We almost missed our flight.

Somehow between the second glass of wine and our third round of sex, we fell asleep without setting an alarm or requesting a wakeup call. It was only because Sara received an alert that I had not checked in for the flight and called to make sure we were okay that we woke up at all.

While I answered the phone and assured her that yes, we were fine and that no, we’d make it to the airport on time, Mia was flying around throwing things haphazardly into suitcases. This was not how I’d planned for the morning to go. Not at all. I looked at her in longing, wishing for ten more minutes in bed, while at the same time, vividly remembering everything we’d done the night before.

“Why are you standing there? Get dressed,” Mia shrieked at me. “The cab will be downstairs in five minutes and if we have any hope at all of making our flight, we have to leave as soon as it gets here, which means we should be already be waiting downstairs.”

“Breathe, Mia.” I grabbed a pair of jeans, knowing I’d have to stop at home to take a shower before heading into the office. Besides, it’d be better for both of us if we didn’t arrive together. “We’ll make our flight.”

She glared at me and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but instead she threw her hair over her shoulder and stomped out. In the second before she turned, I caught a hint of color on her neck and groaned. Fuck. I’d given her a hickey.

I didn’t want to make her any more upset than she already looked, so I threw on a tee shirt and hurriedly gathered everything else, making it into the hallway at the same time she did. We didn’t speak, but thankfully we were alone on the elevator.

“I’m sorry about the…” I pointed to her neck. “I don’t even remember doing that.”

She stared straight ahead. “I’ll find some way to ensure it stays hidden. Makeup. Hair. Something. I doubt I can get away with a scarf or turtleneck in this weather. I’ll have to find something, or else I might as well pin a great red ‘A’ on my shirt and introduce myself as that girl who fucked the boss.”

She sounded angry and I didn’t know how to reply. It made me feel useless.

It was a feeling that didn’t get any better even after we had got to the airport, or after we finally boarded our flight. I wasn't sure what to say. I wasn’t going to apologize for the night before, because I wasn’t sorry at all. Nor would I trivialize it, tell her that it was nothing. Nothing could have been further from the truth. On the other hand, I didn’t want to make it sound like it was some beginning to a long-term romance or anything like that. In the end, I didn’t do anything other than let her stew in her own emotions.

We parted ways at the airport. Before I left to get my car, I told her I would be in the office in a few hours. I didn’t want to dictate when she should get in, but I wanted her to know she didn’t have to check in right away.

However, if I thought the flight home was uncomfortable, as soon as I pulled into my driveway I knew the day wasn’t going to get any better. Piers was waiting in his car for me.

I ignored him as I parked and made my way inside. Of course, he was right behind me. He didn’t take long before getting to the point of his visit.

“Are you an idiot?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I placed my suitcase on the bar in the kitchen, planning to take it upstairs after he left.

“Don't play stupid with me. I’ve known you too long and I can see right through you.”

“Good,” I said. “Do you see me giving you the bird, because I am.”

“Damn it, Tenor. Act like an adult instead of a five-year-old.”

If he only knew what very adult things I had been doing. “What brings you to my house today?” I asked him. “I’ve just returned from Atlanta where I was on a business trip and I’m a bit tired, but have to go by the office for a few hours, so if we could speed this along, I’d appreciate it.”

“Did Mia accompany you to Atlanta?”

I stared at him and tried to figure out exactly what he was doing in my house. Not only that, but how he knew that I was on a business trip with Mia and that we had just returned. It wasn’t like him to stop by unannounced like this. There was something more going on than what I could see. The fact that Piers was involved only made it that much more ominous.

“Yes," I answered his question, looking for any hint to decipher what was really going on. “She did. Although, I don’t understand what concern of yours it is. So before I answer more of your questions, you’re going to answer one of mine. Why are you here?”

He placed his hands on top of the kitchen island and leaned forward. His face was flush and a vein in his neck pounded. I’d rarely seen him in such a state. “You fucked her, didn’t you?”

