Beck And Call (6 page)

Keith nodded, his mind on other things already.

“Yeah,” he murmured, turning toward his office.

“Maybe we can do a seminar or something on

professionalism in the workplace.”

Serena sighed as the door closed.

“And my boss makes his return,” she muttered. Her

gaze fell on the rose. “Whoever you are, I hope you’re

not mad about tonight. How do I tell you I can’t do

anything tonight without losing what you offer? Claire

needs me.” Her fingers brushed over the blossoms

velvety softness. “Nearly as much as I think I need you.

How do I say that without sounding needy and

desperate? Or a wimp? Or…,” she stopped, shoulders

slumping. “Oh, what a mess!”

In his office, Keith paced rapidly, trying to figure

out what had just happened. Glaring out at the profile

of the city, he thought about his plans for tonight and

tried to work around the “issue” he wasn’t supposed to

know about. He had to manage things so he was in a

position of control and power. He’d planned on having

the cell phone and vibrator delivered today and then

starting things out that night. That wouldn’t work now,

but what if he gave her a small preview?

His whole plan depended on establishing his control

over her as soon as possible.
Seduce
, he reminded

himself. He had to seduce her. He would seduce his

assistant, using every means, fair or foul, to win her

over and then…. He closed his eyes briefly.

Before he knew it, he was dialing one of the few

people he could trust. The man who had recognized his

innate need to sexually dominate.

“Grant, it’s Keith. I need feedback on a personal

matter.”

“Okay,” answered the deep voice. “Hold on a

second.” Grant’s voice was redirected. “Joyce, hold all

my calls please. Thank you.” There was a creak of

leather. “What’s the problem, Keith?”

“Not necessarily a problem,” Keith told him. “I just

want to bounce something off of you.”

“Okay. Bounce.”

“It started a couple days ago on Serena’s birthday.”

“Serena, as in, your assistant?”

“How the hell do you remember the name of

someone you’ve met once or twice?” Keith muttered.

“Yes, my assistant. She told me some things about

Charlotte and other women I’ve dated.”

“Correction,” Grant interrupted. “Women you were

seen in public with to keep up appearances.”

“Can I finish here?” Keith scowled.

“Fire away.”

“Okay,” Keith nodded, taking a deep breath. “I was

doing my workout that night and all I could see was

Serena. And not the way she is in the office, if you get

my meaning.”

“Pretend I don’t.”

Keith growled.

“She was naked, spread-eagle on my bed, gagged

and blindfolded. She was waiting for me to do whatever

I wanted to her.”

“And this was the first time you saw her like this?”

“Yes!” Keith said reflexively. “Well, not entirely, but

the first time I did something about it.”

“Oh, shit,” Grant whispered. “Keith, what did you

do?”

“I came up with a brilliant plan to seduce her. Only,

she won’t know it’s me. I put a book of erotica on her

desk the next day. She seemed to like it, so I put

another book in her drawer today.”

“In her drawer? Shit, Keith, she may have figured

out that you’re doing it and…”

“No, she’s distracted by her friends. Anyway, I

typed notes telling her what to read, and how to tell me

—the dom—that she is willing to go further.” Keith told

him how he worked things out for her to tell him she

agreed. “And she asked me to get her a chicken salad

sandwich,” he gloated. “On the way to the employees’

dining room, I called the florist and told them to deliver

the rose. She loved it.”

Grant listened without interrupting. Finished,

Keith waited patiently for the response. Grant was more

experienced in Dom/Sub relationships.

“Keith, be careful. You could hurt her more than

you can even begin to imagine. If anyone even suspects

what you’re doing, she won’t have the protection of an

established family the way you do. Serena doesn’t have

the resources you do to deal with the gossip. She can’t

be your assistant and she won’t be able to get a job

anywhere else in New York City once word gets out. In

other words, she will be destroyed. I doubt she has any

idea what she’s getting into and you’re taking

advantage of that.”

“You’re being overdramatic. I’ve covered every

possible angle,” he told her, blithely overlooking the

aspect of Serena trying to expand her social life. “I’ve

got everything covered.”

“Keith, this is a very tricky situation. I’ll say it

bluntly. She’ll see things differently. At work, she’s at

your beck and call. The relationship outside work

should be different. If you’re not very careful, both her

heart and her career will be in jeopardy.”

“It sounds like you’re more worried about her than

me.”

“Shit, Keith, think about this. You’re manipulating

her. Someone needs to be worried about her.”

“Grant.” He was exasperated now. This wasn’t what

he’d expected at all. He’d thought Grant would pat him

on the back and say
well done
. He’d never expected

Grant to take Serena’s side! What the hell was this?

“It’s pretty straightforward. I’m going to seduce the

socks off of her and make her my submissive. Why are

you being so pessimistic?”

“Because things are never that simple, and if you

don’t see that you’re an arrogant, egotistical idiot.

Serena could be seriously hurt by your plan and you

refuse to accept that.”

“I know exactly what could happen and I’m willing

to do what is necessary to protect her. I know what I’m

getting into.”

“Do you really?” Grant pressed. “If the two of you

have a public relationship, then what happens to her?

