Nailed Read online

  “Marco has my phone number.” He stroked his knuckles along her cheek. “I’ll look forward to his call.”

  Then he was gone and she stood in the center of her private room, wondering how she would counteract the emotional tornado that had just picked her up and spun her wildly around. And that she was done for the night. How could she be with another Dom after Tyler?

  And how had she let him get to her like that?

  Chapter Three

  Although he was tired, Tyler still felt like whistling as he waited for the elevator in the underground garage. His dreams had been disturbed by sensual fantasies in which a woman with a wicked tongue and flame-red hair played a large part. The whistling was prompted by an unusual feeling of both satisfaction and anticipation. In his mind he kept replaying the all-too-brief session with Flame and all the things he wanted to do with her. To her.

  He’d thought he was long past the fantasy state, too jaded for them to invade his dreams. He was even slowly coming to the conclusion that the kind of woman he wanted to settle down with permanently didn’t exist. Someone who satisfied him completely in the bedroom and who was a match for him in every other way. But last night he’d had a tiny glimpse of the possibility in the short time he spent with Flame.

  He had to remind himself, of course, that she was off limits outside the walls of Finesse. Those were the rules unless both parties agreed to a different arrangement. He’d abide by them. For now. But he was so jazzed by the short session with Flame that at the moment, he just wanted to enjoy the good feeling. And look forward to the next time he saw her. He certainly hoped it was before he had to leave for Wyoming again.

  The elevator door slid open and as he stepped into it, he heard someone yell from the garage.

  “Hey. Can you hold it a minute, please?”

  He turned to see a man about his age running toward him, jacketless, tie flapping over his shoulder, lugging a briefcase and a cardboard box. Tyler pressed the Door Open button and the man maneuvered his way into the elevator car.

  “Thanks,” he huffed out. “I’m running late as it is.”

  Tyler nodded at the box and thick briefcase. “Lot of homework?”

  The man gave him a wry grin. “In a way. We just moved our offices onto the twelfth floor here. The movers took most of it but I was in the middle of a situation so I took everything home to finish.” He held out his hand. “Jack Shelton.”

  Tyler shook hands. “Tyler McMann.”

  “You’re the fifteenth floor,” the man said. “McMann Development.”

  “That’s us. And you are?”

  “Junior partner. Larkin and Associates.” He grinned. “Very junior and very newly partnered.”

  “Congrats, anyway. Your firm is considered one of the top in the city. So how many of you are there?”

  “Fifty people,” Jack told him. “Including the support staff.”

  Tyler whistled. “Nice size operation.”

  Jack shrugged. “We get by.” Then he laughed. “A long way by.”

  At that moment the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

  “I guess this is your floor. Here, let me help you with your stuff.”

  “Just into the reception area,” Jack told him. “I can get someone to do the heavy lifting from there.”

  In fact, a man who looked too young to be working there hurried up to where they were standing.

  “I’ll take these to your office, Mr. Shelton.” He picked up the briefcase and box, juggling them awkwardly, put down the box then looked from Tyler to Jack. An expression of panic crossed his face. “Sorry. I’ll get this done right now.”

  Jack laughed. “It’s okay, Kurt. I had trouble with them, too.”

  Kurt managed to balance himself with the items and scurried down the hall.

  “Not a junior partner, I’m guessing,” Tyler grinned.

  “A very earnest intern,” Jack explained. “Well. Nice meeting you.”

  “Same here. Listen. If no one clued you in, there’s a great coffee shop in the lobby when you can’t leave the building for lunch.”

  “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”

  At that moment a woman holding a stack of folders came from one of the rooms to the right and hurried past them with a businesslike stride. Tyler guessed her height at five four, barely improved by the sensible low-heel shoes she wore. Her navy suit was pure business-style and her hair had been ruthlessly pulled back into a twist. Wire-rimmed glasses were perched on her nose. For some reason he couldn’t identify, Tyler actually found her sexy, even though she was nothing like the women he spent time with.

  For a moment he thought there was something familiar about her. Something that made his balls tingle. Then he gave himself a mental shake.

  I must be hornier than I thought. That short session at Finesse apparently didn’t do it for me. I don’t know this woman and I don’t think I want to know her. Definitely not my type. I can see that.

  Jack called out to her. “Hey, Jen, got a minute? This guy’s one of our neighbors and I want to introduce you.”

  She tossed a wave over her shoulder. “Gotta hurry. Sorry.”

  Tyler stared after her, more curious than ever. “Who’s that? She’s not very friendly, is she?”

  Jack sighed. “Jenyfer Mayhew. She’s one of our best but I’d sure love to find some way to take that stick out of her ass.”

  Tyler’s interest was piqued. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Who knows? She dresses like my fourth grade teacher and parties the same way. If she does at all. She’s got probably the sharpest brain in the firm, though. Clients love her work. So does Larkin. But Jesus, you just want to tell her to get a life.” He hesitated a moment. “Maybe I’m talking out of turn here, but as soon as we knew we were moving into this building, Ed Larkin, the senior partner, mentioned wanting to talk to you and your brothers. You’ve apparently got some huge project going in Wyoming that the whole business world is discussing. He wanted to talk to you about who does your accounting.”

