Page 8 of The Dom

“I know.” I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “I haven’t forgotten about it, but you shouldn’t count on getting it back in time to use any of the information on it.”

His expression said he was just as annoyed by the loss as I was, but he didn’t comment on it. We both knew that if I hadn’t fired Ashlee in the first place, the missing flash drive wouldn’t matter much because she would have the information on her computer. Hell, if I’d just held off on having her computer wiped or had talked to Stu before I’d done it, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Talking about it wouldn’t do any good, though. It was done and over with. Now, we just had to deal with it as it was.

After a pause, he added, “I’m glad she’s coming back. She’s a great worker and an even better person.”

Didn’t I know it?

I agreed with what he was saying, and I also heard what he wasn’t saying. That I had a lot to lose if I screwed this up. Another thing I agreed with him about.

I kept my answer simple. “Yes, she is.”

He didn’t say anything else as he left, and I let out a breath of relief. One step down. Now, I just had to wait for Ashlee to arrive. I’d told her not to come in early because I hadn’t wanted to rush things with Stu, but since I’d known Ashlee wouldn’t want to walk past everyone, I’d told her to come during the already-scheduled meeting Finley was holding in a few minutes.

Every couple months or so, he liked to gather everyone and get an idea of how things were going within the company. Fortunately for me, that was today, and it wasn’t unusual for me not to attend.

I turned my attention to my email and listened to the hum of noise from the floor as my employees arrived. An hour passed, and everyone moved to the big conference room on the floor below. My ability to focus dissolved as my attention kept wandering to the time. She’d be here soon.

By the time she knocked on my door, my nerves were stretched thin, and I kept tapping my finger on the desk. The moment I heard her, I was out of my chair and crossing the short distance between us.

I crushed her against me as my mouth descended on hers. She clutched at me, and I groaned, needing her closer, needing more of her. I forgot where we were, why she was actually here. All that mattered was that I had her in my arms, the taste of her in my mouth.

Then she pushed at my chest, and I immediately took a step back. Awareness rushed over me like a cold wave. Shit. I needed to use my head where she was concerned. The last thing I needed was someone seeing us and coming to all sorts of conclusions, wrong or right. Still, it had felt damn good to kiss her again.

“Sorry about that.” I surprised myself with an apology. “I’m glad to see you, that’s all.”

“I’m glad too,” she said shyly. Her gaze dropped to the floor.

“But it’s probably not a good idea to do that again here.” I stepped even farther back and forced myself to switch to business mode. We had personal things we needed to talk about, but work had to come first. “Have a seat.”

Once we were on opposite sides of the desk, it became easier to focus. After we got this stuff out of the way, the awkwardness that still stretched between us would go away, and the best way to do that was to dive right in and get to it.

“I checked your desk this morning when I first came in, but the flash drive wasn’t there.” I winced at how harsh that sounded. I quickly clarified, “I don’t think you’re lying about it being there. It’s just not there anymore.”

Her eyes widened. “Do you think someone took it?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “It’s possible. I’m hoping one of the IT guys picked it up when they were wiping your computer.”

“And if they don’t have it?”

“Let me worry about that,” I said. “You did everything you were supposed to. I was the one who fucked up. If I’d followed the protocols I’d put into place, I would have the drive, and nothing on the computer would’ve been erased in the first place.”

I didn’t add that if I’d had the drive, I probably wouldn’t have gone after her in the first place, and I’d be here, with the information, but without her. Even though I knew the reason I’d gone after her had been more personal than business, I’d needed the business side of it to give me a kick in the ass. Without it, I would’ve given myself every excuse to stay away.

“It’s a strange situation all the way around,” she said.

“That’s one word for it.” I picked up the papers I’d had Stu look over a short time ago. “And to keep with the strange theme, I have an idea about how to make things work with us.”

I slid the papers over to her, but she didn’t take them. Instead, she said, “Please tell me this isn’t some sort of Dom / sub contract.”

I chuckled. “No. This is purely business.”

She held up a hand. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to work here now that we’re involved.”

“That’s exactly the point of this.” I gestured to the papers. “You won’t need to look for another job, but you won’t be working under me either.”

I tried to ignore the little thrill that went through me at the phrase under me, but it was impossible not to remember what it had felt like to have her stretched out, body arching up to meet mine, pussy tightening around me. Dammit. This was why we needed a line between work and pleasure.

“I want you to work as a freelance contractor hired by Stu for the A&R department. I imagine most of your duties will remain the same, but Stu won’t just be your direct supervisor. He’ll be your boss, the only one you’ll be answering to. I won’t have any authority over you at all.”

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