Don’t Go

by Paige, Violet

  I sighed. I was stalling. I had to trust that we could find a solution before the equipment rolled into town. I had the best team. I had to trust they could do it.

  “All right. I’ll sign it today and have it over-nighted. But, Carter, find a piece of land I can convert. Call before the end of the day.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He was hanging on the line, but I cut the call short. I pulled open the manila envelope and stared at the contract.

  I knew what this meant. It wasn’t only bad for Thomas Corporation to go back on the deal, it was going to be bad for me. But the alternative was losing millions. I could afford to do a lot of things, but that wasn’t one of them. With my new venture in the gas and oil market and three properties waiting to be sold, I couldn’t leave Sailor’s Cove undeveloped. I was in a corner.

  This could go one of two ways. Knowing the kind of man I was, I knew which option I would choose. The one I always chose. Decisions like this came to me naturally.

  At least they used to. They should. I wasn’t the type to get bogged down in ethics—or consequences. Not the emotional kind anyway. I analyzed deals in black and white. Any sign of red and I walked.

  I prided myself on the size of my bank account, not the number of friends I had. I could spot a liar a mile away. A swindler even farther. Call it natural instincts. Call it wanting to be the predator, not the prey. Call it growing up with a liar as a father.

  I’ve been called calculated and cold. By some standards, heartless. Ruthless. I shrugged it off. Other people’s opinions never meant anything to me.

  I’m the one who weighed the outcomes. I’m the one who saved the deal. Everything else was only collateral damage as far as I was concerned. At the end of the day, there can only be one winner. And that winner better be me.

  The contract sat on the table. I reached for the pen.

  She wouldn’t forgive me, but she knew what she was getting into when we started this. She knew when she crawled into my bed, there was always going to be a consequence.

  There was only one way this was going to end from the beginning.

  Twenty-Two

  Veronica

  Aiden had decided the drive to Dallas was going to be too long. I didn’t argue. Eight hours one-way in the car wasn’t how I wanted to spend the day with him. Although, I was on his payroll now. He decided how I worked. Where I worked. When I worked. We boarded a plane in Brownsville for a quick flight to Dallas Thursday morning.

  I watched the brown fields whiz past us as we glided through the air.

  “You know this is my first trip to Dallas,” I mentioned.

  Aiden’s head was buried in his tablet. I bit back the nausea when I saw he was reading the News & Report. He still had to get his news somewhere.

  “It’s going to be a quick trip,” he mumbled. “We fly back tonight.”

  I scrunched my nose. He was preoccupied. That seemed to be his condition during the workday. I had learned to read his moods. Learned to not take them personally. I couldn’t complain at night though. His focus was solely on me.

  “Why so short?” I asked.

  He turned the tablet off and took my hand. “I need to show my face. That’s important sometimes.” He smiled. “You can meet everyone. I have to pick up a few things at my apartment.”

  “Like what? More white shirts?”

  He scowled. “White goes with everything.”

  I giggled. “It does. But have you thought about branching out at all? I’ve only seen you in a blue shirt once.”

  “You’re not going to be one of those girlfriends are you?” His eyes darted back and forth, studying my lips.

  “Girlfriend.” I froze. “That’s what I am?”

  “Ronnie.” He squeezed my hand. “What do you think this is? We moved past the casual and the fun about two days in don’t you think?”

  I wondered if the passengers around us were listening to our conversation. Girlfriend. He had said it. It came out of nowhere, but now that it was here I wanted to hear the word on his lips a hundred times.

  I nodded. I had bypassed casual the first time I saw him. “So my boyfriend is Aiden Thomas. I think that sounds good.”

  “Too bad we’re on this plane with all these people. I would see what other sounds I could get you to make.” He slid his hand up my thigh. I gasped when his fingers ducked under my skirt.

  I shook my head. “No,” I warned.

