Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
BANE
I called her that night, smiling when she answered the phone, sounding breathless.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Oh, getting the man out of my apartment. My secret admirer finally made himself known.”
“Not funny, Myers,” I growled. “You had better be joking.”
She giggled. “I was sorting through a trunk, looking for a skirt I thought was in there. But it held mostly my grandmother’s cocktail outfits.” Her voice became soft. “Her wedding dress is in there, plus some photos. I lost track of time looking at them.”
“I see. Like the dress you wore to the awards banquet?”
“Yes, that was one of hers.”
“How about I take you to dinner on the weekend to my favorite place, and you wear another one?”
“Oh. That would be amazing.” She was quiet. “Are you feeling better now?”
I chuckled. “I ate some of your delicious leftovers, Hedgy hasn’t left my shoulder, and I think I came up with a design for Mr. Impossible.”
“Oh, all great pieces of news.”
“He isn’t getting a maze, but I figured out a walled sort of garden with his Zen place in the middle. Again, a much smaller version, but we’ll see if he is happy.”
“Sometimes money doesn’t always help with reality.”
I chuckled. “He would have needed to have no building, only a small maze. He’s building in Toronto, not the countryside. I discovered he’d recently been to England and decided he wanted something he saw at a castle. I hope I can make him see reason.”
“And if you can’t?” she asked.
“Then we agree to disagree, and he hires someone else. There’s always a clause in the contract for me to walk. For the firm to walk, actually.”
“Ah.”
“Will you come home with me tomorrow?”
“I was going to go see my dad.”
“Go do that. Darryl will drive you and will bring you to me when you’re ready. I’ll have dinner brought in.”
“Okay.”
“Good. And you’ll stay the night.”
She paused.
“I didn’t sleep well without you, Maggie darling. Please.”
“I didn’t sleep well without you either.”
“Then stay.”
Still, she hesitated.
“I know this is all new. It is to both of us,” I assured her. “But we’ll figure it out. And let’s face it. I’m a lot nicer when I have a good night’s sleep. Makes it better for everyone.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” she teased.
I had to chuckle. “Yes. Do it for the sake of the office, Myers. Stay with me.”
“Okay, then.”
“Night, Maggie darling.”
“Goodnight, my Alex. Sweet dreams.”
“If you’re in them, they will be.”
I hung up, looking at my empty bed. I hadn’t been lying when I said I didn’t sleep as well without her. The bed felt too big and empty, even with Hedgy purring away in my ear. He missed her too, meowing more and looking around as if searching for her.
I would have to figure out a way of getting her to stay more.
A little voice in my head said the words I didn’t dare speak out loud.
Every night. Forever.
The next night, Magnolia was quiet during dinner. She had, in fact, been quiet all day. Withdrawn. I studied her over the coffee cup rim, a pit of worry in my stomach.
“You said your dad was better tonight?” I asked.
“Yes, he was brighter. Didn’t know me, but we had coffee.”
“Okay. Good.” I reached across the table, taking her hand. “But something is wrong.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You didn’t give me any lip today. No sass of any kind. You barely ate your sandwich. You picked at your dinner, and I got you wonton soup—your favorite.”
She sighed. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Me, you mean?”
She offered me a ghost of a smile. “Shocking, I know, but I have other issues in my life than a grumpy boss.”
“Tell me.”
She took a sip of coffee. “Grant and Lily are moving. He was offered a position in their BC office, and they decided to accept. They’re selling the house, and the new owners want the basement apartment for their daughter.” She set down her mug, her hands shaking a little. “They came down and told me last night after you and I talked on the phone. So I have three months to find a new place.”
“Magnolia,” I murmured, covering her hand. “I’ll?—”
She shook her head. “You’ll do nothing. There is nothing to be done. I knew there was a chance it would happen at some point. I’ll find a place. I’ll have to get a storage locker too since I doubt I’ll get that much room, and I’ll need a place to store the furniture and boxes in the attic. But I’ll be fine. I’m simply coming to terms with it.”
