Tiger in Her Bed Revised Kindle (2 page)

If she got fired today, that meant she had to kiss the project goodbye. Her blood, sweat and tears. That game was her baby.

Just thinking about it made her want to cry.

Vanessa blinked back her tears and pushed the stairwell door open. The fifth floor of the building was manned by a hag named Mary, the floor secretary—probably the oldest of the employees at Animatrica. Rumor said she was in her fifties.

And today, Mary greeted her with a dark scowl usually saved for the unfortunate souls who had to go to the fifth floor to deal with one of the managers.

Vanessa motioned toward Quinn’s office. “I was told His Lordship wanted me.”

Mary wasn’t amused by her joke. She gave her the iciest stare before she flicked her wrist, telling her to “go.”

Vanessa wheeled around and exhaled deep before knocking on Quinn’s office door. It was ajar.

“Come in,” a deep, mellifluous,
basso profondo
kind of voice replied.

Vanessa had forgotten to breathe for a moment. “You wanted to see me, Quinn?” He insisted that he remain on a first name basis with all his employees.

He lifted his gaze from his computer screen. His expression was bland, and betrayed nothing. “Please close the door behind you.”

Vanessa winced inwardly.
Argh
. Not a good sign. Quinn was an advocate of transparency. He rarely told his employees to close the door of his office. Unless he fired people. Jesus. Her heart dropped into her guts. This was it. She was done for. Her fate had been sealed. She braced herself for the forthcoming unpleasantness. She promised herself she wouldn’t cry afterward. Because nothing was more degrading than crying at work after losing a job. Of course, she had never been fired before, but there was the first time for everything.

She closed the door with a soft click.

Quinn waved at the empty chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat, Vanessa.”

Like a rusty robot too frightened to squeak, she slowly planted herself in the aforementioned chair. She nervously scanned her surroundings, taking it all in.  It seemed Quinn had prepared for her termination. There was usually no extra chair by his desk. He received his guests in the library or the private conference room.

Vanessa forced herself to look at him, facing him eye to eye. She wondered if apologizing or begging him to let her keep her job would do her any good at this point. Unlike his uncle, Quinn wasn’t easily swayed by theatrics. If a madman pointed a gun at his head and forced him to admit the color of his blood was blue, Quinn would still say red, even if it cost him his dear life.

Quinn was a man of principle.

A filtered stream of light from the window panes bounced on his chiseled features. Vanessa resented the fact that some people were blessed with everything. He was smart, wealthy, and great looking.  Maybe great looking was an understatement. He was drop-dead gorgeous.

Rumor had it that Quinn had some Latino blood in his Anglo line, making him rather exotic. Quinn’s skin was caramel but his eyes were vivid green. His hair was the color of deep amber. The girls in the office often fawned over his emerald eyes or the lustrous shade of his hair. A few confessed they were dying to lick him, to see if he tasted as good as he looked.

Vanessa never understood such dumb obsessions. But then again, she wasn’t like other girls. She didn’t like to waste her time on things that could be explained with simple logic.

Quinn cut his gaze from the laptop. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. “How are you this morning?” He sounded almost nice.

Too friendly, in fact.

Vanessa cringed inwardly. Was he trying to soften the blow before royally sacking her? “This is it then. Are you going to fire me?”

Surprisingly, Quinn looked amused. “Sometimes I forget you’re not like the others. You never beat around the bush. That’s a quality I like in you, Vanessa. So I’ll be frank. I called you in today regarding the incident at the New Year’s Eve party.”

Vanessa swallowed hard.
Here we go.
The invisible knot in her throat made her almost choke. “I… I only can say that I’m deeply sorry. There’s no excuse for what I did. I’m deeply ashamed for my bad judgment.”

Quinn stilled. He tapped his fingers on the glossy surface of his desk. “You’re ashamed of kissing me? Hmm. Somehow my pride is wounded. Here I thought I was a prize catch.”

“I’m sure you are, but that’s hardly relevant in this case, isn’t it?” Vanessa thought hard for a moment. “Can I, at least, be allowed to resign instead? My past performance has been exemplary.  If I resign …” Her words trailed away. She was hoping to keep her resume squeaky clean.

