Play Me to Infinity (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 3) (4 page)

A week had gone by and my rescheduled trip to Austin was approaching.  Since the restructure, things had gotten out of control and Winthrow, the Vice-President of that particular location, had requested that I hang around for a few days to sort out additional things.  Needless to say, with all the board meetings, I needed some assistance, and I was sure that Winthrow had a hidden agenda somewhere in there, as was the custom.

“Nicole, can you come in here?”  She waltzed in within seconds.  “I’m going to need you with me in Austin,” I said without lifting my head from the paperwork before me.

She fidgeted.  “I can’t!”

“I need you there, Nikki.”  I didn’t hear confirmation or defiance, so I looked up at her.  She looked nervous. “What is it?”

“Nothing… it’s nothing.” She took a deep breath.  “Fine, I’ll go.”

“Good.  I’ll have a car pick you up and meet me at the airport by seven on Monday morning.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, and then I could have sworn I heard her mumble
jackass
as she walked away.  The moniker made me smile.

“And Nikki?” She popped her head through the doorway. “Bring something nice for an evening out while we’re there.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Winthrow took us out somewhere fancy during our stay.”

“Sure.”  She looked far from enthused.

I sat back and watched Nicole return to her desk.  She looked troubled and for some reason, despite my asking her, I knew it was useless to inquire further about her sudden discomfort.

For a week now, since that kiss in the hospital hallway, I had imagined kissing Nicole again.  The taste of her, the feel… it hadn’t been enough.  I wanted to bump into that Dean character all over just so I could have a repeat.

Maybe she’d give in just a little bit more.

Maybe it would be enough to quench my sudden thirst for the complex woman.

To be honest, I was shocked that she hadn’t tried to tear me a new one for the stunt at the hospital.  Hell, I was curious as to why she hadn’t pulled away or denied our fictitious involvement since I repulsed her so much.

Maybe it’s because you don’t?

I walked out of my office and stopped by her desk on my way out for a late lunch.  “Why don’t you take off early today?”

“What?” She looked at me perplexed. “Do you not want me here?  Am I not performing to your satisfaction?”

Heat suffused my face.  “Excuse me?”  My blood simmered.  I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward my office.

“What are you doing?”

Door closed, I got in her face.  “I was giving you the afternoon off because you look like something was on your mind.  You don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.  All of your work is done for the day, and it’s Friday.  People generally enjoy getting an early start to their weekend.  I thought that you’d appreciate the gesture, what with all of the great work you’ve done.  And as for your decreased perception of me, I’d appreciate it if you left that outside of work.  For the record, I’m not who you’ve made me out to be in that thick head of yours.  Get out of my office!”  I sat down at my desk with my head tilted back against the headrest, eyes closed and my hands pulling at my hair.

The door opened and closed with a slam.

I groaned, rubbing my hands down my face in exasperation.

Damn woman!

By Monday, I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in three days; haunted by dreams of a certain PA that indulged me in a few provocative scenarios.  To my chagrin, when the woman met up with me at our terminal gate, she was far from the accommodating woman of my dreams.

Nicole acknowledged me, filled me in on a few changes in my itinerary, and answered with yes’s and no’s unless she had to elaborate on something.  It was clear she was disgruntled.

When she boarded the plane ahead of me, Nicole tensed, making me wonder.

“Have you not flown before?”  She shook her head to indicate the negative.  “Never?”  I had the urge to laugh, but one glimpse at her petrified face as she took her seat had my humor dissipating.  She was sitting by the window and instead of being positioned to look out, she’d shut the partition and turned her body toward the aisle.  “The view on a clear day like today is breathtaking, and here you are looking freaked out.  Do you want to switch seats?”

“I’m fine.”  Her voice croaked.  Despite knowing that she’d have to travel, it was clear to me that she’d forgone the conclusion that travelling would encompass flying to some of our destinations.  To be honest, I didn’t drive anywhere for business; the distances being too great and time was of the essence in my business.

“You know it’s the safest way to travel, right?” I pointed out in an attempt to reassure her.

“Can you just stop talking?”

After a few minutes, the plane started taxying the runway.  Despite her snappy persona, I kept a close eye on my travel companion.  She had gone from tense and uncomfortable to full on panicked.

Nicole’s eyes were a stormy sea green, and her tanned face had shifted to the color of a pale white sheet.  She wasn’t faring well.  So I grabbed her hand and held it.  That got her attention.  I turned to look forward so that she didn’t know that I was watching her.

