Kiss Lonely Goodbye (10 page)

“My, oh, my.” Nicole took a deep breath. She put a hand on his chest, then gazed into his eyes. “Maybe I'd better go.”

“No,” he answered. Funny, no warning sirens screamed in his ears after the word slipped out.

“Okay.” She drew his mouth back to hers.

They kissed more, deeper, and their hands roamed until both started to push aside clothing and probe. In concert they lifted her shirt up and over her head. Marcus pressed his lips against her neck. He traced a line of kisses down to the
tempting mounds of her breasts that showed above red lace. Her sigh was the perfect encouragement. His tongue lapped at her brown sugar skin. Music and bells tinkled in the background like a magical sound track to their lovemaking.

“Phone,” she mumbled.

Marcus continued to kiss her body. His fingers tugged at the bra cup that prevented more joy. “Hmm?”

“Your phone is ringing,” Nicole said louder and wiggled free. “Better answer it. Could be important.” She brushed stray tendrils of hair back into place.

“Voice mail was invented for moments like these.” He reached for her.

“We need a reality break anyway.” Nicole inched further away.

He snatched up the cordless phone. “Yeah,” he barked. “Sorry, Jesse. What's up? Okay, I'll meet you tomorrow morning. Bye.”

“Was that Jesse from the office?”

Marcus turned back to her and scowled. Nicole had her shirt back on and tucked into her jeans. “The security system we installed at an art gallery went off. False alarm. Jesse checked it out.”

“I remember. Why are you going in tomorrow?”

“Procedure. We always do a complete system run when something like this happens. Probably nothing.” Marcus wanted to put aside talk of business.

Nicole wore a serious expression. “Funny how stuff keeps happening.”

“Motion sensors can be tricky. If I'm not mistaken, that system is an older model. They're not precise. A spider might have tripped the thing.” Marcus gazed at her. “It's really not worth worrying about.”

“But think about it. Maybe we need to do a real complete performance audit.”

“We can talk about it, sure.” Marcus leaned toward her, one arm stretched along the sofa back. “Tomorrow.”

“Right.” Nicole stood abruptly. “I'll meet y'all at the office.”

“Hey! What about…” Marcus spread his arms out.

Nicole smiled. “Considering the circumstances, going slow is advised.”

“You mean, I'm hired help.” Marcus tilted his head back and stared at her through narrowed lids.

“Marcus, you're hardly what I would call hired help.” Nicole brushed invisible dust from the front of her shirt. “Besides, we should consider all the possible ramifications. We have to think of more than our hormones.”

Her words splashed over Marcus like cold water. The lady wanted to calculate exactly what an affair with him might cost her. Worse still, she was absolutely right. He should have been thinking along those same lines. Instead he'd tumbled headlong into lust. Nicole hadn't lost sight of the gulf between them. In her world his education, achievements, or even money couldn't change the obvious. He didn't have the right family tree.

“I see your point. Sorry, I'm usually more cautious and practical. I shouldn't have presumed.” Marcus stood. He picked up her purse and handed it to her.

“We both kind of got caught up in the moment.” Nicole took it.

“Apparently the moment is over.” Marcus turned away from her. “I'll see you in the morning.”

She caught his arm. “I've got a lot to prove, Marcus. At first being forced to take over Summers Security was a nuisance. I
was sure Daddy or Francine would find a loophole and I'd get out of it. Then being CEO seemed like a fun challenge. But now…I'm ready to grow up and have something of my own.”

Marcus turned slowly to face her as she spoke. Nicole stared at him. He read the plea for understanding and support in her magnetic, sultry eyes. Without hesitating, he placed a hand over hers.

“Well, we'd better get to the business of running Summers Security then. Right, boss lady?” he said quietly.

They gazed at each other in silence for several charged moments. When Nicole broke contact first, he instantly missed her touch. Marcus attempted to get a firm grip on his common sense. Nicole seemed to do the same. She cleared her throat and took a step away from him.

“Right. My first and only dictate to you is to never, ever call me boss lady again.” Nicole wore a lopsided grin, her hands stuck in the pockets of her jeans.

