Page 68 of Submissive Lies

SIXTEEN

I forced myself not to cry.

But a part of me wanted to. I realized at some level I was overreacting to a set of circumstances that didn’t exist, but that didn’t stop me. I stood there, looking at my reflection in the mirror and groaned.

Okay, Jen. Enough. You’ll be back here tonight and get another good whipping and then the fucking you want. For God’s sake, dial the emotional shit back. All you have to do is just get through the day…

Fortunately, this little emotional hiccup I was having didn’t last long, and I got myself gathered together. A little pep talk to get my head back in the game, and I was under control. I touched up my make-up and hair, got what I needed, and then headed out of the room to face the day ahead of me.

Steve and I had spent enough time together this morning that breakfast was pretty much out of the question. I went by the small hotel store and bought a banana, eating it as I walked to the convention center. As I wove through the people heading the same direction, I realized something. I hadn’t checked my phone. It hadn’t even crossed my mind once to do so. It was an afterthought now, and I debated whether I really wanted to deal with this right now. Sighing, I reached into my bag, pulling it out. I thumbed the screen alive.

Nothing.

I checked my messages, looked for a text from him even though I knew there wouldn’t be one. And I was right. I had to bite back the surge of raw anger that shot through me. Thomas was still ignoring me. You bastard. I’d called Loren yesterday, confirmed he was alive and well, and I’d be damned if I was going to bother her again today. You goddamn bastard. He’d spent the last month pestering me, asking me what was wrong, pushing me to talk with him before I even knew what I wanted to say. And now that I knew? Nothing. Nada. This was a game. This was some of Thomas’ lawyer throw-the-client-off-balance bullshit, but I wasn’t playing. Don’t want to talk to me? Fine. Have it your way, asshole. I tossed the banana peel in the trash with more anger than was appropriate, and then worked to pull myself back into a professional expression. Because, while there was no text from Thomas, there was one from the salesperson who had missed her flight the previous day.

‘Sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday! I’m here now! Looking forward to meeting you in the morning!’

So. Many. Exclamation. Points. I sighed. An exclaimer. Great. While it didn’t surprise me—that seemed to be the type that gravitated towards sales—I wasn’t sure why she was making such an effort to make sure I knew she was here. I was just the Marcomm person for the show, nothing more. Maybe she wanted to make sure if I reported back to Loren that I’d met her I’d say she was a real go-getter, enthusiastic about being here, or some bullshit like that. Impressions were definitely important to salespeople, and since she was new to the corporation, she was probably covering all her bases. That was fine. I was the last person she needed to worry about, so if she wanted to make sure she was on my radar it was no skin off my nose.

I crossed the street into the McCormick lobby, and even though it was just past 7am, people were already starting to fill the hall. It was a whole different vibe than in the previous two days. No men in jeans and tool belts, forklifts buzzing about, and the humid air was now pleasantly air conditioned. I walked through the lobby, and then through the doors into the hall. Compared to yesterday the convention center was oddly silent. There was the murmur of people talking quietly as I walked past the other booths, the sound of the occasional vacuum cleaner as someone did some last minute sweeping, and the gentle hum of the huge overhead A/C ducts pumping chilled air into the hall. All the other loud noises that had made up the background ambience during the set were gone, replaced by the calm that prevailed as I walked to the booth.

Once there I found both Keith and Steve already working, doing a final wipe-down of everything. No one else had arrived yet, which is what I had expected. Those who had come yesterday evening were already set and didn’t need to be here this early. Anyone else who might show up this morning probably had little they’d need taken care of. All of the monitors had been turned on, all the lights brought up, and everything looked perfectly in place. I walked to the reception counter and set my stuff down. This is where I’d be spending the bulk of my time during show hours over the next two days, and I intended to stake my claim for space while I could. I opened a door and threw my bag inside. As I rose up, I found Steve standing in front of the desk, a by now familiar coffee cup in hand.

“Morning, Ms. Boyd.”

“I could kiss you right now.” I said softly as I reached for the cup.

“I like the sound of that,” he said in return, smiling.

There was a tingle of electricity that passed between us as our fingers touched as the cup went from his hand to mine. Although part of me would have loved nothing more than to kiss him, I didn’t, obviously. Instead I let my eyes linger on his as I took a sip. He returned my stare, and the look he gave me sent a small shiver down my spine.

“How are we looking?” I asked, glancing about to break the spell.

“Things look good. Honestly, there’s not much left for us to do except finish the wipe down, and then see if anyone needs anything when they show up.”

I nodded. I could see Keith across the booth, wiping down a cabinet at one of the workstations.

“Thank you, Steve,” I said quietly. “For everything.”

“Thank you, Ms. Boyd.” he smiled back at me sincerely. “For everything.”

We both stood there looking at each other. There were so many unspoken yet still spoken-without-words things passing between us. Just as I started to take advantage of this quiet moment we had together, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look in that direction, and watched as the first contingent of my co-workers began to trickle into the booth.

“Well, here we go”, I said ruefully, turning back to look at Steve.

“So it begins.” He had caught what I’d seen, and now he grinned at me. “Let me know if you need anything.” He reached over and gave my hand a gentle pat before he moved off to continue wiping down the exhibit.

As I watched him go, I felt a wave of warmth and gratitude wash through me. I could do with more of that. At least a few days and nights more of it. I was still basking in that thought as the group of salespeople approached me. We made polite chit-chat for a minute as I took a headcount. A quick once-over told me that at least one person was missing. The bright, bubbly trying-too-hard young woman I’d met last night. Terry? Tina… no, no Tracy. That was her name. Tracy. She wasn’t here. And I did not see another unfamiliar face which I’d expected. The woman who would be her boss, the flight delayed exclaimer named Sam.

“We seem to be missing a couple of people,” I said casually.

“Oh, yeah… Trace and Sam are still over in the restaurant, finishing breakfast. Trace was bringing Sam up to speed on a few things since she didn’t get in until late last night.”

“Ah,” I said, nodding. It didn’t surprise me that they were both running late. Unfair as it may be, I’d already pegged them as the type.

“They’ll be here shortly, I’m sure.”

I smiled politely. Of course. Sure. Shortly.

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