Quinn stared straight into her eyes. “This job is important to you, isn’t it?”

“This job is my everything.”

Her boss relaxed. His ghostly smile lingered. He waved her off. “I’m not going to fire you for our little… ahem… indiscretion. The company rewards or punishes employees based on his or her work performance. You have been a great asset to us, especially during development of
The Northmen Saga
. I would never dream of letting you go over something so trivial.”

Vanessa could not believe what she heard. “So, you’re not going to fire me? I get to keep my job?”

“Yes, Vanessa, you get to keep your job.”

The weight on her shoulders suddenly lifted. She couldn’t believe this turn of events. She kept her job. Kept her pet project. She was having a hard time containing her grin.  She’d jump around and dance if she weren’t in Quinn’s office right now. She couldn’t wait to tell Stephen.

“Thank you. I’m so relieved. I better get back to my work.” Vanessa started to rise from her seat.

“Sit down. We haven’t finished.”

She paused. “We haven’t?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Oh.” She sank her butt back in the chair.

“The reason I called you is that we have a problem that needs to be addressed quickly.”

“What kind of problem?”

Quinn took his phone and swiped his finger across the screen. After a few scrolls, he showed her. Vanessa craned her neck over Quinn’s desk, watching what appeared to be a YouTube video.

She widened her eyes, and couldn’t believe what she saw.

Someone had secretly taped Quinn kissing her at the New Year’s Eve party. She was giggling merrily in it, draping herself over Quinn’s arm as he led her from the restroom. She said something to him and Quinn suddenly pushed her against the wall and kissed the life out her.

Blood drained from her face. She wanted to disappear from where she was sitting, if she could. She covered her face with her hands, unable to look at Quinn any longer.

Unable to face her boss.

“It did happen, didn’t it?” she said in a small voice. “I thought it was a dream.”

“It did happen.” Quinn sounded rather annoyed.

Was he mad about this? But he was the one who kissed her. How was that her fault?

“I’m so sorry,” she said automatically, placing her hands on her lap.

“Well?”

“It won’t happen again.”

Quinn narrowed his eyes. “You have to take responsibility for this.”

“Ah yes, of course. Wait… you make me sound like I got you pregnant or something,” Vanessa blurted. “You’re the one who kissed me.”

He looked as if about to laugh but covered it with a frown instead. “This video has become viral. The problem is, my mom happened to see it. Then, my uncle. My brothers. Practically my entire family. And my mom, God bless her heart, has been bugging me about grandkids since I hit thirty-three. What a pain she is. Anyway, my phone has been ringing off the hook since she saw this video. She wants to meet you.”

Vanessa sat ramrod straight in her chair. “Why? I’m not your girlfriend.”

“I told her you are.”

“Why on earth did you do that?”

“To keep her off my back. You have no idea how persuasive she can be.”

“That’s sneaky.”

Quinn placed his phone next to his laptop. “We have a family get-together this weekend in Aspen. Mom expects me to bring you.”

Vanessa opened and closed her mouth. She shook her head. “No, no, no. Leave me out of this. You’re the one who lied to your mother. I won’t be a part of your charade.”

Quinn tsked. “That’s too bad. I already told her you’d come.”

“No way. I’m terrible at lying. I won’t go.”

One of his eyebrows arched. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

Crap.
“Are you going to fire me if I refuse?”

He shrugged. “It’s very tempting. I
do
have the power, after all.”

“You’re not being fair.”

“I
did
ask you to take responsibility for this.”

Vanessa threw him a dirty look. “Do I have a choice?”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll pick you up Saturday morning. Six o’clock at your home. I have reserved two tickets to Denver.”

Argh.
This wasn’t happening. “You didn’t even ask if I have a boyfriend befo—”

“You don’t have one.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m your boss, aren’t I? Naturally, I know a lot of things about my employees.”

Vanessa was defeated. She couldn’t find a way out of this situation. Lord Demon had her exactly where he wanted. “Fine. But as soon as the weekend get-together is over, you have to tell your mom we’re breaking up.”

