by Kelley, HD
“Control freak,” I repeated. “And now that we’re both up to speed, Mr. Payne, I have a lot of work to do today.” Alec’s mouth dropped open but I didn’t care. He was toying with me and I was in no mood to play. Not now, and especially not at my office. I might have crossed the line last night but I sure as hell wasn't about to let that happen again. I had to put a stop to this.
Gathering the file I needlessly brought with me I stood to leave, pausing to add, “The next time you’re in need of self-discovery, please, make an appointment.” I moved quickly toward the door before he had a chance to gather his thoughts. “Enjoy your day, sir.” I called over my shoulder as I exited the room.
“I bet he wouldn’t like it if someone wasted his time like that,” I mumbled as I stormed off in the direction of my office. Alec Payne might have been accustomed to getting his way, but not this time. Not with me. I wasn’t about to jeopardize my career to become his latest fling.
“Move my nine o’clock meeting to ten and hold all my calls,” I said as I passed Jonathan’s desk on the way to my office. Closing the door, I plopped down in my leather desk chair. “Control freak!” I said out loud, tossing the file I’d needlessly taken with me on top of the credenza.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the stack of files still awaiting my attention. Exhaling slowly, puffing out my cheeks out as I did, I picked up the top file and started reading.
An hour later there was a knock on my door. “Excuse me, Izzy,” Jonathan said poking his head into the room. “Your next meeting starts in five minutes.”
“Thanks, Jonathan. Can you print five copies of the Sandestin action plan and the Ultimate timeline I just emailed you?”
“Sure thing.” He pulled his head back out and closed the door.
Gathering the files I’d been reading into a neat stack, I placed the list of hand written notes I’d just compiled on the top. I took a deep, calming breath as I prepared to leave the safety of my office, not realizing until that moment I was about to return to the very room where I left Alec, mouth wide open, undoubtedly stunned by my outburst.
“He’s gone, Izzy,” I reassured myself. Alec Payne was not the kind of man who was going to sit around and wait for anything, well, except maybe an unscheduled meeting with me. The thought made me smile for the first time today and with a renewed sense of confidence I opened my office door and strolled down the hall to the conference room.
My team was already assembled when I arrived. I did a quick scan of the room and, just as I’d thought, there was no sign of Alec. A sigh of relief escaped me. “Good morning,” I said in full business mode now. “We implement at the Sandestin next week, so let’s start there.” I passed around the reports Jonathan printed for me then took my seat at the table.
• • • • •
My list of notes was long and it took over three hours to get through them all. I assigned the necessary action items and was confident the work would be handled. I walked back to my office, exhausted from the marathon problem solving session, and more than ready for lunch. I’d skipped breakfast again this morning, a fact my stomach was refusing to let me forget.
“I’m going to Hopjacks,” I announced as I passed Jonathan’s desk. I needed food, and I needed to get out of here, even if it was only for an hour. Hoping to avoid Tim, I hurried down the hall to the stairs. If he saw me I knew I could forget about lunch. I ducked inside the stairwell and moved quickly down the five flights of stairs, pausing only to straighten my skirt once I reached the bottom floor. I needed time. Time to breathe, time to process all that had happened since yesterday and, more importantly, time to figure out how to get Alec Payne out of my head because no matter how hard I tried, or how much I wanted to, I hadn’t been able to make that happen.
The cool, salty, air invigorated me and I strolled down the sidewalk toward Hopjacks Pizza. There was already a line of people at the door: business professionals, families, locals, tourists, all waiting for a table. But not me, no, I moved past the mob and headed straight for the bar.
“What’ll it be?” the bartender asked after I’d settled into one of the high back stools.
“Caprese salad and a glass of water, please.”
And a glass of that Riesling you like so much, my inner voice coaxed. “I’ll have a glass of Chateau St. Michele too,” I added, quickly surrendering to her temptation.
