Mercedes didn’t know how she managed to keep from cracking her keyboard right in half when Xander spoke.
She inhaled slowly through her nose and then out through her mouth as she tried to control the anger that snaked its way into her bloodstream and threatened to burn her to a crisp.
The man had balls; she’d give him that.
She could handle a lot of things, such as Xander being an asshole when it came to his business dealings, but she damn sure didn’t do well with anyone telling her what she could or couldn’t do.
“Last I checked, you don’t make my decisions for me,” she told him, grateful she’d managed to hold on to some semblance of calm.
“The hell I don’t,” he bit out.
Mercedes clamped her jaw shut, afraid if she didn’t, it just might hit the floor. Never, in all the time she’d known Xander had he talked to her like that.
The man was clearly delusional.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Mercedes got to her feet and moved around to the front of the desk to where Xander stood. She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her back straight, her chin up as she approached him.
“Excuse me?” She couldn’t go nose to nose with him because he was several inches taller than she was. But she did meet his eyes. “Is there something we need to talk about?” she asked him curtly.
“No,” he bit out. “As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t anything to discuss,” he argued, sounding not at all like the calm, confident man she knew so well.
“Well, I think there is.” Mercedes took one measured step back, not wanting to crane her neck as she argued with this insufferable man. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Me? What the hell is wrong with you? Do you not remember anything that happened last night?”
“Yeah, actually I do,” she answered abruptly. “I remember going to Devotion with you to help you with a demonstration. That’s what that was, right? A demonstration? Nothing more, nothing less? As a favor to you, I was your assistant, if I recall correctly.”
Xander exhaled sharply, but he didn’t look away, the smooth skin on his freshly shaven jaw taut, that telltale vein at his temple giving away his true frustration. “It was more than that and you fucking know it.”
“I don’t know anything of the sort,” she lied.
Yes, Mercedes could classify what happened between them as un-fucking-believable. But it was a fluke. A stroke of luck. Inconvenient timing. Strange alignment of the planets. Call it what you will.
She knew it had never happened to her before, but what Xander didn’t seem to understand was that it would never happen again.
Nev. Er. A. Gain.
“You’re lying,” Xander said, his eyes locked on her. “You know how I know? Because you can’t look me in the eye when you say it, Mercedes.”
Keeping her eyes locked with his, just to prove him wrong, Mercedes argued, “I think you forgot one little detail about last night. It was your idea. You’re the one who needed my help on a demonstration. A demonstration, Xander. Nothing more.”
Xander didn’t say a word in response, so Mercedes continued. “Oh, and get this,” she added sarcastically, recalling the email she’d received just a short while ago. The one that had made her damn near choke on her tongue. “Logan McCoy emailed me a few minutes ago. He wanted to let me know that Sam definitely has an interest in D/s lifestyles.” Mercedes frowned. “Thanks to you and your brilliant plan, he thinks I’ll be a good person for her to chat with. The man thinks I’m a submissive.”
Despite her outrage, Xander’s expression didn’t change. He just stared down at her, his hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed and comfortable as always, even though the tightening of the muscle in his jaw gave him away entirely. She had to admit, he wasn’t usually so easy to read.
“And that’s a bad thing how?”
Mercedes fought the irritation that was eating away at her. “You know good and damn well that I’m not a submissive,” she bit out. “But after your little scene last night, they seem to think I am.”
“Fine. Do you want me to set them straight? I’ll do that. That doesn’t mean you can’t give her information on the subject.”
Mercedes didn’t respond as she continued to glare at him.
Even though they hadn’t talked in depth about what had happened, Mercedes knew there was no way Xander would believe she’d willingly go from being a Domme to his submissive just because he gave her an orgasm.
Hell, it didn’t work that way. She didn’t want to be a sub. Not his or anyone else’s. There might’ve been a time in her life when being passive seemed natural to her. Too bad life had changed her, and she’d soon learned that taking the reins and being in control was the easiest way to get to the top. She’d made it her mission and somewhere along the way she’d built a reputation as an extremely successful entrepreneur, not to mention, as one of the most formidable Mistresses in her circle of friends.
She wasn’t looking for a personality overhaul, thank you very much.
Throughout their friendship, she had reminded Xander that she was the dominating half of her relationships, and she had no interest in switching sides. Not for anyone.
Especially not for him.
Nothing had changed.
She was suddenly compelled to move away from him and to change the subject. Without haste, she went back behind her desk and as gracefully as she could manage slid down into her chair, keeping her eyes on him. She waited for him to sit, which surprisingly he did.