“Relax,” I whispered.

She tried to pull her hand out, but when the plane jutted forward, gathering speed for take-off, her grip tightened, her manicured nails digging into my palm painfully.  “Oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god!”

“Breathe, you’ll be fine.”

“That’s what they said about all of those flights that have fallen out of the sky.” Her sarcasm was potent.

The cabin began to shake as we encountered a bit of turbulence while the plane gained altitude.

When her other hand clasped the top of our already joined ones, I was quick to reassure her.  “It’s normal.”  Next thing I knew, her eyes were shut tight and tears began to fall.  “Hey, we’re fine.  You’ll be fine.  Just breathe.”  She was practically hyperventilating and the last thing I was looking for was a scene that would freak the passengers out.  “Nikki, look at me.”  She shook her head despite my soft approach.  “Nicole, look at me now!” I demanded on a quiet tone that brokered no argument.  She did it with reluctance.  “Good… you’re okay.”  I cupped her cheek with my free hand.  “Just keep looking at me and breathe.  Don’t you pass out on me!”
I warned, crooking my lip up on one side, but her eyes found no humor in the moment at all.

When the turbulence subsided and we reached maximum altitude, the flight smoothed out.

I got Nicole a few drinks, limiting her to two.  She could use them.  The flight attendant commented that it was early, then relented when she took one assessing look at Nicole’s demeanor.

“Are you okay?” My assistant’s left hand still clutched my right, but had relaxed some.

“Yeah.”  She lifted the window partition and took a quick glance, her face, which had gained some color, ashened.

I patted her hand.  “We’ll get you something for the way back.”

She whimpered.  “I think I might rent a car and drive.”  Her comment lacked her usual sarcasm.

“That would take too long.  It’s a day and a half drive, Nicole.”

She muttered a curse.  “I don’t know if I can do this again.”

“You can.” My thumb traced soothing circles on the top of her hand.  She pulled it away and put it in her lap.  “You’ll get used to it.  The trick is to do it regularly.”

She snorted.  “I’ll take your word for it.”

I turned to face the front and smiled to myself.

She’ll see.

Hands clawing at my sleeve, grabbing – pain is what woke me.

“Something’s wrong!  I feel like we’re falling!” When I looked down, Nicole’s face was pressed into the side of my arm, one hand clutching my hand again and the other, wrapped around my bicep, digging its nails in.  At that point, I was thankful for my suit jacket, because it was the sole barrier that kept her from breaking skin as she dug her claws into me.

“We’re making our descent,” I explained.  “It means we’re getting closer to landing.”

“You mean crashing!” came muffled into my sleeve.  I chuckled.  “It’s not funny!” she whisper-yelled at me.  “We’re going down too fast!”

“This is
normal, Nikki.”  I felt her body quiver against my arm.

With the bit of turbulence we experienced on our final approach, Nicole was glued to me, and had she been able to be unbuckled, I was sure she’d have been on my lap.  Her face was in my neck and the arm she had been holding on to was now wrapped around her shoulders.  Her entire body shook against me, but it was her whimpers that broke my heart.

When the plane had stopped moving, Nicole wasn’t making signs of letting go.

“Nicole,” I said in her ear, “we’re here.”

No response.

“Nikki?”

Nothing.

“Honey, it’s time to get off the plane.”  I ran my hand in the hair at the back of her head.

I felt her take a deep breath and pull away.  “I’m sorry.”  She blushed and the seat-belt
sign flickered off.  Her demeanor changed from one of embarrassment to one of anger or frustration, it was hard to tell.  “Next time, you can have the window seat.  I’m out of here!”  She stood up, almost bumping her head on the overhead storage compartment, and stepped over my legs to make her way down the aisle, leaving her carry-on behind.  I shook my head at her, a smile present on my face.

“You’re welcome!”  I called out to her, taking both our bags out of the overhead storage compartment.

“Jackass!” she cursed, and I ignored the dirty looks that were aimed my way.

“You have to love that love-hate thing she’s got for me.  I’m cute enough to cuddle with on a plane when she’s freaked out, but I’m not good enough for the real world,”
I said to my audience.  I got a few nods and chuckles from some of the men surrounding me, along with sympathetic expressions from other passengers.

We arrived at
WI
’s
Austin offices by hired car, and Nicole had yet to say a word to me since we’d vacated the plane.  She was busy checking email on her phone and I could tell that my itinerary would be filled for the next few
weeks, just by the way the damn thing was buzzing in my jacket pocket.