  He chuckled, his hand sliding back to my knee. “God, do I want to.” He raised his eyebrows. “Private plane next time.”

  He flipped the tablet back on.

  I stared out the window. We’d be on the ground in Dallas in a few minutes.

  * * *

  Thomas Corporation was exactly how I pictured it in my head. It was in a high-rise in downtown Dallas. Aiden’s office took up the top three floors of the building. It was impressive and dominant. Not unlike its owner.

  We walked next to each other through the halls. I had to remind myself this was not a place we could hold hands, no matter what Aiden said about the openness of our relationship. It was hard to be so close and not be able to touch him.

  The staff seemed genuinely happy to see him back in the office. It had been a few weeks since he had been in Dallas.

  “And this is the boardroom.” He shoved the heavy wooden doors open. I peeked inside.

  “Nice. Do you sit there?”

  There was one chair at the end of the table, the rest flanked the sides.

  “Yes. That’s my seat. Come on, I’ll show you my office.”

  I followed him through the hallways. There were paintings and sculptures. He had spared no expense outfitting the suites.

  We walked into a corner office. He closed the door when I passed over the threshold. “This is it.”

  There was a sleek black desk on one end. A round conference table in the center, and a couch and chairs at the far end.

  “Two flat panels?” I questioned.

  “One for games. One for the business channel.”

  I nodded. “Of course.” I knew he followed baseball almost as closely as the Dow Jones. I walked toward the desk. It was intimidating. Maybe it was the shiny surface and the darkness of it, but it looked powerful. I knew Aiden would look powerful sitting behind it.

  I was afraid to touch it. Afraid my fingerprints would show up like neon lights.

  Before I could move to the chair, I felt Aiden’s hands circle my waist. His mouth was on my neck, his teeth nipping behind my ear.

  “You know what I’ve never done in here?” His palms moved to my thighs, dragging my skirt upward.

  “Oh no. We’re not. We can’t. All those people are out there,” I protested. “They’ll know what we’re doing.” I could already feel the heat moving to my core. I craved him as much as he craved me.

  He laughed. He didn’t seem thrown off by the employees in the hallway.

  My head rested on his shoulder, while his fingers massaged between my thighs. I was melting in his hands.

  “We can’t. Really, Aiden. I’ll never be able to show my face here,” I whispered then moaned when I felt his fingers feather across my skin.

  He turned me toward me. I saw the look of desire in his eyes. The pure want. The hunger. He picked me up, gently setting me on the desk.

  “You know how many rules I’ve broken because of you?” He picked at the top button on my shirt.

  “How many?” I watched as my shirt fell to the side.

  “I think I’ve reached too many to count.” He kissed my throat, his hands running through my hair. “And this one. This rule I’m going to have to break.”

  My skirt was shoved up to my waist. I circled his hips with my legs, drawing him to me.

  “What rule is that?” I could feel the tightening sensation building between my legs. I began to work the buckle on his belt.

  “Mixing business and pleasure. Right now I don’t know where one ends and the other begins.” I saw the wolfish grin on
his face. He was enjoying it. My body. The desk. The prospect of what we were about to do.

  I groaned into his neck as his fingers pinched through my bra. “Aiden, this is bad.”

  “So, so bad.” He took my face between his hands, kissing me hard and fast. My tongue met his in a fury. “God, I want you.”

  “Sir? Mr. Thomas?”

  My eyes shot to his. The panic crawled over my skin. He smiled and pointed to the intercom on the desk.

  He leaned across me and hit a button. “What is it, Carter?”

  “There are two board members here. I thought you might want to see them while you’re in town.”

  Aiden struggled to breath. He stretched out the front of his pants with his palms. “Give me a second, Carter. I’ll be down. Get them coffee or something.” He tapped on the button a second time.

  I covered my laughter with my hands. “You’re going to see your board looking like that?” I raked my eyes over the bulge between his legs.

