Torn (4 page)

In solitude awaiting his client Daniel contemplated the layers of Madeline’s character. Physically he wanted to take her, but mentally too she challenged him unusually, and to him, that excited him much more.

Madeline sat at her desk, stunned. Had he really just done that? Why had she acquiesced so readily? This wasn’t part of the plan; it was nothing like it.

She thought back to the diary she had found. It was his. There was no doubt. She knew that was his handwriting. She could never have imagined that a man of his confidence and assurity, a man able to so easily flick his emotions from aroused to instantly cold, would have within him such depth of feeling, a world of pain within his outer shell that he kept hidden with mastery.

Her opinion of him was shifting each day that she learned more about him and his behaviour. He was a complex puzzle, nothing like the image of him from afar that she had carried with her for years. The callousness disregard and nonchalance of his persona hid a psyche shattered by pain.

As the day progressed Madeline was caught in the uncertainty of what would happen between them next. Fear desire and confusion formed a conflict of emotional turbulence that she felt overwhelming.
She saw an email pop up from Daniel.

“I will be away on business until next Wednesday.”

It was Thursday today. He was going to be gone a week. He had not told her of this before, and it had not been in his diary. 

For the rest of the afternoon she expected him to come into her office but at seven pm she still had not seen him and he sent an email shortly after, listing the things he required her to do whilst he was away. She replied assuring him she would see to them. All very impersonal, given what had happened earlier in the day.

She continued to work, staying until well after eight. She told herself it was because he had given her a huge workload to get through, but what she didn’t acknowledge was that she hoped he would come to her. Regardless, he didn’t, and she eventually called it a night. He hadn’t said goodbye and she felt flat walking home, a sadness clinging to her.

Chapter Seven

The next day she found it easier to concentrate and managed to get through a large amount of the tasks left for her and the day flew by.  At times she drifted to thinking about what he had written in the diary, the sentiments so contrary to the confident cold man she saw each day.

As she was leaving, Jake, one of the guys in the broker team who she had gone out with a couple of nights ago, was still at his desk.

“Hey Maddy, you leaving?” he shouted over to her.

Blonde, blue eyed and lithe, he could have passed for a Californian surfer.

“Yes. Goodnight.”

“I’ll leave with you; it’s getting late.”

He grabbed the jacket off the back of his chair and caught up with her.

“D’you fancy a bite to eat? There’s a great Lebanese restaurant just nearby. “
She looked at him unsure.

“Beats a TV dinner Maddy.” He smiled encouragingly. “Or have you got plans already?”

She thought about it for a moment, and realised he was right,  a TV dinner was in fact what she would be having; she saw no harm going with him and she was interested to find out what Lebanese food was like.

“Sure, that would be nice, thank you.”
“Ok, let’s go.”

Though they had gone out in the group the other night, Madeline hadn’t really had the chance to talk to him in the noise of the Bar.

They rode the elevator down and walked out to the street.

“We can get a Cab but it’s only a couple of blocks away. Are you ok to walk in those shoes?” He looked down at her black stilettos. “Very sexy.” He said.

Suddenly she wondered if this was more than a casual dinner with a co-worker.

“Yes, thank you. I’m fine.”

She was sure, if he was single he could get any girl he chose. He was young, hot, and wealthy. He wouldn’t be short of willing companions.  She was pretty sure she must be a few years older than him too, and surely not his type. She imagined him to go for the thin blonde type and that certainly wasn’t her. She was bigger than that.

As they walked along, Jake asked her questions about herself but Madeline was guarded, giving only the vaguest of details and trying to deflect the questions back into him. She didn’t want to talk about her past.

They reached the restaurant and he led the way inside, requesting a quiet table

“You’re going to love this place.”

They were shown to a candlelit table near the back, in a more secluded location.  He ordered Champagne. Again Madeline became confused about Jake’s intentions. She told herself she was reading too much into it; although she was single and if he was too then they were doing nothing wrong. But though he was gorgeous and seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, she didn’t feel drawn to him when all she could feel was Daniel’s presence inside her.

Jake kept the conversation light, talking more about the different characters in the office, entertaining her with humorous anecdotes about them, funny stories about things that had happened in the office over the last couple of days, things that she missed out on shut away in her office. Talk inevitably turned to work as they waited for their food. Perhaps he had picked up on her reticence to talk on a more personal level.

“You always work so late Maddy.”

“So do you!” she laughed.

“Yeah,” he smiled ruefully, “that’s true!”

He obviously kept active outside of work though, he had a fit muscular physique.
“Are you enjoying it here?” he asked her.

“Yes, it’s a great team.”

“Daniel’s pretty demanding though, I bet?”

“He certainly is.” She was thankful it was dark; sure her face would have given away some truth as to exactly how demanding he had been with her earlier.

“You know, apparently he had the same assistant before you for so long. I don’t know how she managed. She stayed here until she retired.”

“Wow.”
“Yeah, I think she worked for his Father before him.”

“Ok. Did you know Daniel’s Father?”

“Oh, no, I think he died many years ago.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

“He built up an amazing Empire.”
“Yes. How long have you been here?”
“Daniel head-hunted me from Elias Holdings a couple of years ago.”

“Oh.”
“He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He’s very generous.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He’s got a ruthless reputation in Business. That’s how he stays at the top. Suits me just fine.”
“I’m sure it does.” 

