HIS (A Billionaire Romance Novel) (11 page)

But even then, what about the money? That would surely run out, or at least dwindle enough that it would no longer suit Jackie’s needs. There had to be some ulterior motive, and as the members of the board began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves, I looked out of the corner of my eye at Mitchell Darling who hadn’t moved a muscle.

Tyler, to his credit, was unflinching. He turned to address the board. “Please, allow me to introduce my
ex-
wife, Doctor Jaqueline
Mansfield.
”

She side-eyed him at the slight, but put on a smile nonetheless. “Thank you. I’m afraid I really must interrupt, however. You see, I’ve been informed that this meeting has been called in order to evaluate Tyler’s competency as CEO and president of Cumberland & Cross. As his former psychologist and speech therapist, I feel it is my duty to report what I know for the safety and longevity of this company.”

At this, Tyler raised a brow and my palms began to sweat. This had to be a violation of some ethics code. Patient records, especially juvenile ones, should have been confidential. She could lose her license over this.

And if she pushed any farther, I’d make damn sure she did.

Jackie continued, “Mr. Cross suffers from a severe and crippling anxiety disorder, one triggered by stress. It manifests itself as a need to separate from the rest of the world—as I’m sure you’ve seen him do these past few months.”

The board was listening, their rapt attention fixed on Jackie pacing the room in her red sheath dress. She gleefully took in all of their faces, and I saw her throw an especially long glance Mitchell’s way before she added, “Moreover, it results in a pronounced stutter that even my aggressive efforts at therapy could not completely undo.”

I looked at Tyler. He was fidgeting. The movements were small, but I could tell Jackie was pushing all the right buttons. And if I was right about the kind of predatory narcissist she was, then she was about to push a lot harder.

I needed Tyler to focus on me, on what I could do for him. “Mr. Cross?” I said, and Jackie glared again. “Mr. Cross, perhaps you’d like me to
serve
you some water?”

Slowly, he looked at me. I held his gaze and pressed my lips together, willing him to understand that this was the only way he’d leave this meeting intact.

I watched as realization dawned in his eyes. Then he said, “Yes, Ms. Hartwick. Fetch me a bottle and a glass, won’t you?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, ensuring to put extra emphasis on the title. I set the tablet down and ignored Jackie as she continued. I could hear a little strain in her voice now as I bent over to retrieve a bottle of water and a glass from the mini-fridge against the wall.

“It’s my professional opinion that Mr. Cross would only be harming his recovery if he were to continue in his position here at Cumberland & Cross. Not only that, but the manifestation of his symptoms may further harm the company and its reputation, as it has already done.”

I quickly crossed the room to Tyler and set the glass down in front of him. I unscrewed the cap on the bottle and poured the ice-cold water into the glass until it was full, then held it out to him and looked up into his eyes through my lashes.

“May I serve you in any other way, sir?”

“I think you’ve done enough, Ms. Hartwick,” Mitchell said, but Tyler ignored him.

“You may sit in that chair and continue to take notes, Ms. Hartwick,” he ordered. “And be sure to adhere to the sort of rules and regulations you know I require.”

I knew exactly what he meant. We’d done this before. Now it was just a matter of getting away with it in a room full of men and his snake of an ex-wife.

“Yes, sir,” I said, returning promptly to my seat. Everyone was still so focused on Jackie and her announcement, except for Tyler. He was the only one who saw me as I reached along the side of my skirt with my left hand, and through the fabric began to pull down one side of my panties.

The pulse in his neck quickened, and he looked at Jackie. “I see. Well, perhaps you were unaware that my sabbatical has done wonders for my recovery, Doctor Mansfield.” He cocked his head. “It
is
still ‘Doctor,’ isn’t it? You’re still practicing psychology, I mean.”

For the first time, Jackie hesitated. She looked again to Mitchell, but he offered her no quarter. Then she looked to me, but from her position at the head of the table, I knew she couldn’t see me slowly working my panties down my thighs.

“I was,” she said at last. “Until quite recently.” She tittered. “I assure you, gentlemen, it hasn’t be
that
long. I’m fully aware of Mr. Cross’ unique mental health needs.”

Very subtly, Tyler let his gaze drift to me. Just the tiniest hint of pink lace was jutting out from under my hem. He turned back to Jackie. “I see. And you… what, retired,
Ms.
Mansfield? That seems abnormal, even at
your
age.”

“No, I did not retire,” she snapped. She was starting to lose it. I could see the corners of her eyes crinkle. “But that is not the point.”

“Oh, it absolutely is,” Tyler replied. His voice was cool and smooth like a long drink of iced tea on a summer’s day. “You see, Ms. Mansfield, I have some concerns about your credibility. If you didn’t retire, how did it so happen that you left your practice?”

Mitchell shifted in his chair. For the first time since the meeting had begun, he looked less than pleased with the proceedings. “If she was your doctor, Tyler, and if your symptoms now match what they were then, I think the board has a right to know what they’re in for if they keep you on as president.”

Tyler was silent for a moment, but I heard the distinct “click” of the last piece of the puzzle falling into place for him. I thought the revelation might shake him to his very core, but to my surprise, he seemed to take it in stride.

“Tell them what you lost your license for, Ms. Mansfield,” he said calmly.

