To hell with his reputation, with his future at Aphrodite's Pleasures. He just wanted Psyche to believe that everything they'd experienced, everything he'd said to her, was true.
The lights flickered on and his gaze slammed into hers.
The likelihood of that notion was as distant as the steely look in her eyes.
"I'm afraid Eros, that your insubordination has gone beyond my tolerance level. If you will please follow the security guards, they will escort you from the building. I'm sure you'll be contacted later as to whatever Dr. Rainbo chooses to do about pressing charges."
Eros opened his mouth, ready to form a rebuttal to her accusations, but explanation evaded him. There was nothing he could do or say now to convince Psyche he wasn't the low-life sleaze his mother painted him as.
"You'll be in touch with my lawyer, mother." Eros called over his shoulder as he left the board room, followed by two burly security guards.
Chapter Eleven
"Of course, I had no idea to what lengths my son would go. I suspect just as most men do, he was thinking below his belt, instead of with his head." Aphrodite poured steaming tea into Psyches china cup.
They sat in the boardroom, just the two of them alone after the confusion and humiliation of the morning.
"I hope you didn't take anything he said or did to heart, my dear. Men can be so fickle when it comes to their desires. So good at acting to get what they want from us."
Psyche nodded, she couldn’t agree more.
"Of course, I'm having those pictures locked away. Heaven forbid that they should ever fall into the wrong hands, or worse that Eros would get hold of them. That kind of thing could ruin a person's career and I won't have it. We working women have to stick up for one another, in this world of business created by and for men. It's all about them, isn't it? And you and I are going to change all of that, aren't we?"
Aphrodite leaned over and patted Psyche's knee.
She was smart enough to realize that Eros had not acted alone and perhaps had only served as a puppet to Aphrodite's wishes. Why, she didn't yet understand, but what she clearly understood was that Aphrodite had her where she wanted and without creating a scandal that could affect her life entirely, she had to think of her family, her clients, and how a scandal like this could affect their world. Until she could think of a way around Aphrodite's clever scheme, she would have to play along with the ruse for now.
"Yes," Psyche responded averting her eyes from Aphrodite's questioning stare.
* * *
Weeks had passed since Eros had seen Psyche. He was going out of his mind with trying to find a way to reveal the truth about the blackmailing his mother achieved. But even to admit that much was to imply he was in on the plan from the beginning.
But somewhere along the way, the plans got changed, he studied Psyche, researched her views, and personal life, especially with regard to her family. The close-knit bonds were nothing he'd ever known and if she came from such roots, he was hungry to learn more. It wasn't until he met Psyche and had that one glorious night with her that he realized all that was missing in his life.
He'd spent hours in his personal gym, trying to work out the image of Psyches body molded to his, the sound of her sighs, how she responded to his touch. But he did not succeed in physically purging her from his memory, nor could his heart ignore the pained look in her beautiful eyes that morning in the boardroom. The look that in silence said, "You're a fraud, and I trusted you."
The phone rang in the next room, pulling Eros from his reverie.
"Hello?" He cleared his throat, clogged from his rigorous workout.
"This is your grandfather, Eros. I understand there is a bit of a shake up at the office?"
"More like a shakedown, grandfather, but there's nothing I can do about it."
"I understand Ms. Rainbo was involved?"
Eros drew a towel around his neck, swabbing his face as he tried to shove the pain from his gut. "I'm guessing you know about all there is to know then. He slumped to the edge of a nearby chair, his towel dangling between his legs. He was about to be stricken from his grandfather's will, he felt certain. This was the nail in his proverbial coffin.
"You sure I know everything?"
Eros blinked. No lectures, no reprimands about his embarrassment to the company?
"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Grandfather." Eros was hesitant. After all, this was his mother's father. Could he be any more trusted than Aphrodite?
"Why don't you clean up and come on over. We haven't spent any quality time together in a long while. Too long, maybe."
