Bound by Tinsel (7 page)

“I doubt that.” He licked his lips and she imagined that mouth on her
pussy, that
tongue circling her clit. Wetness seeped into her folds, making them slick with need. “Are you wearing panties?”

No, damn you!
I’m
not, you little
… “Hush. Someone’s going to hear you!”

“Who cares?” This time he was the one who threw his arms out. “We’re two single, consenting adults. I don’t see what the problem is.”

“The problem is I’m here on business.” She hissed out the words, wondering where the staircase was. Could she find it and run down? That way she
wouldn’t
need to wait for the elevator.

“Answer my question.” His soft demand made her groan softly. “Answer me.”

“Why? It’s not
me
you want to hear from, it’s Serendipity.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “She’s the one who gets you off.”

“You’re Serendipity.”

“No, I’m not. When you imagined me as I was talking about sucking your cock, did you imagine a size sixteen court reporter
who
lives in a two bedroom apartment and is addicted to chocolate? Or did you picture a busty, beautiful blond who had lots of hair you could pull while you shoved yourself down her throat?”

“You’re making me hard.”

“Stop it!” She looked
around,
realizing anyone who was around could probably hear her yelling. “You’re not listening to me.
I’m
. Not.
Serendipity.”

He was silent for a moment, and then he stroked his chin, looking up in the air. “Does Serendipity make money off her phone calls?”

“You know she does.”

“Yes, I do.” He fixed a stare on her, one that made her toes tingle. “Does she pay taxes on that income, or do you?”

Her heart dropped to her knees. “Do not argue semantics with me.”

“Answer the question.” When she
didn’t
say anything, he walked to the receptionist’s desk. “Judge, I’d like permission to treat Ms. Nicholas as a hostile witness.” He walked back to her slowly. “Do you, or do you not pay taxes on the money Serendipity earns?”

“Of course I do, but…” There had to be a way out of this. She snapped her fingers. “An actor may play a part, but that doesn’t make him the character he portrays, does it?”

“No, you’re right, it doesn’t. But, was it Serendipity who was telling me her goals, or was that you?”

Damn him! “Stop badgering me as if I’m on the witness stand.”

“Then admit to me that it was more than just phone calls. You felt a connection the same way I did. That’s why when you walked in my office tonight you weren’t shocked to hear me ask about your panties, which, I might add, is a question I never got answered.”

“And you’re not going to.” She stood up straight, pretending she had a book on her head, praying it would help her with poise. “I’m leaving. Don’t call me anymore.”

“You want me as much as I want you. Admit it.”

She stopped in front of the elevator and pushed the down button, keeping her back turned to him.

“Fallon, come into my office so we can talk.”

She laughed before turning toward him.
He’d
moved until they were inches apart. “That’s rich, you want to talk. That’s why you asked me to forget my underwear, so we could talk?”

“Were you wearing
undies
the last time we talked?” He trailed his finger down her arm and her body felt as if it would explode. “Well, were you?”

“This is some…I don’t know, twist of fate. But it
won’t
work. Go back to your office. Jack off, do whatever you want. I’m going home.”

“What’s wrong, you can suck me off over the phone but I’m not good enough for you to do it in person?”

Rage swept through her, replacing the desire that had been there moments before. She pulled her hand back to slap him just as the elevator dinged. Burke clasped her hand and pulled it down, jerking her against his chest. His mouth came down on hers, swallowing her scream of frustration.

His tongue invaded, sliding into her warmth and making the desire that had just fled return, spreading heat to her nipples and clit and making them throb. She allowed herself to relax just a moment, savoring the taste of him, the feel of his hard body pressed against hers. She wrapped her arms around him, wanting to hold him close just this once.

And then the sound of a woman’s voice assaulted her ears.
“You little slut.”

She turned to find Sally standing in the elevator, eyes flashing in angry triumph. “Just wait until Elaine hears about this. You’re going to be unemployed.”

It was like
being called
to the principal’s office. Fallon sat, hands in her lap, looking at Elaine who was behind her desk, rifling through papers. There was a knock at the door and Sally
appeared,
a satisfied smirk on her face.

“Come in,” Elaine said, indicating the seat next to Fallon.

Sally sat and licked her lips as if she were about to enjoy a huge meal. Fallon wanted to reach across and slap the sneer off her face. But she
wouldn’t
give the other woman the satisfaction of knowing she’d been that riled up.

Elaine continued to search through her papers, and then she took a seat. “Well, I see you two have taken your little feud out of the office and embarrassed the firm.

“She really did,” Sally said, shaking her head. “I mean
,
to see her throwing herself at him like that was…”

“I’m not talking about the kiss,” Elaine said, fixing a stare on Sally. “I’ve talked with Burke Gordon, who told me he initiated the contact, not Fallon.”

Fallon’s heart soared at her words. Burke had defended
her?
Had he called her boss, or had Elaine called him to see what had happened? Knowing Elaine’s need for keeping things in house, she was sure that Burke had been the one to dial the phone.

Bless his little soul. She wanted to run from the office, race into his arms and be the one to kiss him. She looked over at Sally. The shocked expression on the other woman’s face made her laugh. She tried, and failed, to keep it low.

“It’s not funny,” Elaine said. “None of this is funny. What you do with your private life is your business, Fallon, but it
shouldn’t
have been done on company time, even if you weren’t the one to start it. And Sally, I have no idea what you were doing at White, Watson and Wilson, but whatever it was, I did not sanction it.”

