Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Raven
I stared at the cell phone ringing on my desk; Ryan Mitchell’s name was displayed across the screen. This was about to become much more real. Ryan was Zander. I always knew he was, but now it could get complicated.
Last night when I ended the call immediately after my fuck up, I went straight to bed.
No work was done, and my day had been all the worse for it.
I’d acted like an immature idiot, and the longer I was awake dwelling on it the more embarrassed I would be.
At the time, a busier day seemed less painful.
Despite the horrifying ending, the phone sex was hotter than any real sex I’d ever had.
I slept like the dead and woke up ready to go at five a.m. When I rolled over and checked my phone, I was worried when I saw I hadn’t gotten a text or anything from Zander.
As the day dragged on, my nerves were out in full force, and the phone call was the culmination.
I could only hope I didn’t get fired, or worse, slapped with a disciplinary action if the CFP board found out I’d had a less than professional encounter with a client.
I didn’t know what I was going to say or which direction this was going to go, but sighing, I picked up the phone and swiped the green icon to accept the call.
“Raven Lovelace.” I guessed it didn’t hurt to be formal. He was technically my client after all.
“Hi, Raven. How was your day?”
His voice swept over me, and the tension instantly left my body. He made me feel so safe and relaxed. Wait, did he just ask me how my day was?
“Um, hi, Mr. Mitchell. It was productive. Yours?” God, I was back to not knowing how to speak like an adult.
“Same,” he mused. “All right, now that the awkwardness is out of the way, let’s address the elephant in the room.”
I laughed nervously at his frankness. “Yeah, I’m a cut to the chase kind of woman.”
He chuckled back. “Really? I pegged you as someone who would beat around the bush and take an extremely long time to make a point.”
I scoffed at his words. So he was funny, too. Dammit.
“Okay, Mr. Sarcasm. Go ahead with what you wanted to say.”
He drew in an audible breath. “Well, it’s clear that you connected the dots and figured out who I am.”
“Yes. It didn’t take me long. You just so happened to call the one financial firm whose owner listens to romance audiobooks. I would know your voice anywhere.” Shit, I didn’t mean to say that.
A sharp intake of breath came through the speaker. “I’m flattered you knew of my work. I’d be interested to know which book is your favorite.” The charm mixed with his seductive tone had to be every woman’s dream.
“I didn’t used to listen to the other stuff though,” I blurted for some godforsaken reason. My cheeks turned red, and I almost groaned.
He laughed. God, his laugh was even sexy. “Maybe not before, but you do now.”
“That's neither here nor there.” Fuck, this was going sideways. I closed my eyes and followed my gut. “Look, Mr. Mitchell. I’m not sure how or why you figured out my account name, and I admit I crossed a line, but I would very much like to keep your business, which I’m assuming is the reason for your call. ”
He was quiet after my rush of words. When he finally spoke, goosebumps festered on my skin.
“I thought I was the one who was supposed to be talking?” he asked, then continued.
“Actually, Raven, I wasn’t calling to discuss my accounts at all.
I was calling to clear some things up before we move forward. ”
My jaw slackened. He…what? “I’m not sure I understand, Mr. Mitchell.”
“Please don’t call me by my last name, Raven. I think we’re past that,” he said through gritted teeth.
My annoyance flared. “Well, what should I call you then? Ryan? Or do you prefer Zander?”
“Depends on the situation, but for the most part, call me Ryan.” Little did he know, I’d probably call him anything he wanted if he asked.
“Fine then, Ryan. What can I help you with?” I didn’t have time for this, whatever this was.
His voice dropped lower and exuded authority. “You can help me by losing the attitude, first of all.”
Despite my irritation, there went the lady bits.
“Take a deep breath, and let your frustration go,” he soothed at my silence.
Fuck, this man knew exactly what he was doing, and frankly, I was tired of resisting. I breathed in and out like he said, making the breaths audible so he heard.
“Better now?”
I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t help it. “Yes. Now, what can I do for you?”
I could hear his smile through the phone. “I have a proposition for you.”
My interest flared, and so did my arousal. “Oh?” I asked.
“I want to continue this, but the reason for my call is to make sure you’re on board and to discuss boundaries. I might not be the best person, but I would never force anything on you,” he admitted.
