "Be right there."

  "Did you think I was going to run away?" Hex asked after I hung up.

  "You do have a way of becoming invisible."

  His hand closed over mine on the table. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.

  The door opened as Natalie and Phillip entered, hand-in-hand. Seeing them together made me realize why they had avoided each other at the office. Anyone looking at them could tell they were crazy for each other.

  Hex gave my hand a squeeze and stood up. Phillip reached us first and put out his hand.

  "We met on camera. Phillip St. Clair."

  "Stephen D'Amitri," Hex said, shaking his hand warmly. "And Natalie, if I remember right."

  She shook his hand while giving him her best attorney stare-down. "I was starting to wonder if you were real," she said.

  "I'm real enough," he agreed as we all sat down. He put his hand over mine again, causing Phillip to send a slanting grin toward Natalie.

  "What she means," he said, "is that she owes me fifty bucks. She said it would be months before you ever materialized."

  "I couldn't stay away from my girl for nearly that long," Hex said. "Sorry about the fifty bucks, Natalie."

  "Treat Eva right, and I'll consider it repaid."

  Phillip went to get their drinks.

  "I understand that congratulations are in order," Hex said. "Have you set a date?"

  In spite of her tough cookie demeanor, her face softened as her eyes followed Phillip. The barista behind the counter was almost simpering as he placed their order.

  "Not yet. We're thinking about an engagement party around Christmas." Her gaze flicked to me. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. Espresso grounds."

  I hadn't said a word to Hex about Natalie's engagement news. Everything had happened too fast. I was afraid to ask how he already knew.

  "Your scene with Stella is already a legend," she said. "The security guards are making a montage from the surveillance cameras. Exit to Eva, they're calling it."

  "Let's see if that helps me get a new job."

  "Phillip knows the whole story. You can come back, no questions asked. He said he'd keep Stella out of your way."

  For a moment, I was tempted. It was going to be lonely working somewhere besides with my bestie. The sound of Stella's clicking heels seemed to drumbeat inside my head.

  "She'd always find a way to piss on me," I said. "It was time to leave. I just didn't realize it was going to happen quite like this."
/>
  "You can always work for me again," Hex said. "Or I have contacts all over Atlanta."

  "So do I." Phillip returned to the table and gave Natalie her drink. "It doesn't have to be at St. Clair corporate. My apologies about Stella, Eva. She's my sister, but I can only control her so much."

  "You can't help that she took an instant dislike to me."

  "Stella is a bully," he said frankly. "She's been suspicious about my relationship with Natalie for a long time. You being her best friend and then getting a sudden promotion didn't help. I should have played that differently."

  My laugh was real, some of the exhilaration still clinging to me.

  "Fate was giving me a nudge. Starting tomorrow, I'll find something."

  "Would you at least accept a glowing reference?"

  "The glowier, the better. Enough about me. You have a great girl here. You better treat her right, or what I said to Stella will be nothing to what I say to you."

  Phillip feigned mock terror. "I promise to do my best."

  For half an hour we sat at the small table talking about their engagement, about Stella, about the Halloween charity ball. Mostly I listened, secretly marveling at how effortlessly they all seemed to get along. Why had I been so worried?

  Phillip and Natalie were giving each other scorching glances that made me feel as if I should find something to do someplace else.

  Hex seemed to read my mind.

  "I'll make sure Eva gets home without verbally assaulting anyone else," he said, taking my hand as we stood up. "Nice to meet you both. Congratulations again."

  Natalie smiled. "I'll have my eye on you."

  "What about me?" Phillip grinned.

  "You get other parts," she said.

  --

  "You've had quite a morning," Hex said as we strolled back toward the parking garage to get my car. "If you don't want another job right away, I can—"

  I shook my head and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, but no. And don't be cutting magic deals to help me."

  "Would I do that?"

  "Promise me."

  "You have my word."

  "By the way," I said suspiciously, "how did you know about their engagement? I didn't have a chance to tell you."

  "Well," he drawled, "besides the fact that they were all over each other, I couldn't help noticing that rock on her finger. It didn't look like something a girl would pick up on eBay for herself."

  "Are you sure that's how you knew?"

  He grinned and took my hand. "Do you think I'm spying on them? I can't be everywhere at once."

  "I'm not so sure about that."

  "I'm trying to wean myself and give you privacy," he said. "I solemnly swear that I'm not tracing them. But if there's anything you want to know…"

  "I'm good."

  Hearing this made me feel relief when I remembered the traces Natalie had run for me. Time hadn't lessened my guilt, and I was glad that nothing had come back.

  When we were back to my car, he brought my hand to his lips, kissing my palm. Even here in this noisy garage, my pulse quickened.

  "Are you still up for dinner and dessert tonight?" he asked.

  "Absolutely."

  "Then I'll still see you after six."

  "I have something else to tell you," I blurted. "I want to say it now, in case I lose my nerve later."

  "That sounds serious. What have you done?"

  "You asked me to pick our next adventure from The Book of Eva." My mouth was sawdust-dry, my voice almost a whisper. "I choose the slave auction."

  "It will take some planning to be done right," he said without missing a beat. "Give me a couple of weeks, and be ready to travel. Great choice."

  My laugh sounded shaky. "Good. That will give me time to get mentally prepared."

  He took me in his arms and kissed me, his tongue smooth and soft as his hands slid down to cup my ass through my suit. The hard lines of his body thrilled me right through our clothes.

