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“Leanne. Leave it. Nothing in the past has any bearing on us.” It might have come out a bit more stern than I intended. Leanne blinks and then opens her car door before I can even attempt to finally kiss those sweet lips. She gives me a small finger wave and drives away cautiously. It makes me wonder what Cass was saying to her, but it was probably something along the lines of how she wants a mom to take her to softball games so she doesn’t have to do girl time with Grandma anymore.
I sigh and head in to make sure Cass is really in bed and not watching from the windows. A flurry of blue flannel out of the corner of my eye makes my lips twitch. I tuck her in anyway, both of us pretending her arrival in bed was more than a few seconds ago.
“Night, Cass. Get your homework done at after school tomorrow, okay? I’m expecting Leanne to come back tomorrow night.”
“Is she going to stay over this time?” she asks with a yawn.
“Doubt it. I can handle my own relationships, kid. I appreciate your support, and I’m glad you like Leanne, but relax.”
Cass gives a snort of disbelief. “Yeah, right. Night, Dad.” She turns over on her side, folding her pillow under her cheek and effectively dismissing me.
The next day, there’s no time to even breathe between meetings. So it’s not until I’m pulling pork stew from the oven that I start frowning with concern. And the realization that I don’t have Leanne’s phone number. I really am getting lax in my old age. Cass’s brow is furrowed when she turns from the window facing the street. “Sure you don’t need my help, Dad?” Her snarky comment doesn’t get the comeback she’s looking for, so she sighs heavily and takes her seat at the table.
I leave Cass to eat alone and head back to my office. I need to know Leanne is okay, then I can deal with whatever this is tomorrow. I stalk her on social media. It’s easier and faster than finding a phone number, although I’m holding that in reserve. She posted a picture of Pierre grinning into the camera five minutes ago — the liquor bottles of the mall restaurant lined up behind him. She’s fine. And flicking her middle finger my way in case I was looking. Which I am.
I eat my own bowl of stew in a growly mood. Cass rolls her eyes and turns on the TV, daring to choose one of the shows with car explosions and lots of guns. It will give her nightmares for sure. I let her do it, anyway.
8
Leanne
I expected to have an angry alpha male descend on my cubicle midday. I did not anticipate being yanked into a supply closet on the way back from the restroom at 9:45 in the morning.
The fingers clamping down on my upper arm are firm and unyielding. As is the voice growling in my ear. “Explain your absence last night, Leanne.”
I shrug into his grip and sigh. What is with this man and small dark rooms?
“Leanne? I’m waiting for a logical reason why you would skip dinner with your soon-to-be family in favor of heading to the mall.”
I snort at that one. We are not a family and he’s utterly clueless despite all his spy skills. I might not be brave enough to do this if it weren’t for Keiko’s firm talking to this morning. “Lenny. If you don’t face him down now, early on, you’ll never find the nerve and he’ll walk all over you for the next fifty years. You like him. I can hear it in your voice. So go tell the nice jerk of a man exactly what he needs to hear.”
With Keiko’s words ringing in my ear, I reach for the interior doorknob in the closet and flick the lock open. I peel Dominic’s fingers off my arms one by one and he lets me. Then I walk out and head straight for his office with a calm, measured gait. It’s in direct contrast to my seething face and clenched fists.
His office is huge. I’ve never actually been inside it. And surprisingly bright, given his penchant for the dark and all. I shut the blinds across the interior windows directly in the faces of gaping managers. When Dominic storms in behind me, I shut the door behind him too and lock it.
“Sit,” I spit out, pointing at his well upholstered desk chair.
He stares at me, then his lips twitch. He rests his hip on the front of the desk instead and snaps his cuffs. And then doesn’t say a word.
I gulp and figure I have nothing else to lose. And I probably need to go find another job, anyway. There won’t be a person in the building that hasn’t heard about this by the time I open that door again. Or Dominic opens it sufficiently to throw me out. He looks more likely to spank me, though. And that would really get the rumor mill going.
“Stop being an idiot and really listen to me.” I pre-emptively glare at Dominic, whose aqua blue eyes are sparkling with something I don’t quite recognize. “Your daughter has good reason to believe that you’re not her biological father.” Dom’s lips part like he’s going to argue with me. I keep going. “I’m guessing she’s watched The Princess Diaries one too many times because she’s convinced that you’re really her bodyguard and her real family is coming to steal her away.” I slap my hand over his perfect mouth before he can get the words out. “Do not tell me that it’s none of my business. It probably isn’t, but a young girl is scared out of her mind and you need to fix that.”
I pull my hand away and turn to face the window overlooking the harbor. “As for whether it’s any of my business or not going forward, that is up to you, but not how you’ve been thinking. You don’t get to have all the secrets, Dom. Either you’re willing to share your personal life with me or not. If that’s a no, then we don’t have a relationship. Not for dinner, not for lunch, and certainly not for fucking.” I might have said the last bit a little too loud, I realize, although based on the complete silence inside and out of his office, I really can’t tell.
When I turn around to leave because Dominic hasn’t said a word, I find myself pinned by his heated gaze. I falter in my path because his eyes aren’t filled with anger. There’s consideration and something deeper, but I’ve used up all my nerve. I make tracks for the door and safety. A long arm swings out to block my goal. And then it reels me in, tight against his body — my hip pressing into his thigh, the one braced against the desk. Then he does the most amazing thing.
“You’re right.”
I blink at him, not expecting that. His lips curve upwards at the corners. “But you should know that you telling me off is possibly the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen and it might tempt me to annoy you just to see it happen again.”
I scowl, and he laughs. “Relax, Leanne. I will address your original complaint. I like efficiency, so I think we’ll tackle it all in one go. Tonight, if my mother is available. She deserves a few more of the details as well and can answer some of the questions. Can you wait that long?”
I nod cautiously, still not trusting his total capitulation. Dominic sighs. “I do love a suspicious woman. Have you given any thought to how you want to handle the gathering crowd outside? Those that watched you storm in here will have spread the word.”
No, I did not. But now that I am, I don’t see any way out of it except to walk out with my head held high.
“I’d go with you, but that might start more rumors,” Dominic says dryly and gestures down towards his crotch. It’s only then that I realize. And I flush bright red. He angles my hip closer, pushing my pussy against his stiff cock. The layers of clothing between us only amplifying the sense of anticipation. I squirm against him and he finally kisses me. Gently and with a sweetness I wasn’t expecting. His tongue presses the seam of my lips and against my better judgment, I open to him. He allows himself just a small taste, his tongue sweeping against mine, and then pulls away.
