Beck And Call (5 page)

purse.

“Serena, I think I can manage a sandwich,” he

drawled.

She turned and caught the twinkle in his eyes. Her

jaw dropped as he winked at her and walked out.

“Who was that man and what did he do with my

boss?” she muttered, shaking her head. “Well, whoever

you
are, I hope you’re watching and see that I’m not in

the cafeteria.”

Wrapping her arms around her waist, she wondered

what would happen next. A delicious feeling of

anticipation ran up and down her back.

She was on the last few bites of her sandwich when

Mark Hammond walked in.

“What’s this?” his voice boomed out. His broad

upper body leaned over her desk and Serena shrank

back before she could stop herself. “He won’t even let

you leave your desk for lunch? Keith, what the hell is

this?” he raised his voice more and projected it toward

the partially open door. “You don’t let…”

“He bought my lunch, Mark,” Serena retorted,

relieved her voice sounded calm to her ears. “I was

waiting for a couple calls.” She inhaled sharply. Why

was she even responding to him? She didn’t owe him

anything after what happened a year and a half ago.

He would not intimidate her! “How is Penny?”

Mark gave her a blank stare.

“Excuse me?”

“Penny Davidson,” she prompted. “Your fiancée?”

“Oh, yes,” he smiled stiffly. “She’s fine.”

“Of course, she’s fine,” Keith said from his doorway.

“Mark, I’ve got a very tight schedule today. Why

wouldn’t you tell Serena what this was about?”

“She’s

an

assistant,

Keith,”

Mark

replied,

shrugging. “Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does,” Keith frowned. “She’s
my
assistant

and that means I expect people to treat her with respect

and give her the information she requests.” He gave

Mark a stern look. “Is that clear?”

“Of course, of course,” he nodded. “Now,” he waved

the folder in his hand. “How would you like to see

something you’ll love and want yesterday?”

“I can’t imagine what that could be,” Keith

murmured, stepping aside so Mark could precede him

into the office.

Seeing Serena watching him, Keith opened and

closed his hand twice, fingers spread. She grinned at

the established signal and nodded as he closed the door.

Within five minutes, though, she heard Mark’s

raised voice. Looking up from her monitor, she watched

the door. Sure enough, she could hear the low rumble of

Keith’s baritone.

“It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if Mark got himself

fired,” she muttered. “I’d toast to that with relish.”

“Miss Serena Traydon?”

Her head swiveled to the hall door.

“Yes?” she frowned at the sight of the delivery man.

“Scott from West Side Florist,” he smiled,

approaching the desk.

The office door was flung open and Mark stomped

out. He turned around and waved his arms. Keith

appeared, calm, resolute and confident. Serena was

wary of Mark in this mood, but Keith’s watchful eye was

reassuring.

“Keith, you obviously don’t understand how

brilliant this is! Your father and Kevin thought it was

revolutionary and—”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Mark,” Keith replied

from the doorway. “But this is my company, not my

father’s.” He saw the delivery man. “Yes?”

“I have a delivery for Miss Traydon.”

Keith gestured to Serena.

“Deliver it,” he told him.

Silently, the man brought his right hand from

behind his back and set a crystal bud vase on her desk.

A single, deep red rosebud captured their eyes. Serena

gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.

“No card?” she glanced at the man.

“The clerk said you would know who it was from,” he

said, slightly puzzled.

Her jaw went slack and realization hit her. The

dominant. He knew she hadn’t thrown out the book. He

really had been watching and wasted no time in

making sure she knew it. She recognized the crystal

pattern and smiled. Whoever he was, he had high-end

tastes. Leaning forward, she sniffed at the rose and

closed her eyes.

“Now this is beauty,” she sighed.

“Well?” Mark said impatiently. “Who is it from?”

“A gentleman,” she murmured, smiling.

The thought of how that gentleman planned on

being in her life forced the fiery heat of a blush to cover

her face.

“Who is it from?” pressed Mark, stalking toward her

desk.

The delivery man backed off.

“Thank you,” Serena whispered, smiling at him.

With a nod, he turned and hurried out.

“Serena, answer me!”

“I don’t think she is required to tell you anything,”

Keith came up behind Mark. When the other man

whirled, Keith gave him a tight smile. “Especially when

you use that tone of voice. You will treat her with

respect, understood?”

“What?” Mark glanced at him. “What’s wrong with

my tone?”

“Plenty,” replied the CEO, shrugging. “You have a

deplorable lack of respect when you address people who

aren’t at your level in the company. So,” he smiled

slightly, glancing at Serena. “Should I talk to you the

way you do to Serena?” Mark’s mouth opened and

closed. “After all, you’re not at my level.” His gaze went

to the woman who was trying to appreciate the rose

while listening to the men. “Someone else miss your

birthday?”

She shook her head.

“No,” she whispered. “No, he didn’t. This is for

something else.”

“Only one rose?” Mark sneered. “You either weren’t

very good last night or he doesn’t have much money.”

“Mark,” glowered Keith. Shit, the florist had told

him that one red rose was…

“Mark, you know little to nothing about crystal,”

Serena said softly. Her fingers stroked the slender

column. “And even less about me. This vase is, well, it’s

absolutely exquisite. And priceless. And for a man to

send a single red rose to a woman…”

Claire and Debbie appeared in the doorway and saw

the rosebud. Both squealed.

“Oh, my God!” they rushed forward. Their words

tripped over each other. “It’s gorgeous! My God, will you

look at the vase! A single red rose! That is
so
romantic!

