In His Cuffs Read online

  “What are you drinking?” Maggie asked, looking at the plastic cup her mother held. The liquid was deep green with chunks of something floating at the surface.

  “Green tea latte. With soy.”

  “Lactose intolerant again?” she asked.

  “Still,” Gloria corrected.

  She hadn’t been on Friday when Barb had brought in flavoured cappuccinos with whipped cream on top.

  “Where’s the tyrant?”

  “David?”

  “Who else would I be talking about?” Gloria sipped through the straw and wrinkled her nose before schooling her features.

  Maggie was betting the green tea phase wouldn’t last past Wednesday. “He’s not here yet.”

  “I need his signature on a contract.”

  With a sigh, Maggie nodded. For so long, it had been just the two of them. Since she’d joined forces with her mother about five years ago, they’d made quick decisions then moved forward. Gloria had signed all the contracts. Between the two of them, they’d handled all the negotiations. Now David double-checked everything, verified the math, set deadlines and reviewed every file. It was time consuming.

  But, if Maggie were honest she’d admit that his attention made everything at World Wide Now run smoother than it ever had in the past. Last quarter, they’d posted their first double-digit profit. They had projections of how much profit they’d make per job.

  On a daily basis, the staff complained about his interference, but the truth was, the business would have needed to downsize or relocate to a less expensive zip code if he hadn’t come along when he had. Her mother might chafe at answering to a man, and a young one at that, but there was no doubt she was now producing her best work.

  David Tomlinson believed in exploiting each person’s talents. Sometimes that meant assigning them to a new position. In Gloria’s case, it meant getting her entirely out of the bookkeeping. She no longer saw bills. Even better, someone else was tasked with handling collections. Getting the financial burden off her shoulders had given her a lot of freedom.

  He’d been right to restructure the staff’s responsibilities, but she wished her mother’s confidence hadn’t been undermined by his high-handed ways. Then again, that was probably the only way he knew. The man was assured, directive. Domineering.

  “I’d like this contract to go out today,” Gloria said.

  “Call him?” Maggie suggested, grateful her mother had interrupted her musings.

  “Maybe Barb can.”

  “Mother, he’s not an ogre.”

  “That’s the first time I’ve heard you defend the man.”

  Was it? Had she really been so swept up in her disdain for the employment contract that she never said anything good about him? “Maybe I need more coffee.”

  “You do look tired.” Gloria narrowed her eyes. “What did you do this weekend, anyway?”

  “Went to the Den.”

  “That explains it. I may have to go with you sometime. Sounds like a kick.”

  “Why not? Maybe you can find someone to keep you in line, finally.”

  “On second thought…” With that Gloria stood, creating a cacophony with her clanging metal jewellery.

  Just then, David appeared in her doorway.

  Maggie’s breath vanished in a shocking rush.

  He propped his shoulder against the jamb, and he filled the entrance. Damn. She’d spent all of yesterday trying to convince herself he wasn’t one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen.

  When she’d shut her eyes in bed last night, memories had tormented her. She’d tossed and turned before finally getting up and watching three hours of television.

  And now… His dove-grey suit hugged his broad shoulders. His tailored pants snuggled his strong thighs. He had on a white shirt and a red tie with the knot tight. She would greet him, if she could make her tongue work.

  “Ladies,” he said.

  “Good afternoon,” Gloria said pointedly.

  Since it wasn’t even ten o’clock, Maggie winced. For the first time, she wished her mother would at least pretend to be cordial. If they could all work as a team, perhaps the business could reach his lofty goals. Everyone, including her mother, would benefit from that.

  “I need you to sign a contract,” Gloria continued.

  “Put it on my desk. I’ll handle it before anything else.”

  “But—”

  “Put it on my desk, Gloria,” he reiterated. He stepped aside.

  All but flouncing, she brushed past him.

  Without an invitation, he entered Maggie’s office and took the seat her mother had vacated.

  She wished he hadn’t entered her domain. Almost every office on this floor was bigger than hers, and the conference room with its glass wall would be even better.

  Here she was, very much on edge. His eyes were as blue as she remembered—intense and deep. That surprised her a little. She was certain her memory was tainted by the scene they’d shared. Surely no one’s eyes were that penetrating. But his were.

  His scent was slightly different today, though. He still smelt of masculine spice, but it was stamped with confidence that beckoned her to move closer, something she refused to do.

  What in the hell had made her think that fucking him was a good idea?

  She had to get him out of here, quick, before she asked him to bend her over his chair. “Did you need something…?” Maggie hesitated. Calling him Mr Tomlinson would remind her of the Den. On the other hand, she had never addressed him David at work. Now that he’d compelled her to call her Mr Tomlinson as a term of respect rather than derision, he’d effectively changed the dynamic of their relationship.

  He waited.

  “Did you need something, David?” she asked.

  “I’m in negotiation to acquire another company.”

