His heart leapt when she obeyed him.
“Yes? I’m sorry, I was in the other room,” she said and he knew it was probably a lie.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. What’s so important?”
“My secretary is thinking of leaving and I’m going to need a new one.” He paused and let that information sink it. Suzie hadn’t said any such thing, but he could read the signs. She was becoming fed up with his quirky behavior and he doubted she’d last another month.
Emily didn’t say anything. Edward could hear her breathing on the phone. “I would like you to come back and work for me.”
“But I have a job,” she said.
“Tell me about it.”
“I told you. I’m just a secretary, like before.”
“Tell me about your boss.” She had never really gone into detail before.
“Uh, he’s okay. Kinda quiet.”
“Come on, Miss Robinson, you can do better than that.” He was using his Dom voice but lightly so as to not to scare her away. “Describe him for me.”
“He, uh, he’s kinda fat. And distracted. He’s got papers all over his desk all the time.”
“Do you really prefer him to working for me?”
“Well, it’s different.”
“You know what you need. That job represents boredom and lack of fulfillment.”
“It’s not dangerous,” she said pointedly.
Edward knew he was at a critical moment. He tried to think what Paul might say at this point. “Yes, we’ve gone over that. You already know it won’t happen again. What you need to think about now is how much you miss the other parts of it.”
Again she didn’t speak but Edward thought her breathing came a little more quickly now.
“It excited you. It’s all right to admit it.”
“I ... I don’t...”
“Come on, be honest. It reached a part of you that you didn’t know you had.”
“It ... it scared me.”
“I know it did. But that’s not all, is it?”
“Uh, no,” she admitted.
“Sooner or later, you’ll want to return to it. You’ll seek it out. And your next ‘boss’ might not understand you as well as I do. He might scare you even more.”
“I don’t know. I have to think.”
Edward felt it would be a mistake to let her off the hook so easily. “I want to see you this weekend.”
“Wh-what?”
“This weekend? Do you have plans?”
“Well, uh, no.”
“Good. I’ll be over there early afternoon, Saturday.”
“But Mr. Caudry—”
“Don’t worry. I just want to talk to you. Okay? I’ll see you then. Bye.” He hung up before she could refuse him. She needed to be pushed a little. Paul was right. If he had kept to his “please forgive me” routine, he’d never win her back.
Now he had to figure out what to do when he went down there. That was going to take some thought.
19
She opened the door and stared at him like she couldn’t believe he was actually there. “Oh, hi,” she said. She was dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt. He could see the outline of her bra straps through the material.
“Let me in, please, Emily.”
She moved aside and he went past her. Her apartment was very much the same as he remembered—dingy and small, but neatly kept.
“This is no way for you to live,” he said at once, taking in the surroundings.
“It-it’s all I need,” she replied.
“No, it isn’t, is it? I’m sure it’s fine for right now, while you’re hunkered down here like a wounded fawn, feeling sorry for yourself. But sooner or later, you’ll wake up and realize you want to do better than this.”
Her eyes and her posture told him he was right. Her eyes were big and round and she leaned forward a bit as if to hear him better. He mentally thanked Paul for his insights into reading a woman’s body language.
“Fact is, I need better than what I’ve got too. Did you know I’ve gone through two secretaries in the three months you’ve been gone? I can hardly function around the office without you.”
A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Really? You really miss me?”
“Of course I do! Why do you think I’ve been calling and coming down here? We were really starting to work well together.”
She looked down at the rug, embarrassed. He could imagine her mind swirling with details of their little punishment sessions, her bottom propped up for his ruler and her mouth around his hard cock. He tipped his head and saw a pink blush creep up her neck.
He stepped closer. “I know I’ve pushed you hard. But I had to in order to understand you better. Now I feel that I can really give you want you need without frightening you. Can you understand that?”
She nodded. He reached in and tipped her head up and saw a single tear roll down her cheek. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “It’s going to be okay.”
He took her into his arms and held her there while she snuffled against his chest. When he let go, he held her at arm’s length and said: “Now tell me about your current job. Does it really satisfy you?”
She shook her head. “My boss hardly pays any attention to me,” she whispered.
“Yeah. Safe isn’t what you want. You need attention. And discipline. And love.”
More tears fell and she reached behind her to find the arm of a chair so she could sit down. Her body trembled.
Edward stood over her, gently stroking her shoulder. “Tell you what. Go in and give your two-weeks notice on Monday. I’ll start the paperwork to bring you back to the office.”
“But I gave up my apartment there! I have nowhere to live!”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. You can stay in a spare room at my house until you can get yourself settled.” Edward did not think she would ever need another apartment, but he didn’t want her to feel he was moving too quickly.
“Oh, I couldn’t do that!”
“Sure you could. I insist. It’s the least I can do. Now, about this place. Did you sign a lease?”
She shook her head. “No, this is just month-to-month. I was going to look for a better place soon.”
That told Edward a lot. Subconsciously, she wanted him to come get her. She just had to be convinced. “Good. Now you don’t have to. Besides, this place isn’t you.”
She tipped her head. “Yeah, it is kind of a dump. But it’s just temporary.”
“All right. Get dressed. I’m taking you out for a late lunch. Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” She turned and found her coat she’d draped over a chair. As she was slipping it on, she caught Edward shaking his head.
“What?”
“That will never do. You know what I want you to wear.”
She froze, her mouth ajar. “You mean...?”
“Of course.”
Emily stood there, as if trying to decide if he meant business. But when he reached into his inside pocket of his suit coat and pulled out the ruler he’d hidden there, she gasped.
“I think you’ve forgotten a lot in just three months.”
“Wh-what do you want me to wear?”
“You know already.”
She turned and disappeared into the bedroom. He sat on the couch and laid the ruler on the arm beside him. He tried to picture her back there, holding up dresses and skirts, trying to decide what might please him. Emily returned a few minutes later wearing a dark skirt and an ivory blouse. The material was thick enough so he could just barely tell that she wasn’t wearing a bra. He didn’t push it, for he was quite pleased.
“How do I look?”
He stood and approached her and noted how she seemed to hold herself in place when she probably wanted to fade back. He reached down and ran his hands under her skirt and felt bare skin. He gave her a big smile and tucked the ruler away.
She looked relieved.
“Come, let’s go eat.”
Edward wasn’t familiar with Kansas City, but with her help, he managed to find the type of restaurant he wanted: Dimly lit, with booths as well as tables. The restaurant wasn’t crowded. He asked for a booth in the back and was brought to a far corner. The maitre d’ smiled at him as if he knew why he wanted such a secluded spot.