What else did he have to do? His head-hunter told him it would be a few weeks before they'd get any nibbles to the resumes he'd sent. Besides, he could reach him on his cell phone.
"I'll be over in awhile."
"Let's start with lunch, then."
Eros shrugged, still perplexed at his grandfather's welcoming behavior. "Sure thing."
The drive to his grandfather's estate helped calm Eros frazzled nerves. The stretch of highway wound through the tree-lined countryside, its path snaking up the side of the great mountains that overlooked the city. Affectionately termed, "Grandpa Zeus's Mountain," it was a national monument to the strength and timelessness of the man and his vast business empire. An empire that Eros figured he was about to be stripped of, as well as his lineage too.
He parked his car and tugged off his sunglasses. The house, built into the side of the mountain looked every bit the same as he remembered as a child. A wall of glass spanned the front of the house allowing panoramic vista to the city nestled at the base of the mountain.
"Eros, my boy, come in." His grandfather was a big man. Even now, his grandfather Zeus seemed like a formidable man. Tall, with a mighty physique. It was hard to believe he looked that good for the years he'd endured over his empire.
"Grandfather." Eros walked into Zeus's outstretched arms, engulfed in his warm embrace. "It's been a while, I guess." His face scrunched against his grandfather's massive chest.
"Too long indeed. Come in, come in. We have much to catch up on, starting with that spoiled daughter of mine."
Psyche hated getting up in the mornings. Tired from Aphrodite's relentless perfection, her constant business meetings and impromptu public appearances, Psyche was about at the end of her rope.
She'd neither seen nor heard from Eros since the day he was escorted from the building. But she'd dreamt of him every night and finally relented to the secret purchase of a top-of-the-line bunny vibrator just to alleviate her desperate need. Still, as much pleasure as she attained, it wasn't enough. There wasn't the warmth of his body next to hers, his breathing soft against her neck, nor the deep pleasured sigh as they came together in brilliant climax. Psyche closed her briefcase frustrated when the vibrator blocked her being able to close the top. She shook the case, settling the paperwork and snapped the lid shut. If she was lucky, maybe she could sneak away to the broom closet on her break.
She realized she was desperate and on more than one occasion, she'd reached for the phone to dial his number, but thought of the photos displayed on the six o'clock news and she replaced the receiver. Besides, if any of what he'd told her was true, wouldn't he have tried to call her by now? Both frustrated (in more ways than one) and confused, Psyche conceded Mr. Bunny would have to appease her still burning need for Eros.
"Do you remember the trip we have planned for the weekend, Psyche?"
Psyche glanced up from her computer and met Aphrodite's intense gaze. "Yes, ma'am, I've made reservations at the spa."
"Wonderful. It will be fabulous to get away for awhile, don't you think? We've been together now for—how many months?"
Aphrodite perched her hip encased in a clinging pencil skirt on the edge of Psyche's desk.
Psyche swallowed at the undertone in Aphrodite's voice. Did this woman swing both ways?
"I'm not sure, Aphrodite. It's been a bit of a whirlwind."
"Indeed it has,"
she cooed, bracing on one arm as she leaned toward Psyche.
Psyche attempted to avert her eyes from the gapping hole in Aphrodite's blouse and the sight of her plump breasts encased in black lace dangling before her.
"Maybe not that long?" Psyche stated rather bluntly, she realized as an afterthought.
Aphrodite straightened, shifting her blouse, her chin jutting out indignantly. “Perhaps you're right. But if you ever need assistance with that Bunny Love, you let me know."
She tapped Psyche on the end of the nose and teetered away on her stiletto heels her hips seductively swaying, Psyche guessed, for her benefit.
Psyche dropped her forehead in her hand, wondering how she could have gotten tangled up in such a mess.
A titter of laughter caught Psyches attention and she glanced up to see Stewart copping a feel of one of the secretary's in a short deserted hallway. Things were not at all the alleged wholesome image that Aphrodite had proposed to her. She had to get out and the sooner, the better.
