I spent the weekend thinking about Nicola, but I didn’t call her. She made me nervous, and the feelings that came over me made me nervous as well. I wasn’t sure what made me afraid of such a small woman, but there was power in her. She wasn’t just a submissive; she had shown me that she could ask for what she wanted and try her best to take it if she had a mind to.
It was a dangerous combination, and paired with the racing heart that she gave me, it was clear that she was trouble. I started to think that maybe I wasn’t supposed to have her. Nicola gave me feelings that I had never had for another woman, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I was in a new territory that I had never seen.
I was trying not to dwell on it, so I jumped at the chance to get away for a couple of days. Connie called me late Sunday and told me about a deal that I wanted to sit in on. I had to leave that night for the airport, but it was a way to give me more time to think about what I was going to do with Nicola. I had to get the power of my own mind back if I was ever going to have any power and control over her.
The meetings kept my mind occupied, and I didn’t get back to the city until Tuesday afternoon. A lot had happened in my mind, and the time away from Nicola had been the deciding factor. I wanted to see her, so instead of heading up to my office to check on the business, I was instead heading to the kitchen on floor five. I had spent enough time away from her. I had had enough space apart.
When I got to the kitchen, I didn’t smell anything. There was usually some kind of aroma coming from the place, but now it was empty and there was nothing. It looked like it hadn’t even been used that day. Since it was late in the afternoon, I didn’t know why that would be. Maybe Nicola had called in sick. I wouldn’t have been notified – I hardly kept up with every employee – but now I made my way up to the top floor to see if I could find Connie. She knew everything that was going on, so I knew that she would know where Nicola was.
I couldn’t find her there, but she was in my office when I finally came in.
“I heard that you were back. How was your trip?”
Going into business mode, I told her about the deal and what I needed to do to make sure that it all went smoothly. She took notes, efficient as ever, and for a time I forgot what I was going to ask her about. Connie was about to leave when I stopped her with a question.
“Have you seen Nicola around, Connie?”
She turned around slowly. There was something in the way that she looked at me that put my guard up.
“She was let go Monday morning, sir. I must have forgotten to send you an email about it, but she was just a low-tier employee, so I didn’t think to bother you with it.”
I was shocked and more than a little pissed off. Yes, Nicola was not high up on the totem pole, and Connie had the right to fire her, but I was pretty sure that she knew how much I wanted her. She knew that Nicola was more than just a cook. She was something else, and even though I wasn’t sure what exactly Nicola was to me, I certainly wasn’t going to let her get fired. This was my company, after all.
“On what grounds would she have been fired?”
“Her attire was appropriate and she had broken several of the dress code rules. We couldn’t have her walking around like that. I had warned her twice before, but Nicola didn’t seem to care and kept violating the rules. I had to let her go, sir.”
I tightened my jaw, knowing immediately what she was referring to. There was no way that she was talking about her clothes. She was talking about her lack of clothes. It was the clothes that I had told Nicola to forget. I pressed my lips together. I couldn’t really say anything, but I was going to have to figure out a way to make it up to her. I didn’t care about anything but how Nicola was feeling. She must think I was a real jerk, making love to her one minute and then firing her the next workday.
“I did not authorize that, Connie.”
“And you didn’t need to. She was a problem, and I figured that you would want me to take care of it for you. I don’t even want to think about the lawsuit that could have come out of it. It had to be taken care of. People were starting to talk.”
I told her to leave. For once her mouth snapped shut without another word being uttered. I was fuming, and for a moment I even thought of firing Connie. It was what I wanted to do. I didn’t care that she’d been with me for years and had saved my ass more than once. If I lost Nicola because of this, there was no way that she would keep her job. I knew that Connie had something against Nicola, but she had crossed a line.
Dialing Nicola’s number, I waited a few moments before she picked up. “Nicola.”
She heard my voice and hung up a moment later. I stared at the phone for several moments and then set it down. I was feeling a mix of confusion and a little anger. I didn’t know if I should give her a spanking or go beg for her forgiveness. What kind of man wanted to do either?
To be continued…