Compulsion (12 page)

“Very good. If you’re ready then…”

I took the arm he offered and he led me out to his Jeep.

The drive to the Renaissance Plaza Hotel took about half an hour. I wanted to talk.

“Matt, how old are you? You know all sorts of things about me, but you’re very mysterious about yourself.”

He smiled. “Not that mysterious! All you have to do is ask.”

“Well, I’m asking!”

“I’m thirty-five. Way too old for you!”

Wow, he was eleven years older. I wouldn’t have guessed—his body certainly couldn’t be judged by the normal rules.

“It hasn’t stopped you.”

“No, and it’s not going to. You’re younger, but you’re no baby—and you’re way too old to be a virgin! How the hell did you manage to hang on to it all this time, looking like you do?”

I snorted. “How I look is part of the problem, as you well know. I’m a Plain Jane, and there’s no two ways about it.”

He glanced sideways at me, astonished. “Have you looked in the mirror lately, Jane? Plain is not a word I’d use to describe you.”

“Thank you, Matt,” I said, surprised, “I think it’s this dress.”

“Yes. And your makeup. And your hair. And your eyes. And your pretty face and pink lips. And let’s not forget your sweet ass and pert tits. And that silky little virgin pussy that you’ve waxed. Should I go on? Should I tell you what sexy feet you have, Jane, and how the shape of your legs makes me want to fuck you?”

I was silent, too flabbergasted to answer him. He smiled grimly.

“If you knew all the things I want to do to you, Jane, you’d run for the hills.” I shivered.

“But you were telling me how you managed to stay intact. I assure you, it has nothing to do with how you look. Besides, even ugly girls get boyfriends.”

That was true, and something I’d mulled over on many a lonely night.

“I don’t know, Matt. I just never met the right guy, I suppose. I haven’t dated much. In high school and college, guys weren’t interested in me because they knew I wouldn’t sleep with them. I wanted to save it for somebody special, you know.”

It was his turn to snort. “Bunch of losers. If I’d been there, I’d’ve seen you as a challenge I couldn’t resist. Still, I suppose I should thank them, because now you’re all mine!” He leered at me theatrically.

I laughed at his gloating and he started to chuckle.

“You’re very good at changing the subject when we talk, you know,” I pointed out. “I’m trying to find out more about you, and you always end up getting information out of me instead!”

“It’s a special talent. But go ahead, what else did you want to ask?”

“Where do you live, when you’re not renting the house next door to mine?”

Where will you be going in three months when you leave?

“I have a farm in Central Queensland.”

“You—a farm? I can’t picture that!”

“Well, I’m not a farmer, if that’s what you mean. It’s just a beautiful, sprawling house on two hundred hectares of virgin bush. I have some cattle and quite a few horses. I like to ride. But I’ve got a live-in estate manager, and his wife is my housekeeper.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.”

We were silent for a while and I noticed that we were getting very close to the hotel. It was in one of the busiest sections of the riverfront, but Matt had booked a parking space in the basement—something I would never have thought of.

I felt nervous as I got out of the car. He shrugged into his jacket and smiled at me.

“Don’t look so scared,” he said softly and took my hand, linking his fingers through mine. He led me to the elevator.

We stepped out into the plush lobby of the most expensive hotel in Brisbane. It was busy but strangely quiet, the thick carpeting muting the sounds of the feet bustling by. I looked around curiously. Most of the roof was a giant skylight, fashioned into a glass-faceted, Renaissance-style dome. Directly under the dome was a large, round pond, and in the center of the water, on a raised marble pedestal, stood an actual-sized replica of Michelangelo’s
David
, fountains flowing from beneath his feet. A jungle of plants and Renaissance-inspired furniture surrounded the pool, and on the far side of the lobby, opposite the elevators, was a marble reception counter the size of a small escarpment.

“It’s awful, isn’t it?” whispered Matt close to my ear.

“Yes, but it’s impressive too. Awfully impressive!”

“Impressively awful!” We grinned at each other.

“We’re supposed to go to the Ballroom,” I told him.

“I know where that is, come this way.” He pulled me to the right.

“Have you been here before?”

“I was here today.” He flicked a glance at me. “I was making arrangements.”

“Oh.”

