Page 40 of Tame Me

As I mentally replayed how passionate he was about everything from his brewery business to his sister’s tragic story to our casual encounter, I wrote Unbridled Passion below his name.

I filled the pages with intimate details of our wonderful sex. I included the horrific story about his sister and the tattoo he’d chosen so he could share her tragedy with those closest to him.

My evening with Frankie proved yet again that a man who appeared to be Mr. Average could turn out to be anything but.

With that wonderful thought, I closed my diary, grabbed my bag, and headed downstairs.

The elevator opened at the lobby to absolute silence, and for a horrible second, I wondered if Lolita had abandoned her post. But as I cruised across the floor, she popped her head up from behind the computer.

“There you are.” She flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. “So . . . was he hung like a horse?”

Chapter Twelve

My life was ruined, and it was all my own fault.

Ever since I received a call from the director of the executive board of the hotel yesterday, my brain has been in a crazy scramble of fear and horrible possibilities. Why they wanted to speak to me was a mystery they’d refused to reveal. All I knew was I’d been summoned to the boardroom one hour after my shift.

When Needledick arrived at reception to take over my shift, his creepy sneer looked triumphant and made the acid in my stomach churn. Even his stance was cocky and confident. Whatever was going on, I suspected he’d instigated it. And that wasn’t good.

“Morning, Jane.”

I wanted to slap the cockiness right out of him. Instead, I reached down to grab my handbag and mumbled, “Hi.”

Determined not to look at him again, I decided not to do the shift handover and threw my bag over my shoulder and strode to the elevator.

I spent nearly an hour in my apartment pacing back and forth as I stewed over difficult, unanswerable questions. By the time I got back in the elevator, I could barely breathe. Even swallowing was nearly impossible.

My career was over. Never again would I be able to work in the hotel industry. For the rest of my life, my name would be bandied around as the lying, deceitful fraud I was.

Each step I made toward the boardroom was like swimming in concrete. My tongue was barren of moisture, making it impossible to swallow. My body was a furnace from the hot flush blazing through my insides, and my thighs rubbed together so much that it was a wonder they didn’t squeak.

The boardroom door was ajar, and I heard muffled banter inside. I paused outside, wiped my sweating palms down my pencil skirt, sucked in a few deep breaths, and counted to ten. When I couldn’t delay a moment longer, I knocked, and the door creaked open.

“Come in.”

The banter stopped as I entered, replaced instead with stony silence, and for a couple of horrible seconds, I thought I’d throw up.

Five people sat around the table. Two women with blonde hair, wearing power suits and high-class jewelry, had stern looks that indicated they’d clawed their way to the top. Two men were of Asian descent. They, too, looked at me with enough contempt to confirm I was in trouble.

The final man stood upon my entrance and walked toward me with his hand forward. “Good morning, Jane. Thank you for meeting with us. I’m Richard Thompson, and I’m head of Australian operations.”

“Hello, Mr. Thompson, it’s lovely to meet you.” I was surprised any words came out.

“Please, call me Richard.”

As I rolled his name around my head half a dozen times, determined to memorize it, he indicated toward a chair. I sat quickly before my wobbling knees had me face-planting on the carpet.

Richard sat to my right and picked up a silver pen that he flicked between his finger and thumb. Each of the others had a blank notepad and pen before them and a glass of water that looked untouched. I wanted a water so badly, but was certain my trembling hands would have me spilling it.

Richard held his hand toward the first woman. “This is Romana Everson. She’s in charge of quality control and hospitality services Australia.”

He directed my attention to the woman at her side. “This is Brandi Frost; she’s head of human services in Australia.”

He nodded at the Asian man on the opposite side of the table. “This is Mr. Hiro Nomataki, General Manager of the Asia Pacific region.”

I resisted the urge to throw up as he pointed to the second Asian man in the bright yellow tie. “This is Mr. Akio Chuanli, responsible for strategic planning and control of Asia Pacific.”

Richard opened his hands. “Jane, for the benefit of us all, can you please give us a summary of your history?”

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