Dungeon Time (Play at Work) (3 page)

“Sure thing. Mona, would you like to come with us?”

“No,” she said. “I thought I’d see if Anna would go for a quick salad?”

Mr. Masters looked between them. “You could both come.”

Anna’s heart pounded. She wouldn’t be able to eat a bite under the scrutiny of the two powerful, successful men. Still, when might such an opportunity come again? She parted her lips to speak, but Mona beat her to it. “I’d love to, but I don’t have much time. My afternoon is packed.”

Anna’s
one chance to eat lunch with Edward Masters, the sexiest man in town, disappeared when he strolled out the door, laughing at something Mr. Marks said. She grabbed her purse and jacket, fighting waves of irritation. “Where do you want to go? I wouldn’t want to make you late.”

Mona stared at her. “Just down the street, I guess. What’s with the snippy tone
? Have a bad morning?”

Anna couldn’t explain why she wanted to slap her friend for making sure they didn’t go out to eat with the men.
Or maybe hug her for saving her from making a fool of herself with nerves in front of her boss and Mr. Masters. So, she sought another topic to distract her. “Did I tell you I’m moving into my new place today?”

Mona hugged her. “Oh, wonderful! How did your folks take the news?”

“They were very upset.” She launched into the tale, leaving out no details. Perhaps she had been tense because of the run-in the night before. The argument had gone hours until her grandmother ended the discussion with finality. She, too, had lived on her own—although not of her own choice. Her parents had died when she was in her late teens, and she’d had to get a job and a home or beg on the streets. She took great pride in her achievements, in having come to America all on her own.

When Anna’s
father put his foot down and insisted she stay, Nonna had stepped in and ended the matter. Papa never could say no to his mother.

Sharing her experience with Mona, the topic of lunch with the men never came up again, although
it danced at the back of Anna’s mind.

“I’m so sorry I can’t help you get settled this evening. I’m free tomorrow if you need help.” Mona checked her calendar in her phone. “We are going out tonight, but Randolph has a meeting of some sort in the morning. Give me your new address.”

“Really, I don’t have much to move. I stuffed my car, and I plan to start fresh on furniture. The heavy antiques in my room depress me. They can stay behind.”

Mona nodded. “I’ve never really liked them, but I thought they were special to you.”

“My mother’s mother’s mother brought them over by ship in the early 1900s. But, no, I don’t like them either. They loom over me, like disapproving relatives.”

“I suppose you’d never be able to have sex in
that bed.”

“Mona!” Her cheeks heated, again. “It was hard enough to read those books you turned me on to in
that room.”

“They are pretty good, aren’t they?”
Her friend giggled.

“That’s beside the point.”

“It’s about time you met someone nice, Anna.” Mona grabbed her phone again. “I know a guy you might like. Let me call him.”

A day before, she’d have jumped on it. But
at the moment…. Anna rested her hand on Mona’s. “Let me get settled before you find me a boyfriend, okay? One big change at a time.”

“Whatever you say, but I highly recommend a sex life.” She brightened. “I guess we need to go furniture shopping, anyway. You can’t sleep with anyone until you have a bed.”

“That’s the one thing I do have—it’s built in.” Anna’s cheeks heated again.

Mona eyed her. “Are you keeping something from me? Is there someone already?”

“Yes…no. Not really.”
Someone so mature and successful couldn’t possibly be interested in me. He treated Mona with the same friendliness. I can’t read anything into it.
“Nobody in particular.”

***

“Not hungry?”

Edward dropped his fork with a sigh. “I thought so, but I guess not.”

Randolph frowned. “Last time I saw you pass on food, you had a parasite from your trip to South America on that merger deal. Since I doubt you’ve been drinking contaminated water, what’s up?”

“I didn’t drink the water. It was the ice in my Scotch.” His
annoyance carried into his voice, but he couldn’t stop it.

“Same difference.” Randolph leaned back and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “Talk to me.”

“About what?”

“Talk!”

Edward laughed. “Don’t try your Dom voice on me. It won’t work.” Morose again, he continued. “We are getting old.

The waitress came and cleared away their plates, one empty and one nearly full. “Would you like a box for this, sir?”

“No,” he said. “Just take it.” When she left them alone again, he went on. “How long can I keep playing like I’m in my
twenties? I’ll be forty next year, and what do I have to show for it?

“A thriving law practice, a palace of a home, three classic Jaguars, and a dungeon full of eager subs vying for your attention.”

He waved the words away. “What do those things really mean? When I get home at night, who is there waiting for me?”

“You could get a dog
, if you want company.”

“That’s not the point, and you know it.”
We both know it.
“No, since you and Mona found one another, I’ve come to the conclusion I need someone in my life who makes me as happy as she makes you.”

“How about the brunette you played a couple of weeks ago?” The server returned, and Randolph handed her his credit card. “I’m sure she’d be delighted to move in.”

“There was a new blonde at the club last night.” He tossed a few bills on the table for a tip. “Roland’s property, but he offered her to me.”

Randolph gaped. “That doesn’t sound like him. Why would he do that?”

Edward shrugged. He wouldn’t share the other Dom’s confidences. “I suppose he had his reasons. She’s absolutely stunning, platinum blonde, slender, and took everything Roland dished out and Virginia, too, but I don’t think she’s for me.”

“He let Virginia have at her?”

Another image overlaid Brigid’s—Anna, black curls tumbling about her shoulders, smooth cheeks luring him to touch. Her thighs would be rounded, grippable. Not slim like the other girl, she offered luscious curves. “But no.” He stood, waiting while Randolph signed the slip and pocketed his receipt. “Thanks for lunch.”

“Not that you ate it.” Randolph opened his car door and stilled, an expression of amazement widening his eyes. “Are you telling me you want to settle down?”

