by Tia Siren
And she trusted me without a doubt. After everything that had transpired the day before, I couldn’t let myself go there. The striptease had gone too far, and I had let it go that far because of my own selfish desires. It was best for us to brush it off and put it behind us as best as we could.
I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Joanna after everything she had gone through. After finishing up in the shower, I ventured down to the kitchen to find my housekeeper, Marcie, already doing the dishes from last night. She smiled up at me when I entered through the dining room door.
“Good morning, Mr. Burke,” she said cheerfully. “Full pot of coffee over there for you.”
“Thank you,” I said, offering a grateful smile. I grabbed a mug from the cupboard and, after a second thought, picked up another for Joanna whenever she came downstairs. “I appreciate everything you’ve done getting this place cleaned up, Marcie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Of course, sir. It’s my pleasure.” She frowned down at the large pot she was currently washing out with bubbles. “I didn’t get a grocery list from you, though. It was a miracle you found some food in here last night.”
I sipped at my hot coffee. “Yes, a miracle. I’ll make sure to write down a list for you later if you don’t mind going. Were the roads bad?”
“My husband has some good snow tires, so it wasn’t too bad,” she said. “I’m sure the snowplow will be heading this direction soon. They’ve been out all night.”
“We’ll wait and see. I don’t want you out driving unless the roads are acceptable to drive on.”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
I took my coffee to the living room to sit in front of the crackling fire. Sinking down into the leather cushions, I pulled out my cell phone to call Roger.
“Good morning, Mr. Burke,” he said promptly. “What can I do for you today?”
I rubbed at my aching head. “I assume that Ashton has stopped by to deliver a few documents to you?”
“About forty minutes ago, sir.”
“Great,” I said. “I need those documents here by the end afternoon, along with whatever else is piling up on my desk.”
“I’ll be there later this afternoon, sir.” He hesitated for a moment. “Mr. Burke, I have to tell you that Joanna’s ex-boyfriend has been calling around here quite a bit. He’s starting to make the receptionist terrified to pick up the phones.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said darkly. “Do me a favor, Roger. Record the calls. Mark how many times he calls the office by the end of today. I’ll slap a protection order on the bastard for calling the office excessively.”
“I will tell the women up front. I know this is personal, but tell Joanna that I’m proud of her.”
“You can tell her in person,” I said. “By the end of the day, Roger. I mean it. I need those documents Ashton dropped off.”
I hung up after Roger spouted off a time that he would be by the log mansion. I sat in silence until the sound of Joanna coming down the stairs alerted me that she was up. She came into the living room dressed in a simple pair of gray leggings and a black sweater. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a loose braid. Her eyes were puffy and red when she looked over at me with a nervous glint in her eyes.
“Morning,” she said cautiously. “How are you feeling?”
“Just fine,” I responded curtly. “I just got off the phone with Roger. He’s bringing a few things for us to work on from the office, but we have a lot to get done today. No time for chitchat.”
Hurt flashed in Joanna’s eyes. I resisted the urge to apologize because this was in her best interest. Last night couldn’t happen again, even if I wanted it to.
“Okay,” she said in a small voice. “Um, is there any more coffee in the kitchen?”
“An entire potful. Also, Marcie is making a list of things to get from the store. Write down anything you think you need on the list.”
Joanna retreated from the living room in the direction of the kitchen. Guilt lodged itself in my throat. I had already hurt her.
Chapter 14
Joanna
The next two days passed by without a change in Bastian’s cold demeanor. I couldn’t even recall the last time things had been so strict and cold between us. The first year of working under Burke Management had been tough. It had been hard dealing with his famous tempers, but that had evened out over the following years. He’d kept his distance, but much had changed about him since running into him last Friday night at the club. He had revealed a completely different side of himself, but now he was guarded and aloof.
I scanned over a few files that Bastian had handed over to me to read through while he went back up to his office. The first night here, a night I had been so sure would’ve sealed our sexual chemistry, had ended terribly. Not in the way the drunken part of me had desperately hoped for. I hadn’t mistaken the arousal in his eyes, nor the bulge in his pants. I’d been confident in that part at least.
Now I had no idea what the hell Bastian Burke was thinking, or what he wanted in general from me. I highlighted a passage with a sigh. I didn’t want to sweep the other night beneath the rug like he seemed keen on doing for whatever his reasons were.
“Are those documents ready?”
I looked up in surprise to find Bastian standing in the living room with his hand held out in front of him impatiently. I glanced down at the stack of papers I had just gone through and nudged them in his direction with the toe of my sock-covered foot.
“Highlighted like you asked,” I said. I set the file I had been working on for the past hour on top of the stack as well. “Is there anything else you need me to do for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Nothing at the moment,” he said, picking the pile up with ease. “Thanks, Joanna. I’ll be having dinner upstairs in my office. I have things that need to get done by tonight.”
I rose up from the couch then. “I can help you. That’s why I’m here.”