Eros had turned down at least ten offers from former one-night trysts in twenty-four hours. He wasn't sure if word was out that he had a lot of free time, or if they'd been hired by his mother as her way of a peace offering. A bit of shagging was what Aphrodite used to cure a number of life's complications. But as much as she knew about lust, she knew little, if anything, about romance or about being in love.
But Eros knew.
He'd shared a pleasant afternoon with his grandfather, who'd asked a great many questions about the business as well as his thoughts about improvements that could be implemented to change the seedy image of Aphrodite's Pleasures. And then as suddenly as he'd been invited, he was immediately dismissed.
Not that he hadn't grown used to confusion in his life these days.
More than once he'd awoken to a boner the size of Gibraltar from dreams of Psyche. In the darkness of night, when the only sounds were the whisper of the breeze, that was when she came to him in his memory. There was no one else, nothing to keep them apart. No masks, no secrets, only Psyche.
And she offered herself freely to him time and again, each coupling more pleasurable, more intimate than the time before.
He could smell her sun-kissed skin, taste the sweet berry of her moist lips, feel her velvet tightness holding him close, safe and secure melding their bodies as one.
Eros woke with a start, his hand wrapped around his rigid member. Perched on the edge of release, he grasped the sheet, releasing himself of his frustration with a cry of desperation.
* * *
"I'm calling a special meeting of the board, Aphrodite. I would like you all assembled immediately, in the meeting room." Zeus lumbered down the corridor, not bothering with a second glance at his daughter.
Psyche glanced at the stunned expression on Aphrodite's face and waited for her command. Somewhere along the way, becoming slave to her power had become a natural tendency.
"Well for heavens sake, don't dawdle. Call everyone Psyche. Get them here on the double."
She trotted down the hallway after her father. "And make sure there is fresh coffee in the meeting room."
Fulfilling the role of a glorified secretary had also become part of Psyche's job description.
"Only until we find a sufficient replacement, my dear." Aphrodite cajoled.
Psyche settled herself in one of the plush leather swivel chairs. She'd seen the pictures of Zeus hanging on the wall in the boardroom, but they were nothing in comparison to the presence of the man standing at the head of the table.
Aphrodite rushed in, skittish in a way Psyche had never seen, but found quite amusing.
She hesitated briefly, noting Zeus sat in the chair normally claimed as hers. She plopped into the chair at his left and adjusted her too tight skirt over her hips.
"A cup of coffee Aphrodite, please."
Automatically Psyche stood ready to fetch the coffee, ever the dutiful servant to Aphrodite's wishes.
"I said, Aphrodite."
He pinned Psyche in place with a stern look and she eased back into her seat. Whatever had prompted Zeus to come down from his mountaintop retreat had to be substantial.
"I have need of this chair, Mr. Pentworth." Zeus pointed a direct stare at the timid Stewart Pentworth seated in the first chair to Zeus's right.
Stewart got up without a word and moved to the other end of the table.
The door to the meeting room opened and Psyche's heart leapt onto the conference table. She shifted, her eyes glued on Eros as he entered the room, just as surprised as everyone else. Everyone, with the exception of Zeus.
She caught the scent of his cologne as he walked behind her, taking his place at Zeus's right hand. If a man could be deemed beautiful, Eros was the epitome of, dressed in a sharp black suit, with a light blue dress shirt and coordinating tie.
Psyche wanted to eat him alive. And he hadn't even glanced her way.
Reeling in her pride, Psyche chewed on the corner of her lip nervously to keep from letting one tear sneak down her cheek. Under the table her fingers worried the pencil she held in her hands, until it finally snapped, startling her and everyone else in the room.
"I am here to clear up a few business matters," Zeus began. He stood, his massive form rising tall above the heads of those seated before him.
Psyche could see how this man commandeered an empire. You'd be an idiot to mess with the likes of Zeus. Unfortunately, whatever equivalent powers his daughter had acquired she squandered for her own pleasures.
