Up Close and Personal by Magda Alexander Read Free Book Online Page A

that?”
    “You don’t … consort with the help.”
    “I wasn’t consorting with her. She was helping with the belt.” And I took full advantage of her kindness by assaulting her.
    “Yes, Mr. MacKay.” He doesn’t believe me.
    And he’d be right. I was doing more than consorting with Caitlynn Bennett. Given another minute I would have buried my cock balls deep in her. And that’s something that can’t happen. Time to call the escort service and have them send Minouette.

Chapter 7
    ______________
    Caitlyn
    AFTER TOSSING AND TURNING half the night, I wake to find a typed note slipped under my door. “Please meet me in my office at eight sharp. There’s something I need to discuss with you. Sterling MacKay.”
    My heart thumps. He wants to discuss what happened last night. I shouldn’t have entered his room, but he was wobbly from the medication and I was afraid he’d hurt himself. And then . . . that kiss. I’d been so shocked I hadn’t reacted. I froze instead. But I wanted to. Everything in me loved what he was doing. Shivering from the memory, I rub my lip recalling how he’d licked me, nibbled me, tasted me. But that kiss will make things uncomfortable between us. So, even though it was not my fault, he’ll probably let me go.
    If he does, what am I going to do? I need this job so I can pay off my mother’s medical bills. If I don’t, they’ll be hanging over my head for a long time. Oh, I won’t starve, and I’ll still have a roof over my head. The restaurant will take me back. But even with a roommate, my finances were darn limited. I won’t be able to afford a decent car or plan for the future. I’ll be too busy paying off expenses for the next ten years.
    Brushing my tears away, I catch the hour. Darn it. I woke up late, and now I barely have enough time to brush my teeth and dress before dashing down the stairs. I make it to his office just as the grandfather clock in the foyer chimes the eight bells.
    Handsome as ever, he’s seated behind the desk in a killer three-piece black suit, hands templed over a piece of paper. “Ms. Bennett. Good morning.” His mouth’s drawn in a tight, white line. Is he still in pain? Or is this the expression he wears when he fires someone?
    “Good morning.” I sniff back my tears. Whatever he’s got to say, I’ll accept with grace and dignity, like my mother taught me.
    “I want to apologize for last night.”
    “Apologize?” I croak out. Those are the last words I expected to hear from his lips.
    “Yes. I . . . crossed a line I shouldn’t have crossed. So I offer my most sincere regrets.”
    “I . . . apology accepted?” I don’t know what else to say.
    He slides a paper over to me. Probably my notice of termination. I try to read it but the words swim on the paper. I blink away the tears to find a name and address on the sheet. An attorney going by the esquire after the man’s name. Am I supposed to report to him for my paycheck? “What . . . What is this?”
    “My attorney. You’ll need it to file a sexual harassment suit against me.”
    I whoosh out a breath. “File a suit? Against you? Why would I do that?”
    “Do I need to spell it out for you, Ms. Bennett? I forced myself on you last night.”
    My lips tremble. With amusement? With relief? Who knows? “No, you didn’t. You kissed me. That’s all. No biggie.” I hitch a shoulder.
    “No . . . biggie?” He sounds outraged. “I violated the trust between employer and employee.”
    “You’d just taken three pain pills. Your moral code took a vacation, that’s all.”
    “How can you espouse such a view? You resisted me and I refused to release you.”
    “I didn’t resist. I was surprised, that’s all.”
    “My kiss was repugnant to you.”
    Giddy from the realization he doesn’t intend to fire me, I laugh. “Actually, I kind of liked it.”
    “Kind of?” His brow scrunches as if he’s trying to divine the meaning behind my words. He shakes his head. “Look, you