Corporate A$$ (16 page)

Fiona

After a long day of phone conferences with vendors, trying to coax them back to Winslow Wines, I went home and climbed into a hot, relaxing bubble-filled tub. It bothered me that Nathan wouldn’t tell me where he was going. There was no reason for him not to tell me, unless he was hiding something. We would just see where Mr. Carter was at. I smiled as I took my phone and opened the tracking app. He was in New York, currently at the Plaza Hotel. I wondered if he was with someone or if he was alone.

****

Nathan

It was eleven o’clock here in New York and I should have been out at the strip clubs with some friends of mine, but I didn’t feel like it, which was highly unusual for me. I had no interest in watching naked girls dance on the poles and give me cock-raising lap dances. What the fuck was wrong with me? I could tell you what was wrong. Fiona Winslow. She was the only woman whom I wanted to see naked and giving me a lap dance. I kept thinking about how jealous she was when she saw me at the restaurant with Kylie. The only reason women got jealous like that was when they were attracted to someone. I knew damn well if I saw her with another guy out somewhere, fists would be flying before I even knew who the person was. The thought of her with another man made my blood boil. It made me angry to even think about it. But I couldn’t commit to her. It was just something I couldn’t do. Committing to one woman was never in my life plan. I was happy with the way I lived my life. No one to answer to, no one to explain things to, no one nagging me about where I’d been or what I was doing. No one expecting things from me. Things I could never give. I liked being in control and controlling the women whom I took out and fucked. But Fiona Winslow was slowly taking all that away from me. She was uncontrollable. These few days away from her was what I needed.

****

Fiona

The last few days were hard without hearing from Nathan. Stepping inside my office, I gasped at the beautiful job Carlos did.

“Oh my God, Carlos, it’s beautiful.”

“Thank you, darling. I knew you’d love it.”

“WOW!” Josh exclaimed as he walked in. “Fiona, it’s amazing. Nathan is going to be so pissed.” He laughed.

“He’ll only be here sometimes, so he shouldn’t have a problem with it.”

I already knew that Nathan wasn’t going to be happy. It was what he deserved since he moved a desk into my office just to taunt me.

“When’s he coming back?” Josh asked.

“Let me check.” I pulled out my phone. “He’s already on his way back.” I smiled as I held my phone up to him.

He shook his head and sighed. “Does he know you’re tracking him?”

“Do you think he knows?” I raised my brow.

“Well, I’m going to get my phone ready for when he comes in here. I want to capture the reaction on his face when he sees what you’ve done.”

I thanked Carlos and kissed him goodbye. Taking a seat behind my new rectangular glass-topped desk, I smiled. It was perfect and it made me happy. Okay, was I happy about the office or the fact that Nathan was going to be so pissed off? I had to admit it was a combination of both. He thought he was in control, but he was wrong. Dead wrong.

“Oh, Fiona.” Carlos walked back in. “I almost forgot to give you this.” He handed me a key. “The guys who ripped up the carpet found it taped down to the floor in the corner by the window.”

“That’s weird.” I stared at it.

A few hours had passed and I was on my computer sending out some emails when I heard Nathan’s voice.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”

Looking up at him, I smiled. “Welcome back.”

“What the hell did you do, Fiona?” He stepped inside and Josh followed him, holding up his phone. “JOSH, OUT!” He shut the door and stood there glaring at me with a scowl on his face.

“What? I redecorated the office. Don’t you like it? It needed a makeover. I wanted people to feel welcomed when they stepped inside. Don’t you feel welcomed, Nathan?” I cocked my head.

He shook his finger at me. “Redecorating is one thing. Beige walls, blinds, carpet. Not this blue color.”

“It’s teal.”

“I don’t care what it is! And what’s this?” He pointed to the crystal beads that hung from the wall. “Jesus, Fiona. I can’t believe you did this. You did it on purpose.” He continued to point his finger at me. “This is payback for me moving a desk in here.”

“Don’t be silly.” I laughed. “It needed a makeover. It represents a new beginning here at Winslow Wines. Out with the old and in with the new. Plus, I agreed to you having a desk in here, remember?”

“You reluctantly agreed.”

“You need to stop getting your panties in a bunch over this, Mr. Carter.”

“Excuse me? Did I just hear you correctly?”

I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know why you’re so upset. This is MY office. Have you forgotten that?”

“An office in which I’ll be spending some time. An office in which I have to sit in surrounded by blue everywhere I look.”

“Teal.”

