*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
By the time Monday rolled around, McKenna was ready to get back into the swing of things. She and the rest of her staff had been instructed by a very insistent Tag to stay away from the Sensations offices until he told them otherwise. He graciously informed her Sunday night that they could all return to work on Monday.
When she first walked through the door, she nearly stumbled in her heels, wondering whether she had accidentally entered the wrong office. So much for just paint, she thought to herself.
Tag had obviously worked magic, and her entire office had been redone. From the walls to the floors and every piece of equipment and furniture. Nothing was the same. That also went for the security guard who now had his own desk in the front lobby area.
Nice touch, Murphy.
By noon, McKenna and Whisper had successfully answered every email they could answer as well as put a couple of fun articles together for later in the week. As much as she continued to worry about the McCoy’s and the issues they were facing, McKenna was trying her best to resume life as normal. At least until they asked for her help.
Based on the conversation with the UC, Chase Reed, she wasn’t so sure they needed her help anymore. From the sound of it, Chase had a bit more dirt on Crawford than Crawford seemed to have on Luke and Logan, which ultimately if presented correctly, would work in their favor. According to Tag, both Luke and Logan were also a bit more optimistic.
As for Susan Toulmin, well, she wasn’t speaking much at the moment. That could’ve been because she was personally introduced to Chase Reed by Stephen Crawford and according to Reed, she had found a new obsession. He assured all of them that he had absolutely no interest. McKenna believed him. She also believed that there was something more to this cop than what they were letting on.
She hadn’t mentioned her suspicions to Tag yet because she was truly trying to see how this would all play out. If it were true and Reed would be able to turn the tables on Crawford, the pictures might just die a sudden, much deserved death, and they could all resume their lives as normal. The only concern was whether Crawford had already released them since he had been so generous and sent them to McKenna. Remembering what she saw still made her sick to her stomach. Not because of what they were doing but because McKenna had no desire ever to see Tag with another woman.
“Hey, boss lady,” Whisper greeted as she cheerfully walked into McKenna’s office without knocking.
“Why are you so happy?” McKenna smiled back at her friend.
“No reason,” Whisper lied.
“I find that very hard to believe. Sit down. Talk to me,” McKenna told her assistant as she pushed her keyboard away and focused solely on the vibrant, glowing woman in her office.
She couldn’t help but remember the last few times she saw Whisper. McKenna was pretty sure there were issues in her life, and she kept hoping her friend would reach out to her, but, unfortunately, McKenna had been wrapped up in her own drama.
“How’s Anna?” McKenna asked, deciding to jump right in with both feet.
“She’s amazing,” Whisper said dreamily.
McKenna smiled and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for Whisper to elaborate. She didn’t. “Well, I could’ve told you that, so you’re going to have to give me more than that.”
Whisper laughed, and her husky, seductive chuckle echoed through the room and probably the rest of the building if she had to guess. Her friend was definitely not anything like her name would suggest.
“I think we both realized exactly what we were doing.”
“And that was?” McKenna felt clueless, and she wondered why Whisper seemed to be talking in circles.
Whisper grinned slyly. “Let’s just say, we have decided not to take for granted what we have anymore. It took us a long time to find each other and in less time than that, we’d somehow managed to start drifting apart. I love her. She is my world, and maybe, just maybe, I took a little “what not to do” from your book.”
McKenna’s eyes widened and then she laughed. Loudly. “What not to do? I know you did not just say that.”
“Yes, boss lady. If nothing else, over the last few weeks, I’ve learned that you’re supposed to go after what you want because you taught me that,” Whisper said, pointing her finger directly at McKenna. “And I also learned that you aren’t supposed to run away from it once you find it. I learned that from your sexy lawyer man.
“Then, most importantly, I learned that if you want something bad enough, it’s worth everything it took to get it. And it’s worth every second invested after because there are some people who are not as blessed to have found it. And you never know how long it might last.”
McKenna sat back in her chair, tapping her pen on her thumb as she regarded her friend’s words of wisdom.
She knew that what Stephen Crawford was doing was ultimately affecting lives. In many ways. Ways he probably wasn’t even aware of. But, she was damn sure he didn’t realize that he had brought a couple back together because of his ignorance and his desire to tear everything apart.
To top it off, Susan Toulmin was bound and determined to ensure she hurt others the way she felt she had been hurt, and though McKenna absolutely didn’t agree with her methods, she could almost understand her logic.
“Well, regardless how this turn of events happened, I’m super thrilled that the two of you are working it out. You’re both amazing women who deserve each other. You complement one another nicely.”
