Lucien (15 page)

“Uh-huh.”

Ben returned his attention to the papers in his lap. “I could really use someone like her around here.”

“No deal. She works for me.”
And only me
, he added silently.

“I thought you might say that,” Ben murmured. “Are you having trouble adding these figures?”

“No. Why?”

“Because I’ve added this sheet four times and each time I come up five thousand off.”

Luc frowned. “Let me see.”

Ben dropped his feet to the floor and pushed the folder across the table. He tapped his thumb on the table while Luc punched in the numbers.

“Have you told her about the broodmare clause yet?”

Luc didn’t look up. He was halfway through tallying the numbers. “No.”

“Oh.” Tap, tap, tap. “Have you slept with her, yet?”

“What do you think,” Luc muttered.

“Ah.” Tap, tap, tap. “Are you gonna sleep with her?”

Luc punched the last number into the calculator and muttered an exasperated, “Damn.” The number was off by five thousand exactly. He tossed the folder on the desk and glared at his friend. “Why? Do you want to?”

“No.” Ben leaned across the desk and caught the folder, then fell back in his seat. “If she weren’t your wife, it’d be a different story, but… she is.”

At least Luc could count on Ben to be honest with his feelings. “Yes, she is and I’d consider it a personal favor if you wouldn’t forget it.”

“I won’t forget it, but… it appears that someone else already has.” Ben took one look at Luc’s expression and added, “And it isn’t Elise.”

Luc folded his arms over his chest and lounged back in his chair. “I suppose you are referring to the Bingleys.”

“I am,” Ben answered quickly.

“And I suppose you are curious as to how I plan on reminding them.”

“I am.” Ben grinned. “What are you gonna do?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m torn between an old-fashioned beating or dismemberment.”

“That’ll be messy. Well, the carpet in this place does need replacing.” Ben chuckled. “You’ve got it bad.”

Luc sighed. “Don’t I know it.” He ran a hand through his hair and stretched out his legs under the table. “She’s putting me through hell.”

“I never would have pegged Elise as a tease.”

Luc shook his head. “She’s not. Not like you think.” He racked his mind for a way to describe it. “Elise is… damn. She doesn’t… intentionally do it. It just sort of happens.”

Ben chuckled. “Like I said. You’ve got it bad. Why don’t you just put both of you out of your misery and sleep with her.”

“Because, Elise doesn’t dish out her favors lightly.”

“If memory serves me correct, neither do you,” Ben mentioned softly. “You didn’t sleep with Margot.”

Luc’s brows furrowed. “How do you know that?”

“Because Margot asked me if you had some sort of sexual impediment.” Ben smirked. “You’ll be pleased to know that the old wound you received in the war didn’t damage the boys too badly.”

“What war?”

Ben shrugged. “Margot sort of thought you were there for the Normandy Invasion. I might have implied that you were on the front line and… you know, Margot isn’t that bright. When I said W-W-two, she thought it was an internet address.” He shook his head. “I hate to say this, Luc, but if you had married Margot I would have probably stopped being your friend.”

Luc rubbed his wedding band. “If I’d married Margot, I would have been institutionalized within the first week. You might have been the only one to visit me.”

“Naw, Elise would have visited you.” Ben paused a second. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“As if you haven’t already.”

“Why haven’t you? It wouldn’t take much for you to convince her.”

Luc stared down at the wedding band on his finger and sighed. “Just between us?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want to convince her.” He expelled a breath in a low whistle. “I’d feel guilty as hell if I swayed her. I respect her too much to even try.” Luc looked up and met Ben’s understanding expression. “She’s got to want it as much as I do.”

Ben nodded. “You’re a better man than I, Luc. I’ve seen the looks you two give each other. It wouldn’t take much more and she’d fall into your arms.”

“Maybe. But if I did… would she hate herself in the morning?”
Or hate me
, Luc added silently.

Ben didn’t have an answer for that one. “Did the figures come up right for you,” he asked and they went back to work.

Elise ran around the corner and stopped at the door to her and Luc’s office. “Husband. Oh where the heck is he when I need him?” She glanced over her shoulder and panted for her next breath.

Bingley Junior rounded the corner and grinned. The man was like Pepe Le Peu chasing the black, French cat. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t get away from him. Well, he wouldn’t catch her. She hoped, prayed, and swore he wouldn’t, then took off down the hall.

Elise ran through the mailroom and slid across the tiled floor. She squeaked and caught the edge of a table. “Stupid shoes.” She kicked off her heels and, looking back over her shoulder, shrieked.

Junior’s boots squeaked on the waxed floors.

Barefoot, Elise hiked up her already short skirt and sprinted towards the conference room. She desperately hoped Luc was in there. She was breathless by the time she reached the room and spotted her husband staring at a spread of papers on the table. “Lucien,” she cried.