He pursed his lips together and inhaled deeply through his nose.

“At least you still have a nice view from your desk, right?” I smirked.

In a calm tone, he spoke, “I’m leaving now.” He walked to the door.

“Aren’t you going to tell me how your trip was?” I asked.

“No.” He scowled as he left.

Nathan

I walked out of her office shaking my head but with a smile on my face. She wanted that kind of reaction out of me, so I gave her what she wanted. If she wasn’t expecting it, she would have mentioned that she wanted to redo the office, but instead, she had it done, rather quickly, may I add, while I was away. I’d let her bask in her glory of thinking she royally pissed me off for a couple of days.

When I returned to the office, Will followed me in and took a seat across from my desk.

“I think I have a problem,” he spoke.

“What’s wrong?” I sat down.

“You know Fiona’s friend, Lydia, the pregnant one?”

“Yeah.” I arched my brow.

“I think I really like her.”

“Like her how?” I narrowed my eye.

“I like spending time with her. We met for lunch the other day so I could look over her portfolio and get her some freelance work with a few companies and we ended up spending the rest of the day and most of the evening together, just talking. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since. She’s so easy to talk to and I feel like I’ve known her my entire life.”

“She’s pregnant, Will.”

“I know.” He sighed. “But I want to take her out. Like on a date. I called her last night about some bullshit excuse just to talk to her.”

“She’s pregnant, Will,” I spoke again as I stared him in the eyes.

“Will you stop saying that? I know she’s pregnant. I can’t help that and I can’t help that I want to see her again. Just like you with Fiona.”

“Fiona’s not pregnant, and if she was, I wouldn’t be seeing her, and most importantly, I wouldn’t be fucking her.”

He got up from his chair. “Well, I can’t think about her being pregnant right now. I want to get to know her better and I want to spend some more time with her. Maybe it’s time we grew up, Nathan. We’re thirty years old. You told me that you told Fiona about your mother and you have never spoke of that to anyone but me. What does that tell you?”

I sighed as I leaned back in my chair.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to call Lydia and ask her if she has plans for tonight. Maybe you and Fiona would like to join us.”

“Fiona thinks I’m pissed at her.”

“Why?” He frowned.

“She redecorated the office while I was gone. All girly-like with the color teal, crystal beads hanging from the walls, and fancy curtains on the windows.”

He let out a roaring laugh. “Sounds like she did it on purpose to teach you a lesson about moving a desk for yourself in there.”

“Yep. So I played it off as I was pissed and walked out.”

“The two of you are quite entertaining.” He shook his head as he left my office.

****

Just as Jason pulled in, I saw Fiona sitting in her car in my driveway.

“Hello.” I walked over to her window as she rolled it down.

“Hi. I need to talk to you. That is, if your panties aren’t still in a bunch over the redecorating of the office.”

I opened the door for her. “Stop saying that. Regardless of how mad I am, you need to talk to me, and being your business partner, I have to listen.”

As soon as she climbed out, I shut the car door, walked to the house, and stepped inside.

“What’s going on? Is this personal or business?” I arched my brow.

“Business.”

“Wine? Or am I going to need something stronger?” I smirked.

“Wine is fine.” She followed me into the kitchen and took a seat at the island.

“So what’s going on?” I grabbed two wine glasses and a bottle from the wine cellar off the kitchen.

“When the guys were ripping up the carpet in the office, they found this taped to the floor in the corner.” She held up a key.

“What’s it to?”

“I have no idea.”

Taking it from her hand, I examined it.

“This is a safety deposit box key.”

“I know, and I went to the bank where we do all of our banking and it’s not one of theirs.”

“Then where is it to?” I asked as I pushed her glass towards her.

“I don’t know. That’s what I need to find out. There are hundreds of banks in Los Angeles. What I don’t understand is why he felt the need to hide it under the carpet.”

“Obviously there’s something in that box he was keeping a secret and wanted to make sure nobody found that key. I’ll tell you what, since tomorrow is Friday, I’ll meet you at the office first thing in the morning and we’ll start bank hunting.”

“Thanks, Nathan. I appreciate it.” She gave me a small smile. “I better get going.”

I wanted nothing more than to hold her and kiss those beautiful lips of hers.

“I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Have you?” I asked with the hope that she’d stay a while longer. I didn’t want her to leave.