When the doors opened, she was quick to step out and walk through the building’s front doors, leaving me behind with her bags yet again.

Inside, she stopped at the business boards to check which floor the office was located on and I passed by her saying, “Follow me.”  Soon enough, I heard the clicking of her heels fall in stride beside me.

We came to a stop at the bank of elevators and I motioned for her to precede me when the doors opened.  Up to the top floor we went, and when the doors cleared, we were met with a posh and quiet reception area.

“Mike!” Damien, my head of communications greeted us.  “Winthrow is waiting for us in his office.  Who’s this?”  He swept past me and captured Nicole’s hand.

“Nicole Baxter.  I’m Mike’s
PA.” Her tone held a sharp edge as my name escaped her lips.

“Damien.”  He tried to woo her with a kiss on the top of her hand, but she pulled it out of his grasp before his lips could make contact.

Smile forced, posture stiff, she said, “Nice to meet you.”

Damien looked at me with a questioning look, and I knew he was asking if we were involved.  I shook my head.

“You ready for this?” he asked me.

“Am I ever ready for one of Winthrow’s pitches?”  I sighed.  “Let’s see what he’s got for us this time.”

“No!”
I said with finality. “I’m not risking it, George.  We’ve been over this before.  If it doesn’t work, I stand to lose half the damn company.  I doubt you’re prepared to answer for the loss of livelihood for most of the people in this office, because I’m sure as hell not going to be closing down the Jacksonville location.  We’re still not remotely close to being in the clear from the stunt Dad pulled.”

“Listen, I know it’s a huge risk, but it could pay off, Mike.  You haven’t even taken a look at the research yet.  The numbers prove that if we run this crisis management pitch for Fleishman, the way I know we can, it’ll be the thing to set us back on top.”  Winthrow handed me the bound booklet he’d prepared and I handed it to Nicole without giving it a glance.

“I can’t, George,” I said.

“Wait!” Our heads snapped in Nicole’s direction.  Her head was bent, her nose buried in the opened booklet I had handed her.  “This could work!”  Her gaze met mine.

“Nicole.” I sent her a non-verbal cut-it-out message with my glare.

“No!”  She shocked me with her adamancy.  “I think that George might be right on this.  It might be what we need to propel us further in the industry.  Just look at these graphs.  There’s nothing here that suggests that Fleishman is carrying a trend that’ll
sink us.  If you look closer, it’s quite the opposite.”  She tried to show me, but I ignored them.  “I think Danica should take a look at this and give us her opinion on overall cost and profit, don’t you?”

She was challenging my authority, but she did have a point.  As annoying as it was, she was still not going to get me to concede.

“My answer isn’t going to change.”  I stood up and ran my hands through my hair.  “I’m done discussing this.  We’ve been at this all day, and we haven’t even tackled half the issues on the docket that’s brought me here.  I’m heading to the hotel and expect tomorrow to go as planned.  No more surprises, George.”  I walked to the door and paused.  “Nicole, are you coming?”

I caught her whispering to George, and Damian was stifling a laugh when he noticed the irritation on my face as I overheard the last she’d said.

“Work on me?”  I chortled.  “I’d like to see that.”

“Pipe down, you
baby.”  She walked past me, smirking as she patted my cheek.

George chuckled.  “I like this new assistant of yours, Withers.”

“You like her now because she’s siding with you.  Be ready for tomorrow’s meet with the board.  Goodnight.”

I shut George’s office door and marched toward the elevators.  Nicole had her bag and seemed pleased with herself.  That just served to annoy me further.

“What?” I asked as I noticed her watching me on our ride down.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like a five-year-old pulling a tantrum whenever something doesn’t go your way.”  She laughed.  “Look at you!”

“You shouldn’t have said anything back there.”

“Why not?  I’m a business major!  I may have never run a large corporation, but I sure as hell did well for myself back when I had my business.”  She crossed her arms over her chest with smugness.

“You’re new to
Withers International
and I don’t expect you to know the ins and outs of my company right off the bat.  You have no idea how many times Winthrow’s suggested something similar to this before, and how many times my father took him up on his ideas, only to lose millions on dead-end deals!”  I ended my rant on a growl.  “It’s just like you to judge before knowing all the facts.”