He looked up as she flew into the room and straight into his lap. “Elise, what’s wrong?” His arms came around her.

Elise snuggled closer and gasped for her next breath. “Oh, Luc, it was—” She broke off as Pepe Le Peu sauntered into the room waving a folder in the air.

Junior grinned and dropped the file onto the table, then strolled out the way he came, whistling.

Luc tensed and his arms tightened. “Did he—”

“There you are, Elise. I was wondering where you were off to in such a hurry,” Ben said from the doorway. He held up her shoes. “I found these around the corner. Wise move.”

Luc scowled down at her stocking feet. “Why were you running, Elise?”

“Because Junior was behind me.”

Luc started to stand up. “It’s time Junior and I had a little talk.”

Elise wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. “That can wait,” she said quickly. “I found the file you wanted with last year’s expenditures.”

“Elise, you will not stop me this time.”

Ben closed the door and dropped her shoes next to Luc’s chair. “Where did you find it?”

“It was stuck in the filing cabinet drawer. It took me forever to pry it out.” She snuggled closer to Luc and held on for dear life. “Please don’t go, Luc. You can pound him to smithereens some other time. I looked at the numbers on those sheets and they didn’t look the same as the ones you and Ben had yesterday.”
Besides
, she thought to herself,
I’m much too comfortable to let you go after Hands and Eyes Bingley.

Ben muttered an expletive. “Luc, take a look at this.” He reached for his calculator while Luc leaned over to peruse the sheet. “Thanks, Elise. You just saved me from having to download Accounting’s hard drive.”

“You’re welcome,” she chimed, resting her cheek on Luc’s shoulder. He was so solid and strong. She felt as if nothing could harm her. She was safe in his arms. Safe from everything but the warm, fuzzy feeling which had taken over the rest of her body.

Luc pulled her more securely onto his lap, then rolled his chair over to his briefcase. He grabbed a stack of spreadsheets and, keeping his arms around her, flipped through them. “What’s the last entry on that sheet, Ben?”

“Supplies.”

“I should have seen it before,” Luc whispered.

“What,” Ben asked.

“This.” Luc held up the page and pointed to a line.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Ben breathed. He looked from the sheet in Luc’s hand to the one in his grip. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Probably, but we won’t know for sure until we go through the purchase requisitions.” Luc handed off the sheets in his hand to Ben, then pulled Elise closer. “Darlin’, do you happen to know where they are?”

Elise smiled and inhaled deeply. Gracious but he smelled delicious. “The purchase orders are on the second floor. They’re kept in the cabinets outside the CEO’s office. That’s where I found the file you’re looking at now.”

Ben drummed his fingers on the table. “And the CEO left how long ago?”

Elise shivered as Luc’s hand moved across her hip, down her thigh to the hem of her skirt. “Someone in accounting said he left a little over a year ago and the Bingleys haven’t even tried to replace him.”

Luc tugged her skirt lower. “Shameless wench. I should have known you’d be a garter belt kind of woman,” he whispered.

Elise giggled. “I can’t stand panty hose,” she explained. “I’m not coordinated enough to wear them. The bunching and twisting and yanking and—”

“I realize this is your honeymoon, but can you hold off on the foreplay until later? I, unlike you, Lucien, have nothing better to do tonight than spend hours working. Although I would glady swap places with you,” Ben added with a charming smile directed at Elise.

“Find your own, Benajah. This one’s taken.” Luc loosened his hold on her. “Come on, darlin’. I’ll escort you upstairs.”

Elise slid off his lap and slipped her feet into her shoes. “It might be easier if you just carry the whole cabinet down here. I haven’t organized the orders yet and whoever filed them just stuffed the papers in the drawers.”

“Better yet,” Ben said. “Grab your things and let’s move up there. The office is empty.”

Luc glanced at his watch. “Elise, I doubt we’ll make it home before dinner.”

“That’s all right,” she replied. “There’s a pizza place not too far away who’ll deliver. I’ll even let you pick the toppings if you promise not to add onions or anchovies.”

Six and a half hours later, Elise stifled a yawn and picked up an empty pizza box. She stuffed the cardboard into a trashcan the cleaning crew would find tomorrow—since they had already been by two hours ago—and headed back into the barren office.

Luc and Ben were steadily pouring over papers. They worked well together, she decided. They complimented each other. Thought along the same wavelength. Trying to keep two steps ahead of Luc was hard enough, but ahead of both of them? Nigh on impossible. She was exhausted and rapidly turning into a pumpkin.

Elise glanced at her watch and amended her musings. She had twenty-four more minutes before she officially turned into a pumpkin. She rubbed her eyes and dropped down onto the couch next to Luc.

He glanced at her when she laid her head against his shoulder. “We’ll leave soon.”