We came to a wide arch and passed through into a second spacious foyer with a grand door in the opposite wall. There was a discreet sign on an easel outside the door.

The Management of e-Vent Inc. welcomes you

Underneath was a table plan, showing the seating arrangements. There were twenty tables that each seated five couples, and I found my name on Table Seven. Taking a deep breath, I let Matt lead me through the door…and I learned what it meant to be the polar opposite of invisible.

I’d imagined this moment so often over the last five days—me, Plain Jane Hedley, walking into the room on the arm of a staggeringly handsome, scorchingly sexy man, my coworkers turning to stare—that now it was really happening, it felt unreal. Dreamlike. I felt slightly detached as, one by one, they turned to see who the newest arrivals were, and reacted to the sight of Matt, of us. On the women’s faces I saw a hundred variations of disbelief, envy and desire. Then I saw the same on the men’s faces and realized with shock that the envy was directed at Matt, and the desire at me.

We made our way to our table, halfway across the room, pausing to talk to people on the way. Men who hardly spoke to me at work grabbed my hand to stop me as I passed their tables, and so did women, plainly hoping to be introduced to Matt.

By the time we reached our table I was feeling quite shell-shocked. Matt seemed to realize this. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me against the side of his body. His solid warmth was comforting.

“I’ll get you a drink in a minute,” he whispered, giving me an amused grin. “Now introduce me to your friends.”

I was grateful to see that Lauren was at our table, with her husband, Jeff. I introduced them to Matt. Lauren was sitting next to Matt and she couldn’t stop staring at him. Kyle, the cute salesman, was seated next to me, with his latest girlfriend at his side. He jumped up and wrapped me in a big hug, surprising me.

If Kyle had hugged you a week ago you would have been pathetically thrilled.

Matt looked on with slightly hooded eyes, but was friendly when he shook Kyle’s hand.

Two more guys from the sales team filled out our table. I introduced Jason and he in turn introduced us to his wife, who I’d never met before. She was a vivacious and obviously pregnant blonde named Melanie. While I spoke a few words to her, the remaining couple leaned over to shake hands with Matt. It was Scott, e-Vent’s top salesman, and an older, sophisticated-looking brunette whose name was Vanessa. My smile was a bit strained when I greeted them, because I didn’t really like Scott. He was very arrogant. Fortunately he usually ignored me, but he was patronizing toward the other salespeople, which grated on my nerves. Even more grating was the way his date was checking out Matt, as if he were part of an all-you-can-eat buffet. Matt seemed oblivious.

Please! He’s probably used to women throwing themselves at him. It must happen all the time.

I finally spotted Stephen sitting at Table Three, which was diagonally opposite from ours. I pointed him out to Matt.

“Can we just go say hello to him before we settle down? I want to find out if he’s ready with his speech.”

“Sure, lead on.” Matt took off his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair and I left my purse at my place, and we went over to Stephen’s table. His back was to us so I tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hi, Stephen, I’m here. How’s your speech?”

“Hi there, Jane!” He stood up and turned to greet us. “Wow, that’s a great dress! Hi, Matt, nice to see you again. How’s it going?”

“Good, thanks.” The two men shook hands.

Stephen turned to me. “The speech is great, Jane. You did a first-class job, can’t thank you enough. Can I introduce you to James Jameson? James, this is my PA, Jane Hedley, the most efficient lady in Web Marketing.”

A big man was getting to his feet next to Stephen. He was darkly handsome. When he stood he towered over everybody, even Matt. He turned to us.

“Jane, glad to meet you. Stephen’s mentioned you a number of times.” Then his eyes flicked to Matt. “Well, damn me! Matt, you son of a bitch, what the hell are you doing here? And with the prettiest girl at the party, as usual.”

The two men clasped hands then pounded each other on the back. I exchanged glances with Stephen while they talked, and shrugged slightly. “Matt mentioned that they were in the army together,” I said softly. Stephen looked impressed.

“No, no,” Matt was saying, “I’m just playing tonight, not working. My work is all done.”

James frowned, craggy brows drawing low over dark eyes. He glanced at Stephen and me. “We’ll catch up later, mate,” he said to Matt. “Hope you have a good time, Jane.”

Matt led me back to our table and I slid into my seat.

“I’ll go get you that drink now, Jane. What would you like?”