Marcus grinned back. “I'll try to remember. See you around nine tomorrow morning?”

“Sounds good.” Nicole shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, good night.”

“Good night.” Marcus decided not to move. They looked at each other.

“Oh, what the hell!” Nicole marched over, planted a firm kiss on his lips, and then went to the door.

Stunned into a warm daze that felt so good, Marcus kept his eyes closed and savored her flavor. The soft bump of the door closing snapped him back to reality. He stood rooted to the carpet for another ten minutes, trying to sort through what had happened between them.

 

The next day Nicole glanced at the dashboard digital clock. She nudged her car up another five miles above the speed
limit on Interstate 45. “Can't keep Mr. Reed waiting,” she murmured and passed a slow-moving, late-model Buick.

Smiling to herself, she turned up the volume on her compact disc player. The song, a driving beat with provocative lyrics sung by Jill Scott, put her in the right mood to think about last night. Marcus had lit a fire in her that had burned hot for hours afterward. Nicole congratulated herself once more on having had the strength to leave his condo. Yet a tiny prickle of worry kept tugging around the edges of her mind. Who was the hunter and who was the prey? The sensation of his full lips against hers had driven out thoughts of conquest and being in control. She'd have to keep her head on right from now on, she reminded herself.

Nicole arrived at the office twenty minutes past nine despite her efforts to be on time. She parked in her reserved space, turned on the car alarm, and caught the elevator. When she got to her suite, she saw a note on her office door. Marcus's bold signature in black ink spread almost the width of the small sheet of notepaper.

“‘We're in my office. Started without you,'” she read. “Oh, boy. I've been reprimanded already.”

She went inside her office and grabbed her favorite leather-covered notepad. Then she went down the hall. Marcus and Jesse were deep in discussion when she pushed open the half-open door. They were seated at the small round table in a corner of Marcus's office.

“Morning. Sorry I'm late. Catch me up.” Nicole tossed her purse onto a chair and sat down.

“Good morning,” Marcus said in a much too formal tone. He didn't smile or give any sign they were more than boss and employee.

“Let me get you some coffee, ma'am.” Jesse Cooper, thirty-seven and every inch the Southern gentleman, dipped
his head to her. Though he wasn't much older than them, he had the demeanor of a seasoned wise man.

“No, sit. I'll serve myself. And bless whoever brewed a pot.” She smiled at him.

“That would be me,” Marcus said.

When she glanced back at him, he appeared absorbed in a spreadsheet. His stiff posture bothered her. Sure, they couldn't be lovey-dovey in front of Jesse, but he didn't have to act like he had ice in his bikini briefs. Suddenly annoyed, Nicole pursed her lips. Still, she'd play along. He would pay later, she decided.
I've got the moves to melt you, brother.
Cheered by the thought, her steps bounced when she walked over to rejoin them. She took a sip from the mug.

“Okay, now I can think.” She beamed at both men.

Jesse smiled back at her as though pleased at the attention. “I'm like that myself in the morning.”

Marcus continued to wear his white-collar corporate expression. “Here's what we've got. Several security guards seem to be trouble, Tameka being only one example.”

“We don't know she did anything wrong.” Nicole put the coffee mug down on the table.

“No, and the police don't have a lead on the missing merchandise,” Marcus replied.

“I can't get her to return my phone calls.” Jesse rubbed his jaw. “I was just telling Marcus that Officer Blanchard, the policeman on the case, says she's acting strange.”

“So, maybe she knows something.” Nicole nodded to the papers in front of Marcus. “What's that?”

“A report on the guards we've hired.” Marcus pushed it toward her. “I like to keep a record of employee performance. No-shows, customer complaints, and general information. I include their strengths and compliments from customers, too.”

“Hmm. Of the ninety-six guards we hired, fifteen women
came through the Welfare to Work program.” Nicole glanced down the columns with names next to them. “Lots of absences.”

“They have usual stuff for single mothers, sick kids or they can't get a baby-sitter. Sometimes there's the occasional boyfriend problem,” Jesse said.

“Typical drama for those folks.” Nicole shook her head.