Edward climbed into the passenger seat and buckled his belt. “I think so. Shocked?”

“More than that. The great Dom Edward, scourge of the Underdungeon, ready to take a wife.” He shook his head and started the car. “Anyone in mind?”

Could he say? “Maybe.”

“Not that mahogany goddess you went out with a few times? From the club across town?”

Edward closed his eyes. “No. I’m almost afraid to say.” He smoothed his palms on his thighs, imagining her hands there. “But I’ll tell you so you can shoot me down and I can go on with my fun life.”

Randolph threw him a glance then returned his attention to the road. “I’m intrigued. Go on.”

“Anna.”

He jerked the car to the side of the street and stopped. “My Anna? From my office?”

“Yes, your receptionist.”

“I’d never have dreamed….” Randolph gripped the steering wheel and stared ahead. “She’s not one of us. I’m sure you know that.”

“Neither was Mona when you met.”

“True, but she likes what we do together. She’s a natural.”

Edward pulled out his phone and scrolled through emails. Nothing urgent. “You got lucky with her. I don’t anticipate being so fortunate. Play is great, but what about having a home life? A family?”

Randolph pulled back into traffic, shaking his head. “I’ve never heard you talk like this. What brought on the sudden urge for the pitter patter of little feet?”

“If I wait much longer, I’ll be too old to play catch with my boys, to beat up the young men who want to take out my daughters. My father died when he was my age. Not that he’d ever played with us anyway. It was all business with him, and my mother is still more concerned with her high society friends than my sister’s kids, her own grandchildren.”

“
Okay, you want a family. But jeez, how many kids are you talking about?” He signaled and pulled into the parking structure. “But even if you want enough for a baseball team, why Anna? She’s very pretty, of course, but so are all the other women you get involved with.”

Edward slipped his phone back in his pocket. “She’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Smart, funny, wholesome, and she makes me hard every time I see her.”

“Helpful in the baby-making department.”

He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I should think so—especially since it usually takes more than a pretty face and bodacious ta tas to get me that way
.” Ignoring his friend’s quirked eyebrow, Edward went on. He needed to tell someone. “I’m prepared to give up the club, the lifestyle, to have a family with Anna.”

Randolph released the door handle and settled back in his seat. “Sure your decision isn’t a midlife crisis? Vanilla guys step out of their comfort zones at our age, too. Fast cars, younger women, crazy sex. Maybe
, for you, it’s the reverse.”

“A little of that, too, maybe. But I never intended to skip having a normal home life just to satisfy my darker desires. I want children playing tag in the summer dusk, a warm woman in my arms on cold winter nights.
Shoot, I’ll even go for Taco Tuesday and Meatloaf Monday.”

“You don’t eat meatloaf.”

“I would if the right woman made it for me.” Exasperated, Edward yanked the door open. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The only reason I even brought this up is I plan to ask your employee for a date. You okay with that?”

“Who am I to judge? I violated my own rules when I spanked Mona on my desk that day. Best
move of my life, by the way. You don’t work for me, and Anna can make her own decisions.”

“Fine.” They boarded the elevator. “I’ll ask her out later this afternoon, when we finish working on the Acme acquisition.”

“I’ve never heard you express these sentiments before, so excuse me if I’m a little surprised.” As the doors slid open, Randolph rested a hand on his arm. “Just one thing. You hurt her, and you’ll have me to answer to. She’s Mona’s best friend, and I don’t want my woman upset. Or that sweet kid, either.”

“Understood.” He
shrugged. “But she’s more likely to shoot me down. What does a woman in her early twenties want with an old man like me? Let’s get to work.”

Chapter Two

“Oh, Mona, I shouldn’t have had that last glass of wine.” Anna clung to her friend’s arm, lost in giggles. “You’re a bad influence on me.”

Mona swayed a little and regained her balance. “Sshhh. Maybe nobody will notice.” At reception, Anna dropped into her seat and watched her friend stumble down the hall, humming under her breath…leaving her purse on the front desk.

“Shoot.” Anna stood, let the dizziness dissipate, and started after her
, black clutch bag in hand. Maybe she should just tell the office manager, Trudy, she needed to go home—plead female troubles. As long as she did it on the phone or from a sitting position, she might be able to hide her peccadillo.
Drinking at lunch, what a dumb move.

Approaching Mona’s office, she paused at the sound of low voices behind the closed door.

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done it.”

“It’s utterly unacceptable for one of my managers to be drunk in the office.”

The boss!

“I’ll go home….” Mona’s tone held regret, but then she laughed. Dating Mr. Marks or not, she would be in trouble if she didn’t pull it together.

“Bend over and lift your skirt.”

What?
Three sharp
thwacks
and a muffled sob.

“
Sit here and do not accept any phone calls. Let your voice mail pick them up. I will conclude my business with Edward and give you a ride home.”

Shocked, Anna fled. She grabbed her purse
and raced for the door. She would call Trudy after leaving the building. Had Mr. Marks struck Mona? He seemed severe but not the type to abuse women. She couldn’t take it in. Why would her friend stay with a man who beat her?

Should she call the police? Try to talk to Mona? Ignore it—no, she couldn’t do that. She came from a household with a firm father and dominating mother, but nobody lay hands on anyone, even when tempers flared. At the safe haven of her car, she dropped into the driver’s seat and paused. She felt sober, but did that mean her blood alcohol was reduced to legal range? Because her trembling hands didn’t imply she could drive at all.

She fished her cell phone from her purse and told Trudy she’d taken ill at lunch. Bad cramps. Her supervisor’s sympathy made her feel guilty for lying but she didn’t know what else she could have done. Dropping her head to her steering wheel, she wept. She had to save Mona. Convince her to walk away from someone who beat her, before it was too late.