“I’ll help however I can,” I insisted. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Because we are Bane and Myers in the office, not Magnolia and Alex. You were busy, and I was processing.”
“If you have a problem, I’m Alex at any moment,” I said firmly. “You never have to wait if something is upsetting you.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
I leaned forward and kissed her. “Anytime,” I reiterated. “What can I do now?”
“Nothing. Being with you helps.”
“Good. I prefer you smiling.”
She propped up her chin on her palm. “Make me smile, then.”
“The last business trip—” I paused, trying to figure out how to say the words. “When I called you to change my flights. I have never missed anyone before, Magnolia. Never been anxious to come home.” I traced her lips. “Because of you, this place now feels like home. Knowing you were here, waiting for me, meant more than I can express.”
Her eyes glistened.
“And I have never cared about anyone enough to want to take care of their problems. Of them. This is all new to me. You are new to me. How you make me react is new to me.”
“Do you hate it?”
“No. It’s disconcerting. Bewildering at times, yet somehow exhilarating.”
“You say the nicest things when I least expect it, Alex.”
“Did it make you smile?”
“Yes.”
“Then my work is done.”
“Not quite.”
“Oh?” I asked. “What else do you want?”
“Take me to bed. Ravish me.”
It was my turn to smile. I laughed, picking her up. “Your wish, my command.”
A few days later, I walked into the office, glancing at the empty desk. Where was Myers? I wanted to fill her in on how the meeting went with the maze client. I had finally convinced him it was a pipe dream and to look over my designs. After a lot of talking, he agreed what he wanted was impossible, and we were able to find a starting point. Still, the bickering had tired me.
Frowning, I went to my private office, stopping at the sight of a rounded ass sticking up in the air and squirming underneath my desk. It was Myers.
Again.
I approached the desk, kneeling, one hand on the wood, the other twitching to touch that round ass. Stroke it. But we had agreed to keep things professional at work.
Not that wiggling under my desk was professional.
“This again, Myers? What are you doing?” I asked impatiently.
There was a muffled gasp and the sound of her head hitting the wood.
“Ouch.”
I shut my eyes, shaking my head. She tripped everywhere. Fell off her chair. Rolled out of the car once when I opened the door for her, trying to be a gentleman. She’d even missed the bed, trying to jump and not succeeding. It was a wonder she managed to still be alive.
“Myers?” I asked again. “Come out of there.”
“I can’t,” she responded, sounding morose.
“Why the hell not?”
“I’m stuck.”
“ Stuck ,” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“How the hell did you get stuck?”
“I think one of my sleeve buttons is caught on something. When I tried to fix it, my hair got trapped somewhere. I can’t seem to get either loose.”
It was all I could do not to laugh. How she did these things was beyond me.
She wiggled again. “Help, please?”
Unable to resist, I swatted her butt. “Never-ending trouble,” I chastised her. I added another swat for good measure, then rubbed the cheek. That part was for me.
“Coming in,” I told her, ducking under the desk, turning on my flashlight. Given the angle of her body, it was tight and I couldn’t help at all.
“Lie down.”
She grunted and moved, and I slid over her as best I could, first locating the trapped hair. Her clip was lodged between the drawer and the edge, and I managed to tug it off, but it broke as I did.
“Oops, sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I moved my fingers along her arm, finding her hand and feeling for the snag. “Wow, you got this in the carpet good.” I tugged on it, hearing her fast intake of breath.
“Please don’t tear it,” she pleaded. “It’s my favorite.”
I inhaled a deep breath, praying for patience. That was my second mistake. I should have backed out and dragged her out by the feet, torn blouse or not. Inside, trapped in the confines of the small space and pressing into her, I could smell her perfume. Feel her curves under me. My cock liked being this close to her. She moved and I groaned. “Stop.”
I shifted and tugged on the sleeve as gently as I could. It didn’t budge.
“Sorry, Myers. I tried.” I grabbed her wrist and tugged. Hard. I heard the rending of material, and her hand smacked the wood. She cried out, I grunted, and a horrified voice behind me gasped.