Confusion swirled in my mind. On board with what? “What is this, exactly?”
“It’s whatever you want it to be, Raven. This is going to sound weird, but don’t think about it too much. I want to play with you, but I need your consent first.”
“Play with me?” I turned my desk chair and stared out the large office windows to the city beyond and realization finally dawned. “Oh…you mean—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. It was suddenly hard to breathe. “I don’t even know what you look like,” I whispered.
“That’s the allure isn’t it? You hear my voice and imagine whatever you want. You’ll see me soon enough, but it’s not about any of that. This goes beyond talking to you. Our virtual situation has been fun, but I want to give you pleasure in ways I think you’ll enjoy. In person, Raven.”
Jesus fucking christ. What was this man doing to me? He had no idea what he was getting himself into. I closed my eyes as a thrill skittered through my body. “Good luck getting around my security cameras.” I smirked. “What exactly am I giving you permission to do?”
He chuckled again. “That’s the surprise, babe. You won’t know how or when, but I could appear at any moment to fuck that sweet pussy of yours. With my fingers, my tongue, or my cock. Maybe all three.”
Heat surged between my legs, my body lighting on fire at his frankness. Never had another person caused this reaction from me, but hearing his delicious voice say these things was a drug I was addicted to. Grasping for any semblance of reason, I sputtered, “But you’re my client. It’s unethical.”
“Then you’re fired,” he said abruptly.
My jaw hit the floor. “What?” I exclaimed. “I thought you just said you weren’t going to move your accounts?”
“I said I wasn’t calling to talk about my accounts, but if that’s your hang up, I’ll move them elsewhere.”
Groaning, I let my head fall back against the desk chair.
He was ruthless and was besting me. But I didn’t care.
I caved, unable to resist him. “Fine. The accounts can stay, but I need some kind of certainty you are agreeable to keep your money here despite whatever this is or becomes. I’ll draft a conflict waiver and put my junior advisor on your file.
” I paused. “And I need proof that you’re safe.
I can provide the same, and no worries about pregnancy. ”
“I figured you might say that. Give me your personal email.”
I rattled it off for him and within seconds I had a document with the proof I requested, and I advised I would send mine when I got home.
“No need. I trust you, Raven. Now, as for the other part, I can sign a document if you like. I don’t really care what you need me to do, just tell me.”
I sighed. “I believe you, I just want to cover all of my bases.” I tapped my fingers on my desk. “I just don’t understand why you’re doing this.”
He took a breath. “Sometimes, we don’t always understand why we want the things we want.”
He hit the nail right on its head, that was for fucking sure. “I see your point.”
“Good. I’ll whisper all the reasons I’m crazy about you in time. Now, tell me, what are your hard limits?”
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I don’t have any,” I said. “Within reason, of course,” I rushed to add.
I heard the air hiss from his lungs. “Even more extreme types of play like primal and BDSM?”
My brain glitched on the last one, and all sorts of thoughts formed in my mind. I dared to hope, but he likely preferred the stereotypical gender roles.
“Raven?” His voice pulled me out of my daze.
“Yes. Anything that doesn’t involve bodily fluids aside from the usual.”
“Fuck, babe. You’re gonna be the end of me. It's supposed to be the other way around, you know.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t play by the rules society tells me to,” I stated.
“Damn, maybe we can just skip all of this and get married.” he mentioned.
“Oh, not a chance, buddy. You promised pleasure, so now you have a job to do.”
His laugh was even sexy. How was that possible? “Don’t worry, babe. I always deliver a great performance,” he said and then the line beeped, signaling the end of the call.
What the fuck had I just agreed to?
I pulled into the parking garage at five the next morning, much earlier than normal.
Parking in my usual spot, I looked around the car in every direction, scanning the stairwells and darkened corners for anything amiss.
Satisfied all was well, I gripped my knife still hidden in my purse and walked to the door to my building.
I didn’t have the creeps so maybe if Ryan was stalking me, he decided to leave me alone after our conversation the night before.
The morning went by smoothly, and I had more than made up for being behind the day prior. I did enough for three people that morning alone, and Mia noticed.
“You’re getting so much done today,” she commented as she was pulling her lunch from the fridge. “Even for you, who always does so much already. Did you have three pots of coffee this morning or something?” she asked.