  “No problem. I’ll mention it to my brother Alex. He runs the business side of things. Oh, and I’ll be sure to let him know if your boss calls for an appointment, he needs to bring you along.”

  “Thanks.” Jack shook his hand again. “It’s hard getting a foothold in the crowd.”

  Tyler nodded. “Don’t I know it. That’s why we decided to go into business for ourselves. Well, better get upstairs before I get fired.”

  He was still thinking about Jack Shelton when he stepped off the elevator into the McMann Development offices. Alex was standing by the receptionist’s desk, leafing through a stack of messages.

  “That many calls already today?” Tyler asked. It was barely nine o’clock.

  “Too many irons and not enough fire,” Alex answered.

  Tyler studied him. “You think we bit off more than we can chew with this Concordia project?”

  The project in Wyoming was actually an entire village and the McMann brothers were developing it from scratch. Josh had thoroughly researched the history of the area because Concordia wanted the village to have a historical theme. He’d knocked himself out on the designs, impressing the hell out of the Concordia people. Tyler and Alex had done the cost estimates, coming well within the parameters they were given, even leaving a margin for error. But it meant Tyler traveling back and forth, spending weeks sometimes in Wyoming, and Alex flying out occasionally for a week at a time when changes had to be made. So where did that leave the rest of their clients?

  Now Alex shook his head. “No. What I want to talk to you and Josh about is adding some staff. In addition to what we’re already working on, we’ve suddenly become the latest fad in the business. We’re getting calls daily.”

  “Concordia,” Tyler guessed.

  Alex nodded. “I’d say that’s what’s put our name in lights. Anyway, let’s go into my office. I’ll buzz Josh and let him know you’re in.”

  Fifteen minutes later the three b
rothers were looking at the list of possible clients.

  “It’s an embarrassment of riches,” Josh chuckled. “Do you guys remember when we got our first job? We just hoped we had enough money to cover our costs until we got paid.”

  “I’m sure I’ll never forget,” Tyler said.

  “Anyway.” Alex looked at the list. “Here’s what I’m proposing. Ty, you’re already busy working the Wyoming thing and jumping back and forth to here for the other jobs we’ve got going.”

  “We’re managing,” he insisted. “And I’ve got good job supervisors.”

  “But you’re just hiring them as we need them,” Alex pointed out. “One of the things I’m proposing is that you find two or three of your very best supervisors and we put them on the payroll. We’re doing well enough we could even set up a bonus situation. What about it, Ty? What do you think?”

  What did he think? He thought it would be really, really nice to have a situation where he could spend a little more time in town with free evenings for Finesse. And Flame.

  He looked at the list again. “I can already think of a couple of the guys working jobs for me now that I’d talk to. And one I’d love to pull away from where he is.”

  “They have to be able to hire their own crews and be smart about it. Find the right guys. We need to be sure the reputation we’re building doesn’t suffer.”

  Tyler leaned across the table. “You think I need someone to tell me that?”

  “Cool down. I wasn’t questioning your judgment, just covering all bases. Now.” He turned to Josh, who held up a hand.

  “I can already smell it. You think we should hire at least one junior architect.”

  Alex nodded. “Do you agree?”

  “Yeah, but I think I’d like to get some kids fresh out of college. Start them in the basics and mold them the way I want to.”

  “Well, look at you,” Alex teased. “Aren’t you being the professor and all. Has Ness seen this side of you?”

  Josh grinned. “Ness has seen every side of me.”

  “While we’re talking about this stuff,” Tyler broke in, “did you know Larkin and Associates has moved into this building?”

  “Yeah.” Alex nodded. “I ran into the movers when I was here Saturday morning. Great firm.”

  “I met one of their junior partners in the elevator today. Nice guy. He said Ed Larkin was saying something about setting up a meeting with us.”

  He and Josh looked at Alex. With his masters in business administration, that was his area.

  Alex shrugged. “The way we’re expanding, we probably should look at a larger firm to handle our accounting.”

  “Okay if I give this Jack Shelton a call? I know it would be a gold star for him if he could facilitate a meeting.”

  “Sure. Go ahead. I’ll email you with some available times.”

  Tyler pushed back his chair. “Maybe I’ll ask him to bring the woman in his office with the stick up her ass.”

  “What?” Both brothers spoke at once.

  “Some woman ran by us like we were dirt on the floor, wouldn’t even stop to meet me. But Jack Shelton, the guy I met, says she has a steel trap mind and clients love her work.”

  “Then definitely bring her,” Alex told him. “I don’t care about anything else except her work.”

  “I’ll get right on it.”

  Maybe the puzzle of Jenyfer Mayhew could occupy his mind until he got to see Flame again.

  * * * * *

  One floor below, Jen Mayhew sat in her office with the door closed, hands folded on her desk as she tried to stop her trembling. Holy crap! Finding Tyler standing in the reception area of the Larkin and Associates office almost knocked her off her game. This was the last place she expected to see him. Was he a friend of Jack’s? Maybe he was a tenant in the building. Even worse!

