Beck and Call (6 page)

Keith considered his words. Grant had basically just described what had happened between him and Francine just a few months ago. A luminous supermodel, Francine had become the target of a jealous rival who had seduced Francine’s fiancé—Keith’s older brother Kevin. Delilah and Kevin had then 37

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spread vicious lies about Francine. Unfortunately, most of this had taken place while Grant was on a business trip. He’d reacted swiftly and decisively to protect his woman.

Eyes on the Empire State Building, Keith realized he hadn’t thought beyond establishing the relationship. Shit! What kind of dom did he think he was? He was
always
supposed to focus on the submissive and make sure she was taken care of. He had, but hadn’t gone beyond the physical. Reflecting on Grant’s words, he knew his friend was right.

Serena couldn’t continue as his assistant if they had a public relationship and, if the nature of their sex life came to light, she wouldn’t be able to get a job in the city. And if Kevin found out the nature of their relationship and used it against her, just what the hell
would
Keith do to protect Serena?

“This is why I called you,” he said slowly.

“Should I take this slower?”

“I’m not sure you can. It’s already public. You sent her the rose. You have no other course but to see this through,” Grant said quietly. “Keith, this isn’t about proving you’re a man to your father by creating your own company. Twelve years ago, it was all about you. Now it’s about Serena—the woman you have singled out as your submissive.

Time to man up and face a few harsh realities. You make one wrong move and her life could be destroyed. No
do-overs
.”

“Shit, Grant,” Keith scowled. His mentor couldn’t possibly be hinting at what he thought he was. “I’m not going to do something—”

“Keith, pull your ego out of the equation. Hell, pull your cock out of it. You’re a helluva businessman and a responsible Dom at the club, but I swear to God, your cockiness drives me insane sometimes,” Grant fumed. “Think about Serena, dammit! You owe it to her to have thought 38

Beck And Call

everything
through. It sounds as if you made a good start in protecting both of you.” There was a pause as he let his protégée absorb the compliment. “Now, answer this one very important question. Are you willing to marry her to protect her?”

“Marriage?” Keith whispered. “Grant, you know damn well I don’t want to get married. I can’t put a woman through what my father did to my mother!

My brothers are just as bad. Kevin’s on his third divorce, and Karl’s on his second, plus there’s four broken engagements between the two of them.” He shook his head. “Men in my family don’t do marriage well. That’s why I like Dom/sub relationships.”

“That’s different. You’ve kept all those at the club. And they were started at the club with women who understood what they’re getting into. Serena doesn’t have a clue as to what you are.” There was a noise of frustration over the phone. “Keith, listen to me. Really listen to me. You are no more like your father than I am like mine. Something about Serena resonates with you, otherwise you wouldn’t be risking everything you’ve spent twelve years building. Do you really think your father would do that? Hell, no!”

Slowly, Keith nodded. Okay, this was why he had called Grant. Grant was more a brother to him than Kevin or Karl had ever been.

“I don’t want her hurt the way my mother was.”

“You just answered the question,” Grant approved in a satisfied tone. “You’ll do anything and everything to make sure Serena is safe, protected, and yours.”

Self-doubt wasn’t a familiar feeling for Keith. It made him feel vulnerable and he hated that. He trusted Grant though. Grant was nearly forty and had scoffed at the idea of marrying. Until Francine.

If someone like Grant could marry, and be so damn content and obviously sexually satisfied in that 39

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marriage, then maybe he could.

“You really think I could do something like marriage?”

“Absolutely. Oh, one thing, though.”

“Yeah?”

“I want the first invite to the wedding.”

“If it gets to that point, you got it,” Keith smiled.

No matter what Grant said, he couldn’t imagine proposing to a woman. Him? Married? The words in the same sentence boggled his mind. “You can even be best man.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Just make sure the date isn’t in March. That’s Francine’s due date and she’ll be furious if she can’t be there.”

“You got it,” Keith had to chuckle. Who would have thought that the macho Grant Franklin would be so undone by his wife’s pregnancy? God help him if he ever got to that point! “Thanks, Grant.”

“Anytime.”

40

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A last-minute conference call came up and Serena quickly IM’d Claire and Debbie to delay their gathering. Claire responded that Debbie had convinced her to go to a boxing class to work out some aggression. Relieved on one level, Serena pushed down the desire that the girls would bail so she would be available for the Dominant.

As she and Keith gathered their things after the call, Serena wondered how a man she hadn’t met, and whose name she didn’t even know, could influence her the way the Dominant was. Had she completely lost her mind? Was she that desperate?

Or was she so tired of the status quo that she was willing to do something drastic? She also realized she was thirty and needed to get over her infatuation with Keith. She needed to get on with her life.

The Dominant intrigued her, made her wonder, and it had been a very long time since she’d been stirred like this in any way.

“Ready?” Keith asked, locking his office door.

“Yes,” she nodded, closing the drawer and cradling the vase.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” he offered as they went out to the hall and he locked the hall door to the executive suite.

“I don’t have a car,” she replied, wondering at the chivalrous offer.

“What?” he frowned, glancing at her as he turned the key. “How do you get to work and back home?”

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“Subway,

usually.

Bus,

sometimes,”

she

shrugged. “On really nice days, if we’re not too late, I walk.”

Keith stared at her. Why the hell had he never thought about something so basic? The subway?

