Submitting to the Boss (5 page)

“Holt’s in a meeting,” Ruby snapped, feeling
the delicious warmth from her session with Holt drain right out of
her. “It’s a lengthy one. You should have made an appointment.”

Jessica tipped her head slightly because Holt
had an open door policy to all West Coast employees. “I stopped by
during lunch, but he didn’t answer when I knocked, and you weren’t
here”—she raised an eyebrow—“or I
would
have made an
appointment.”

“It was
lunchtime
,” Ruby emphasized,
remembering exactly what she’d been doing during that knock. A
thrill—part tactile memory, bigger part victory—traveled straight
down to her center. After the way little Miss Perfect Fucking
Muffet had been carrying on with Clay, this was like having a big
one-up on the woman.

She flipped over to Holt’s calendar. “Hmm,”
she said as if his planner wasn’t empty for the rest of the
afternoon. “He can see you...next Wednesday.” All right, it was
petty, but Jessica Murphy brought out the worst in her. Everything
that happened with Clay was all that woman’s fault. If she’d kept
her nose out of Ruby’s business...

“This can’t wait until Wednesday.”
Exasperation edged Jessica’s voice, but she remained polite.

Too bad. Ruby was suddenly in the mood for a
knock-down drag-out fight. “It’s the best I can do.”

Jessica opened her mouth, then closed it as
if she’d thought better of what she’d been about to say.

Ruby used the opportunity to drive in a nail.
“Since you’re here, I feel it’s my duty to warn you.”

Jessica visibly straightened, her jaw
tightening, her expression turning guarded. “I don’t need any
warnings from you.”

“Probably not, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t
make sure you understand how fickle Clay can be.”

Jessica’s face flushed. “I’m not—”

Ruby didn’t let her finish. “He’ll turn on
you at the drop of a hat.”

Lips set in a prim line, Jessica said, “Not
if we both follow the rules.”

Ruby gave her an oh-you-poor-poor-woman look.
“Do you really think a relationship should be based on rules and
the subsequent punishment when they get broken? That doesn’t sound
right to me.”

There were all sorts of pithy replies Jessica
could make to that one because, of course, Ruby’s relationship with
Clay hadn’t involved love and it was all about rules. Its demise
had been all about punishment when she’d broken them. But Jessica
didn’t know how to fight back. Her lips moved slightly as if she
was planning what to say, but nothing made it past them.

Truthfully, Ruby was right. Clay had given
her a couple of rules, but he’d allowed her to break them. In fact,
he’d loved it, making for some very hot interludes. So how was she
supposed to know which rules to break and which to keep? It was
almost altruistic to point that out to Jessica. Wasn’t it?

“Jessica, I’m glad you dropped by.” Holt
reentered the office after his quick trip to Manufacturing. Ruby
didn’t feel the slightest guilt about making up that
lengthy
meeting he’d supposedly gone to.

“Clay told me about the new job,” Holt went
on, totally oblivious to the tension in the atmosphere. “It’s West
Coast’s loss, but I completely understand the choice you and Clay
had to make.”

A new job? Little Miss Muffet was leaving?
Ruby’s pulse was suddenly pounding.

“We didn’t want there to be any appearance of
impropriety,” Jessica said softly. “But I’ve negotiated a
three-week notice with my new employer, and I wanted to assure you
that I’ll pass on my critical issues to Greg Stevens before I go,
and I’ll also update all my procedures.”

“That’s very generous.” Holt put his hand to
her elbow. “Why don’t we talk in my office?” Ushering her in, he
gave Ruby his parting shot. “Hold my calls until we’re done.”

The door closed, and Ruby sat stunned. Her
fingers felt numb. Jessica Murphy was leaving West Coast. She’d
been in line for controller, reporting to Clay, but together they’d
decided that being his direct subordinate constituted
impropriety
, meaning they would be in a position to
manipulate the books and cover up embezzlement. Not that it would
ever enter Clay’s mind to do such a thing.

Ruby damn well knew how much Jessica Murphy
had wanted to be controller. Yet here she was giving up her job in
order to be with Clay.