“I don’t need to know all the facts about what Winthrow did or didn’t do before now.  I took a look at a proposal and thought it would be good business.  The facts that were presented were all the facts I needed to give my professional opinion on,” she defended.  “I know what I’m talking about, and Danica will more than agree with my opinion and support George with this Fleishman project.  There are always risks, but you can’t thrive if you’re not willing to take chances, Mike.  You should know that better than anyone.”

“I don’t need your
professional opinion.”  It clicked that she mentioned she’d had a business, so I played into that.  “And what happened to that little business of yours, Nikki?”  I towered over her.  She backed away, landing herself in the corner, looking trapped.

“Well… I-I gave it up.”

I smirked knowingly.  “You flopped.”

“No.”  She couldn’t meet my eyes.

“Really, then why?”

“Because I was tired of it, okay?”  She tried to push me away.  “Back off!”

I didn’t.  I stayed put, staring her down.  There was a lot more to that story of hers, and I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of it.

My tone softened as I leaned closer.  “Why?” I could see that giving her business up hadn’t been a positive move for her.

“I had my reasons.  I don’t want to talk about it.” Her voice shook.  “Now will you please back off?”

This time I did.

But the conversation was far from over.  If she hadn’t run her business into the ground and she loved it so much, why the hell wasn’t she still running it?  And what had it been?

Don’t kid yourself, you want to know a hell of a lot more than that.

Arriving at the hotel, I helped Nicole with her bag and checked us both in.  We had rooms down the hall from one another so I escorted her to her door.

“Have dinner with me tonight,” I blurted out when we stopped at her room.

She got her door open and held it ajar, turning to me.
“I don’t think so.  Office hours are up.  I’m done with you for one day.”

“A simple no would have sufficed.”  I walked away adding a mumbled,
“Ice queen.”

“What was that?”

I turned and marched back to her.

She’d let her door close against her suitcase and there she stood with her hands on her hips, fire brewing in her eyes.

“I called you a fucking ice queen,” I said.  “For someone who’s so smart with business, it amazes me that you can be so damn stupid in your personal life.  You might want to practice what you preach on taking chances.  It applies to everyday life too, honey.”

She stood there like a fish out of water; her mouth opening and closing as if trying to come up with something.

“Don’t call me that!”

“You’re right, honey doesn’t suit you.  You’re more sour and tart than anything sweet.  Other than that, you’re frigid and blind to everyone around you.”

She stood there, looking as if someone had gutted her for a moment.  I felt awful and was on the verge of apologizing for running off at the mouth, when she decided to read me the riot act.

“Don’t you dare stand there and pretend you know me!”  We stood toe-to-toe.  “We may have grown up together, but you have no clue who I am or what I’ve been through since you left.”

“It goes both ways.”

Somehow, in the middle of our argument, I realized how much fun it was to spar with her.  She gave as good as she got, and there was something sexy about the blaze in her eyes and the presence this tiny spitfire could project.

“I suppose you might be right,
but I still maintain my initial opinion about you.”

“Why are you so bitter about that anyway?”  I guessed aloud.  “Bad experience?”

Bingo!

She didn’t answer with words, but the stricken look on her face told me everything I needed to know.  She’d been crossed before, and if I took a guess, her ex was the culprit.

“Something tells me that Dean might have played a part in that.”  Her face darkened and hurt flashed through her eyes.  I took a step toward her and grabbed her chin gently so I could tilt her face up, read her expression in its entirety.  “I’ve got it pegged, don’t I?”

She pulled her face out of my grasp and stepped back.  “You know nothing!”

“No!” I shook my head. “You know nothing.  Just because you’ve made some poor choices with men in the past and they turned out to be total jackasses, doesn’t mean that we’re all the same.  Is it so hard to believe that just because we’re not committed, that we’re capable of being good men?”  Guilt crossed her face and I continued in a gentler fashion.  “Open your eyes, Nikki, there’s a whole world out there!”

“And I suppose that you’re out to sample every last tasty morsel there is?”

The smidgeon of empathy I felt for her dissipated and anger took over.  “If that’s what you’re determined to think, then go ahead,” I said.  “I can see it’s pointless to convince you otherwise and I’m done justifying myself to you.  It wouldn’t matter if I told you I hadn’t been with anyone in a month… two… or three, you still wouldn’t believe me.”

“You’re right.” She huffed, “I don’t!  And newsflash, that’s not a miraculous feat, Michael.”  The click of the locks was heard and next thing I knew, I was face-to-face with her door and a
muffled, “Goodnight!” followed.