In response, Quinn only offered a smile. Whoa. He smiled. Hell was freezing over.

A predatory, triumphant smile.

Chapter Two

She insisted he pick her up at the end of the block for some unfathomable reason, and Quinn agreed to do so. He turned the car engine on the moment he spotted her walking to the bend of the sidewalk. Vanessa looked haphazard, like always: windblown hair, fresh face, rosy cheeks, and the fashion sense of a thirteen-year-old boy. All those attributes should put off a sensible man like him. But no. He was wildly attracted to her.

Correction: the moment he laid eyes on her, he was crazy for her. And what amazed him was, after all this time, she was completely oblivious to the signals he’d sent. Vanessa Lyle might be a genius at work, but in real life social interactions, she was absolutely dense. She lived in her own world, but at times, she’d amazed him with her sincerity.

She intrigued him. She was a puzzle he wanted to solve.

Quinn had never met anyone like her.

And he wanted her… badly.

He powered down the window to let her know he was here. She grinned and padded to his car. For the three-day weekend he had planned, she only carried a backpack. Ever so practical. Typical of her. He’d known some women who would’ve brought three suitcases, not to mention a purse, makeup trunk, and all the rest.

“Did you wait long?” she asked.

“About ten minutes.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, my gorgeous roommate would love to take my place and she’s free this weekend. Unlike me, she’s good at lying. I haven’t told her, but I’m sure she won’t—”

“Get in!” His voice was harsher than he intended. He didn’t care. He was tired of chasing her with subtle signs. She wouldn’t recognize seduction if it hit her straight in the face. This time, he would stake his claim in a way she’d never misunderstand.

Vanessa looked deflated. “All right, all right. Geez.” She motioned to him to open the trunk.

She put her backpack in, then climbed into the passenger seat. “Nice ride.” She took off her parka and put on the seatbelt. Quinn read the slogan on her t-shirt and swallowed his grin.

It said:
Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.

Her sense of humor never failed to amuse him. Vanessa never cared about her appearance. While the girls at the office were always dolled up, she was the only one who dressed in what she found most comfortable. Shirts with sarcastic remarks. Baggy cargo pants. And she seemed to be the only female immune to his charms.

Quinn knew he was pleasant-looking and many women fawned over him. Vanessa seemed to be the only one who was not interested in him. Yet, somehow, it wounded his pride a bit. He got used to the attention lavished on him by the opposite sex. He wished Vanessa would look at him in a different way. Her aloofness made him want her even more.

Also, the tiger inside him became excited when she was within his reach. Quinn had a hard time controlling the urge to shift. His cock stirred in his pants when he caught a whiff of her scent. She had just taken a shower. Her hair was slightly damp. The aroma of strawberry and citrus from the shampoo wafted his direction. Vanessa never wore perfume. She rarely put on lipstick. Even then, she was beautiful. Quinn never liked women who painted their faces excessively. The natural beauty of a woman should never be concealed under layers of thick makeup.

“You changed shampoo?” he asked.

Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“I’ve got a good sense of smell.”

“Wow. I ran out mine so I stole my roommate’s. Why? Does it smell weird?”

“No. I like it. You ready?”

“I guess.”

He glanced at her before he slowly drove the car onto the street.

Vanessa was a natural redhead. Her hair was long which she always tamed in a ponytail or simple braid. She usually wore unfashionable thick glasses as if she deliberately wanted to repel attention from the opposite sex. But not today. He’d seen her without her glasses before, when she broke her frames and had to wear contacts. She had big, brown eyes with sinfully lush lashes. It complemented her pale, alabaster skin. Her nose was pert and she had cupid bow luscious lips. Lips that begged to be kissed.

“What happened to your glasses?” he asked.

“I tripped and broke them yesterday. So I’m wearing contacts.”

“You tripped? Where?”

“When I was walking home. Some neighbor’s dog chased me because I forgot I had a ham sandwich in my pocket. It was my lunch.”

He had a hard time controlling his expression. Never a dull moment with Vanessa.

“Quinn,” she began, “the people at the office knew about the video.”