At His Mercy (Masters Club 1)

“That will be all,” he finally said, his words sounding stiff, even to his own ears. Managing a smile, he added, “Please send Marion in, if you would, on your way out.”

Jess rose to her feet, still not meeting his eye. She left the office without a word or a backward glance. Cameron leaned back in his chair, reaching to loosen his tie as he breathed out a sigh of relief. He’d cleared the air and made his amends. Going forward, he’d be more careful to keep his ridiculous teenage infatuation firmly under control.

~*~

Jess passed the rest of the morning in a state of unhappy confusion. She should have been glad Master Cameron had admitted he’d been wrong to take her into his arms as he had. Hadn’t she spent the weekend obsessing about that very thing, worrying (hoping?) it would change everything? He’d done the right thing—clearing the air between them, acknowledging he’d stepped out of bounds.

So why did it feel so wrong?

“It never should have happened, and I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

Though she recognized the sense of his words, that hadn’t stopped them from piercing her like daggers, ripping along the edges of her heart. Clearly, he didn’t share the same fairy tale interpretation she did regarding that one stolen, delicious, perfect kiss.

And why would he? He was a decade her senior, leap years ahead of her, career-wise and settled in his place in the BDSM community. He had a whole bevy of ready and willing sub girls eager to scene with him—a different one every night of the week, if he chose, and all of them far better trained in the art of submission than she. That kiss had just been a momentary lapse in judgment. A mistake. Not to be repeated.

She managed to distract herself for several hours with work, getting in her requisite billable hours. She worked through lunch, as she usually did, buying a sandwich from the deli on the first floor of the office building, and having it sent straight up to her desk.

At a quarter to two, she rose from her desk and went into the women’s bathroom to get ready for the wrap-up meeting on the Lansing/Veranda Esplanade merger. Cameron Lord would be heading up the meeting.

Hopefully, she’d be able to keep the ridiculous tumult of emotion still whirling in her brain under wraps. After all, if she was going to keep working in this office, she’d better learn to deal with it.

She was the first to arrive in the conference room. She took a seat in one of the chairs facing the door so she could watch who was coming in. The deal had been a large and complex project, involving four associates, two managing partners and Mr. Lord as the overseeing equity partner. This meeting was a double check to make sure every T had been crossed and every I dotted before finalization of the merger. The long, oval table began to fill up with associates and partners. Every time someone entered, Jess’s heart gave a jolt. But Cameron Lord didn’t appear.

Finally, Josh Martin, the managing partner on the deal, and Jess’s immediate boss, entered the room, his secretary just behind him. As he took a seat at one end of the table, she moved around the table, placing a folder in front of each chair.

Everyone else opened their folders, but Jess was too antsy to focus. Her gaze kept straying from the open door to the seat at the other end of the table, which remained empty. Where the hell was Mr. Lord?

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Josh finally said, addressing the group with a smile. “Mr. Lord won’t be joining us today, but he wanted me to convey to you all that he’s very pleased with the work we’ve done on this. The client is pleased as well, and they’re planning to host a celebratory dinner at Veranda Esplanade’s most exclusive hotel in Atlantic City. We’ve reserved a block of rooms for the firm’s attendees. You’ll find the details in your folder there.” He beamed around at them all. “Good job, all of you.”

Sandra, one of the other associates who had worked on the deal, leaned close to Jess and whispered, her lips barely moving, “I heard Lord Hunk left the office mid-morning and never came back. Those equity partners have got it made.”

“There’s one small issue that remains to be resolved regarding tax treatment on…” Josh was saying.

But Jess didn’t hear any more. Her mind was stuck on Josh’s words. Mr. Lord won’t be joining us today. Damn it! Where the hell was he? Though she’d valiantly tried not to dwell on it, she’d been on tenterhooks all day, eagerly awaiting the chance to see him again, even if just on the other side of the conference room table. Had he left the office to avoid seeing her again?