Page 55 of Tamed

Then there was the issue of the meeting and what my failure to turn up for it meant. Would they bother to contact me again? Or had I blown my only chance to find out about my mother? Since Caleb had confiscated my phone, I had no way of knowing, and since he’d also cut the WiFi, I couldn’t go online to find out.

It was enraging.

As I’d predicted, Monday did indeed turn out to be a bitch.

My clothes had been delivered from my apartment and I took a bit more time than usual putting together my work outfit. I wore my usual pencil skirt of light grey, but this time I paired it with a silky, slightly transparent black blouse with a little bow at the neck. I also wore the most ridiculous of my high heels, black patent stilettos.

I paid attention to my make up with an extra red lip, and I put my hair into my usual bun, with a few little curls here and there to soften it. I wanted to look sexy and sensual, because I assumed the first thing Caleb would do would be to call me into his office and yell at me about the messages he’d found on my phone.

Except he didn’t do that.

I was escorted to work by a four man detail that made me feel bad about the loss of J, J, and M, not to mention also like a prisoner being escorted to the dock, and then I waited in my cubicle, worrying about why Zara wasn’t there and realizing all of a sudden that because I didn’t have my phone, I wouldn’t know how her virginity auction had gone or who’d bought her or what had happened. And because I’d spent my entire weekend going over my night with Caleb, I’d completely forgotten about her.

So now not only was I worried about her, but I was also furious at myself for being so self-centered. Then to make matters worse, I still heard nothing from Caleb.

The whole morning ticked away, and I wasn’t called into his office once.

I called Zara’s mobile from my desk phone, but there was no response, so I sat there, getting angrier and angrier.

Okay, perhaps he was ignoring what had happened between us on Friday night in the hope that I’d forget about it too, which, fat chance. But surely, I was up for some kind of blowback about the mysterious texts I’d been receiving and hiding from all and sundry?

Was it deliberate? Some kind of elaborate psych-out? Did he want me to stew about this a lesson? Because he was very fond of his lessons and didn’t I know it.

As the time ticked by and lunchtime came and went, I found myself staring down at my wrists as I typed, working on a bullshit PowerPoint for HR. The red line from where he’d tied me had disappeared, but I could still feel the silk binding me. Could still feel his hand on my butt, his tongue between my thighs and his cock sliding into me.

I’d been bitterly disappointed that none of the marks he’d left had lasted, as if that night between us had never happened. In fact, the whole weekend I’d been second guessing myself, thinking that maybe it hadn’t. Maybe it had all been a product of my own fevered imagination.

But it wasn’t and ithadhappened, and I needed a plan. If he wasn’t going to come to me, I’d go to him. Confront him, maybe seduce him. I could do that, couldn’t I? Seduce him so thoroughly that another night with me would be all he could think of. Perhaps I’d also convince him to give me some info about my mother. He’d known her after all.

Some part of me must have thought that surely, he couldn’t pretend all day and yet as four PM hit, and I still hadn’t been called into his office, I finally lost what little patience I had left.

Shoving back my chair, I stormed out of my cubicle and headed to the elevators, stabbing at the button for his lordship level. It went out of its way to descend in the slowest time possible, aggravating me even more, and on the way up, it apparently had to stop at every single floor.

By the time we were at Mt Olympus, I was ready to blow my top.

I strode out of the elevator into Caleb’s reception area, Sally already giving me the evil eye as I approached.

“You can’t go in, Miss Fox,” she said icily. “He’s in a meeting.”

I didn’t even look at her as I went past her desk.

“Miss Fox,” Sally said sternly, half getting up from her chair. “You can’t go—”

“I don’t care,” I said furiously and headed straight for the doors.

I probably should have thought things through a little more. I probably should have at least taken a couple of breaths and calmed down before I pushed open the doors.

But I didn’t. I slammed them open, full of fury, and walked in to find not only Caleb standing behind his desk, but Atlas sprawled on the couch at the other end of the room, and my goddamn father standing by the windows.

A stunning silence fell as all three looked at me, making me very conscious of the fact that I was red faced and sweaty with fury, and breathing hard. Not to mention that the events of Friday night — Caleb spanking me, Caleb with his head between my legs, Caleb fucking me on the floor — were replaying themselves in glorious Technicolor in my head, even as Dad’s cold blue gaze fixed on me.

Oh shit. I’d clearly made the world’s most grievous error.

The silence became thicker, denser, and I opened my mouth, no doubt to say something stupid that I’d regret, when Caleb said in an expressionless voice, “Ah, Isabel. Just the person we want to see.”

I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t even turn my head. Because I knew that if I did, if I met his gaze, every single thing I’d been thinking about him for the past two days would be there on my face for everyone to read.

Dad is going to be furious if he finds out.

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