“Coming right up.” The bartender poured the wine and set the glass down on a cardboard coaster in front of me. I wasted no time in tasting it. It wasn’t as good as the wine I’d had last night with Alec, but it was still one of my favorites.
Blocking out the chaos around me, I sat in silence, sipping the glass of wine as I waited for my lunch to arrive. Without permission, thoughts of Alec kept popping into my head: his beautiful body, his smile, that wicked grin. His words, “Dangerous, dangerous game,” rang in my ears again and I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d meant.
The bartender set my lunch on the counter in front of me. “Can I get you another?” he asked, pointing to the nearly empty glass of wine in my hand.
As much as wanted another glass I still had work to do today. “I better stick to water.”
He smiled and walked away, leaving me alone to eat my lunch. One bite of tomato drizzled with the balsamic vinegar glaze, and food was all I could think about. My stomach growled, encouraging me to eat faster. The fresh mozzarella practically melted in my mouth, and that was all the encouragement I needed. Bite after bite I powered through the food on my plate.
When I’d finished eating the bartender returned with a fresh glass of wine. “Compliments of that gentleman over there,” he said, motioning to the end of the bar. I closed my eyes, secretly hoping it was Alec but afraid to look.
“Thanks,” I said when I opened my eyes again. I lifted the glass and took a long drink, deliberately looking in the opposite direction of where he’d pointed. If it wasn’t Alec, I didn’t care who’d sent it, and if it was him, well, that was a whole different problem.
The mystery was quickly solved when Alec took the seat next to me. “Drinking on the job, I see,” he teased.
“It’s from a client,” I snapped, conflicted by the feelings he elicited and my responsibility of professional conduct. “What are you doing here?”
“Ironing out the details of my latest contract.”
Shit. Now I’d have to apologize. I’d accused him of flying here to see me when really he had business to take care of. Before I could formulate a complete sentence that resembled an apology, I heard my name being called.
“Izzy.” I heard again, only this time I knew who it was. I turned just in time to see Tim approach, waving a file in his hand.
“Hey, Tim, what’s that?”
“Our newest contract.”
“Ultimate’s contract?” I asked cautiously. Tim nodded and I slowly started to put the pieces together. Alec wasn’t meeting about some other contract. He’d gone over my head and finalized the Ultimate contract with my boss. Turning back to the bar, I took a long drink of the wine Alec had ordered for me, trying not to think about what all the control freak managed to change without my knowledge.
“Wait until you hear the good news, Izzy,” Tim said, barely able to contain his excitement. “We’re going on a cruise.”
“Who’s going?”
“You and Tim,” Alec chimed in. “You’re coming on the maiden voyage of Ultimate’s newest ship.”
“The Ultimate Fantasy,” I muttered, unable to believe what I was hearing. I’d declined the trip two weeks ago when Lily invited me. Going away would involve rescheduling dozens of meetings and that would put me even further behind than I already was.
“Yes, that’s the one,” Tim said.
“But that cruise departs Friday, as in two days from today.”
“Actually, you’re flying over tomorrow,” he said. “It’ll give you an opportunity to observe the crew’s processes before the passengers arrive.” It didn’t take a
genius to figure out who came up with that bright idea. Control freak!
“Mr. Payne is sending his corporate jet to pick you up tomorrow night.”
I shook my head. “Of course he is,” I snapped, my nerve strengthened once again by the wine.
“That isn’t a problem for you, is it?” Alec asked.
Of course it’s a problem you control freak! I wanted to scream and yell and maybe even throw things, but I doubted Tim would appreciate any of those things so I opted for deep breathing instead.
“Izzy, this isn’t a problem, is it?” Tim asked in that ‘you better not ruin this for me’ kind of tone.
“Not at all,” I said finally. When I looked over at Alec, that wicked grin crossed his face and I blushed. Damn it.
“It’s settled then,” Tim said. “Alec, I’m sorry about how things went with your morning meeting but I’m glad it gave us the opportunity to finalize your contract with Dimarco.”