  She sat up in her chair. With the solemn expression on his face, she’d expected him to mention what had happened on Saturday night. But he was talking business while she was all but obsessing about the time they’d spent together? Obviously he was better at separating events than she was. She gave herself a mental shake and forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying. “And you’re telling me this, why?”

  “They’re a competitor of ours.”

  She let out a breath.

  “If the deal goes through, it will impact you.”

  “How so?”

  “Your role will grow. I’ll need more time from you.”

  “Good God, no. You’ve got all you’re ever going to get from me.” She stiffened her spine.

  He propped an ankle on the opposite knee. He looked so corporate, so unconcerned by her response.

  “Hear me out,” he said.

  “There’s not much reason for that. If you want to go around buying up businesses in your free time, go right ahead. You and I have a written agreement in place. I have eighteen more months that I’m obligated to help you. Then I’m a free agent. I’m not open to negotiation.”

  “Everyone has a price, Maggie.”

  Maggie. At work, he’d always called her Margaret. Until now. It seemed they’d both shown up with a new rule book today.

  She twisted her fingers together on top of the desk. Then, seeing he was studying her, noting her betrayal of nerves, she pressed her palms together.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and your talents on the payroll. Of course I’m hoping you’ll stay with me because you want to, since we—”

  “Excuse me?” Anger, hot, searing, embarrassing, blazed through her. Had he used her? “Was that what Saturday night was about? Part of your plan to manipulate me?”

  He dropped his leg to the floor and leant forwards.

  “Flog me and fuck me as a way to keep me working for you?” she demanded. “It wasn’t enough that you tied my performance to my mother’s financial security?”

  “If you think that was about anything other than my desire for you as a woman, as a submissive, you’re wrong.”

>   His flat statement made her blink. He didn’t meet her emotion, he defused it.

  She collapsed back in her chair.

  “Let’s keep things straight, Maggie,” he said softly. “When I saw you at the Den in that skirt and those shoes with your hair all around your shoulders…” He trailed off, reached for the door and, with a flick of his wrist, sealed them in intimacy.

  She grabbed hold of the chair arms.

  “I was intrigued,” he continued. “When I saw your wristband, I had to have you. Honestly, I was attracted to you. I would have desired you even if we’d never met. Then with the perfect way you responded to my commands, the way you begged for my touch—”

  “That can’t happen again.”

  “It will,” he said in a tone that left no other option. “And I’m going to make it very clear to you that fucking, beating, restraining you has nothing to do with our work relationship.” He lowered his voice. “You want it too.”

  She hated that he was right. She craved his touch.

  “We will discuss that in a few minutes. Here are the options. I want you to be very much involved in the acquisition of Around the World in Eighty Ways.”

  Her mouth dropped. As much as she believed that was a ridiculous name for a company, their strategy was similar to World Wide Now’s, and they were a big competitor. For years she’d dreamt of putting them out of business. And he was offering her the chance to be part of that. She couldn’t let him know how much the idea appealed to her. “That’s ambitious.”

  “Everything I do is risky. When I see something I want, I go after it.” He looked at her pointedly. “And as you know, I don’t fail.”

  She tried to keep her mind on his new proposition, rather than allowing images of his naked body to fill her mind. “How will this affect my employment contract?”

  “As I said, it will take a lot of work to get the deal done. We want to go through their books, assess their sales projections and year-to-date results. We have to perform our due diligence. Of course, both sides have signed non-disclosures.”

  She nodded. “And we have to keep this business running at an optimal level while you’re distracted.”

  “Precisely.”

  “That’s where I come in.”

  “Negotiating the deal is only the beginning.”

  How well she remembered from the way he’d taken over her mother’s company.

  “The first six months will be the most complicated. We may need to adjust the number of employees. I need someone who understands strategy and tactics. I need your cooperation and your brain.”

  “I’m already working enough hours for you as it is, David.”

  “And that’s a hardship, is it, Maggie?”

  A little thrill pulsed in her. At one time, it had been.

  “As for your employment contract, it stays in place under the original terms.”

  When she started to speak, he raised a hand to silence her. Snarling against his unspoken demand, she fell silent.

  “Unless you agree to my new terms.”

  “Which are?”

  “The time remaining is unchanged.”

  Beneath her desk, she worried one of her cuticles.

  “Assuming you meet the goals I set for you here, your mother’s pay-out remains the same, but I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollar bonus, after taxes.”

  She stared at him with open-mouthed shock.

  “Interested yet? How about plus ten per cent of all profits of the combined companies?”

  The offer was beyond anything she might have asked for. Still, if this worked, he would be the big winner. Of course, he was the one taking all the financial risk. “Gross profit,” she clarified.

  “In that case, five per cent.”

  “Ten.”

  He sat back. “That’s not how negotiation works, Maggie. You give a little.”