****

Fiona

I hadn’t eaten dinner, but I couldn’t tell him that. If I did, he’d want me to stay, and if I stayed, we’d have sex. My lower half was burning with desire for him. An ache so bad that it was unbearable. But I had to stay strong because we needed to maintain a professional business relationship. Eventually, sometime in the future, I wanted a relationship, marriage, and possibly a family. Nathan didn’t want that, and as much as I had already fallen for his corporate ass, I needed to set myself straight because he wasn’t a man that could love one woman. I wasn’t even sure if he could love anyone enough at all.

“I did. I grabbed a bite to eat before I came over.”

“Oh. Okay. I just thought I’d ask since you were here.”

“I should get going.” I pointed to the door in the awkwardness of the moment.

“Yeah. Probably a good idea.” He placed his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.”

“Yep. See you tomorrow, Fiona.” He walked me to the door. “Oh, by the way, have you talked to Lydia?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Did she mention anything to you about Will?”

“Why?” I narrowed my eye at him.

“Just curious. He really seems to like her. I was just wondering if she said anything about him.”

“Just between me and you, she likes him as well. But I’m worried.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I don’t want her to get hurt. She’s been through the ringer with guys and now she has a baby she needs to focus on.”

“I’m not sure you have to worry about Will. He seemed pretty adamant about getting to know her better. As for getting hurt, that’s something no man can promise.”

I felt a stab in my heart when he said that. The look of seriousness in his eyes when he spoke those words confirmed for me that I was right about him all along. Being hurt by him was inevitable and it was something I was going to avoid at all costs.

“I guess.” I gave a small smile. “Have a good night.”

“You too, Fiona. Be careful driving home.”

Fiona

“Good morning, Josh,” I spoke as I passed by his desk.

“Wait, Fiona!” He jumped up from his chair. “Don’t go in there yet.”

I stopped with my hand on the door handle, turned around, and glared at him.

“Why?”

“Well. Umm.”

“Oh, for god sakes, Josh. I don’t have time for his. Nathan is meeting me here and we’re leaving.” I opened the door, stepped inside, and gasped when I saw what was hanging on the wall over to the side of Nathan’s desk.

“What the hell is that!” I yelled.

Josh came running in.

“I tried to warn you.”

Hanging on the wall was a portrait of a woman sprawled out on a Victorian style-couch, in sheer lingerie, high heels, holding a glass of wine. I clenched my fists as I stared at the portrait and the only thing I saw was her long, red flowy hair.

“Where is he?!” I yelled.

“You wouldn’t be asking for me in that tone. Would you?” I heard Nathan speak from behind.

“What’s that?” I pointed to the portrait in anger.

The corners of his mouth curved upwards. “Isn’t is beautiful?”

“Beautiful? It’s trashy and doesn’t belong here.” I scowled as he took a seat behind his desk.

“It’s not trashy at all. She’s a beautiful woman holding a glass of wine. I found it fitting for the office.” He smirked.

“In her underwear!”

“Tasteful lingerie, Fiona.”

“I want it out!” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“And why not?” I placed my hands on my hips.

“Because I like it and it’s my office too.” He smirked.

“I’m the one who’s here ninety-nine percent of the time and I’ll be damned if I’m looking at that redhead all fucking day!” I yelled.

“Come on, Fiona. Stop getting your panties in a bunch over this. I think it looks great in here. You redid the office and I’m just adding my personal touch. It’s no big deal.”

I needed to calm down. I started it and he finished it. Taking in a deep breath, I threw my hands up in the air.

“Okay. You’re right. Now let’s go. God knows how long this is going to take.”

We spent the next three hours traveling from bank to bank with no luck. I barely spoke a word to Nathan because I was still pissed off about the portrait he proudly hung in my office. We reached ProAmerica Bank and I was getting real tired of this.

“How can I help you?” the very pretty young blonde teller asked as she batted her eyes at Nathan.

“We were hoping you could tell us if this key belongs to your bank’s safety deposit boxes.” He flashed his sexy smile at her.

She took it from his hand and examined it. “No. This is a safety deposit box key from Bangor Savings Bank in Maine.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“I used to work there before I moved here to L.A. Their keys are cut differently than the standard safety deposit box keys and they have a B engraved at the very end of the key. See?” She pointed.

“Thank you.” Nathan’s grin widened.

“Yes, thank you.” I nodded my head and got him the hell out of there as fast as I could before the young girl had an orgasm.

“What’s he hiding in Maine?” I asked as we stepped outside the bank.

“I don’t know. You haven’t run across anything at the office pertaining to Maine?”

“No.” I paced up and down the sidewalk.

“Fiona, get in the car,” Nathan spoke.

