Page 75 of Wicked Fantasies

Power Play

He plays for keeps.

Sex with a stranger was Francesca's birthday gift to herself. She didn't realize the gorgeous man in the power suit was her new marketing rival.

The competition for clients heats up--literally--when Reed proposes a game. Win the account, win a fantasy. Bondage, submission and spankings, oh my! Soon the lovers come to the brink of something they never intended…or expected.

Chapter One

Reed Donovan stared at the flat-screen TV in the corner of the bar, and though his eyes were seeing the baseball game, his mind wasn’t processing a single aspect of it. He leaned back in his chair and tried to shake off the lingering traces of jetlag. Two days earlier, he’d flown back to the States after nine months in London. He only had tonight left to recover from the trip before he returned back to work bright and early the next morning.

He picked up the drink in front of him and took a long, deep swig. His throat was parched and his mouth dry. Clearly the stress of his day job was affecting his mind, messing with his head. He’d gone to London in the early fall to clean up the mess the former manager had left in his company’s branch office.

“Have to admit I didn’t think you had it in you to be quiet for so long.”

Reed looked up and found his cousin, the owner of the bar, looking down at him. He gestured to the chair across from him and watched Carter sit.

Reed lifted his glass. “Trying to drink away some of my damn tiredness. Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.”

“Nine months is a damn long time to uproot from your home, Reed. And I know you hate playing the admin role, know you’ve been gritting your teeth every minute of these last few months, wishing you were back doing what you love.”

“Uncle Brian needed my help getting the London branch back under control. The last manager onlymanagedto run the damn thing into the ground. It was my job to clean house, to put the pieces back together.”

Carter leaned back in the chair, put his hands behind his head and studied his face. “So what’s stuck up your ass? You’re home now. Figured you’d be happy and celebrating that little fact.”

Reed rubbed his eyes wearily. His cousin was right, he should be doing fucking flips around the bar. Instead, he felt tired, irritable. “You want me to make a bulleted list for you?”

Carter grinned. “Is this gonna be a long presentation, Mr. Exec?”

Reed leaned forward, not bothering to acknowledge his cousin’s joke. “Number one, I’m pissed as shit about Brian sending me to London. I’ve worked my ass off for that man for years and I don’t appreciate being used as a lackey to do his goddamn dirty work. I’m going into his office tomorrow and let him know it’s not something I ever intend to do again.”

Carter winced. “Fuck, man. That’s not gonna be a fun conversation.”

“You’re right. It’s not. Number two, while I was off wasting my MBA skills playing office manager, he let my marketing partner lose two prospective clients to The Wilkerson Team. I could have landed those accounts if Brian would have let me do my job.”

“Sounds like your partner sucks.”

“You’re missing the point, Carter. If I’d been there, those companies would be The Donovan Group’s clients.”

Carter waved a waitress over and ordered a whiskey, straight up, before gesturing for Reed to continue. “Anything else you need to get off your chest?”

Reed leaned back. “Frankie Carlyle.”

“Who’s that?”

“The bastard who stole my deals. Some hotshot upstart from The Wilkerson Team.”

“Ah, so you’ve finally got some competition, eh?”

Reed narrowed his eyes. “Hardly.”

“Damn, you’re a sore loser. Always have been.”

Reed wanted to argue, but figured it was pointless. Carter knew him too well. “Lucky for me, I never lose.”

Carter burst out with loud laughter.

Reed scowled. “I’m simply going to tell Brian I’m not cleaning up any more messes. I’m a marketing guy and if he’d let me do that job instead of shipping me off to goddamn London for nearly a year, Frankie Carlyle wouldn’t have two jobs that should have been mine.”

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