Jackie didn’t look like she’d been expecting that. Her fair skin turned positively alabaster and she averted her gaze. “That isn’t what I’m here to discuss.”

Tyler wasn’t having any of it. “Sleeping with a patient,” he said with a wide, toothy smile. “Two, actually. Well, that
I
know of, anyway. I probably wasn’t the first, was I, Jackie? There were others before me—other children you preyed on before we met? I was just convenient—a rich kid with rich parents and no self-esteem. What a winning combination that must have been for you. I’m surprised your eyes didn’t turn into big, cartoon dollar signs the moment you knew.”

“Good Christ,” one of the board members whispered, and for a moment I thought I’d been caught. I hesitated just long enough for Mitchell to look over and see me slipping my panties off my toes.

We locked eyes and I froze. Very slowly, he grinned.

“Mr. Cross,” he said, looking over at Tyler, “perhaps you could explain to us why you’ve been watching your secretary remove her panties for half of this bizarre board meeting?”

All eyes fell on me, and I more than blushed .My face was so red that I was sure it was going to split open and gush molten lava at any second.

But by this time, my panties weren’t in my hand anymore. The board members looked confused. Jackie looked like she didn’t know what to think anymore. Tyler was wearing a smarmy grin. And Mitchell Darling looked
pissed.

He was up out of his seat and heading toward me. He reached me before I could stand. “Get up,” he hissed, grabbing my arm. The tablet slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor. “Where are they? What did you do with them?”

I stared at him, my eyes wide. “Mr. Darling, I—”

“Are they under this chair?” He first scooted it out of the way, then tossed it over on its side. I gasped and backed away, looking appropriately frightened. He whirled on me, his ears reddening. “Where’d you stuff your panties, you little slut?”

“Mitchell!” one of the old men cried, furrowing his white brows in disbelief. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“She’s been fucking him!” Mitchell said, pointing right at me. “I told her to do her job and bring her boss back to work, and she spent the next month sucking his cock instead. How far did you go for half a million, Valerie? Did you let him take your ass?”

I tried not to smile. Mitchell had completely lost it. It seemed even the slickest of men could still crumble under pressure. Instead I blinked at him and twisted my lips in disgust. “Mr. Darling, I would
never…
”

“I saw it!” Jackie suddenly cried. “I was there at Tyler’s home, and I saw her come out of his bedroom!”

“Says the pedophile,” Tyler replied. “Or
ephebophile,
I suppose. I was a teenager when you raped me, after all.”

“
Raped
you?!” Jackie shrieked. Then she laughed. It was hard, cold, and raspy, like she’d never known joy in her entire life. “For God’s sakes, Tyler, you’re a man. Act like one.”

“No.” That one word hushed the entire room as Tyler walked over to her, his hands in his pockets. His eyes were possessed by a stillness I had never seen in him before, a surety I’d never seen
anyone
reflect. He stopped a hair’s breadth away from her and looked down into her widening eyes.

“I was a
child,
” he told her. “A child who needed help. Guidance. An adult who would keep me safe from harm and act as my advocate. A therapist who would treat my stutter as well as the underlying cause. What you did was
exploit
my sickness. You used it for your own gain. You raped me and called it a cure. You faked a pregnancy and used it to secure a marriage. And then you harried my father all the way to his grave to keep the secret, like it was something I should have been ashamed of and not you.”

He moved in an inch further and she drew away, hands clenching. “I’m not ashamed, Jackie,” he said so softly I almost didn’t hear him. “And thanks to your and Mitchell’s idiotic power play here, I never will be again. I suppose you finally did your job. I’m not the anxious little boy you, or anyone else, can prey on anymore.”

And then he looked at me. “Ms. Hartwick, please call security and have them escort both Mr. Darling and Ms. Mansfield from the building. Neither of them are welcome here anymore.”

I nodded dumbly. There was nothing I could say except, “Yes, Mr. Cross.”

I turned and opened the door. Mitchell’s assistant was nearby. “Call security, please,” I asked her, and a few silent minutes later, I watched two officers approach from down the hall.

Jackie said nothing as one of them escorted her out. She didn’t even look at Tyler again, nor at me. Part of me wished she hadn’t gone so quietly. I wanted the opportunity to watch her get thrown out by her hair this time instead of the other way around.

Mitchell, however, wasn’t going down without a fight. He raged at Tyler, spittle flying from the corners of his lips and strands of his previously well-coiffed hair falling loose as he struggled against the security officer’s grip.

“He’s crazy!” he was shouting. His voice was so shrill that it cracked. “Cumberland & Cross deserves better!”

“You’re right,” Tyler said. “It does.” And he watched him go.

I stepped back and out of the way as security dragged Mitchell past. As he got close enough to have touched me, his eyes momentarily dipped to my cleavage and the scalloped edge of my bright pink panties peeking out from under my bra.

His wild eyes widened. “It’s there!” he cried. “Her panties! They’re in her bra! The slut has them in her bra! I saw them!
Look!
”

Nobody did. And as Mitchell glowered at me as he was dragged down the hall, I offered him a wolfish smile in return—a parody of that infuriating grin he’d always flashed at me whenever he knew he had me backed into a corner.

I was just about to leave the room when Tyler stopped me.