Alec shook his hand. “I’m happy we got that finalized too. It’s nice to meet someone who appreciates client expectations as much as I do.” Alec looked right at me. “And strives to meet them.”
“I’m afraid I have to get back to the office, but Izzy will email you the finalized contract later today.” Tim nodded at me then walked away, leaving us alone.
I took another drink from the wine glass I was now clutching. “I should go too. Apparently I have a contract that needs to be edited and emailed to a client today, along with all the other shit on my to-do list.”
“Maybe your client will give you until morning.”
“Doubtful. He’s a real control freak.”
“Maybe he just knows what he wants.”
I took another drink. “Maybe he needs to realize he can’t always get what he wants.”
“Says who?”
“The Rolling Stones for starters. They have a whole song about it.”
Alec laughed. “Fair point, Isabella, but I’m afraid I don’t subscribe to every belief someone has written a song about.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, what, you just expect people to give you what you want simply because you want it?”
“I expect a lot of things, but I never expect them to be given to me.”
“Then you don’t expect to always get what you want?”
“That’s not what I said. I work very hard to secure the things I want, Isabella.” Alec leaned toward me and pushed my hair off my shoulder. Goosebumps covered my neck then ran down my arm. “And what I want right now is for you to stop rolling your eyes at me.”
My insides quickened. I took another drink to strength my nerve. “Well, you’re going to have to work extra hard to make that one happen.” I bit my bottom lip to keep from rolling my eyes at him now.
He reached over and pulled on my chin, simultaneously freeing my trapped lip and making me squirm. “I guess I could learn to live with that,” he whispered.
I lifted the wine for another drink, but Alec took the glass out of my hand. “I’d say you’ve had enough wine for a workday lunch. Let’s go. I’ll walk you back to your office.”
I sighed, unable to mask my irritation at his controlling tendencies any longer. “You go ahead. I need to settle my tab.”
Alec pulled a fifty from the money clip in his front pocket and tossed it on the bar next to my glass. “Now can we go?”
I opened my mouth to object but closed it again. There was no point in arguing with him. Besides, he owed me lunch after going over my head to get what he wanted. Alec put his arm around my shoulder when I stood to leave and escorted me through the crowd to the sidewalk.
“Thank you for lunch, Alec,” I said after we left.
“You’re quite welcome. I would have preferred if we’d eaten lunch together though.”
“And I would’ve preferred it if you hadn’t gone over my head to get your way.”
“Fair enough.”
Alec and I walked in silence the remaining distance to the lobby door of the Theisen building. He released my arm and turned to face me.
“I’ll email you the new contract documents as soon as they’re finished,” I said nervously.
He held open the door. “Until then,” he whispered, dangerously close to my mouth. It was more than enough to make me blush. Damn him. Clearly he could see the effect he had on me and it made me wonder why he was purposely trying to get a rise out of me.
I walked to the bank of elevators and waited. Normally I’d take the stairs so I didn’t have to wait, but today it sounded like a good idea. I was still irritated that Tim had committed me to this cruise without talking to me about it first, so I wasn’t in a hurry to get back to the office.
As I waited for the elevator I replayed Alec’s words again and again in my mind. “I work hard to secure the things I want,” he’d said. I couldn’t help but wonder what it was he really wanted. Sex? Control? To annoy the hell out of me?
Jonathan wasn’t at his desk when I got back to the office, so I was able to slip by without being noticed. Tim had left a copy of his notes on my desk chair, ensuring I’d see them I guessed. I picked up the stack of papers and began scanning for changes.
Everything seemed reasonable until I reached the page that covered reporting. The new contract called for a weekly in-person status update. I skipped ahead to the budget to see if Tim left any money at all in the contingency account. My mouth dropped open when I saw the changes they’d made there. All travel related expenses were being funded separately by Payne Enterprises with an indeterminate dollar amount.