“It’s fine, Joanna,” he said gruffly. “I can handle it on my own. There’s some food in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
He didn’t look in my direction as he spoke. The gesture stung more than I wanted to admit as I watched him walk up the stairs without sparing me another glance.
“What the fuck?” I whispered, hugging my stomach as I sat back down on the couch.
I ran my mind over the other night once again. Nothing about the night had seemed off. The only time he had pulled back was to save me the embarrassment of waking up the next morning and not remembering the night fully. Still, it didn’t sit well with me to have it swept underneath the rug like it had never happened. I made a mental note to try to talk to Bastian about what was bothering him tomorrow, since he had made it clear he would be spending the night in his office.
I pulled out my phone to dial my parents’ house number.
“Joanna?”
“Hi, Mom,” I said. “How are you?”
“I’m fine now that I’m hearing your voice,” she replied, her voice thick with emotion. “I’ve been so worried about you. Everyone from the office has been calling to see if you came here.”
“I know. I’m sorry that it’s been overwhelming and a pain in the butt. They’re just concerned about what happened is all.”
“They have every right to be from how you just up and left with your boss.”
My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. Had someone put it together? Bastian had assured me that he would make it clear I had gone on personal leave and that no one knew we were leaving together. The only person I could think of putting it together was Sabrina, but I doubted she would ever mention it out loud. She hated Sid. She didn’t want Sid to know where I was.
“Who told you I left with my boss?” I asked.
“No one told me,” she said. “Sid implied it was what had happened when he called here.”
Fear crawled up my spine to settle coldly in the center of me. My fingers trembled as I clutched the phone tightly to my ear.
&
nbsp; “I told you not to talk to him,” I said. “Why did you answer the phone?”
She sighed into the phone in aggravation. “Joanna, I don’t know who is calling me these days. You don’t have the same number. He called from a different number, too. Your office is calling me from various numbers.”
“What did Sid say to you?” I asked. “I don’t care about the other people calling you.”
“He told me that when you showed up at the house to get your things, your boss was with you. He believes you’re somewhere in Salt Lake, hiding with your boss.”
Shit. I ran a hand through my hair as I lifted my eyes to the stairway where Bastian had disappeared. I didn’t know if warning him would be well received given his change of attitude recently.
“And what did you tell him?” I asked.
“I told him that I hadn’t heard from you, so I had no clue where you were. I really don’t have an idea of where you are, but I hope you aren’t with your boss, either. That doesn’t sit right with me for a lot of reasons.”
“What reasons?” I asked
“He’s your boss for starters. It’s unprofessional. If you’re really in need of help, honey, you need to come home. Your father and I can get you into a shelter, or you can stay here with us. We wouldn’t let Sid come anywhere near you.”
I shook my head sadly. Even if my mother had a firm belief that she wasn’t being followed by Sid, I knew Sid was following her. He had tried to put the charm on her already in an attempt to get information.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I just wanted to call you.”
“Is there anything else you want to talk about, Joanna? I have a feeling you didn’t call me just to hear if Sid has been calling around.”
How could I tell her the truth? That I was indeed staying with my boss and that at one point I had wanted to fuck him? That we were both equally attracted to one another but afraid to do anything about it?
“I just called to talk. I’ll call you in a couple days to let you know what I’m planning to do next.”
“Does that mean you aren’t going to stay wherever you are?” she asked.
Bastian appeared at the foot of the stairs with an empty mug in his hand. He barely glanced in my direction as he headed to the kitchen.
“I don’t know,” I said numbly. “I’ll call you later, Mom. Okay?”
“All right. Keep your secrets then. Just stay safe.”
“I will, Mom.”
I rolled my eyes at her dramatic comment, and we hung up. Stuffing my phone down in the back pocket of my jeans, I walked into the kitchen to find Bastian pouring himself another cup of coffee.
“Want some?” he asked crisply. “Plenty left. Marcie made a full pot.”
“I’m okay for now,” I said. “I, um, actually need to tell you something that my mom just mentioned to me on the phone.”
Bastian sat the coffee pot back in its place. “What is that?”
“She mentioned that everyone at work is calling her because they don’t know where I am—”
“That came to a stop as of this morning,” Bastian interrupted coolly. “I made sure to let them know that if your ex keeps calling, to write it down for tracking purposes. I assured them that you were fine.”
I swallowed thickly. “He’s been calling there, too?”
“I have to get back upstairs,” he said, grabbing his mug of coffee. “I’ve put off some things that need to be done. Hence the coffee break.”
“Right,” I said as he walked out of the kitchen. “Good talk then.”
Frustration simmered inside me as I washed out my mug of coffee in the sink. I decided to brave the cold by slipping into a pair of thick boots and a heavy winter coat. I needed to talk to someone about what was going on, but I didn’t want Bastian walking by to overhear the conversation. The entire log mansion was quiet and still. I could hear Bastian cough a few times as he walked around in his office.
The wintery day greeted me with a stinging kiss as I stepped out onto the front porch. Earlier, Bastian had spent a few hours shoveling snow off the deck before hopping into a large truck with a snowplow on the front to clear the driveway. I had watched from inside as he’d continued up the road to help his neighbors clear their driveway, too. Gestures like that eased my anxiety over his intentions. He really did have a good heart beneath everything.