Ruby’s chest ached. She’d never considered
giving up anything for a man. When a man demanded a huge sacrifice,
it meant he wanted you to prove something to him. Ruby didn’t
believe a woman should ever have to prove anything. He either
accepted her the way she was or...she left. Yet a niggling part of
her asked if maybe she’d never cared enough to give up
anything.

What if Clay had wanted her to be monogamous?
Would she have done that for him?

It was an unanswerable question. Clay had
wanted exactly what she’d wanted. He’d adored that she loved
playing the field and loved to run home to tell him all about
it.

Good Lord. A worse thought struck. Was Clay
going to give up
his
kinky ways? Because she certainly
couldn’t see Jessica Murphy as a more-than-one-man woman. She was
too vanilla. That was the thing Clay had wanted out of his
relationship with Ruby, a woman who would play into his fantasies.
Yet he wanted Jessica Murphy enough to give it all up?

Ruby felt sick. All the glorious empowerment
she’d felt with Holt swirled around the drain before it was sucked
down completely.

Clay loved Jessica. Ruby had been nothing
more than a friend with benefits.

In the last ten years, no man—except Bradley
Palmer and he didn’t count—had wanted a real relationship with
her.

She’d told herself she wanted to play the
field, didn’t like to be held down, that she needed her freedom,
but she suddenly realized that for most men she was also easily
disposable.

* * * * *

Holt found Ruby to be uncharacteristically
quiet most of the afternoon. She’d done her work, tackled his
questions, answered his phone, but she’d been pensive. It hadn’t
been their lunchtime encounter; it began with Jessica Murphy’s
visit in his office.

She’d dropped by to tell him she’d given her
resignation to Clay, with a three-week notice. Of course, Clay had
told him it was coming. Clay was already rearranging duties; he’d
promoted Greg Stevens to controller and hired an accounting
placement service to search for both a new Accounting manager and a
Finance manager. His department certainly had its work cut out for
it over the next few months, but true love had won.

Holt had considered himself long past the
notion of true love. He’d married his high school sweetheart, and
she’d gotten pregnant on the honeymoon. Everyone believed the baby
had been on its way a couple of months earlier, but the truth was
they hadn’t planned to be parents at all. Maria wanted to be a
lawyer, and he’d mapped out a business career. The culprit in
changing their course had been the antibiotics Maria was taking for
an ear infection. Her doctor hadn’t warned her the medication could
render the pill ineffective. Cassandra was born exactly nine months
later, and they’d somehow worked out a schedule between night and
day classes to both take care of the baby and attend university.
He’d graduated with his MBA, though later than he’d planned and a
lot of it done in night school. The problem? He’d spent more time
with his books, his business career, and his daughter than he had
with his wife. Once she’d made it through law school and passed the
bar, they were strangers. And she’d found a lover. The divorce had
been uncomplicated, they had dual custody, and he could afford a
part-time nanny. He’d also realized that he didn’t miss Maria or
marriage; the best thing to come out it was his daughter
Cassandra.

He’d never married again, and he’d found
there were plenty of willing partners who didn’t require a
commitment. Only occasionally had he thought of those brilliant
days of young love, the complete madness and desire. Clay and
Jessica made him remember the joy. They also made him wonder if he
was missing something special.
Ruby
made him wonder if he
was missing that something special with her.

He rolled his chair back from the desk and
called out to her. “Ruby.”

She appeared in the doorway. “What?” Her tone
wasn’t surly, simply distracted.

She could be vain and selfish, but she also
had many qualities he admired. Ruby worked hard, she was efficient,
and she was loyal, always making his needs her first priority. When
she turned on the charm for a business associate, they became putty
in her hands, male or female alike. Not only was she smart, she
made him laugh. Ruby was like a five-pound box of chocolates, with
some absolutely mouthwatering offerings on top—and a few that made
you wince—but each new layer revealed brand new delights.

He could have acted like a normal man and
asked her out, but issuing orders to Ruby was a hell of a lot more
fun. “It’s three o’clock,” he told her.

She gave him a look. “I know how to tell
time.”

“Take the rest of the afternoon off and buy
some new clothes that meet my requirements.”