Does she keep her position as your assistant? Do you

really think that’s possible? What if anyone suspects

the truth about your relationship? The rest of the world

doesn’t understand a BDSM. What if Kevin suspects

something between the two of you and tries to pull the

same crap with Serena that he did with Francine? How

far will you go to protect her? Or are you just going to

walk away and let her deal with it alone?”

Keith considered his words. Grant had basically just

described what had happened between him and

Francine just a few months ago. A luminous super-

model, Francine had become the target of a jealous

rival who had seduced Francine’s fiancé—Keith’s older

brother Kevin. Delilah and Kevin had then spread

vicious lies about Francine. Unfortunately, most of this

had taken place while Grant was on a business trip.

He’d reacted swiftly and decisively to protect his

woman.

Eyes on the Empire State Building, Keith realized

he hadn’t thought beyond establishing the relationship.

Shit! What kind of dom did he think he was? He was

always
supposed to focus on the submissive and make

sure she was taken care of. He had, but hadn’t gone

beyond the physical. Reflecting on Grant’s words, he

knew his friend was right. Serena couldn’t continue as

his assistant if they had a public relationship and, if the

nature of their sex life came to light, she wouldn’t be

able to get a job in the city. And if Kevin found out the

nature of their relationship and used it against her,

just what the hell
would
Keith do to protect Serena?

“This is why I called you,” he said slowly. “Should I

take this slower?”

“I’m not sure you can. It’s already public. You sent

her the rose. You have no other course but to see this

through,” Grant said quietly. “Keith, this isn’t about

proving you’re a man to your father by creating your

own company. Twelve years ago, it was all about you.

Now it’s about Serena—the woman you have singled

out as your submissive. Time to man up and face a few

harsh realities. You make one wrong move and her life

could be destroyed. No
do-overs
.”

“Shit, Grant,” Keith scowled. His mentor couldn’t

possibly be hinting at what he thought he was. “I’m not

going to do something—”

“Keith, pull your ego out of the equation. Hell, pull

your cock out of it. You’re a helluva businessman and a

responsible Dom at the club, but I swear to God, your

cockiness drives me insane sometimes,” Grant fumed.

“Think about Serena, dammit! You owe it to her to have

thought
everything
through. It sounds as if you made a

good start in protecting both of you.” There was a pause

as he let his protégée absorb the compliment. “Now,

answer this one very important question. Are you

willing to marry her to protect her?”

“Marriage?” Keith whispered. “Grant, you know

damn well I don’t want to get married. I can’t put a

woman through what my father did to my mother! My

brothers are just as bad. Kevin’s on his third divorce,

and Karl’s on his second, plus there’s four broken

engagements between the two of them.” He shook his

head. “Men in my family don’t do marriage well. That’s

why I like Dom/sub relationships.”

“That’s different. You’ve kept all those at the club.

And they were started at the club with women who

understood what they’re getting into. Serena doesn’t

have a clue as to what you are.” There was a noise of

frustration over the phone. “Keith, listen to me. Really

listen to me. You are no more like your father than I am

like mine. Something about Serena resonates with you,

otherwise you wouldn’t be risking everything you’ve

spent twelve years building. Do you really think your

father would do that? Hell, no!”

Slowly, Keith nodded. Okay, this was why he had

called Grant. Grant was more a brother to him than

Kevin or Karl had ever been.

“I don’t want her hurt the way my mother was.”

“You just answered the question,” Grant approved

in a satisfied tone. “You’ll do anything and everything

to make sure Serena is safe, protected, and yours.”

Self-doubt wasn’t a familiar feeling for Keith. It

made him feel vulnerable and he hated that. He trusted

Grant though. Grant was nearly forty and had scoffed

at the idea of marrying. Until Francine. If someone like

Grant could marry, and be so damn content and

obviously sexually satisfied in that marriage, then

maybe he could.

“You really think I could do something like

marriage?”

“Absolutely. Oh, one thing, though.”

“Yeah?”

“I want the first invite to the wedding.”

“If it gets to that point, you got it,” Keith smiled. No

matter what Grant said, he couldn’t imagine proposing

to a woman. Him? Married? The words in the same

sentence boggled his mind. “You can even be best man.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Just make sure the date isn’t

in March. That’s Francine’s due date and she’ll be

furious if she can’t be there.”

“You got it,” Keith had to chuckle. Who would have

thought that the macho Grant Franklin would be so

undone by his wife’s pregnancy? God help him if he

ever got to that point! “Thanks, Grant.”

“Anytime.”

A last-minute conference call came up and Serena

quickly IM’d Claire and Debbie to delay their

gathering. Claire responded that Debbie had convinced

her to go to a boxing class to work out some aggression.

Relieved on one level, Serena pushed down the desire

that the girls would bail so she would be available for

the Dominant.

As she and Keith gathered their things after the

call, Serena wondered how a man she hadn’t met, and

whose name she didn’t even know, could influence her

the way the Dominant was. Had she completely lost her

mind? Was she that desperate? Or was she so tired of

the status quo that she was willing to do something

drastic? She also realized she was thirty and needed to

get over her infatuation with Keith. She needed to get

on with her life.

The Dominant intrigued her, made her wonder, and

it had been a very long time since she’d been stirred

like this in any way.

“Ready?” Keith asked, locking his office door.

“Yes,” she nodded, closing the drawer and cradling