“I’m not answering you. I don’t see how it’s any of your concern anyway.”

“Oh, you don’t, do you? I told you that if you were going to fuck her you should damn well do it before she became your employee.” He pushed away from the island. “Damn it, Tenor, you never listen, do you? Is it even possible for you to make a decision without involving your dick? I certainly hope her pussy was worth it.”

I took a deep breath and somehow managed not to hit him while doing so. “You’re crossing the line. Watch yourself.” I didn’t like the way he spoke so disrespectful about her and I wouldn’t put up with it for much longer.

“Watch myself? Are you serious? You want me to watch myself? Unfucking believable.”

I wasn’t going to remind him of all the times he screwed around and let his dick do the thinking for him. He would say it wasn’t applicable to this circumstance and he would be right. Still, where did he get off talking like he was Mr. Perfect? I could’ve hit him for that remark about Mia and been totally justified in doing so. But there was that nagging voice that told me there was a hint of truth in what he said.

I hadn’t given any thought to my company or my job or my responsibilities or anything like that the night before. Hell, I’d admitted as much to myself last night. Still, I thought there were something a bit more going on than him being upset I’d slept with Mia. I’d never seen Piers quite as livid before.

“It’s not a big deal,” I told him, though I wasn’t sure if it was him I was truly trying to convince. “Mia’s cool with it. She knows the score. Matter of fact, she told me she’d sign something if I wanted her to.”

Piers ran his fingers through his hair which made it all messed up, sticking this way and that. If I hadn’t been worried before, that would have done it. Piers never had a hair out of place. It didn’t even look like him. “Mother fucking hell. Tell me she didn’t say that.”

I leveled my gaze at him. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on?”

“When you were in Atlanta, did you happen to meet a man by the name of Benjamin Douglas?”

I’d had that sinking feeling things were going to end up being worse than I thought when I walked in the door, never had I ever imagined hearing that name. “How do you know him?”

He didn’t answer my question. Oh no, he had sensed the name Benjamin Douglas meant something to me and like a shark smelling blood, he wanted more. “Did you have a physical altercation with Mr. Benjamin Douglas while you were in Atlanta?”

My face must have revealed the truth before I could verbalize a response. Although I had to give it him, he took no pride in knowing how I’d answer.

“Fucking hell, Tenor,” he said. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Tell me how you know that name.” I pounded my fist on the island.

Realizing he wasn’t getting any additional information without telling me something, he relented. “Mr. Douglas sent me an email this morning. In it he indicated that the night before last, you accosted him while he was on a date with Mia.”

I snorted. “Accosted, my ass. He was assaulting her or getting ready to. However you want to put it, he was in her room, she asked him to leave, and he didn’t, so I took care of it. I threw him out of her room, and yes, I may have been a little rough, but Mia was safe and I’d do it again the same way if I had the chance to do it over. Except I might actually hit him if given the chance.”

Piers nodded as if he’d already heard the story. “Yes, he said that’s the story you’d tell.”

“Of course I would. It’s what happened. What I don’t understand is why he felt the need to send you an email only to say I was physical with him when he was clearly in the wrong.” I didn’t understand one damn thing about this entire conversation other than the fact that it was making me angry and I was about to lose my shit all over Piers.

“The thing is, Douglas claims it wasn’t assault.”

“Horse shit. I was there. I saw it. I heard it.”

But Piers was shaking his head. “According to Douglas, it was consensual non-consent.”

“What?”

“In the kink world it’s when two or more people agree to engage in non-consent play. Some women have rape fantasies. A scene like this would allow her a safe way to explore it.”

“I know what consensual non-consent is, nimwit.”

He held his hands up. “You asked what.”

“As in, what the fuck?” I closed my eyes trying to calm down and make sense of what I’d just been told. I didn’t believe it, not for one second. The memory of the fear in Mia’s eyes and the way her body shook beside mine while we sat on the couch after, was too vivid and real. I opened my eyes and looked at Piers. “I don’t believe it.”

