Page 14 of Power
“I know.”
“It wasn’t the plan.”
I glare at him. “I’m aware.”
“Do you think she will remain loyal?”
“Yes.” I don’t hesitate. I pushed more than one button, so to speak, with her today. I know where her desires lie. She is a people pleaser, and she wants to please me so that I can praise her.
However, a sudden shred of doubt hits me.
My mind is spinning, and I can feel my heart pounding with anticipation, an electric current of thrill running through me. I'm both concerned and desperate to know what will happen next; if Bailey will tell anyone our secret or if it will stay safely tucked away between us.
It annoys me on a level that has previously been unreached. I never have doubts. I never second-guess myself, but this woman has buried her way into my soul and found that minuscule place where these reservations live.
Frowning fiercely, I sit at my desk. “Dismissed,” I growl, needing to be alone.
My thoughts turn to the bigger picture. Bailey is only a part of that. There is the coronation which I’ve been putting off, wanting my Queen next to me. However, it has made me seem indecisive in my role. I know this is why Gryphon has attempted this maneuver. It is unacceptable. I’m close, so very close to having it all. I need to ensure that my authority isn’t to be questioned. Destroying Gryphon isn’t an option. Not yet, anyway. But it’s not off the table if he continues to push me.
Needing to get up and move, I rise and head to the door, flinging it open. Bailey hasn’t returned to her desk, which concerns me. I pause to wonder if I should find her but decide that it is a bad idea. If I do, I will probably ravage her in my current mood, and shedefinitelyisn’t ready for that. I don’t want to do anything else to scare her off. I need to cool off. I tug at the tie, suddenly constricting my neck too tightly. Heading for the elevator, I make my way down to the cafeteria and order a coffee, seating myself at the same table in the far corner as Bailey sat at yesterday to contemplate my next move on the chessboard of Solitaire. God only knows, things haven’t gone to plan so far. I didn’t expect Bailey to pull the rug out from under me, but I smile.
I absolutely should’ve known. She is a force of nature, a whirlwind that has come in and thrown me off my game.
She is everything.
ChapterEleven
Bailey
My hands are tremblingas I stare at my reflection in the stark light of the white-tiled ladies' room. I’m frozen in place. My panties are wedged uncomfortably between my legs, but I can’t move. Not yet. I need another minute to pull myself together.
A voice on the other side of the door gets me into motion.
I can’t see anyone, let alone speak to them right now.
Just one more minute.
I slip into a cubicle, placing my bag on top of the cistern and taking my jacket off to hang on the hook behind the door. Quietly, I lower the toilet seat lid and sit down, leaning my elbows on my knees. Dropping my head into my hands, my breath hitches.
“Fuck’s sake,” I hear Trish’s voice snap as she bangs open the door to the ladies' room. “Are you fucking serious?”
I wait for whoever she is talking to reply, but no one does.
“Well, she can go and get fucked.”
I’m assuming that at this stage, she is talking on the phone, so I sit quietly while she swears and insults her way through the rest of her conversation in the next cubicle. I hear the toilet flush and will her to go away. Her vibes are not helping my anxiety or my need to think about what happened with Archer in his office. Well, with allthreeof them. They sat there watching the entire thing, so they are part of it whether I like it or not.
The strange thing is, I don’t feel violated. I know if I’d asked him to stop, he would have. This was a test to show my loyalty, and while I’ve never experienced anything like that before, I can’t deny the thrill it sent through my body when he touched me.
I hear another bang, and then it all goes quiet, so I take a deep breath and stand up. I need to get back to my desk, or I won’t have a job by the end of today. What I need to deduce between now and the short walk back to my new desk is whether I’m prepared to play this game that Archer has laid down. Clearly, that’s what this is to him. I want to tell him to, in Trish’s words, get fucked, but there is something stopping me from doing that. Is it the praise? Is it the fact that I fancy him? Or that when he touched me, I wanted to die? Or maybe it’s that I’m intimidated by him? All four, plus some other stuff that I haven’t even wrapped around my head yet?
With a sigh, I put my jacket back on and pick up my bag. Sliding the lock across, I open the door and come face-to-face with Trish, leaning up against the basins, her arms folded across her chest and her ankles crossed.
“Saw you come in here. What’s up?”
I press my lips together. “Nothing.” I place my bag on the counter and deliberately lean forward to squirt out some handwash, before pushing the top of the hot tap with the back of my hand. I wash my hands slowly.
“Did you just get initiated?” she asks with a smirk. “You look a bit shell-shocked.”
