His cock hardened just thinking about it.
“You seem a bit distracted today, sir.”
“Sir” was how submissives in their group were to address Doms when not out in public. Daniel had given Dena permission to use his name when they weren’t in a scene, so it wasn’t difficult to see she’d addressed him more formally as a subtle hint of her interest in playing.
He needed to get her focus on something else. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind lately.” Before she could offer to distract him, he continued. “I told Ron to call you in the next day or two, so let me know if he doesn’t. I’d also like your thoughts on areas he needs help in.”
She nodded, unsurprised. She had worked with Doms in training before and knew what was expected. “I’ll e-mail you by the end of the week.”
“Anything that happened today you’d like to talk about?”
She shook her head. “Nothing stood out as out of the ordinary or unexpected.”
“Good.”
“Are you still planning to speak at the next meeting?”
Their local group held meetings once a month, generally before a party, and he was scheduled to speak at the next one. “Yes.”
“Let me know if you need help with a demonstration or anything.”
He felt the need for a long, hard jog. It was time for her to leave. He drained the last bit of his water and pushed his chair back. “I think I’ll be fine, but thank you for the offer. Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
She didn’t so much as move and her lips curled up into a sly smile. “I was rather hoping we could spend some more time in your playroom, sir.”
It would be so easy. A simple word, a slight nod of his head, and she would be his for the next hour or so. She offered her body for his pleasure and a part of him wanted to take it. To use it. To use her. But the larger part of him knew he wasn’t in the right frame of mind for the playroom. To take her there would be greedy and unwise. So he held his need in check and simply shook his head.
“Not today, Dena.” He stroked her cheek hoping to ease any embarrassment on her part. “I need to run and make a few phone calls.”
As soon as she left, he changed and went for his run. Afterward, he showered and then flipped his laptop open and scrolled through the e-mails his administrative assistant had sent him over the last few weeks. Something had sprung to his mind during his run and he knew from past experience his mind wouldn’t rest until he checked it out. He looked through all the e-mails searching for one in particular.
And there it was.
He skimmed the e-mail and drummed his fingers on the tabletop for just a second or two before sending a reply.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me we had a gig with Weston Bank.” Julie slammed and locked her car door as she shot Sasha a nasty look. “Daniel Covington probably thinks I’m an idiot for not mentioning it last week.”
Sasha had oh so slyly mentioned yesterday that they had a meeting at the bank at two o’clock today to discuss floral arrangements for the black-tie melanoma fund-raiser in two weeks.
Sasha walked beside her. “Seriously, Jules, I’m sure Daniel Covington has no idea who’s providing flowers.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Julie concentrated on the sound her heels made on the sidewalk. She couldn’t afford to be flustered at this meeting. The benefit was a big event and if everything went well, it could lead to larger jobs in the future. Besides, Sasha had done the right thing. Had Julie known about the meeting, she’d only have worried about it. Odds were, Daniel probably thought flowers appeared out of thin air.
“You’re right. Besides, it’s not like you knew he’d be stopping by with his grandmother,” Julie said, pushing open the door. “This meeting goes well, I’m taking you to dinner.”
“Thank goodness, all I have at my place is an overripe banana.”
The front desk receptionist took their names and then showed them to a small conference room. “Mr. Covington will be right with you.”
Julie’s head spun to Sasha. “What did she say?”
Sasha looked just as surprised. “Apparently he has an idea about the flowers after all.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how she looked at it, Julie didn’t have time to dwell on anything. Within mere seconds, the door opened and Daniel breezed into the room. He wore a light gray suit and a bright blue tie that complemented his eyes. There was a look of momentary surprise as he noticed Sasha, but he was all smiles when he turned to Julie and held out his hand.
“Ms. Masterson, good to see you again. My niece loved the roses.”
Then he looked to Sasha and shook her hand. “Ms. Blake.”
There was a hint of recognition between the two. Julie picked up on it immediately. Neither Sasha nor Daniel seemed to acknowledge it, almost as if they had silently agreed to act as if they didn’t know each other.
Daniel waved toward the chairs. “Let’s have a seat and finalize these plans, shall we?”
Surely a vice president had better things to do than to discuss flowers for a benefit? But it wouldn’t be proper to ask, so Julie did as suggested and sat.
“This benefit is near and dear to my heart,” Daniel said. “My grandfather died of melanoma.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Julie said.
“Thank you, but it was years ago. The flowers we had at last year’s event were subpar and I wanted to ensure the same didn’t happen again. That would be why we hired you this time.”
“I assure you, the Petal Pushers don’t do subpar,” Julie said.
“That’s what I like to hear.” His smile was easy and gentle, but his eyes held a tinge of desire.
Twenty-five minutes later, they’d negotiated all the floral arrangements and pricing. With a deft sweep of his pen, Daniel signed the contract and smiled.
“Pleasure doing business with you. I can already tell I’m in expert hands.”
As they all stood to leave, he addressed Sasha. “Can you give me a moment with Ms. Masterson?”
A wary expression crossed her friend’s face, but Sasha pursed her lips together and nodded. “I’ll be in the car, Julie.”
Julie’s heart raced and she felt certain the temperature had risen in the small room by at least fifteen degrees.
“Julie,” Daniel said when the door closed. “It fits you. May I call you Julie?”
Determined not to appear as flustered as she felt, she smiled. “If I can call you Daniel.”
“Of course.” Was it her imagination or did his eyes darken as he spoke? “I was wondering, Julie, if you would be at the benefit outside of your professional capacity?”
The tickets were a hundred dollars a plate, nothing she could afford. “No, I’ll be there before it starts, but I’ll leave after everything’s set up.”
He took a step closer to her and her heart raced faster. “Would you come, then? As my date?”
Sasha’s words of warning repeated themselves in her head, but she refused to listen to them. There was obviously something, some chemistry, between her and Daniel. She’d felt it the first time she met him and obviously he felt it, too; she’d be a fool not to explore it.
Yet, how could she both set up for the benefit and get ready to attend as a guest?
The simple answer would be to book a room at the hotel it was being held at. The problem with that was the five-star price associated with the five-star accommodations. An image of her on a date with Daniel flickered in her brain and she knew she’d pay it.
“You can say no. I promise I can take it.”
Her head jerked. “What? Oh, no. I was actually just trying to work out the logistics in my head. I mean, I’d love to accept.”