“That we do,” Whisper agreed. “Now, I think I better get outta here. I really do have a date this time.”
“Be careful and have fun.” McKenna watched as Whisper practically skipped out of the room.
Wow. It was crazy how things happened, but when they resulted in a woman who was as happy as Whisper, McKenna didn’t feel the need to question it.
Glancing at her watch, she realized it was just after five, and she had one last thing she needed to get done. Sending off a quick note to Tag, inviting him to her house for dinner, she jumped right into the article she hoped to have out the following day.
By the time she was finished, McKenna was about half an hour late for meeting Tag. She glanced at her cell phone but noticed he hadn’t called, so she figured he got tied up and would probably get there about the same time she did. Shutting down her laptop and dropping it into her bag, McKenna hefted the bag on her shoulder and grabbed her purse.
Walking down the hall, she dug through her purse for her keys and looked up in time to come almost face to face with Stephen Crawford.
“Mr. Crawford,” McKenna said coolly, trying to ignore the painful pounding of her heart against her ribs.
“Ready to do that interview yet?” he asked, sounding eerily calm.
“Interview?” She knew there was no way to get out of this confrontation, so she could only hope if she pretended not to know what he was talking about, it’d give her at least a minute to come up with a plan.
Since she already had her keys in her hand, she couldn’t very well reach back in her purse and grab her handgun because he’d wonder what she was doing and the last thing McKenna wanted was for this to go bad.
“Yeah, you know the interview you’re going to run tomorrow because if you don’t, I’m going to make sure pictures of your boyfriend and that whore, Samantha McCoy, are plastered all over cyberspace.”
The memory of those photos made her stomach churn, but McKenna ignored it. Those were in the past, they didn’t matter anymore.
Tag and Sam mattered though. To McKenna. She cared about what happened to them, and she wasn’t about to let this crazy bastard get away with ruining lives because he was a selfish, greedy asshole.
Shifting her bag on her shoulder, McKenna stared back at Stephen, seeing the crazed look in his eye. She still had a hard time understanding how he could’ve gotten so greedy that he resorted to blackmailing. She wondered whether his father even knew, but then again, if the Crawford’s were working to cover up environmental problems that would ultimately cost them a fortune, she could see how he might.
“What did you have in mind, Mr. Crawford?”
“Please, call me Stephen. It’s not like I haven’t seen you intimately.”
McKenna choked on the bile that threatened to come surging from her throat. She knew exactly what he was referring to, but it made her sick to think of what perverse things he might’ve done while looking at her pictures.
“Those were tastefully done, by the way,” he added. “I would’ve much preferred to see more of your pretty pink pussy, but now that you’re frequenting the club, I figure I might just get my chance.”
“Not in this lifetime,” McKenna bit out, her fury overshadowing any self-preservation she might’ve had.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Stephen said as he lunged toward her.
Before McKenna even knew what happened, Stephen was flying the opposite direction, his arms flailing as he lost his step and went crashing into the wall.
In the next instant, she was in Tag’s arms, and she wasn’t sure whether she was the one shaking or if his rage was vibrating right through his limbs.
~*~*~
Tag didn’t know how McKenna had ended up alone in her office, but the first thing he did after the police escorted Stephen Crawford off of the premises was call Alex. He demanded that the security guard now permanently assigned to Sensations, Inc. be there until everyone went home. And if he had a problem with that, he could find a new job.
The second thing he did was take her home. To her house. She was a little shaken up, but he was pretty sure he was more upset about what happened than she was. Tag had to admit, he was rather impressed with the way she was handling Crawford when he showed up. Had it not been for the phone call he received minutes before from Chase Reed, things could’ve turned out very different.
He suspected Chase would’ve intervened if necessary, but he was still trying not to blow his cover. Since he was now a member of the club, with the same level of membership as Stephen Crawford, he at least could keep tabs on the guy.
Luke or Logan weren’t thrilled with their newest member because according to Logan, they were just layering a problem over a problem. If the other members got word that they had a UC in attendance, Club Destiny might just go to shit faster than if the member list was leaked.
But, it wasn’t like they had much of a choice these days. They could either continue to try and Band-Aid the problem or give up and allow the walls to come crumbling down around them. Fortunately, no one knew that Stephen Crawford had already sent the pictures to McKenna, and if Luke or Logan were to find out, Tag wasn’t sure he’d be able to protect them from themselves.
He might’ve been slow in understanding the reason they would go to any extreme for the one they loved, but since finding McKenna, Tag finally got it. And tonight, his only intention was to hold her close and ensure she knew just how much she meant to him.