“
Those folks
don't have nannies and housekeepers to take up the slack,” Marcus said with a bland expression.

Nicole glanced up at him sharply. “I understand they have special challenges.”

“Yes, they sure do,” he replied.

“I didn't mean to imply a negative generalization.” Nicole wondered at the sudden tension between them.

Jesse glanced from Marcus to Nicole and cleared his throat loudly. “Uh, sometimes they get somebody to cover before they call in.”

“Maybe we can arrange for a corporate discount at a day-care agency. We can offer it to all of the employees.” Nicole made notes. “I'll check on it.”

“Hey, that would be great. We've got single fathers, too. I'm taking care of two grandbabies myself.” Jesse's head bobbed with enthusiasm.

“Might as well take away one more pressure, right?” Nicole continued to write. “Now the alarm that went off.”

“I checked it out. Couldn't find anything. I'll bet it was an insect or something.” Jesse pulled a tattered notepad from his shirt pocket. “I suggested the customer put in a new system. We do it for free, but the monitoring rate increases. She agreed.”

“Good work. We could clean up with a little creativity. Buy some big spiders and get all our customers to upgrade,” Nicole said, careful to keep a straight face.

“Now you're thinking like Mr. Summers,” Jesse joked with a grin.

“Ouch!” Nicole wore a mock frown.

Marcus seemed not to notice their lighthearted exchange. He stared at the screen of his laptop. “Do we have a bigger problem?” he mumbled and hit another key.

“Not from what I can tell,” Jesse said, serious once more. “Tameka really has disappointed me. I gave her a chance. Maybe she knows more about what happened at Mr. Phoung's store, but I'm hoping she doesn't.”

“What exactly went missing?” Nicole looked at Marcus.

“Six cases of cigarettes, ten cases of beer, forty-five bottles of liquor, and five cases of cheese puffs. A few odds and ends of other merchandise, too.” Marcus tapped more keys as he spoke. “Total value close to seven thousand dollars.”

“Somebody is having one hell of a party.” Nicole shook her head.

“If Tameka did it she had help. And whoever took the stuff didn't break in to get it.” Jesse craned his neck to read the list on the computer screen.

“Yeah, she'd need a truck and strong hands to help load the stuff.” Nicole rested both elbows on the table. “Well, it's up to the police.”

“We've got an even bigger problem if our customers start to think we can't provide adequate protection,” Marcus said.

“I don't know what else we can do, though.” Nicole looked at him.

“Find Tameka and get her to take a polygraph. Do another background check on her. We haven't done one since the annual back in—” Marcus broke off. His fingers flew across the keys. “November of last year.”

“A lot can happen in seven months.” Nicole looked at
Jesse. “You know her better than us, Jesse. What do you think?”

The older man's brow furrowed as he considered his answer. “I hate to say it, but something just isn't right.”

“Check her credit report. See if there's anything strange,” Marcus said with a frown.

“I'll do it Monday.” Jesse wore a grave expression as he nodded. “In the meantime, I'm gonna make the rounds of a few nervous customers. Calm the waters, so to speak.”

“Good idea, Jesse.” Nicole sat back against her chair. “Maybe I should help you.”

“Well, uh…” Jesse rubbed his jaw.

“Better let him deal with it for now, Nicole,” Marcus put in. “He's got a relationship with them, for one thing. A call from you might seem like we're in a panic.”

“Which could imply we know the problems go deep.” Nicole considered his words. “Okay, for now. But if we have more problems, they're going to want to hear from the top.”

“I agree,” Marcus replied.

“And I for one will be in a panic,” she added with a grimace.

Jesse stood. “Don't you worry, ma'am. I say you're doing a darn good job so far.” He gave her a thumbs-up sign before he walked out.

“Thanks for the encouragement,” she called after him and sighed.

“That was a nice idea about the day care.” Marcus didn't look at her. Instead he typed rapidly, his fingers moving across the keys.

“One of the companies I worked for briefly had day care as a perk.” Nicole lifted a shoulder. “At least I got something from that job.”

“Briefly?” Marcus glanced at her curiously for a second before looking at the computer screen again.