Continental Life (13 page)

The conversation ended with Amelie
trying to give her reassurances and kind words and relationship wisdom, but they did little to ease her worry.
Why wouldn’t Xander set a date?
Every time she brought it up, he patted her on the head like a good little pet and moved the conversation along.

There was no time to think about this. Glancing at her watch, she was shocked that
it was past noon and she still hadn’t heard from Xander. Swallowing her pride, she took the leap and contacted him first.

MsDarcy: When can I expect your call?

XP: I’m so
sorry, Princess. Work is a nightmare. A merger we should’ve been finalizing paperwork on is on the verge of falling through.

X
P: This damned temp doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing to get things under control.

XP: I’m on my own here. I can’t talk.

Bella was hit with inspiration.

MsDarcy: Please allow me to help. I’m just down the street.

Not a minute later her phone rang. “
The DDTC was very specific about not seeing each other… … but…” he sounded frustrated and the sounds of frantic voices in the background could be heard. “God damn it.”

“
Let me help you. The DDTC will just have to make an exception.”

There was a long pause and Bella could hear the shuffling of his phone from hand to hand. “I need you,” he said softly.

Bella’s pulse pounded loudly in her ears. God, how she loved hearing those words from the strongest man she knew.

“I’
ll be right there, Sir.”

***

Bella’s smooth and composed voice immediately put things into perspective for Xander and the panic that was rioting through his veins ceased. She was the calm to his storm, the angel that pacified his demons, and she held the key to his inner peace. Without further delay, he began doing what needed to be done on his end, leaving the temp to deal with the minor details, knowing that Bella would come to his rescue at any moment.

Not fifteen
minutes later, Bella’s unruffled voice could be heard outside his office, delegating her graceful authority and directing the frantic temp. He glanced out of his open office door to see her radiant blue eyes and kind smile pointing in the direction of the printer as she softly spoke some command.

It was as if no time had passed since she was emplo
yed by him as she fell into their old routine. Moving quickly, she organized all the paperwork and contracts, made calls to have the other executive officers present themselves for an emergency meeting, and in less than an hour, the mess that seemed nearly an impossible undertaking was under control.

He had hoped to see her face in the conference room, but the temp was told to politely do her job and once guided by Bella, seemed to finally understand her role.

Six long hours later and with a hoarse voice, Xander came out of the conference meeting, exhausted. He scanned his office but Bella had since gone. Or so he thought. Just as he sank into his office chair, his private bathroom door opened and out stepped a glorious sight for his overworked eyes.

“Look what I found in your closet,” she beamed, twirling around in the long blue velvet dress that he never had the heart to get rid of.

“I remember the first time I dressed you in that,” he grinned.

“I do to. And every time you dressed me. I miss that.”

“You have no idea how much I miss that, too, Princess.”

Gliding over to him, he pulled her into his lap and buried
his face in her cleavage, inhaling her unique scent. “Thank you,” he breathed against her warm, fragranced skin.

“For what?” she asked curiously.

Didn’t she know? Didn’t she have a clue how much her presence meant to him?
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he ghosted his lips over hers before answering. “For taking care of me today. We almost lost that account, but because of you…”

Her fingers pressed against his mouth. “Hush, Sir. You don’t ever need to thank me for doing what I
love. I’m always here if you need me.”

He chuckled.
“Even when you have that fancy doctorate degree behind your name?”

She lifted her head high to look down at him.
“Although I’ll be
very
important and these chores will be below my social status… and despite the significant pay grade decrease…” she lifted her nose higher. “Absolutely. After all, a girl can’t forget where she can from or her menial roots. She has to remember the little people…” she continued to joke as his laughter began to bubble out of him.

“The little people, huh? They’re j
ust chopped liver, now?”

“I prefer veal,” she flashed her pearly whites.

“But of course, Madam. Only the best for my Princess.”

She tossed her head back and the
genuine sound of jubilation slipped past her full lips. “It was so much fun today,” she let out another short laugh.

He huffed in disbelief. “Fun? Are you mad, W
oman? That was hell.”

“One man’s hell is another’s heaven, Sir. A wise man once told me that.”

“He sounds like an idiot to me.”

“Don’t you dare talk about the love of my life like
that,” she reprimanded playfully.

“That’s fine, b
ut you need to have a talk with him. He sounds like a pretentious snob.”

“
Oh, he is, but I still love him,” she nodded in agreement.

Like lightning,
he lifted her off his lap and had her bent over his desk, hiking up her skirt around her waist to deliver a swat to her ass.