I walked across the icy driveway in the direction of the barn. Once inside, I slid the barn doors shut for privacy. I found a small heater plugged into one of the stalls, so I clicked it on to warm my fingers before dialing Sabrina’s cell number.
“Hello?”
“Sabrina, it’s me. It’s Joanna.”
“Oh, thank God!” Sabrina exclaimed into the phone. “I was so fucking worried about you! Where the hell are you? What is going on?”
I scrunched down a bit to let the warm heater air blast me in the face. “It’s just been a really fucked up couple of days. I broke up with Sid, so I needed some time to get away. To clear my head, you know?”
“Understandable, but there’s something you need to know. It deals with Sid.”
“What is it?” I asked, fearing the worst. He was already harassing my coworkers and parents. Now it seemed like he was going after Sabrina.
“He came by my place yesterday to drop something off. I didn’t answer the door, but he stuck it through the mail slot. It’s addressed to you.”
“It’s a box?” I questioned, straightening up with a frown. “I packed up the other day, so maybe he assumes you know where I am. He might’ve been dropping something off.”
“It’s an envelope,” Sabrina said. “It feels like something thick, like pictures or papers. I don’t know what it is. I didn’t want to open it until I talked to you.”
“Open it up,” I said. A coldness settled over me despite the blast of heat. “Tell me what it is. Don’t even sugarcoat it.”
“All right.”
I listened to the tear of paper before there was a sharp intake of breath on Sabrina’s end of the line. I clutched the phone tightly as my heart pounded. “What? What is it?”
“It’s pictures, Jo. Pictures of you.”
“Pictures of me?” I asked.
“Pictures of you naked,” she said shakily. “There are so many of them. I-I-I can’t even tell you what a lot of them are.”
My knees gave out beneath me. I slid down the barn stall to sit on the hard, cold floor. Hot tears filled my eyes.
“Are they bad?” I whispered, rubbing my face. “Please tell me it isn’t bad.”
“Nothing sexual from what I looked through. It’s like you sleeping, a few in the shower. What a sick fucking bastard. There’s a note in here, too.”
“Read it,” I said. “What does it say?”
“Joanna, there are two things that aggravate me the most—being ignored and being lied to. You’ve done both to me, so consider these photos your warning. I will send them to every single person you know, including your work. Even future job prospects. We need to talk.”
“Fuck,” I breathed out shakily. “What do I do, Sabrina?”
“I’m going to destroy these pictures,” Sabrina said promptly. “He can’t do this. He’s not above the law.”
“He thinks that he is, though. Everybody is going to defend him.”
“I don’t know what to tell you then,” she said solemnly. “I’m not going to ask where you are, but I hope you’re safe because shit is going to get nasty with him. You know that, right?”
Vomit bubbled in the back of my throat.
“Trust me,” I said, tears sliding down my cheeks. “I know it will.”
Chapter 15
Bastian
Two days. Two fucking days of a constant hard-on and shame mixed with guilt. I couldn’t get images of Joanna’s naked body out of mind, no matter how hard I tried. No matter how hard I jerked off, I still found my cock stiffening with desire whenever Joanna ventured around my private office.
I smoothed a
hand through my hair in agitation. Shame and guilt flooded through my system while I paced in front of my desk. I didn’t know what to make of this recent turn of events between Joanna and me. Taking advantage of a highly emotional situation was the last thing I wanted to do. Joanna was escaping an abusive relationship, and yet I had given in to the temptation of wanting to see her naked. It had taken everything in my will power to pull back from her before something had happened. It had been a damn miracle considering I had consumed a fair amount of wine before the sexy striptease.
A shudder went up my spine. I didn’t know how much longer I could take trying to resist the temptation that Joanna presented—even when she wasn’t trying to.
I stopped to gaze out the window at the cold and snowy landscape. Given my past with women, getting involved with Joanna wouldn’t make me any better of a solution for her. All my previous encounters had ended in heartache. I didn’t want to inflict that sort of damage on Joanna after everything she had been through.
My phone buzzed on my desk, where it was charging. I crossed my office to unplug it from the docking station, frowning at the number on the screen. I had no idea why my property manager would be calling in the middle of the week when he knew I was in Park City—not my penthouse that I usually occupied during the week to cut down on the commute time.
“Evening, Marcus,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“We might have a problem, sir.”
I tensed in dread. “What sort of problem do we have?”
“There’s been a seedy cop coming around your penthouse,” Marcus said darkly. “He’s been trying every damn trick in the book to come up here and snoop around your place. He used the back stairs yesterday with his partner.”
“Motherfucker,” I growled, sitting down on the edge of my chair. “Did he get in?”
“No, sir. I made it clear that there are cameras throughout the building that could see him attempting to break in without any sort of warrant. He threatened to put a bullet between my eyes if I didn’t help, but I didn’t back down. Reminded him off the CCTV footage always recording.”