Page 60 of Pressure

"Thank you for that," Marissa whispered. He turned to find her standing in the aisle.

"Hey, love. You're awake. We should land soon."

She nodded and settled next to him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"You don't have to put me in charge, you know."

"Hush. I need someone on the outside who can be objective. You already proved that I was too close to my own code at Solitaire. I don't trust that not to be the case here. Rich will understand."

"What's the plan when we get there?"

"I need to change into a suit, and I'll be meeting with my client. Kimberly will set you up in an office with whatever tech you want, and you can get to work. Rich and his team will be at your disposal."

Marissa nodded and gave him a slow grin.

"What?" he asked, warily.

"Nothing. I'm just excited about seeing you in a suit again."

He rolled his eyes. His girl always had liked it when he put a suit on. In the early days, he didn't do it often. Then he realized how much it helped his image. Not to mention, it usually got him laid when he got home to her at the end of the day.

God, the thought of coming home to Marissa again? The thought hadn't crossed his mind in years. After their breakup, he'd buried himself in his work before getting involved with Solitaire, where he buried himself in training house subs, always having at least one wearing his bracelet. Some he slept with, others he didn't. It always depended on the sub's limits and desires in the training program.

A car was waiting for him when they landed, and he held Marissa's hand all the way to his office.

"You don't need to go home?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Kimberly went to my place and got me a suit."

"What?" he asked when she scowled.

"Kimberly has a key to your house? Since when?"

He laughed. "Don't be jealous, Riss. It's just for emergencies. She's always had a key."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead when her brows stayed knitted together. "I think it's cute that you're jealous of me."

"I don't. Not one little bit. I hate that I'm like this."

"It's not like you're slashing people's tires over your jealousy, baby. If you were, we would definitely want to address it."

She laughed. "You sound like my god damn therapist."

He shook his head. It still surprised him that she saw a therapist. Before their breakup, he'd suggested couple's counseling as a precursor to their wedding and she had laughed in his face.

"Relax, kitten. Kimberly has worked for me since the beginning and she has a husband and two kids. She also finds BDSM completely unappealing. And those are her words."

That seemed to settle her.

When they reached the building that housed his company, there were still two hours to spare before his client was due to arrive so he stepped into the bathroom in his top floor office and took a quick shower before changing into the dark blue suit with a pale pink shirt his assistant had left hanging in the closet.

Marissa was curled up on his couch when he stepped out, still tying his tie.

"Hey, Kitten. I thought Kimberly was setting you up in an office."

She stood and walked to him, grasping his tie, to straighten it.

"She was. She did. I wanted to catch a glimpse of you in your suit before I got to work though," she said with a grin.

---