“Xander!” she shrieked, “No! Wait… I was only kidding,” she giggled.

“No Xander here, only the pretentious snob who’s going to wallop that perfectly round ass of yours.” Without delay, Bella pushed her ass out to accept his playful gesture and the palm of his hand came down onto her bare flesh, making his cock harden. Just when she let her guard down, he gave her one more on the other cheek, making her screech loudly.

“What was that for?” she rubbed her cheek as she peeked over her shoulder.

“For good measure. And to remind you that I’m the boss. Now turn around and spread those legs for me. I haven’t eaten in days.”

*

With Bella tucked into his arms, Xander momentarily forgot why he had denied her the previous night. The moment was too serene to disturb, but along with the taste of her pussy still on his lips, the hurt she had caused him was still lingering and biting at his resolve.

He touched the tip of her nose and fingered her chin, tipping her head back. “It’s time to talk.”

She nodded in agreement, but sorrow filled her eyes and her body stiffened.

“Why do you question my honor, Bella? Haven’t I proven to you time-and-time again that I would never…”

Sitting up, her eyes widened and became glassy. “Yes, Xander, you have. I’m so sorry. I was just frightened at what I was seeing and… and you said in your lecture that things never get easy and that we have to face our fears… and that….” she cut him off with a rambling jumble of half-statements.

Pressing his finger over her mouth, he hushed her. “Let me finish. I don’t want any excuses. Everyone was frightened. Even me.
How could you think that I’m the kind of man who wouldn’t help Ms. Breslin? There are protocols, Bella. Rules are set into place for circumstances like that. If I had stepped in, Dalberg would’ve been made to look like the bad guy when he wasn’t. And yes, this will always take effort on both our parts, but this isn’t the first time you’ve doubted me. Not even the second. Is it?”

Swallowing loudly, she stared at her hands and shook her head. When she did, his heart sank to new depths.
How long had she been doubting him? Months?
Years?

Without making eye contact, she sniffed and asked,
“Did you listen to the song?”

He hadn’t had the time. By the time he got her message, the shit storm at work was in full swing. “No.”

“May I clean myself up and change while you do, please?”

Slightly off put, he agreed even though she was
avoiding answering his question. She never did like being faced with overly emotional confrontations, hence, her not speaking with her parents about their relationship.

When she disappeared into the bathroom, he
cued the song and synced it to his office stereo. Once the music began, he turned the volume up to listen to the lyrics that Bella thought were telling of their situation.

Only half-way through the song, he felt the need to seek her out. It was a
revealing song about her feelings. Yes, she was only human. Just like him. He never expected perfection out of her.
Is that how she really felt?
Perfection was unrealistic and demanding such a thing could be soul crushing. All he wanted was for her to do the best she could for him; like he was doing for her.
Didn’t she know that?

With a heavy heart, he went into the bathroom to find her sitting on the lidded toilet stool and dabbing the corners of her eyes with tissue paper. Kneeling in front of her, he pressed his forehead against hers.

“Are we okay?” she asked tearfully.

“
Has there ever been a time when we weren’t?”

Leaning
back, she looked confounded, but her mood lightened. “No, Sir. I guess not.”

The moment the
y were sharing was stolen and they lingered in the office, not wanting their evening to end just yet. It would be another two weeks before they could have physical contact again, but Bella couldn’t believe three weeks had passed so quickly and they were at the half-way point in the program.

Drinking the martini Xander made her, she remembered the letter
but before she could reach her purse, his voice from across the room stopped her.

“I need to tell you something that happened last night.”

Turning, she faced him and seated herself on the couch near the door while he remained on the chaise lounge.

“You missed me?” she flirted.

“That goes without saying, but that’s every minute spent away from you.”

“I’m glad to hear that you pine for me when we’re apart.”

The corners of his lips turned upward. “I pine, while you whine.”

“I don’t whine.
Ever.
I’m a lady of immense style and class,” she said obnoxiously and a little too loudly as she flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder.

He laughed in his war
m, throaty, sexy way. He liked it when she pretended to be arrogant or raised her voice when joking around as he did it so rarely. Having been denied the sound of his laughter and smile for the first two years they were together, she could never get enough of them.

Xander’s smile faded and an expression of distress washed over him, draining the color from his cheeks. “I don’t want to upset you and this is probably a shitty time to tell you this, but I need you to know…”

Her happiness dissipated as well at the look on his face. “What is it?” she straightened up, her curiosity piqued.