"I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Rainbo—"
Aphrodite stood her mouth open and ready to do the honors.
"Sit down, Aphrodite." Zeus shot her a stern look. He turned to Eros. "Can you introduce me to this young woman, Eros?"
Eros cleared his throat and Psyche noted the deep swallow before he stood. No doubt this was difficult to do for him since he'd already had to lie to her once.
"Dr. Rainbo has written a number of books…good ones, I've read them all, recently, uh…on relationships."
Zeus raised fuzzy white brow and glanced at Psyche.
Psyche was still digesting the part where he'd read her books.
"My mother recently hired Psyche, er, Dr. Rainbo as a consultant to make an attempt to change the image of the company."
"I see." Zeus folded his hands behind his back, squarely facing Eros as he listened intently. "And do you agree with the premise of this so called image makeover?"
Eros hesitated a moment, before nodding. "Yes, in theory, I think that certain changes could be implemented, though it would require a complete assessment of the business from the mailroom up to administration."
"Could be a lot of work." Zeus nodded as he lowered his head, allegedly deep in thought.
"And do you feel Ms. Rainbo is—excuse me, Dr. Rainbo is a qualified consultant for such an endeavor?"
Aphrodite raised one red perfect fingernail.
"When I want your opinion daughter, I will ask for it."
"Tell me how you feel about Dr. Rainbo, Eros."
Psyche's stomach lurched. What was this man trying to do, destroy her completely? Hadn't she endured enough humiliation already?
"Personally, or professionally?" He kept his gaze focused on his grandfather.
She swallowed hard and quietly rose, turning to pretend to get a glass of water. Maybe she could sneak from the room, out the back door.
"Ms. Rainbo, I think you should stay and hear what my grandson has to say."
Zeus's calm, but firm voice stopped Psyche in her escape.
She reluctantly turned around and for the first time since he was fired, met Eros steady gaze. Were these the eyes that saw her respond to him with pleasure? How would they look, she wondered, when filled with passion. She'd missed so much. Been so blind.
"Go on Eros. Tell the young lady the truth."
Tears stung at the back of Psyche's eyes. She blinked in a vain attempt to prevent them from seeping past her eyes. She lick
ed her lips, dry from fear as her chin quivered.
His lips moved, but his words had yet to catch up to her brain's reason. Had he just said—?
"I also think she's one of the most giving and strong women I've ever known. Quite remarkable really and I feel she would make a great asset to our company and bring a decided benefit to our clientele. Were she of course to stay on and give us her thoughts and expertise."
Tears now trickled unashamed down her face.
"Is there anything else you'd like her to know, son?"
Eros stepped away from his chair and held her gaze as he walked toward her.
"I see no reason why we must all suffer this childish circus any longer, father. It's obvious to me that Eros has managed to deceive himself that he could be capable of having feelings for any woman, let alone Ms. Rainbo," Aphrodite scoffed.
"Dr. Rainbo," he corrected as he met Psyche face to face at the end of the boardroom.
"Oh great Zeus, whatever—" Aphrodite slung back, bitterness voiced in her tone.
"Aphrodite," Zeus spoke deceptively quiet.
"Yes, father?"
"You're fired. Guards escort my daughter from the building. And take Pentworth with you."
"But , but. I…"
Zeus waved his hand, dismissing them both.
"You can't do that," she protested.
Zeus laid a piece of paper in front of Aphrodite. "Is this your signature to Mr. Pentworth for services rendered for his photography?"
Psyche hid her smile, under the pretext of wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Eros followed her hands, finishing the work as he cradled her face in his hands. With relief, mixed with joy, she walked willingly into his embrace.
"You are fired for conspiring against a member of this board duly appointed by me and further for being a bad mother." Zeus ushered her to the guards. "Gentlemen? You'll find the limo waiting, Aphrodite. They'll take you home, where we are going to have a nice long talk about your next assignment to the underworld."
Sons of Zeus: Risky Business Page 11