“But…”

“No buts.” Elaine’s look silenced the other woman. “I warned you both about your dislike for each other, and now it has spread outside company walls. Do you know how embarrassing it was for me to talk with Burke Gordon? When he called, I was sure he would be laughing at me for my employees engaging in a verbal spar in front of him.”

“I’m sorry,” Fallon said, remembering how
she’d
called Sally a witch before Burke stepped in front of her, asking the other woman who she was looking for, and how she’d gotten past the guards.

Sally had hemmed and hawed about how
she’d
been waiting downstairs for Fallon and wanted to see what was taking so long. Fallon had
outed
the lie, and Sally had gotten off a few choice words before Burke politely informed her it was time for her to leave, before he called the guards to escort her from the building.

Fallon had been horribly embarrassed, and
she’d
refused Burke’s offer to come back to his office.
She’d
gone home, her heart hammering as she replayed the night.
He’d
called her home phone at ten and left a message, asking her to call him back.

Instead
she’d taken a long bath, soaking in the hot water and pondering what she would do if she were fired in the morning.
She’d
slept fitfully, and when the phone had rang at seven, she’d known who it was. She was right.

Burke’s deep, calming voice had sang out through the answering machine. “Fallon, please call me back.” He gave her his home and cell numbers and the direct line into his office. “Please, don’t shut me out. Call me back.”

And say what,
she’d
wondered? I enjoyed phone sex with you, but we
don’t
belong together? Best to end it now, before more people found out and things became more entangled.

Elaine’s voice broke into her meanderings. “You’re both suspended for the rest of the week without pay.”

“You can’t do that.” Sally jumped up from her chair. “I was only—”

“You will sit before I make your suspension permanent, do I make myself clear?”

Fallon had never heard her boss so angry before. Sally sat, but not
before
she turned her angry glare on Fallon. The meaning of the look was evident. This is
all your
fault.

“Your suspension starts today and ends next Monday. You are both valued employees, but I will not tolerate any more foolishness. I hope this drives that home. Now, get your bags and leave.
I’ll
see you at eight Monday morning. You can both go now.”

Fallon stood. “Thank you, Elaine. Once again, I’m sorry.”

Sally stormed from the office without saying a word.

Fallon followed, and as she neared her desk, she frowned. There was a long, narrow flower box sitting there, tied in red tinsel.

Sally was banging around her desk, making as much noise as possible. She grabbed her purse and stopped at Fallon’s desk long enough to give her a one-fingered salute before slamming out the door.

“I don’t know what I ever did,” Fallon said, her eyes trained on the box. It was obvious
who
it was from. Did she want to open it in front of everyone?

“She’s always needed someone to hate,” Margaret said from the desk next to hers. “Sally is a very unhappy person.”

There was a silence and Fallon toyed with the tinsel. “Open it,” several voices called out.

She giggled,
then
undid the wrappings, lifting the lid to find a dozen roses, a mixture of white and lavender sitting on a bed of silver tinsel.

“Wow,” Margaret said. “You know what those mean, don’t you? I mean, red’s for love, sure, but white is for weddings, you know, when
you’re
starting something? And lavender is the beginning of love, like falling for someone when you first see
them
.
I’m
so impressed. Who are they from?”

Fallon’s hands shook as she picked up the card. There was an address in Point Loma with
nine p.m.
written beneath it.

Margaret’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s right on the beach. Who are you going to see?”

Fallon wanted to scream that it was Burke Gordon, but then in a few days, when she was back to work, how would she explain that it had probably only been for one night? The reality of it being that Fallon could never live up to the fantasy that Serendipity provided. Why
didn’t
Burke understand that?

She supposed that tonight she would tell him. What would one night hurt? They could enjoy a rousing session between the sheets, and then she could go back to being suspended from her job and talking with customers every night, providing them a fantasy that, for her, would never come true.

Fallon
hadn’t
been sure what to wear. Since
she’d
had the free time, she’d spent it rummaging through her closet, pulling out dresses and pants and sweaters, discarding all of them in a big heap on her bed.

She rarely went out, so she
didn’t
exactly have a lot of fancy clothes. Nothing looked like something she would wear for an outing with Burke Gordon. She finally decided on a full black skirt that she hoped hid her overabundance of hips, and a red blouse made of a nice satiny material.
She’d
put on the one bra she had that opened in front, and worn thigh-high stockings because they made her feel sexy. She hoped Burke thought the same way.

“Looks a little
Christmasy
,” she said to the mirror as she examined her choice.
She’d
gone back and forth about whether she should go or not. There was no future in it, but the chance to have sex with a
guy
like Burke only came around once in life. She needed to grab it while she could.

She’d
cancelled all the evening’s calls, and her supervisor had complained that this was getting to be the norm for her.

“You’re going to lose your regulars,”
she’d
said in a huffy voice. “Does that matter to you?”

No, not right now.
“I’m just not in the mood,” Fallon had replied. “Tell them I’m on vacation, for a week or so. Then I’ll get back to you.”
If I feel like doing this again, which something tells me I might
not.

Sure, the money was nice, but after a wonderful experience with a man like Burke, how would she be able to keep on going?
She would measure each call with her experience with
him,
expect each unknown man to take her as high as he had.