“Control freak,” I growled.
After I’d regained my composure, I turned back to the page that committed me to a weekly trip to Tampa for the next several months and started editing. I did a final run-through to make sure I caught all the changes. When I was satisfied I’d found them all, I hit save then emailed it to Alec and Lily, copying Tim on the email so he’d know it’d been done.
I shut down my computer and packed up the files that still needed my attention. Since I was leaving town tomorrow I was left with no choice but to take them with me. Stuffing the files in my laptop bag, I turned off the light and made my way to the parking garage and the sanctity of my car.
Chapter Six
I pulled out of the parking garage and drove slowly toward home. I hadn’t heard from Spencer all day, so I had no idea if he’d be at home tonight or not. With my anxiety building I gripped the steering wheel tight. I didn’t want to stay at the house with him there, not after that dream last night, or after finding him there this morning.
Just call Anna, my inner voice coaxed. If anyone had heard from Spencer it’d be Anna.
She answered on the first ring. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, sweetie, how was school?”
“It was amazing. I had meetings all morning so I got out of most of my classes. Prom committee, senior activities committee, French club, there’s so much going on.” That’s my Anna, Ms. Social. She spent the next several minutes filling me in on the details of prom and the upcoming panoramic picture of the senior class they were trying to schedule. Focusing on the road, I did my best to keep up with what she was saying.
“Oh, before I forget, dad left a little while ago. He said he’d be gone until Saturday. You’ll be here though, right?” Anna didn’t like it when Spencer and I traveled at the same time and had only recently come to accept it as a reality for our family. It wasn’t that Anna was afraid to stay home alone, well, with Drew. But what she was afraid of was having some place she needed to be and no ride to get there. Drew would let her tagalong with him most of the time, but only if they were going to the same place. It drove Drew nuts that Anna refused to get her license.
“Actually, I have a trip too. I’m leaving tomorrow night, but I’ll call Sara to see if she can stay at the house until dad gets back.” Sara Pike, our part-time housekeeper, also doubled as Anna’s own personal taxi service from time to time. Anna adored Sara and was always excited when she stayed over. They were al
most like sisters really. Sara had lived with us while she was in college and the two of them became pretty close.
I hung up the phone, relieved I wouldn’t have to see Spencer again until after my trip but worried Sara wouldn’t be able to stay. I crossed my fingers and dialed her number.
“Hi, Izzy.”
“Hey, Sara, I need a favor,” I said, getting straight to the point.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Spencer and I are both traveling, and I’m hoping you can stay at the house with the kids for a few days.”
“Of course. I’d love to stay. Brandon is away for some training thing and it’s been so lonely around here.”
“Oh, Sara, thank you. You really are the best.”
“You know I love staying with them, Izzy. How about I come tonight?”
“Sure. Come anytime.” I couldn’t help but think how blessed we were to have someone like Sara in our lives.
When I walked inside the house an hour later I could hear Anna and Drew laughing. The smell of shrimp flowed from the kitchen, pasta and garlic too. Putting my bag down on the entryway table I walked toward the sound.
“Mom,” Anna squealed when she saw me.
“Look, Sara made dinner, angel hair pasta with shrimp and a white wine garlic sauce,” Drew said.
“Wow, thanks, Sara. It smells delicious.”
Sara poured a glass of wine and handed it to me. “I hope it tastes okay. I’m still getting a grip on the whole cooking thing.”
“I’m sure it’ll be amazing,” Drew said.
“I’m so grateful you could come on short notice. I don’t know what we’d do without you, Sara.”
“Don’t be silly, I’m glad you called. I was going out of my mind in that house all alone.”
The timer buzzed. Drew pulled a tray of garlic bread out of the oven. Sara drained the pasta. Anna began setting the table. All three moving in synchronized rhythm. A smile crossed my face as I soaked in the moment, doing my best not to think about how much I was going to miss this when they left for college in a couple of months.