He’d thought the offer would erase the
pensive expression, but her gaze was still distant as she said,
“I’ve got work to do.”

He laughed. Ruby’s favorite pastime was
shopping. “I don’t believe I actually have to make this an
order.”

She pressed her lips into a flat line. “I
don’t have room in that miniscule hotel closet for any new
clothes.”

“Then get busy finding an apartment.” It was
a practical solution, but he had a feeling that Ruby was staying at
the hotel just to make Clay pay for it.

“I
am
looking,” she said, her teeth
gritted.

He wondered when she was doing that. “I’m
making an executive decision. We’re taking the afternoon off to go
shopping.”

Ruby was not a woman whose jaw often dropped
in shock, but it did so now. She stared at him. “You can’t take me
shopping.”

“Why not?” Standing, he walked around her
when she didn’t move out of his way, and grabbed his suit jacket
off the rack by the door.

“It’s only three o’clock.”

“I’m the CEO, and I can leave early if I
choose.” He stepped close enough to run a finger along her chin. “I
can also give my admin the afternoon off as well.”

Ruby didn’t let up. “But what will everyone
say?”

“Since when do you care?”

Her throat muscles worked as she swallowed.
She looked at him a long moment, her lips pressed together. “All
right, fine. But I’m not driving with you. I’ll meet you at the
mall.”

Holt resisted a smile at the small victory.
He was looking forward to pampering a woman. The last time had been
his daughter on her twenty-first birthday, when he’d taken her car
shopping.

With Ruby, the word
pamper
offered a
whole new layer of delights.

Chapter Six

In general, men hated shopping. But Holt had
never been like other men; he’d never been like other bosses. He
was a law unto himself, and he’d actually picked out the ensembles
he wanted her to wear at work. Now he was lounging on a seat in the
outer dressing room, which was equipped with several comfortable
chairs, coffee service, and several magazines, including
Fortune
500
and
The Economist
. After the first dress she’d
modeled for him, other women began to solicit his comments. Holt
was that way, charming, putting people at ease, flattering yet
diplomatic, pointing out styles that would work better.

“Those lounging pants don’t do your pretty
legs justice,” he told a woman who’d chosen a pair of balloon
pants, like something a harem eunuch would wear. The crotch hung
past her knees and made her calves look the size of an elephant’s.
“Try those Capri pants on the next rack,” Holt suggested. “They’re
perfect for you.”

He must have learned all the style names from
his daughter, who was an L.A. designer. And damn if Holt wasn’t
right. In the baby blue Capris, the woman’s elephantine calves
became almost attractive. He had an amazing sense of fashion,
though why Ruby should have been surprised was beyond her since he
always looked downright yummy in his executive wear. Ruby found
herself wanting his approval as well.

She pivoted before him on her high heels.

“Perfect,” he said in a voice on the edge of
husky.

He’d chosen a black pencil skirt that hit her
midcalf, with a slit along the line of her left knee and stretching
halfway up her thigh. He’d had the salesclerk bring in a package of
black silk thigh-highs. The skirt’s matching jacket was fitted to
accentuate Ruby’s hourglass figure, with a delicate filigree design
in cream braid and a neckline that barely dipped into her
cleavage.

Everything was covered—even the thigh-high
slit wasn’t as revealing as one of her regular work skirts—yet his
gaze was like a lick across her bare flesh, and the glint in his
eye was a like a whisper:
Fuck me now
.

Ruby shivered with anticipation. What was
there about him that suddenly held her captive? She’d worked for
him almost four years, so what was up with this big shift? Was it
only because he’d started showing interest in her?

Whatever. She was enjoying the interlude. It
took the sting out of Clay’s defection. In her present mood, she
could go so far as to feel just a tiny bit happy that he’d found a
good thing, even if it was with Little Miss Muffet. Now that
Jessica was leaving, Ruby wouldn’t have to see her giddy face.
Those thoughts and more had occupied her afternoon. Then Holt had
shocked the hell out of her with this shopping expedition. Shopping
had been anathema to Clay, except when he was helping her pick out
lingerie for a date. In the beginning, he’d liked to dress her for
another man. It started his motor running before she even left the
house. But that level of involvement had been over long ago.