  He sat next to me and took a deep breath. “It’s going to take me a second.” He smiled. “I guess we’ll have to break the rule another time.” He pulled me toward him and kissed my forehead.

  He hopped off the desk. “Wait here for me. Carter will get you what you need.”

  I buttoned the top of my blouse and rearranged the panties that he had attacked with his amazing fingers.

  “Okay, I’ll be right here,” I called after him.

  I wandered to the other side of his office where the remotes were situated on the coffee table. I didn’t know which one operated which TV. I clicked the power button and the Texas Rangers popped up on the screen on the right. They were playing an afternoon double-header.

  I settled into the leather chair. I needed to steady myself after the almost desk sex.

  “Veronica?” A guy with red hair and glasses stood behind me.

  I swiveled in the seat. “Are you Carter?”

  “Yeah. Nice to meet you in person.” He extended a hand.

  “It is. Thanks for all of your help this week getting everything set up for me.”

  “Did your computer show up?” He pushed his glasses back on his nose.

  “Yes. Last night. I haven’t had a chance to set anything up yet since we flew out so early this morning. I’m sure everything’s good on it. I can let you know tomorrow.”

  “Have you met the other two PR team members, yet?”

  I shook my head. “No, where is the PR office?”

  “First floor of our three suites. Would you like to walk down there? I can take you. Introduce you to the team.”

  “Do you think Aiden will be long?” I asked. I wondered if I should refer to him as Mr. Thomas, but that seemed awkward and forced.

  “He’s in with two board members, and it’s been awhile since they’ve seen him. No telling.” Carter looked at his feet.

  “Okay, let’s go. It’s not like he can’t find me. Let me text him first.”

  I pulled out my phone to let him know I had walked two floors down to meet my co-workers.

  It was funny actually putting a face to a voice. Carter was genuinely nice and helpful, but I could see why he irritated Aiden. He wasn’t sure about much, and he certainly wasn’t confident.

  He led me past a reception area and a break room. “When you’re in the Dallas office, I guess this is where you’ll be. Unless Mr. Thomas has other plans.”

  I shook him off. “No, I’ll be right here.” I tried to assure him. I wanted him to think of me like everyone else, although it hadn’t taken everyone long to figure out that wasn’t the case. I felt warm every time I thought of how he called me his girlfriend this morning.

  “Jackie and Chelsea, meet Veronica. She’s new to the team. I’m sure you read my memo.” Carter tried to sound authoritative.

  I stopped in the doorway to meet my new co-workers. Holy hell. They were stunning. They were like two models pulled from a swimsuit catalog. I had to force myself to pick up the bottom half of my mouth and form words.

  “H-h-hi.”

  Jackie smiled first. She had pitch-black hair and crystal blue eyes. Her hair was parted in the center in smooth waves. “I saw your memo, Carter.”

  “Oh good. That’s good.” I felt bad for the guy. He was completely out of his element with the PR team. “I’m going to run upstairs for a second, Veronica. Is that all right?”

  “I’m fine. I can find my way back no problem. Thanks, Carter.”

  He headed back to the third floor.

  Chelsea spun in her chair. Her hair was layered in blond highlights. She had soft pink lips and wide eyes. “Thank God, you’re here.”

  I found her introduction a little odd. “Excuse me?”

  “We’ve been working on this Padre story all morning which makes no sense since you are in the ‘Padre office’.” She used air quotes.

  “What story is that?” I walked closer to her computer to see what was on the screen.

  I looked over her shoulder. “The natural habitat story. It’s ridiculous.” She exhaled in exasperation.

  I scanned the document she was typing. “Where is this habitat?” I asked. I hadn’t heard of anything on the island.

  Jackie stood next to me. “See? I knew it would have been easier if you had done this from the beginning. We have no idea where anything is on the island. Neither one of us has ever been to South Padre. It’s just a dot on the map.”

  Chelsea hit print. “Why don’t you read it first and then you can help us with it?” She handed the pages to me.