“I need to know what your initial bid for the Milton building is going to be so I can get a contract drawn up,” she told him, morphing into her role as his real estate agent.
Business was probably the only safe subject they could discuss at the moment.
“Get me comps and some information on the company selling and I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll get right on that.” Grabbing her pencil and a notepad, she focused on the task at hand.
Mercedes jotted down the notes, taking more time than necessary, hoping he’d get the hint and head out the same way Shane had.
When she looked back up, she found Xander staring at her, his expression unreadable. “What?” Mercedes asked, her voice soft but insistent. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason,” he grumbled, pushing to his feet.
Mercedes continued to watch him, holding her breath as she waited to see if he’d say something more or just leave her be.
When he turned, making his way toward the door, she couldn’t decide whether she was grateful or disappointed that he’d opted to go.
“Get the comps and come talk to me. I’ll be in my office.”
Mercedes nodded, and Xander turned and left.
~~*~~*~~
Walking away from Mercedes when he wanted nothing more than to address what had happened last night was harder than he thought. But somehow he managed to make his way out of her condo, into the elevator and up to the penthouse without turning around.
Barely.
Once inside, he went straight to his office. It was the only way he’d be able to keep his mind off of the woman who’d single-handedly driven him to distraction.
“Hey.”
The moment he dropped into his chair, Xander looked up to see his assistant, Leah, standing in his doorway.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she told him.
“Just walked in.”
“Everything ok?”
As much as he liked Leah, he definitely wasn’t interested in sharing his personal business with her. She was a sweet girl. Too sweet actually. Why she stuck with him, he had no idea.
Leah Ingram had been his assistant for the last two years. She was young and cute and so damned innocent, it made Xander’s teeth hurt to talk to her sometimes. He was constantly trying to watch what he said to her, afraid he’d offend her sensitive ears.
But the woman was the best damned assistant he’d ever had. She juggled college and work and, from what she’d told him, very little else. She was never late, never asked to leave early and never, ever called in sick.
Strawberry blonde hair, pale brown eyes, a china doll face that looked far younger than her twenty-five years, Leah was the picture of a sweet virgin.
Xander thought she was absolutely adorable, and he genuinely liked her. But she made him nervous because of how fucking innocent she was.
Oh, and the woman had caught Shane’s attention and Xander knew his best friend stayed as far away from Xander’s offices as he possibly could. If Xander thought he was scared to talk to her because he didn’t want to risk slinging a curse word and causing her to crumble, then Shane was downright terrified.
“I’m good. What time’s my next meeting?”
“Eleven-thirty,” she answered instantly. “You’re scheduled to call Malcolm Hirsh.” Even her sweet lilting drawl was cute.
Fan-fucking-tastic. Just what he wanted to do today.
Hirsh was a persistent bastard who’d been driving him batshit crazy for the last three months. Xander owned a piece of property that he’d been sitting on for the last five years or so. He had no intention of doing anything with it just yet, but Hirsh, the owner of the adjacent property was looking to expand his operations. He wanted Xander’s land. But he didn’t want to pay anywhere close to what Xander wanted for it.
“Thanks.” Glancing over at the clock on the wall, Xander noticed it was only ten. He looked back at Leah, who was still standing in his doorway. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”
Her eyebrows darted up into her hairline before she was able to mask her expression. “Are you sure?”
“Very.” At the moment, he had other ideas of how to pass the time, and he didn’t need an audience.
“Ok, then. I’ll… Let me just finish what I was doing and then I’ll go. But I’ll see you tomorrow morning, right?”
“Of course,” he answered, trying to soften his expression. He was thinking too much, and he knew that Leah was sensitive whenever he got into one of his moods. He wasn’t sure why that was, but she shied away from him most of the time.
“Thank you.”
He had no idea what she was thanking him for, but he watched as she disappeared around the corner. He wiggled his mouse to get his screen saver to disappear, and he pulled up his calendar.
“Hey, Leah,” he called out.
“Yes, sir?” she asked, rushing back to his door.
“Clear my calendar for the rest of the day before you go. I’ll take Hirsh’s call, but that’s it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Xander tried to work for the next few minutes, waiting for Leah to leave, but he had a difficult time focusing. Thankfully, his assistant didn’t take long before she was saying good-bye and heading to the door.
Before the front door probably even shut behind her, Xander had picked up his phone and dialed.
“Yes?” Mercedes asked, making the word into two syllables when she answered.
“Meet me in my conference room in ten minutes. Bring the comps with you.” Xander didn’t wait for a response; he hung up the phone and then took a deep breath.
It was now or never.