“Hold on a second.” I pulled out my phone and dialed Uncle Robbie.

“Fiona, where are you?” he answered.

“Out. I have a question. Has my father ever said anything to you about Maine?”

“The state?”

“Yes, Uncle Robbie, the state.”

“No. He never said a word. Why?”

“I ran across something. I’ll explain later. I’m going to be out of the office for the rest of the day.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

After ending the call, I climbed into the back of the limo and Nathan slid in next to me.

“We have to go to Maine.” I looked at him.

“I already called my pilot. We’ll swing by my house first so I can pack a bag and then we’ll stop at yours since it’s on the way to the airport.”

After stopping at both our houses, we drove to the airport and boarded Nathan’s plane.

“I need a drink,” I spoke as I sat in the big comfy leather seat.

“Wine or something stronger?” he asked.

“Something much stronger.”

“Scotch?”

“Sounds good to me. How long is this flight?” I asked.

“The pilot said about five hours,” he replied as he handed me my scotch and sat down in the seat next to mine.

“It’ll be evening and the bank will already be closed.”

“I know, so we’ll go there first thing tomorrow morning.”

Just before we took off, my phone rang and it was Lydia.

“Hello.”

“You’re going to Maine and don’t bother telling me?”

“Sorry, Lydia. It was a last-minute trip. My dad has a safety deposit box at one of the banks in Bangor. Nathan and I are going to find out what’s in it.”

“Oh. Good luck. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that Will and I had sex last night and it was amazing. And before you say anything, I was horny.”

I sighed. “Okay. I won’t say a word, at least not until I get back home.”

“Have fun in Maine. I have to go get ready. Will’s taking me to a movie tonight. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Did I hear her say that her and Will had sex last night?”

“Yes.” I shook my head and stared out the window as we took off. “She said they’re going to the movies.”

“That’s nice,” Nathan replied.

“Yeah. It is.” I stared out the window as I sipped on my drink.

“Would you like to watch a movie?” he asked.

Turning my head and looking at him, I smiled. “You have movies on this plane?”

“Of course. Just turn on the TV and pick one. You’ll be more comfortable on the couch. I’m going to sit at the table over there and do some work.”

“Okay.”

Getting up from my seat, I walked over to the couch, sat down, and scrolled through the movies on the TV. I thought maybe when he asked me if I wanted to watch a movie, he’d watch it with me. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I ended up watching
Titanic
and I caught Nathan looking up from his laptop every now and again to see what was going on. By the end of the movie, I was a crying mess, especially when the credits began to play and Celine Dion’s song “My Heart Will Go On” started playing. Nathan walked over, handed me a couple of tissues, sat down next to me, and pulled me into him.

“Why? Why did he have to die?” I sniffled.

“Because the movie directors are assholes.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I pulled away from him.

“Sorry. You didn’t have to come over here. I’m fine. I’ve only seen this movie a million times.”

“It’s okay. I’m done with work now anyway and you looked like you needed comforting.” He smiled.

“Thanks.” I dried my eyes.

“You’re welcome. We better get back in our seats. We’ll be landing soon.”

After we landed and Nathan rented a car, we sat in the parking lot and I pulled up a list of hotels in the area.

“Oh, look at this hotel.” I turned my iPad and showed him.

“Sorry, but that’s a two-hour drive from here. You’ll have to find another hotel.”

“Aw, but this one looks so pretty.” I pouted.

“I agree, but we’re not driving two hours.”

“Fine. There’s a Residence Inn by Marriott only ten minutes away.”

Once we arrived, we grabbed our bags and walked up to the lobby desk.

“How may I help you?” a polite young man asked.

“We need two rooms, please,” Nathan spoke.

“You don’t have a reservation?” he asked.

“No. We just flew in. It was an unexpected trip,” I spoke.

Typing on his computer, he spoke, “I’m sorry, but we only have one room available and it’s our studio with one king bed.”

“How can you be fully booked?” I asked with irritation.

“I’m sorry, miss, but it is tourist season here in Maine. Just about every hotel is booked up. The only reason this one is available right now is because we had a cancellation this morning.”

“We’ll take it,” Nathan spoke as he reached into his wallet and pulled out his credit card.

“How many nights will you be staying?”

“Just one,” Nathan replied.

“You’re all set. Here are your keys and you’re in room 510.”

“Thank you,” Nathan spoke.

Now I was really irritated. Sharing a room with him all night was not on the agenda.
Shit. Shit. Shit.