“I saw Svetlana last night.”

The way with which he casually blurted it out caught Bella off guard. It was the last thing she expected to hear coming from him.
The very last.

“
She
sought
you
out?”

Or was it the other way around?

He bristled and his eyes narrowed as a low, deep sigh escaped his mouth.
Oh, hell.
She didn’t mean for her tone to be accusatory.
Or did she?
Right away she attempted to backtrack. “Please disregard that question. What did she want?”

Xander sat staring at her as he contemplated her request. The irritation flickering
at the back of his eyes was hard to miss. Here they had just made up and already she was doing the thing that brought all this on –
doubting his honor.
Rising from his chair, he pushed it back brusquely and moved to the bank of windows, crossing his arms over his chest.

“She saw us on Monday and as
sumed I was with another woman,” he grumbled.

Bella huffed under her breath. “So what if you had been?” she
suddenly blared.

Glancing over his shoulder, he lifted his brows at her in surprise.

“What the hell is it her business?”

Xander’s eyes flicked over her body, but he said nothing. He didn’t have to. Bella knew exactly why Svetlana was making it her business. “So she’s back in our lives then because the DDTC demanded we be apart.”

He pivoted on one foot to face her and opened his mouth in rebuttal. “She’s
not
back in our lives. I set her straight about that.”

“
Sure
. That woman doesn’t know the meaning of the word
no.
” She stood and walked to his desk. “I want to know everything she told you, Xander.
Everything
.”

His lips pressed thin and his stare turned glacial.
“Are you asking me or telling me?”

Really?
He was going to pull that card on her right now when she was so pissed off? She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she tried to remain calm in this nearly impossible situation.
Why did he always have to be the Master of the conversation?

“Please, Xander,” she forced herself to ask politely.

Tightening his arms over his chest, he gave her questioning look. “What’s the point of knowing all the ugly details? She made a pass and I deflected it.”

“
The point is: I want to know because I hate secrets between us. I’ve never kept any from you. If the same situation had happened to me with an ex-lover, you’d want to know too, wouldn’t you?” she pleaded.

Xander’s
stance widened, his arms dropped to his sides as his hands fisted and his normally sparkling eyes darkened as an unfamiliar expression passed over his face.

“If the same
thing had happened to you with an ex-lover, I’d be at his doorstep causing irreparable damage to his face,” he growled.

Bel
la couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She didn’t know Xander to be a violent man. Headstrong and protective, most definitely, but not prone to engaging in physical altercations. The sudden manifestation of possessiveness in his eyes sent a shock wave of arousal through her. Before she could throw herself at his feet and beg to be ravaged, he began spilling the beans and telling her all the disgusting and nasty things that bitch said to him. Each word he spoke only infuriated her more and more.

Feeling light-headed, she sat in the chair across from his desk and leaned her head back.

“You don’t look well,” Xander said as he came over and knelt next to her.

“What else did she say,” she cut right to the chase when she suspected he was holding
something back.

He shook his head.

“Tell me. I
need
to know.”

He let out a long slow breath,
“She said I needed elegance, not efficiency,” and gave her a pained expression as if he hated himself for having told her.

So Bella’s worst fe
ars were founded after all. Bella
was
just a secretary in Svetlana’s woman’s eyes; someone
less than
Xander, CEO, billionaire; someone less than
her
.
Fuck that bitch.

*

The start of week five had a different feel to it, but Bella couldn’t put her finger on what it was. She knew the instructors were planning something big, but she had no idea what it could be. She, too, had big plans of her own.

Dres
sed in her best light pink, tasteful Isabel Marant ordys silk organza dress, she slipped on her black Giuseppe Zanzottie cutout ankle booties and called a cab to take her to her destination. She suspected the rendezvous she had planned would leave her emotionally wrecked and she didn’t want the hassle of trying to fight the San Francisco midday traffic.

The drive to the 4P Marketing firm building was excruciating. The ruffled hem of her dress became her focus as she fingered it endlessly trying to formulate the words to say and convincing herself that
she would not resort to violence. Her phone chirped, making her jump.

XP: Shall I send lunch over to you? What are you in the mood for?

MsDarcy: It’s a sweet thought, but I have an appointment in a few minutes and will be grabbing lunch afterward.

XP: You didn’t mention an appointment before. Where to?

Bella didn’t want to lie, but also didn’t want to divulge her plans. Staring at her phone, she tried to find a way to get out of answering him untruthfully. Rolling her eyes at herself, she inevitably gave in. She had told Xander she hated secrets and it would be hypocritical for her to keep this from him.

