I hear her footsteps moving quickly behind me, and it’s dead silence until she returns, and even then it’s only the sound of my pen on the paper. I hold out the check toward him. “Your choice. You’ll be leaving with or without the money. But if you don’t take it, I’ll turn your own threat back on you. By noon tomorrow, every newspaper in the country will know what a piece of shit you are.”
Jack stares at me, and I know he’s doing what I just had to do in my office—wrack his brain desperately for a way out of this mess. But there isn’t one. He saw to that. The security officers from the lobby enter, and I give them a nod. “Your choice, Jack.”
He snatches the check out of my hand and turns. He’s holding his head high as he’s escorted to the elevator bank by security, but he’s not fooling anyone. If he’s smart, he’ll never show his face here again. As soon as he’s gone, it’s like the room can breathe again, and it’s suddenly loud, with everyone talking at once. I turn to smile at Cora, but she’s not there. She’s not anywhere in the room.
Ellen taps me on the shoulder and whispers, “She took the stairs to the roof.”
“You’re a godsend, Ellen.”
“I know,” she says, and winks.
Now that everything is public, it’s time Cora and I had a talk.
11
Ellen is right, I find Cora on the roof, looking out at the same view as I have in my office, but it’s better with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. She doesn’t react as I come up next to her, just continues to stare into the distance.
“Are you all right?”
“I will be,” she says. “I was hoping that maybe meeting me, he would change. I ignored the stuff at the bar because I thought it was just a business tactic. I just…I didn’t want it to be this way.”
“Neither did I. Jack came to me earlier, he’d found out about us from someone at The Palace. He said that if I didn’t sign the papers that he would spread the word that I had harassed and assaulted you. I couldn’t let that happen to you, so I thought that if you weren’t at the company, I could spin it. That’s why I fired you.”
She nods. “I get it. I do. When I confronted him about the money today he basically said the same thing, that he would ruin me if I spoke out. I was coming to talk to you about it.”
“I’m sorry about him.”
She shrugs. “I had hope, but honestly, I didn’t know him well enough for this to hurt. He’s shown what’s important to him now. It’s more…a loss of what I had hoped for.” Leaning against the railing of the roof, she sighs. “I understand why you did it, but Michael, don’t ever lie to me again. I’ve had enough of it in my life, and I’m sick of it. I refuse to be involved with any more liars.”
I put my hand on her shoulder, and thankfully she doesn’t pull away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I didn’t know any other way to protect you.”
She laughs, finally looking at me. “I hope you finally understand that I don’t need protection. I can take care of myself. I’m not with you because I need you to coddle me or shelter me. I’m with you because you make me happy.”
“And are you? With me?”
There’s hope in her face and it crushes me that she might think I don’t want her. “Am I?”
“Yes,” I say, pulling her against me, “you matter to me. You were right before, in my office, but I couldn’t tell you because you left so quickly. I do love you. I’m an idiot that it had to take us being threatened to realize it, but I do. For a while now.”
I kiss her, and she melts into me, and the relief I feel is the sweetest damn thing in the world. Cora kisses me back, arms twining around my neck, and then she’s laughing and I’m laughing, and I feel like I can fly.
“I guess that means that I’m not fired.”
“No, Ma’am. In fact, if you want, I’d like to offer you a job far, far, in advance after you graduate.”
Cora’s jaw drops open. “Are you serious?”
“Turns out I’m going to need someone to help me navigate the balance between new and old. Someone to help me expand this company the right way, one step at a time, but fast enough that we never fall behind. I, for one, think you’d be perfect, if that’s what you want.”
“Yes, of course that’s what I want!” she says, jumping into my arms.
I spin her around like we’re in an old time romance movie, kissing her as I do.
“It’s only lunchtime,” I say, “but what do you say we take the rest of the day off and celebrate?”
She smiles, her red hair blowing around us in the wind. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
“After all,” I say, “you caused a lot of trouble this morning. Do you know what happens to naughty girls who cause trouble?”
Cora pouts, but her eyes are still twinkling. “Am I going to be punished? I really am awfully sorry for all the trouble I caused, Sir.”
“Then hopefully you’ll learn your lesson and not do it again.” I lean closer so that I can whisper in her ear. “Because I’m not letting you go. Ever.”
She grins up at me. “That sounds perfect.”
12
Two Months Later
“Michael?” Cora calls out to me from the entryway. “Are you here?”
“Back here.” I’m in the bedroom, ready for the surprise that I’ve prepared.
She walks into the bedroom and freezes. “What’s this?” There is a giant bouquet of roses on the dresser and another on each of the nightstands. “What’s going on?”
“How was your last day?”
“Fine…” She’s suspicious as she comes up to me. “Pretty normal, boring. There was cake though. I’m more interested in why your bedroom is covered in flowers.”
“I was thinking, since your lease is up and your classes start next week, we’re going to have to work a lot harder to see each other.”
“Yeah,” she drops her purse on the ground, “we talked about that. We’ll be okay.”
“What if there was a way to make it easier?”
She leans up on her toes to k
iss me. “And what would that be?”
I take her hand as she kisses me, pressing the key into her palm so that she can feel it. Her body goes still, and she pulls away. “What is this?”
“It would be a lot easier to see each other if you just lived here.”
Her face lights up. “Really?”
“Really.”
Her hand closes around the key like it’s the most precious thing she’s ever held. “It’s a little fast, don’t you think?”
“Cora, you’ve stayed here more often than not the last couple months. I’m not worried. I know we’ll be okay. I love you, and this is what I want.”
She’s beaming, “It’s what I want, too.”
“I’m glad. Now strip.”
She smirks at me, but doesn’t hesitate, peeling her dress over her head and discarding her underwear. “Where do you want me, Mr. Foster?”
“On the bed, all fours. Sound familiar?”
Cora laughs. “Yes, it does.”
“I have something special planned for tonight,” I say, watching her as she takes her position. I run a finger across her pussy, feeling how wet she already is in anticipation of what is going to happen. I keep moving that finger up until it’s poised right over her asshole, and I press gently against it.
“Sir,” she breathes.
“I asked you once if you’d like it if I fucked you here. You said you didn’t know. I’d like to try it, just to see. Are you willing to do that?”
Her head bobs up and down in an affirmative. “I was hoping you’d say that,” I say, taking off my belt, “but first, I haven’t punished you today.”
Over the last few months, we’ve experimented and tried new things. Spanking is still Cora’s favorite, and we’ve tried countless things to be spanked with. The belt is one of her favorites, and since she’s giving something to me, I’m willing to give something to her. She turns her head when she hears the buckle, and I smile. She likes it even more when I use the belt I’m wearing. I let it crack across her skin. Not too hard, but hard enough that she knows we’ve started in earnest. “Why am I punishing you?” It’s a question I sometimes ask her, and her answer is different every time.