"Morning, Mags." Barb glanced around then whispered, "The tyrant is here."
Maggie's heart lurched. She wanted to see him, and equally she needed to avoid him. The remnants of last night's dream haunted her. "Oh?"
"He's brewing coffee. I asked if he needed help, but he said he thinks he can handle it." Barb shrugged. "I'm not sure I believe he's capable of menial tasks. Maybe one of us should make sure he's not screwing up."
At one time, Maggie might have added a disparaging comment of her own. She was learning he was more complex than she'd originally given him credit for, but that didn't mean she planned to organise the David Tomlinson fan club anytime soon. "I'm on it," Maggie said.
He was wiping down the counter when Maggie entered the break room.
She had seen him organise his toys at the Den. Here, however, wearing a suit coat and tie, he looked out of place.
"I was sent to ensure you know what you're doing."
"Oh?" Still holding a towel, he turned to look at her.
"This is serious." She fought to hide a smile. "The productivity of the entire business rests on your shoulders."
"I gathered that from Barb's reaction, so I dumped as much coffee in the filter as it would hold, and I filled the tank to the top."
She glanced at the pot then back at him. "We should be okay," she said. "As long as you used a new filter? Sometimes people put new grounds on top of old ones."
"I thought about it," he said. He moved to look at her. "It seems the basket didn't get cleaned out last night, so the temptation was there. But as you say, productivity is at stake. I figured the more caffeine the better. Cost analysis weighed towards the extra scoops."
"Good call."
They exchanged grins.
His smile dissipated as he looked at her, starting at her shoes and working his way up.
She stood there, riveted.
When their gazes met, she shuddered. His eyes were the same startling blue as in her nightmare, throwing her back into the memory and making her wary.
"I spent all of last night thinking about holding you down."
Breathless. He left her breathless.
He laid the towel across the dish drain. "My office? Fifteen minutes? We need to talk about Around the World."
How did he do that? Flip from sex to business in three seconds? "That should be enough time for me to check messages," she said.
He nodded and moved past her.
Maggie wondered how much time he spent dreaming up ways to keep her off kilter.
After depositing her purse and briefcase in her office, checking voicemail and emails, she returned to the break room to grab a cup of coffee. Barb was already happily sipping hers. The receptionist had added so much flavoured creamer that it looked like a latte and smelt like vanilla ice cream.
Maggie poured herself a cup then paused. David's mug was on the counter, waiting to be filled. She waged an internal debate before getting one for him.
She carried both to his office. Seeing he was on a call, she stopped, but he waved her in.
He continued his conversation while keeping his gaze on her.
Self-consciously, she placed his mug on a coaster bearing the company's logo. Then she balanced her cup as she sat.
She started to fidget then, realising what she was doing, she crossed her legs and sat still.
He nodded, letting her know his attention was on her.
She looked away.
Behind him, on a credenza, were several stress balls, each in a different primary colour. Other than that, there were no personal effects in the office. He'd repainted after her mother had moved out-evidently bright yellow didn't suit him.
Now the walls were a calm taupe. The furnishings were sleek and functional, with no space wasted and nothing cluttered.
She wondered if it was a reflection of him, and how he lived his life outside of work. Really, she knew little about him. Until now, she hadn't been curious.
When he hung up, he said, "I saw you behave similarly at the Den. Once you recognise your behaviour, you correct it. It makes you a very good sub."
"Could we not talk about that night? I thought we agreed not to." She looked at him, desperately trying to forget the dream and about the night they'd shared.
"As you wish, Maggie. Thanks for the coffee."
"My pleasure," she said, fighting a compulsion to add an honorary title when she spoke to him. How did he so effortlessly do that? Put her in a comfortable role and make her want to stay there. She wondered who she was fighting, him or herself.
He took a drink and regarded her above the rim.
She waited for him to speak, after all, he'd requested her presence.
"I had meetings with the owner and a key manager of Around the World yesterday."
"And?"
"We went over their financials. They are not as big as we are."
"Are you serious? I was sure they did more revenue."
"More business," he agreed. "But they've underbid some of their bigger projects."
"So that should put you-" She stopped and corrected herself-"I mean us, in a better position."
"We should get an immediate lift in profits, yes. But raising prices could mean losing some accounts."
"You don't sound worried about it."
"I'm not. I focus on results and the things I can control." He put down his coffee. "Where are we on the open house?"
"Do you still want to move forward?"
"I thought about that. I do. No sense putting it off. I still want an event with our current clients. And it makes sense to have something bigger and splashier when we own Around the World."
He'd said when, not if.
"Maybe around the holidays," he added.
She thought about it. "We could hold that at a client site. We recently signed a winery. They have beautiful grounds, including a gazebo, and they give tours of their cellar. I think hosting an event there would be elegant, and it would give them some exposure."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Is the space big enough?"
"They have an events centre, yes."
"Ah, it is in Denver?"
She leant forwards, gaining enthusiasm. "Surprisingly yes."
"I'll trust you. Give me some available dates."
"Are we keeping our company name, or are you changing it?"
"We'll stay with our name. But I figure we'd incorporate their logo."
She nodded. "We may want to freshen it. I'll come up with a few ideas, but since this is still quiet, I won't have our graphics people work on it yet." She knew their logo had an eagle of sorts on it. She'd always thought it was a little uninspired, so the idea of tweaking it appealed to her. "We could stick with an eagle, perhaps with talons extended to visually reinforce the ‘Now' part of our name."
He nodded. "I like it."
"Maybe I'll see if we can get a privately labelled wine for the occasion. Could serve as the debut of the new marketing package."
"We have a lot of details to plough through before we're close enough to have that discussion," he cautioned.
"You're not the only one who can move fast, David."
He sat back. "Glad we're on the same side."
"It's temporary," she assured him.
"So you say."
* * * *
For the next couple of weeks, Maggie managed to keep her distance, sending emails and text messages to keep him updated on her projects and deals in progress. Their meetings were generally held with other people in the conference room.
He'd honoured her request to stop talking about the night at the Den, and that frustrated her more than his reminders had.
She felt as if she were tied in emotional knots.
Almost every night, she had the same nightmare-the heavy hand on her shoulder and the shock of blue when she was spun around.
She was becoming more and more frustrated from lack of sleep.
Masturbating wasn't helping, and neither was going to the gym.
Finally, almost a month after the Ladies' Night at the Den, she and Vanessa met for dinner. Sushi and sake could fix nearly anything, or at least it had been able to until now.
"Colour me shocked," Vanessa said as she used a chopstick to smear wasabi on a tuna roll. "You're working with one of the world's sexiest Dom's and he's hot for your ass. So tell me again why you can't sleep with him?"
"Hello? He's a bastard who has my future mapped out for the next eighteen months. I can't look for another job. I feel as if my life is on hold."
"I don't get it. Are you not capable of sleeping with a guy without it interfering with your job performance?"
She had no idea. "He has a no fraternising rule."
"So break it and give him something to punish you for."