Jake was clearly a big fan of Daniel. The salary he was on would be massive, not to mention the bonuses which was what really boosted his pay packet. Though most trading was done on Wall Street, a few niche boutique hedge funds operated in D.C. where there were some incredibly wealthy clients.

As they left the restaurant Jake enquired how she would get home.

“I’ll jump in a Cab.”

He stood flagging one down for her. As one responded, turning around to double back, he said, “If you’re free, I’ve got tickets to the Opera on Saturday night.”

“The Opera, oh, how kind of you, but I’m sorry, I will be away for the weekend.”
“Oh! No problem. Another time.”
“Yes. Thank you for dinner, it was fabulous.”
“Any time.”

She kissed him on the cheek and got into the cab, relieved that he had not suggested sharing the cab, or suggested seeing her home himself. She felt slightly uncomfortable about the evening. She was not going away for the weekend but she did not want to become involved with him. Hot though he was, she was not drawn to him like she was Daniel, she couldn’t be honest with him about herself, she didn’t do office relationships, and more than anything else, she could not take her mind off what Daniel had done to her earlier in the day.

Chapter Eight

The rest of the week passed agonisingly slowly it seemed. She tried to ensure she was sociable with the team without giving the wrong impression to Jake. She ploughed through her work, eager to ensure Daniel had no complaints when he returned. She continued to sneak into his office every day, photocopying his files and returning them; his absence giving her the perfect opportunity. Each night she would take the copies home and study them. If only she could access his computer she might find things on there of much more use to her, but she couldn’t very well ask Chris the IT guy to give her access, and she had no clue how to hack into it. She thought with amusement that she had spent all this time at college gaining admin skills when really what she needed was computer hacking skills. Though she spent hours each night at home going through the files, she thought ruefully that it may have been better hiring an investigator who could decipher the information she had and search for irregularities. The penalty for industrial espionage was a prison sentence, but that wasn’t her purpose, she wasn’t doing it on behalf of his competitors. This was personal.

On the first day of his absence she went to get his notebook from the book shelf, the one she had found that contained so much pain, but it was gone, he had removed it.
At moments when she was in his room she would recall what he had done to her there, his overpowering presence, and his restrained dark sexuality. Her thoughts went to the night of the charity gala, of him fucking the anonymous woman. Was he doing that now just as she thought of him, wherever he was? Violent feelings of jealousy flooded her, the thought of him doing that with another woman sickening her. 

She spent the weekend ploughing through the photocopies of his files; information about clients, deals, searching in desperation for proof of any wrongdoing, anything that she could pin on him, consumed by thoughts of revenge to stem and prevent the other forbidden feelings of jealousy and primal craving for his hands on her. The sooner she got what she needed, the sooner she could escape this grip of madness that was overtaking her life.

Chapter Nine

Daniel was in Geneva; in a hotel that looked like a castle, receiving five star treatment. He had concluded his business here and had just returned from dinner with an old friend he attended boarding school with, now a successful banker here in Geneva. It had been a very pleasant evening, his host amiable company and though they spoke of the old days, they did not dwell on them. They talked more of business and current affairs. Though his friend could have supplied him with any number of willing female distractions, Daniel declined the offer and returned to his hotel room alone. His thoughts had been unusually occupied with Madeline. He couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something deep inside her that she did not display to the outside world, a part of her that she kept hidden, glimpses of it showing only when she lost her temper. He wanted to know what lay beneath. He wanted to break her down, delve into her. Just the thought of her now, the fire in her eyes that hid her true nature, made him hard thinking about her and he unzipped the pants of his tailored suit, pulled out his cock and began to stroke it, standing, as he pictured her on her knees in front of him.

The next morning he flew back and rather than go home, he went to the office. It was Tuesday afternoon. He had said he would be back tomorrow.

He found Madeline at her desk, head down concentrating on some paperwork in front of her, a pair of glasses perched on her nose.

“Madeline.” He made her jump, expecting it to be one of the guys from the broker team.
“Oh! I thought you weren’t in until tomorrow.”

“Change of plan. Would you come into my office?”

He had thought of her almost non-stop over the last few days. Any sense of propriety or decorum had gone. He would do what he wanted.

She followed him. As he gestured for her to go before him, she heard him lock the door of his office behind her.

He walked across the room to stand in front of her.

“Have you completed everything I asked of you?”
“Almost. I didn’t expect you until the morning.”
“How much more do you have to get done?”
“Not much.”

“I’m disappointed Madeline. I would have thought someone of your experience more than capable of completing things on time.”
He was being unfair. She would have it all done in time.

“If you would let me get back to it, I would have it all done,” she snapped.
“Oh. I see. I’m disturbing you am I?” he laughed, “I love the way you talk to me Madeline. And will you have to stay late to get it all done, or do you have another dinner date?”

Did he mean Jake? How did he know about that? God, did he have the place bugged or something? Did he have CCTV cameras hidden watching everyone. Her eyes visibly widened in shock as she suddenly realised that it was not an outlandish thought. Other companies she had temped at did indeed have CCTV. It had been an accepted practice. Why hadn’t she remembered this when she had flitted like a thief from his room carrying his files to and fro to the photocopier? She needed to be extremely cautious now; alarmed at what he might say to her next about what she had been doing.