  How was she going to survive this? She’d been so successful at keeping her business and private lives separated until now—except for one near disaster. How was she to know that a man she’d met in her Domme persona, a man who was a perfect sub in private life, would turn out to be an important new client. The day she’d replaced one of the other associates in a client meeting she hadn’t been sure which of them had been more shocked.

  Fortunately they got through the meeting without anyone sensing something wrong. Afterward, however, the client had managed to corner her in her office and first beg her then threaten her to keep his secret. No problem. She didn’t want information getting out about her, either. If the conservative people in the high profile world in which she worked ever discovered her sexual preferences, she’d be dead meat in the profession. Especially with a starched collar firm like Larkin and Associates.

  But she’d had to embarrass herself in front of Ed Larkin with a concocted story about why she didn’t want to sit in on any more client meetings. She’d handle any accounts he wanted, as many as he wanted, work as late as he wanted. She just wasn’t comfortable meeting with people. Jen was just glad that her skills were so important to the firm that Larkin agreed to it. Although he did look at her strangely.

  Still, she’d been able to work in the safety of her office, arriving before most people and leaving after them to avoid any other confrontations. But now they’d moved into this new building and who should show up in their offices except Tyler, the very sexy Dom. The man who had stirred feelings inside her she’d thought long buried. The man who’d haunted her dreams for the last week.

  This was not good. It had been a very long time since a man—sub or Dom—had planted lingering memories in her brain. Or stirred her emotionally as well as sexually.

  A knock on her door dragged her away from her thoughts. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking the moment to compose herself. Then she opened several of the folders on her desk and spread them around.

  “Come in.”

  “Hey, Jen.” Jack Shelton opened the door and leaned against the jamb. “Where were you headed in such a hurry before? I wanted to introduce you to Tyler McMann. I’m hoping his company will become a new client.”

  Oh god, no!

  Her stomach cramped and a tiny thread of pain stabbed at her left temple.

  No, no, no! Why am I being punished like this? It can’t happen again.

  Keeping her voice even she asked, “And that has something to do with me because?”

  “Because he and his brothers own one of the hottest development companies out there today. If I can land them it would be a score in my favor.”

  “Jack, I’m all for your success.” She busied herself shifting folders around. “But again, what does that have to do with me?”

  “Two things.” He moved forward until he was standing in front of her desk. “First of all, if we land this account I get high marks with Larkin. Secondly, Tyler McMann is one good-looking dude. He might even appeal to you.”

  Jen ground her teeth. “As a compliment, that falls a little flat. As an enticement, it’s worthless. Besides, you know I never mix business with pleasure.”

  He leaned forward, hands flat on the desk. “You never mix business with business, either. What’s that all about? Jen doesn’t have to go to client meetings?”

  She wanted to smack him with something. How dare he shove himself into her space. The Domme side of her surfaced without warning and she rose from her chair, nearly nose to nose with him.

  “What it’s all about is none of your fucking business.” She spit her words out, each one like the slice of a knife. She curled her fingers into fists. “Now get the hell out of my office.”

  Jack Shelton looked as if she’d just doused him with ice water. His eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. He backed up slowly.

  “Jesus, Jen. Put away the claws.” Then he stopped and gave her a slow smile. “But it’s nice to know there’s some fire beneath that layer of ice.”

  “Out,” she repeated. “Right now.”

  The minute he left she came out from behind her desk and closed the door. T
hen she dropped into a chair in front of her desk and put her head in her hands. Why was this happening now? She’d been going to Finesse for seven years, ever since what she thought of as her forever relationship went sour. She deliberately dressed the way she did at work and behaved the way she did so she gave no clue as to the person under that public image she’d created. Only as Flame could she really be herself.

  Now her two lives seemed to be colliding in a very public arena and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. Or how she was going to avoid Tyler McMann, whom apparently she now shared a building with.

  Damn, damn, damn!

  Unable to concentrate on the work awaiting her, she opened her browser and Googled Tyler McMann.

  The day had been a busy one for Tyler and at seven o’clock he was ready for it to be over. He had three fairly large jobs in progress in a three-county area and he’d paid a visit to each one. Beginning tomorrow, he’d spend a full day at each site, coordinating with the job supervisor. He had at least three weeks before he had to return to Wyoming. Plenty of time to give his attention to the jobs in process and start the hunt for sharp, dependable guys to hire on permanently. He’d be watching the ones already in place to see if they were good candidates.

  Now he was dusty and tired and pissed at all the traffic he’d had to fight his way through. He just wanted to go home and have a hot shower and a cold beer. But there were additional specs for one of the jobs he needed so here he was waiting for the elevator that would take him from the garage to the floor where the offices were. He was pretty sure his brothers had already left and probably most of the other tenants also.

  He waited impatiently for the elevator, ready to hop in as soon as the door opened. Preoccupied with his thoughts he nearly mowed down the woman stepping off. She stopped, her expression like a deer caught in the headlights. He was sure she was the woman Jack Shelton had tried to introduce him to earlier in the day. He recognized the stuffy suit and the tightass hairstyle.

  For a moment they were frozen like a tableau. Tyler’s eyes locked on hers and something sizzled inside him.