Serena, who gave it to you?”

“She won’t say,” Mark interjected. “And there is no

card.”

“A secret admirer?” Claire gasped. “Oh, my God! I

love it!”

“Good thing I didn’t call to set up a blind date for

you,” Debbie commented. “Nice crystal. Impressive.”

“A single red rosebud,” Claire sighed. “Oh, that is so

romantic! Serena, ask him if he has a single brother. Or

a cousin. I’ll take a cousin.”

“What about Paul?” Serena smiled, enjoying the

attention.

Claire shivered and wrapped her arms around her

waist.

“Please, Paul revealed his true colors last night.”

“Uh-oh,” Serena frowned, glancing at Debbie who’d

put an arm around her roommate. “Girls’ night with

deep-dish pizza?”

“With extra cheese and sausage,” Debbie nodded.

“We’ll bring the wine and chick flicks.”

“Right,” Serena nodded, studying Claire’s still

slightly red and swollen eyes. Beyond the girls, she

caught Mark’s sneering face while Keith seemed a bit

unsettled by the personal drama in the office. “I’ll order

the pizza at six.”

“Thanks, Rena,” whispered Claire. “But what about

him?” she nodded at the rose.

“Well,” Serena murmured. “If he’s made plans, then

I’ll explain that a friend needs me. Hopefully, he’ll

understand.”

“You think he will?” was her doubtful question.

“I hope so.” Serena nibbled on her lower lip. She

had no idea if he’d understand, but the dominant would

have to accept that she supported her friends. That was

simply part of who she was. “He seems to know and

understand when I work late.”

“Ask him if he has two brothers,” Debbie told her.

Serena smiled, then looked at Claire with growing

concern.

“About six-thirty? Or do you want to make it

earlier?”

“So touching!” mocked Mark, striding out the door.

“Claire, did you finish those letters?”

Claire inhaled sharply.

“No,” she muttered. “It was a little difficult since

you didn’t finish telling me what you wanted.”

Keith stared at the empty doorway, and was even

more surprised when Serena and Debbie made

sympathetic noises toward Claire. With a new

awareness, he wondered what else he had missed about

Mark. What else had he missed as he worked to build

up his company to show he didn’t need support from the

family corporation? As a result, he failed to pay

attention to the type of people he’d hired. Had Mark

been like this all along? How could he not have seen

this? And this man was going to marry his cousin?

Penny was barely twenty-two!

“Claire, you better head back,” Serena advised, her

face suddenly pinched. “It looks like he’s in one of those

moods again.”

“Those moods have come and never left,” Debbie

muttered as Claire hurried out. “‘Rena, I’m worried

about her. Paul really hurt her…”

As if realizing Keith was still there, Debbie fell

silent. Serena reached out and caught her hand.

“I know. We’ll figure something out, Deb. Go on

back.”

With a reluctant nod, Debbie also left.

“What else have I missed?” Keith asked quietly.

“You sure you want to know?” Serena wondered,

mildly surprised at his drawn expression.

“That man is engaged to my cousin,” he reminded

her. “If he treats you and Claire this way in front of me,

so sure that he’ll get away with it, how is he with Penny

behind closed doors?”

Serena stared at the rose. His primary concern was

his cousin. It was something she could understand, but

deep in her heart, some part of her died. She was just

his assistant. That was the only reason he’d defended

her.

“I thought you liked him.”

“He’s never been this way around me.” He shook his

head. “Dammit! I’ve known the man six years! I should

have a better idea of how he treats people.”

Serena relented.

“If it’s any consolation, he wasn’t always like this.”

“It’s not,” Keith muttered. “How long has he been

like this?”

“Well,” she propped her elbows on the desk and

rested her chin in her palms. She didn’t want to think

about it, but it looked like she didn’t have a choice.

Professional, Serena
.
Keep it professional.
“Let’s see.”

She frowned slightly. “Mmm,” she raised her eyes to his.

“Sometime after I came to work for you. Claire wasn’t

his assistant yet, of course. He goes through one every

four to six months.” She grimaced as she glanced at the

calendar. “And at the rate he’s going, Claire’ll be

putting in for a transfer in a few weeks.”

“He started dating Penny about three months after

you started working for me,” he frowned, speaking

quietly. “Not sure…,” He smiled. “When we were

working on the Franklin contract.”

She nodded, crossing her fingers under the desk.

The hope that he would press for more information

brought a hitch to her throat, even if it scared her.

Would he think she had done something wrong?

“That was a bit complicated,” she mused. Did he

realize that he remembered personal things in relation

to business? “I don’t think we left the office before ten

for three or four weeks.”

Keith clenched his jaw.

“I’m screwed,” he muttered. “Penny will never

believe a word I say against him. She likes you, but if

you or Claire tell her about how he is toward you, it

won’t matter. Mark will say you have other reasons for

trying to break them up.”

“Like Claire or I want him for ourselves?” she

sighed.

“Exactly,” he nodded.

“Not in this lifetime or any other,” she shook her

head.

“Because of this guy?” Keith gestured towards the

vase on her desk.

Serena hesitated slightly.

“Because of him now,” she said slowly. Her eyes

studied the petals. “I would really rather not go into it.”

“A woman’s intuition thing?” he frowned.

“Do you need more than what you just saw?” she

countered. “His attitude toward me and Claire? I know

he’s very good at his job, but for a PR person, his people

skills need some work. Especially regarding women.”