“Alexander Donovan Bane. What is going on here?”
“Shit,” I muttered, moving backward as fast as I could. I hit my head, cursing again, crouching, and turning to see my mother standing, her mouth agape, her normally sallow skin flushed a dark red.
“What—what are you doing?” she cried.
I tugged on Myers’s feet, dragging her out. I helped her stand, taking in her disheveled appearance. Her blouse was torn, pulled out from her skirt. Her hair was tumbling over her shoulders, looking as if she’d been in a hurricane. She was flushed, her lipstick smeared. Her breathing was fast.
She looked as if she’d been fucked hard.
I had a feeling I did as well, especially given the fact that I still had an erection, although in the face of my appalled mother, it was rapidly deflating.
She looked between Myers and me, her eyes filled with shock.
“Were you—were you rutting her?” she asked. “Your secretary? Under your desk?”
I opened my mouth to tell her no such thing had occurred. But Myers spoke up, slipping an arm around my waist.
“Yes, he was. He ruts very well.”
The flush left my mother’s face, and she became pale.
“Alexander, explain yourself.”
Suddenly, I was tired of explaining myself. Defending everything I did, every decision I made, to my mother. Nothing was ever going to be right in her eyes. No doubt she had shown up to discuss her latest idea that a wife would help me see reason.
I decided to give her what she wanted.
“Sorry, Mother. I forgot to lock the door. It happens when Maggie Mae here is around. I can’t keep my hands to myself.” I turned, pressing a kiss to Myers’s forehead. “My fiancée smiles, and everything else disappears.”
I wasn’t sure who was more shocked by my words.
Me.
My mother.
Or Myers.
I sat on my chair, hanging my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe what I had done. What I had said.
My mother had spewed out a bunch of garbage about Myers not being good enough for me, and I told her to get out. She had stormed away, and Myers had turned to me, calm and steady.
“I doubt she’ll be paying another visit soon.”
Then she headed down the hall, not even bringing up my word bomb.
I heard her come into the office, shut the door, and the sound of liquid being poured. She leaned on the desk in front of me, running her fingers through my hair.
“Poor Bane,” she murmured.
I grunted, leaning into her softness and letting her tickle the strands of my hair and run her fingers along my neck.
“I brought you coffee and Advil.”
I sat up, taking the pills and coffee, grateful it was black. Now was not the time for cream and foam.
I took a deep swallow, almost choking on the flavor.
“What the hell?” I sputtered.
“Brandy,” she said with a grin. “I thought you needed it.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Warn a guy next time.”
“Like you warned me?”
I grimaced. I deserved that.
“I mean, calling me that?”
“I know?—”
She kept going as if I hadn’t spoken. “You rarely call me anything but Myers in the office. Hearing you say Maggie Mae, I almost swallowed my tongue.”
I gaped at her. That was what surprised her?
Then she winked. “Add in the fiancée part, and I almost expired on the spot.” She shook her head. “What were you thinking, Bane?”
I had to laugh. She was ridiculous.
I pulled her between my legs, burying my head into her warmth. “I wasn’t thinking. I was reacting.” I pinched her ass playfully. “To the ‘he ruts very well’ comment.”
Myers scoffed. “As if we were a couple of farmyard animals.”
“I’m sure, to my mother, we were.”
“She’s one to talk. Pretentious cow.”
And once again, I was laughing. I looked up. Myers was smiling, but she looked troubled.
“Why did you say that?” she asked.
“To shut her up,” I admitted.
“You better hope she keeps it to herself. Otherwise, you will have a lot of explaining and damage control to do.”
“Damage control?”
She shook her head, taking a sip of the brandy-laced coffee and grimacing. “You’ll have to let people know it was a joke. Make sure the partners understand. Not sure how exactly you’ll explain it, but?—”
I stopped her. “What if it’s not a joke?”
She frowned. “Pardon me?”
I took her hand and kissed it. “Marry me, Myers.”