But as much as I didn’t believe it was role play, it was obvious he did. “Douglas said she didn’t tell you because she was embarrassed. Especially after you threw him out. She was afraid of what you’d think of her and that you wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m still not buying it. You don’t get why because you didn’t see her. I did. I was there. It was real.” There was no part of me that could for one fraction of a second think she’d been acting.

“Maybe she’s a really good actress,” he said and before I could tell him no one was that good, he asked, “Have the two of you done any role play? I’m only asking to verify if it’s something she’s into.”

It was one my lips to say ‘no’ when I had a flashback of Mia in the moonlight, her expression playful and her voice full of mischief as she asked, “Come here often?” But surely that didn’t prove anything. “Come on,” I said to him. “Be reasonable for just a minute. Do you know how many people role play? Seriously? If that’s all you have, I can’t believe they let you out of law school.”

Piers wasn’t backing down, not one little bit and the only possible reason as to why hit me with the force of a speeding train. He had more. Fuck.

“Hit me with the rest of it, Piers.” I didn’t want to hear anymore, but whatever it was had been important enough for him to make sure he was here when I arrived. And I had a bad feeling I hadn’t heard the worst of it.

“Let’s go sit down.” Piers motioned toward my kitchen table.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you? How old do you think I am, ninety? Tell me what else you have that is so important and so damning that you had to be waiting for me in my fucking driveway so you could attack me without even giving me a chance to put my suitcase down.” I shouldn’t have been mad at him, but unfortunately, he was the only one present at the moment, so he was the one who had to deal with my wrath.

“Mia told Douglas she knew you wanted to sleep with her and she didn’t know how to get out of it.” He was very calm as he spoke, eerily calm. “If you slept with her last night, I’m fairly certain it was a set up.”

I froze in place. This was what happened when I acted without regard for my career and my company and the name I’d worked so hard to build. All those years of doing the right thing, saying the right thing, and for always standing firm, even when it was hard, all those years could so easily be wiped away with one bad decision. “Did he say what they wanted?” I asked, even though I still couldn’t believe it to be a set up. Maybe if we’d only done it once, but I had her three times. Three.

“He hasn’t made any demands yet, but I’m sure they’ll be coming. He probably wanted to wait for her to get home.” He took a deep breath. “I feel partially responsible. I never should have let you hire her. It was too much. How else could we have expected her to act when she had no other choice but to work for you?”

It made sense when I looked at it from that perspective. I’d taken away her business, her livelihood, shortly after her mother died. For the first time in her life she was alone and I’d done nothing but taken more away from her.

“I did think it was very strange that Benjamin Douglas just happened to show up right as we were checking in.” Had she really faked the excitement when she saw him? Damn, she was an excellent actress, but I was still pissed that I hadn’t been able to see through her. Not to mention, I was embarrassed she might have been faking with me. “What do we do now?”

Piers straightened his jacket. “We aren’t going to do anything. I’m going to take care of this for you.”

“No, I can’t let you do that.” It would be wrong of me to not talk to Mia and hear her side of the story. I owed her that much. No matter how convincing Piers sounded, I needed to see her eyes when I asked her. “Absolutely not.”

“I think this is a mistake,” he said. “You should let me take care of it.”

“It’s a mistake I made. I’ll take care of it.” But not today. Today the memory of the night before was too strong and I feared I wouldn’t be able to be objective. I’d work from home the rest of the day and talk with Mia in the office first thing tomorrow. “I’ll call you in the morning as soon as I talk with her.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going in today?”

“No, I don’t think that would be the wisest thing for me to do.”

“I understand.” He paused for minute and then smiled. “Why don’t you let me take you out to lunch? I feel bad for dropping this on you.”

“No thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I’d be rotten company. And no need to apologize, I know you have my back. I’m grateful to have you on my side.” Even so, I still let out a sigh of relief when he left.

Maybe in the silence of my house I could piece together what happened and locate at what point it went horribly bad.