MsDarcy: 4P.

Her answer was short and to-the-point and she knew Xander would know in a split second what her intentions were. Before he could make any objections, she powered her phone off.

Standing inside the building, Bella took in her surroundings. Though small, the structure was architecturally stunning with its modern façade, sharp lines and hard angles. Bold, bright color blocks were placed in just the right places, drawing the eyes to the oblique windows that gave the inside a subtle futuristic look.

Walking to a placard with names, she sought out Leggy Blonde’s name. Second on the list of chief executives, she found what she was looking for.
Svetlana Isayev.

Bella’s stomach suddenly rumbled. She hadn’t eaten for fear of retching from her nervousness, but now she was feeling dizzy and wished she had at least snacked on a banana or yogurt. Standing near the elevator, she contemplated backing out. Xander was going to be seriously upset with her. There would be punishment to deal with, but it would be well worth any spanking once she saw the look on Svetlana’s face when she told her to back the fuck off or suffer her wrath. She would
show that bitch once and for all, that what she lacked in elegance, she made up for in fortitude and stick-to-itness.

With
her courage fully restored, she tightened the bun on her head and smoothed her hair before inhaling deeply and blowing it out slowly. Moving her engagement ring back to its rightful position, she tucked her wristlet under her arm and punched the elevator button.
It was go big or go home time.

When she arrived at the appointment desk, she gave the fake name she had called with and was promptly led into the office. Svetlana was facing away from her, gazing out the window and speaking in a foreign language which sounded a lot like Russian or some variation of it.
Without directly acknowledging her, Svetlana waved over her hand overhead to give her one minute. Bella rolled her eyes.
How professional.

Seating
herself in the chair across from the large executive, glass-top desk, Bella glanced around the room at the décor. It was just as bland and pretentious as she was. On the wall to her right hung a large framed diploma and next to that, another from a different institute with the credentials
PhD in Marketing
. On the desk sat her name on a gaudy gold-leaf name plate holding several business cards. She quickly swiped one and read it to herself as she ran her fingers over the purple raised paisley image that was printed on it.

.

Svetlana Isayev

One-
Quarter Owner

Our
4P
erson team specializes in meeting all your marketing needs.

Flipping the card over, the back read:
Life changes. Growth is optional. Choose wisely. Choose 4P.

Bella stifled a laugh at the irony. What a cracking team of
marketing experts
for having come up with such generic taglines.

Growth isn’t optional. It’s mandatory.
What a dumb ass.
Choose wisely? She certainly didn’t choose wisely when she screwed around on one of the most powerful men in the mergers and acquisitions business. And she certainly chose unwisely by making a pass at her fiancé.
Oh, her life was about to change, alright.

Just as
Bella tossed the card back on Svetlana’s desk, she ended her phone call and faced Bella. The look of sheer alarm on her leathered face about made Bella wet herself with glee. If nothing else was accomplished from this, at least she could say she had shocked the hell out of LB.

“Do I need to call security,” she
popped her bony hip out and cocked her head sarcastically as she touched her long side-braided hair nervously.

“It depends on how this conversation goes. I hope you have their number handy,” Bella responded
effortlessly.

Sauntering around
to the side of the desk, rays of sunlight filtered in from the window and danced across her oval face, brightening up her rouged cheeks and slightly arched nose. Svetlana’s sooty, mascara-covered lashes fluttered as she silently scrutinized Bella’s outfit.

Bella
’s eyes locked onto her. “I clean up well for a
secretary
, don’t I?”

Svetlana eased
herself down onto the corner of her desk. Seated a mere few feet away from Bella, LB’s scent invaded her personal space, nauseating her.

“A monkey in a suit is still just a monkey, Darling,” she sneered
in that grating, cloyingly sweet tone and muddled accent. “And no matter how that wealthy man primps and presents you, you’ll still always just be his hired help.”

More than anything, Bella
wanted to pummel the skinny bitch and/or deliver an upper-cunt straight between her scrawny chicken legs, but instead, she smiled politely as all of Xander’s rules on how to maintain her cool under pressure came flooding back.

“And no matter how far you spread your pathetic legs or try to desperately capture his attention, you’ll a
lways be the lying whore who cheated on him with the hired help.”

Bella knew her words had resonated
by the pucker of her deep-plum lips and astounded stare. Nonetheless, she carried on and Bella heard the proverbial ring of the bell as their verbal sparring match went into round two.