Bus? Walking! How far? Good lord, he didn’t have a clue as to where she lived. The address was one thing, but…just how far away did she live?

He glanced at his watch. If she did walk or was delayed, then the box wouldn’t get delivered into her hands. And that was crucial to his plan. He had to make contact and get her preoccupied with what else he might have planned for her. If he took her home, he would also get a better handle on that aspect of her life.

“I’ll take you home,” he said brusquely, taking her elbow and marching her down the hall. “How far away do you live?”

Serena had to practically trot to keep up with him. Who was this man? Her boss wasn’t Jekyll/Hyde, but she didn’t know what to make of these random acts of kindness. He’d never been rude, cruel, or impolite, just impersonal and totally focused on his business. She understood that. She didn’t understand what drove him, but she knew that his total commitment had made the company what it was. She respected that. Since becoming his assistant, she’d seen firsthand the long hours he put in, his dedication and determination to be the best.

He worked hard and demanded the same from his employees. But she’d never heard of him giving someone a ride home.

“Serena?” he asked, pushing the button to summon the elevator. “Where do you live?”

“Oh,” she blinked, pulled out of her reverie.

“About twenty blocks. Just inside Tribeca. It’s a converted brownstone. Actually, three that were combined about ten years ago. I have one of the few 42

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one-bedroom apartments. Claire and Debbie are a few doors down from me.”

“That will make tonight convenient,” he commented as the doors opened. “Or was that cancelled because of our call to Tokyo?”

“Just delayed slightly,” she shook her head.

“Debbie dragged Claire to a boxing class in the hopes that she could take some of her emotion out on the bags.”

Keith nodded.

“I’ve done that a few times myself. Particularly when dealing with hot-tempered, cousin-in-laws-to-be.”

“Any idea of what to say to Penny?” she asked, seizing on the change in conversation.

“Say to her?” he frowned as they reached the basement. He headed to where his car was parked.

He heard her gasp of appreciation at the Mercedes.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you would say something to her about Mark,” she frowned. Had she misunderstood? “About his attitudes toward women.”

“Penny is a grown woman,” he replied, pressing the key remote to unlock and disarm the alarm. He opened her door. “She can make her own decisions.” Serena slid in and sat in shock as he closed the door and walked around. Her boss was back in a huge way. Impersonal and cold, not worried about others. Keith got in and looked at her before starting the car.

“I know you think I should say something to her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. We went over that already.” He backed out and headed for the exit. “By not saying anything…”

“You let her walk into a situation where she could be terribly hurt,” Serena said shortly. The urge to tell him what had happened welled up and she squashed it. With his current attitude, she wasn’t 43

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sure what his reaction would be. That didn’t quell the need to push him to talk to Penny. “Keith, she’s barely twenty-two years old and she has no idea what kind of man Mark really is. You can’t just stand by and let her do something that could ruin her life!”

“How do you know she doesn’t already know this side of Mark?” he asked. “She may have decided this is what she wants out of life.” Pausing at the exit, he glanced at her. “Which way?”

She quickly gave him directions.

“No, I’ve talked to her. He’s the first man she has ever been serious about and she’s in love with the idea of being in love.” Serena shook her head, searching for the words to convince him. “Mark won’t care if he hurts her, and he will because he doesn’t love her the way she needs to be loved. I doubt he knows how to love,” she muttered, glancing out the window, then at him. “I don’t understand how you can say nothing and stand by as she gets hurt. Is that how it works in your family?” She gave him a sad look. “I’m guessing it is. Sounds like a pretty lonely way to live.”

“And how close are you to your family?” he retorted, not liking how close her barbs hit their target. “I don’t remember seeing any flowers from them.”

“I went home a couple weeks ago and my parents had a party for me then,” she told him in a quiet dignified way.

“Your parents are still married to each other?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Still in love?” he pressed.

She hesitated.

“The ‘in’ part varies from time to time,” she admitted. “But the love and commitment have always been there. They still live in the house they bought two years after they got married and where 44

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they raised five children. They’ve had arguments that became yelling matches, but they took their differences and made them work for them.”

“What differences?”

“Mother’s more impulsive and reactive than Father. He plans everything out and refuses to change his mind once he’s decided on something.

Mother is more willing to listen and change her opinion on some things.” Serena bit her bottom lip.

“Some things are harder to talk to Mother about than Father. Mother can be decidedly old-fashioned.”

“About what?”

“Roles for men and women, for one,” she sighed, letting her head rest on the leather. “Women can work, she accepts that, but she doesn’t see it as the best way. Mother sees marriage and family as the best role for women. It’s difficult for her to understand that I am not there yet in my life. My parents have a strict sense of right and wrong. If the line is crossed, you cannot reason through it. Father calls it an excuse of the weak.”

“Sounds like hard people to live with.”

“They lived a hard life. It’s only been the past fifteen years or so that things have gotten easier for them financially. Not that they see it that way. My paternal grandfather was a harsh, hard man because of the Depression, and I think it scarred my father to an extent.”

“The grandfather that died?”

She nodded.

“He had only three sons and eleven grandsons by the time I was born. He called me his special angel,” she smiled softly. “I could talk him into things that no one else could.”

“Did your father resent that?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “When Grandpa got sick three years ago, I talked him into seeing a doctor when he came to visit me. He never left. My father 45

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