  I couldn’t be reading this right. I looked at both of them. “This is for the sound site where the campground was supposed to go?”

  “Yeah. I don’t even know how we’re supposed to make this sound sexy.” Chelsea looked bored.

  “But, what happened to the campground?” I fired.

  Jackie shrugged. “No more campground. It’s all about some bugs now. We have to write about how wonderful it is we’re saving some kind of locust species. Thomas Corp is going to fund a habitat and summer courses for a nature camp. They’re endangered. Yada. Yada.”

  “No. No. That’s not right,” I argued with them. “The sound site is for the Cove residents. It’s for Quinn and Harper.” I searched their pretty faces, but they had no clue what I was talking about.

  Neither had been to the island. They had never sat at Quinn’s table or listened to Harper’s munchkin voice.

  Quinn and Harper were supposed to move in less than a week. Harper was excited about the cats and Quinn was looking forward to a real playground. No, these two models had it wrong.

  “Can you at least show me on a map the location you’re writing about?”

  Jackie opened a second window on her computer. “Here. This is the address we have for the story.”

  It was the abandoned junkyard. My stomach clenched in spasms. No. Aiden wouldn’t abandon them. He promised. He swore to Quinn he would keep her safe.

  “Okay. And where are the Cove residents supposed to go?”

  There had to be a backup plan. He was the kind of man who always had a plan B.

  Chelsea ran a hand through her choppy locks. “That’s the challenge we have. We have to make saving bugs sound more impressive and important than relocating the residents. We’ve got to bury that angle and fast. It never happened.”

  “Who said you needed to do that?” I steamed. “Does Aiden know?”

  “It came from upstairs,” Jackie reported. “Of course he knows. The request came from him. I tried to tell him it’s not going to be easy.”

  “No, it’s not.” I handed the half-written article to Chelsea. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

  I didn’t care that they were both staring at me. My face was white. I could feel the blood draining and the perspiration on my palms. I tore out of the PR office and raced to the elevator bay. I hit the button, smashing it harder with my finger each time.

  I stared at the numbers above the door until finally it opened. I jumped
inside, realizing I didn’t pay attention to a damn thing when I walked in this building. My focus had been on him. His eyes, how they fired bits of cobalt when he gave me the tour. His voice, how it growled in my ear when he pointed out the names of the different departments. His skin, how it smelled like a powerful, confident man. A man I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

  There were other companies in this building. I think I remembered Aiden mentioning law firms, accounting firms, and even an oil company, were co-residents of his. One day he planned to buy the building. For now he was still a tenant. I tapped L for lobby, hoping I would recognize the floor when the elevator deposited me on the level. I rushed from the elevator and headed for the set of revolving doors.

  I walked out of the office building not sure which way to go. I fished through my purse looking for my sunglasses. The rays shot around the tall buildings, and for a second I felt so disoriented I considered sitting down to get my bearings, but I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t be still long enough to let it sink in what had happened. If I kept moving, I could keep it away a little while longer. Long enough to get home. I didn’t know my way around Dallas. I held out my hand for a cab. When one pulled up to the curb I hopped in the backseat.

  “The airport,” I choked.

  “Yes, ma’am.” The driver took off.

  I pulled my ticket from my bag. The return flight wasn’t until ten. I had to hope I could fly standby on an earlier flight.

  I walked to the ticket counter and handed the woman my voucher. “I was hoping I could fly standby.” I bit hard on my lower lip.

  She studied me for a second. “Let me see what we have here.” Her nails clanked on the keyboard.

  I waited while she mumbled to herself. “How about the three o’clock?”

  I felt the hot tears roll over my cheeks. “Is there anything earlier?” I sniffed. I was not going to break down in the airport. I refused.

  “Honey, you all right?” She peered at me.

  “I’ll be fine. I just really need to get home.”

  “Hold on.” She clanked some more. “The noon flight?”