Page 25 of If You Could Only Imagine
I did my best to sound professional and not bothered at all. “It’s always wonderful to have management support, Mr. Buchanan,” I said, smiling like a lunatic. “This will probably bore you to death, though, seeing as how this meeting isn’t really all that…dire.” I looked over at Raymond, and still smiling, said, “Mr. Sampson and I have it all under control, I think.”
And then the most horrible thing in the world happened.
Raymond winked at me and Aiden saw it.
The clench of Aiden’s jaw, the slight narrowing of his eyes, and the still in his posture said it all.
Fuck. My. Life.
Aiden played the amateur just to be able to remain in this meeting. “Well, I’m still learning the ropes, so this is a perfect opportunity for me to be more...involved,” he said, his voice a bit frosty.
“Well,” Raymond chuckled, “I’m feeling quite special knowing we are personally being seen to by an actual Buchanan.” Then he quickly checked himself and looked over at me. “Not that I don’t have the utmost confidence in your…talents,Denise.”
Aiden flinched at Raymond’s use of my first name. I decided I better get this meeting under control before Aiden did something we couldn’t come back from. “Great,” I muttered, unconvincingly, no doubt.
I headed back to my seat, as Raymond resumed sitting in his chair, and Aiden leaned up against a filing cabinet behind me. “Okay, Mr. Sampson,” I began again, “as I was saying, I’ve been looking over your account and their sub-accounts, and I came across one that is primarily used for business travel within the state, but contained some odd charges as of late.”
What I left out was that, as I’m sure he intended, the charges all consisted of things to make a woman wish for a man like him. The charges were tickets to the opera, a couple of jewelry stores, a day spa; things like that. Any woman reviewing the charges would think this man treated his dates wonderfully.
His eyes flickered over to Aiden really quickly before settling back on mine. “You know,” he said, chuckling again, “I think it quite possibly could be my carelessness in pulling out the wrong card.”
I smiled and leaned over my desk, handing him the page of charges. He leaned forward, taking it, but hardly even glancing at it. “I would still feel better if you went over all the charges to verify for both our sakes, Mr. Sampson.”
He tsked and raised a brow. “One day, I’m going to get you to call me Raymond, Denise,” he said smoothly, and I could feel the testosterone radiating off Aiden from behind me.
I followed our pattern. “Not as long as I’m handling your account, Mr. Sampson,” I repeated.
Raymond smirked, and surprisingly, looked over the sheet of paper I handed him. I truly thought everything would be okay when he looked back up at me and said, “Those all look like legitimate mistakes on my part, Denise.” He placed the paper back on my desk. “I’m truly sorry for causing any undue concerns.”
But I was wrong.
Like many things of late, I was very wrong.
Wrong choices. Wrong men. Wrong situations.
I. Was. Wrong.
Aiden’s voice, along with his macho bullshit, turned this meeting into the pissing match he meant it to be. “Well, I’m glad to hear that it was nothing but an honest oversight,” he chimed in. “It’s easy to do with a wallet stuffed full of plastic.” He chuckled. “I’ve done it myself a few times.”
My smile remained, and I kept my eyes locked with Raymond’s face as he looked up and addressed Aiden. “Yes,” he agreed. “Easy fix.”
“Well, I think I’ll just head out and let you two finish up here,” he said, casually, but I knew better. It’s like that little bit of premonition where you see the puddle of water and the second you step in it, you see yourself sliding and falling on your ass, but it’s too late to stop the step. “It was good to meet you, Mr. Sampson. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet Mr. Martin soon, as well.”
And then this cocky, arrogant, infuriating, insecure asshole halted his steps when he reached my desk and said, “I’ll leave it in your good hands, Denise.” I looked up at him and steeled myself for the words I knew were coming next. “I’ll see you tonight, babe.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I was pissed beyond what I thought I could be.
But not at him.
At myself.
I did this.
I slept with my boss.
I crossed that line of inappropriateness and I deserved this fucked up Karma.
He said goodbye to Raymond, once more, and then headed out of my office. When I turned my gaze back towards Raymond, he smirked and said, “Well, I guess I should start getting used to calling you Ms. Hart. Or would that be Mrs. Buchanan?”