“Champagne, please.”

He smiled at me and I melted a little. “Would anybody else like anything from the bar?” he asked our table then headed off with the orders.

Lauren took the opportunity to slip onto Matt’s chair next to me.

“God, Jane!” she exclaimed. “Where did you get that guy? He’s so hot!”

“He’s my neighbor.” I giggled at the expression on her face. “I was spying on him, and he caught me.”

“No way! Are you sleeping with him?”

“Yeah.”

Well, I would be—any time now.

A shiver of anticipation ran down my spine. I had no idea when Matt would make his move or what he planned to do. I was in a state of tense expectation and it was playing havoc with my nerves. Other than having me leave my panties at home, he’d done nothing in the least sexual. In fact he’d behaved like a perfect gentleman so far.

I watched him thread his way back to the table, holding two drinks in each big hand. He caught my gaze and the look that he sent me curled my toes and sent heat racing to my pussy.

He might be perfect, but he’s no gentleman! He’s thinking about fucking you right now.

I took my champagne from him with a slightly shaking hand. He put a scotch on the rocks in his place and passed another to Scott. A glass of white wine was handed to Vanessa. Lauren went back to her seat and Matt reclaimed his place next to me. Moments later the lights were dimmed, vibe-y music filled the room and a video was projected onto the huge screen behind the podium. Instead of a welcome speech, an energizing and amusing visual roundup of the year’s highlights was prepared. Clapping and hoots of approval sprang up around the room as we relived the challenges and triumphs of the last twelve months, eloquently retold in photos and video clips.

With an icy feeling of dismay I shrank back into my chair as I realized that everybody, from the cleaning staff to Elliot Green, Managing Director of the Brisbane branch, was featured in the video…except me. I didn’t appear in any of the shots, not even in the background. It was arranged in chronological order, the condensed timeline now rushing through the last few weeks before the party, and I knew with a sick certainty that I was going to be the only employee of e-Vent Brisbane that wasn’t in it.

Matt had been watching for me in the video, and he reached over and took my hand, obviously coming to the same conclusion, trying to comfort me.

Now there were candid shots of Stephen and the Web Marketing sales team hearing the news that they were the top performing division of the year. Delighted laughter rang out at the close-ups of their overjoyed reactions and a short clip of them cavorting around the conference table. I knew that I’d been there, just off the screen to the right, but much as I willed it the camera didn’t pan that far, and a new scene faded in, of the HR people bringing the awards that were to be handed out tonight and arranging them next to the podium. It must have been filmed this morning. The screen went dark.

It was over. I stared down at the table, feeling the smothering weight of my invisibility afresh. I thought things had changed, but really, it had only been five days. What did I expect?

But the music didn’t stop. It swelled to a crescendo, and my eyes were drawn to the screen again. To my disbelief, I saw myself—Matt and me arriving in the Ballroom, holding hands, crossing over to our table, stopping to talk to people who reached out to me. Someone had been filming the people arriving! Then there we were again, talking to James Jameson, shaking hands, looking like celebrities.

The music ended, the lights came up and applause broke out around the room. Matt was still holding my hand and looking at me closely. I closed my eyes for a second then looked back and smiled. The new Jane had made it.

I felt euphoric. Hors d’oeuvres were served, smoked salmon on a delicate shredded salad with a creamy mayonnaise sauce. It was delicious and I was hungry. We made small talk around the table and had another round of drinks. Then the dinner buffet was opened, a lavish spread with roast beef, mutton, pork and turkey, and a multitude of side dishes and accoutrements. I stood in the short queue with Matt behind me, waiting to serve myself. He stepped up close behind me, placed his hands on my hips and pulled me back to lean against him. I relaxed against his warmth, both aroused and reassured by his proximity. Between our bodies, hidden from view, his hand edged down to my ass, cupping, kneading, rubbing the soft fabric of my dress over the bare skin beneath.

“It’s killing me, you know,” he rasped, close to my ear. “Making small talk. Acting civilized. When all I want to do is get into you.” His whisper was hardly recognizable, raw with lust, and I responded to his desire as I always did—wanting to please him, appease him, knowing that in slaking his hunger, I would be slaking my own. My pussy clenched around emptiness, moisture throbbing from me.