  “I learnt from the best.” She pretended her heart wasn’t racing. This wasn’t how she’d expected the day to begin. “Look, David, we both know you’ll be taking a loan to buy out AWEW. You could accelerate the debt servicing and take all the profits out of the business. If you want my help, knowing it will take a lot of hours and it will likely take months to get the deal done—time that I will not be paid for—then I need a cut of gross.”

  “The bonus covers that,” he told her.

  She took a gamble, ignoring the butterflies unfurling in her stomach. “No deal. I’m happy to stay under my original terms.”

  He regarded her with those chilling blue eyes.

  Since she was accustomed to it, the look shouldn’t have unnerved her as much as it did. But now that she’d been the focus of his complete attention on multiple levels, she knew the depths of his intent. He missed nothing, and he thought things through before acting.

  “Seven per cent,” he told her.

  Potentially, that was a lot of money for a year and a half’s worth of work. She should take it. But she wasn’t going to. “Nine. Final offer.”

  “Eight.”

  “Done. And I’ll expect this to be added to the contract by tomorrow.”

  “Fuck,” he said.

  She wasn’t sure she’d heard him use that word in a frustrated way before. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d heard any real inflection in his tone before. She’d only seen him as controlled. This was new. Intriguing. “You were serious that you don’t like to lose.”

  “I don’t. I’ll just have to make sure we both work hard enough to make it a win for each of us.” He crossed his leg over his knee again. “You’re going to be putting in a lot of time, Maggie.”

  With him. That part remained unspoken.

  “As for the other, I will have you again, Maggie.”

  She froze.

  No matter how insane the idea was, she very much wanted it, too.

  “Have a glass of wine with me tonight.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “Let me be honest with you.”

  “Please.”

  Ridiculously, as if someone might be watching, she glanced around. “Having a relationship with the boss is a stupid idea. You have rules regarding fraternising. If anyone found out, you could be suspected of manipulating me. I might be accused of sleeping with the enemy.”

  “And?” he prompted when she trailed off. “There’s more,” he said with certainty.

  She sighed. “If I meet you for a glass of wine, my inhibitions will be loosened. I’ll end up naked, and I will beg you to fuck me.”

  “The scene…it worked for you?”

  “I’ve thought of nothing else. So I’m doing the smart thing by turning down the invitation.”

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “I am.” Maggie wondered if he heard the tremor of uncertainty in her voice.

  He nodded.

  She waited for him to protest or something.

  Instead, he stood. “As you wish.” With a crisp nod, he exited the room, leaving the door open.

  Slack-jawed, she stared at the empty threshold. What the hell had just happened? She felt as if the earth had been knocked off its axis. Was it possible she’d won two battles in a row against David Tomlinson?

  She tapped her fingers on the desktop. No. It wasn’t likely.

  Which had to mean he was changing his strategy. If full-on didn’t work, he’d try something else.

  The day passed in a blur of activity, including a staff meeting that David didn’t attend. In fact, he’d left for lunch around eleven and never returned. To her knowledge, he’d told no one where he was going or when he’d be back. All afternoon, she’d looked over her shoulder, expecting to see him. She’d told herself she wasn’t hoping to see him, but a small, constant voice whispered that she was lying.

  Feeling somewhat ridiculous, she stayed late on the off chance he might return.

  At twenty minutes after five, she determined he wasn’t coming back. Even if he did, would it be a good idea to be alone with him? Needin
ess was crawling through her. Avoiding him was the most sensible course of action.

  While she didn’t necessarily want to live a twenty-four-seven BDSM lifestyle, she loved everything about the power exchange—giving up control, being subject to a strong Dom’s will.

  Being with David had given her satisfaction. Resisting him when he was near would be all but impossible. So, she told herself, it was better for her that he hadn’t been in the office.

  She powered down her computer, turned off her office light then went home.

  * * * *

  After eating a salad, she poured a glass of wine and went outside to sit on the deck. As she watched, the sky started to turn orange. Shadows hovered over the Rockies, making them look darker and moodier than they had earlier.

  Maggie sipped her wine and wondered where David would have taken her if she’d accepted the invitation to join him for a drink. His house? A nice restaurant? Or the new speakeasy that had recently opened to rave reviews on Larimer Street, just a block over from World Wide Now’s building? And where would the evening have ended?

  Her place? His?

  Now that she’d stopped moving, unwelcome thoughts caught up to her.

  She admired his ambition in wanting to acquire a competitive business. But she wasn’t sure she relished the idea of spending even more time with him. The more time they spent together, the more she’d be tempted to scene with him. It was better for her not to be alone with him in the first place.

  The wine hadn’t taken off the edge—in fact it seemed to exacerbate her internal angst.

  She headed back inside to take a shower then set the tap to scalding, as if it would help exorcise the tension she was feeling.

  While she stood there, the memories she’d been shoving away caught her and held her enthralled. The harder she tried to fight them, the deeper their grip became.

  She closed her eyes and saw herself tied to the table, spread for him as he explored her body. Resolve crumbled. She remembered the feel of his fingers as he toyed with her clit then entered her body.