  "Don't worry," he said. "I'll give you lots of practice before the real scene."

  Hex was sometimes maddening in how he twisted his words to suit his meaning. One thing about it: I was never bored.

  --

  After he saw me on my way, I found a shaded parking lot and parked. A quick phone search located Avalon Agency, a recruitment service not far from St. Clair and Associates.

  Why not start looking today? It wasn't like I had anything else to do this afternoon, and I was never one for retail therapy.

  One phone call…and they invited me to stop by in the next hour.

  One hour-long interview to go over my resume…and they asked for my references.

  One call to Phillip St. Clair for a reference, and I had a new job as a business analyst at Carerra Industries, an Atlanta-based biotelemetry firm with rapid international growth. The job even paid a little more than the one I'd bounced from only this morning.

  I called Hex, breathless with excitement.

  "You're sure you didn't somehow get ahead of me and pave the way?" I demanded.

  The smile on his face came all the way through the phone.

  "No, that was all you. You never give yourself enough credit. Face it, you're on a roll."

  Yes, I was. Hex was in my heart, my bed, and my life. Stella was no longer my problem, and I had an exciting new job. My best friend was awesome and engaged to a guy who was worthy of her.

  I closed my eyes and tried to bottle up this sweet feeling. There would be days when nothing went right, but for now, my world was perfect.

  That little voice inside of my head warned me that feeling too cocky was just asking for trouble.

  I decided to ignore it. What did that voice know, anyway?

  NOVEMBER 20

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The dream-like quality continued in the weeks after leaving St. Clair. The atmosphere at Carrera Industries was serious, friendly, and low-key. It made me realize what a chronic stress carrier Stella really was.

  Our building was red brick and five stories tall, looking retro in its tucked-in location among the downtown highrises. My office had two tall, skinny windows that looked out onto the bustle of Peachtree Street. The traffic was a soothing hum as I worked.

  Best of all, Natalie and I discovered a new place to have coffee, an upscale place called Buzzkill. It was halfway between us, an easy four-block walk. That's where we found ourselves the week before Thanksgiving.

  "The story of your Stella stand-off won't die," Natalie said as we finished up lunch. "Any day I expect to hear a version where you pulled a knife on her."

  "Tell them it was a machete. Did she turn on you after I left?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? She was already afraid of me. Now that I'm about to be her sister-in-law, she practically runs any time we meet in the hallway."

  "One day, you're going to have to tell me how you kept this whirlwind courtship a complete secret for so long."

  "One day," she retorted, "you're going to have to tell me how the Eva I knew and loved turned out to be an online sex vamp."

  "Sure. When you're ready for intense therapy."

  "Speaking of the mystery man, how is everything going?"

  "Pretty good." I tried to sound casual.

  "Pretty good, my ass. You light up like a neon sign when you think of him. So he's treating you right?"

  My mind drifted back to the night before. Hex had picked me up at work and put a ball gag into my mouth as a greeting. He drove me to his place, stripped me and tied me over a stool, then spanked me until I came in choking gasps behind the gag.

  Then he untied me for a dinner of takeout Thai while we watched an old Hitchcock movie. Round two had been a long, steamy night in his bed as he alternately ran his tongue and ice all over my body. The sheets were a mess, but we were smiling as we fell asleep.

  "Whatever you were just thinking, I don't want to know. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

  Annette and I were estranged, so the past couple of
years I'd tagged along with Natalie to Michigan or gone to my Uncle Dale's house in Alabama. I'd been so busy that I hadn't given it any thought.

  "I'm not sure. Damn, that came up fast."

  "If you don't have plans, you can come with me," she said loyally. "We're going to Phillip's parents. They'd probably love to meet the gal who took their daughter down a peg."

  "Thanks, Nat. I'll be fine. You go and terrify Stella over the turkey and dressing. I'll be around if you need backup."

  "If nothing else," she said as she finished her quiche, "you can loan me that Vader mask and I can breathe on her."

  --

  Back at the office, I thought about the holidays coming up. My life had changed so much that I could hardly remember how I had felt this time last year. I only knew that I was happy now.

  Even sitting here in my new office made me content. There was no dread of Stella darkening my doorstep, only the occasional visit from my new boss, Janice. She was calm, sharp, and someone I could already tell would be a true mentor in my new career.

  Biotelemetry was something I'd never heard of, probably because it was so new. The idea of entire radio channels to track medical patients made me feel that the work I did mattered, even if I never met them. Incredible to think that someone with a heart issue could be tracked from hundreds of miles away.

  Natalie's words about Thanksgiving had startled me. Today was Monday, only three days away. On impulse I decided to call Hex. We'd exchanged a lot of texts over the last couple of weeks, but I hadn't called him since the night he's left the books.

  "Hiya gorgeous," was his greeting. "Shouldn't you be saving the world one remote patient at a time?"

  "I already did that. Now I'm ready to tackle something more serious." I paused for emphasis. "Thanksgiving plans."

  "The horror. What the plan?"

  "No idea. I'm sort of terrible at holidays. What do you usually do?"

  "I leave town until the insanity stops." His voice was dry. "How do you feel about snow?"

  "Love it, not that we see much of it here. I'm game, but I'm not going to have much vacation since I'm so new."

  "We won't have to go far. North Georgia is going to get a surprise on Thanksgiving Day. How about we drive up and play in the snow?"