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

don’t need to fear loss of wages. I’ll pay you. For two months’ time.”
    “Two months’ pay for four days’ work?”
    “I owe you.” He bites out.
    “No. You don’t.” It would be payment for a stolen kiss and that would make me a whore.
    “Take the offer.”
    We could be here all morning debating his penance for what happened last night. It’s time to put a stop to this. He’s apologized. I’ve accepted. We need to get on with things. “No. Is there anything else, Mr. MacKay? I do believe it’s time for breakfast.”
    His expression lightens up. Gone is the white slash to his mouth. A dimple pops up on his cheek. “And nothing interferes with food.”
    I crook a smile. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
    “Very well, Ms. Bennett. Lead the way.” He stands up and points to the door which I open and step through. Together we make our way to the dining room in total amity with each other. Too bad our fellowship barely lasts a day.
    Next evening, as soon as he arrives from work, he steps into my office.
    “My assistant emailed you the passport application. Why haven’t you returned it to him?”
    “Ummm. Sorry. With everything that’s going on, I forgot. I’ll get right on it.” I click my computer to look for the email Anton, the stuffed prig, sent me.
    “Ms. Bennett.”
    Darn. We’re back to Ms. Bennett again.
    “If you don’t obtain your passport in time, I’ll need to postpone my trip.”
    Oh, God. How could I have forgotten about this? “I’m sorry. Truly.” I find the passport application and start to read the instructions. “Ummm.”
    “What?”
    Pained by what I’m about to say, I glance up at him. “I need my birth certificate, but it’s in storage. I’ll need to drive there tomorrow to get it.” And that’s at least a two-hour trip there and back which means some of the dinner arrangements will need to be postponed.
    He waves a hand. “You can get them online.”
    “Not mine. I wasn’t born in the United States.”
    “You’re not an American citizen?” His voice rises.
    “I am. My parents traveled to the Cayman Islands for a last fling before I was born. I came two months early. They filed a document right away to provide me with U.S. citizenship, but those documents are not available online.”
    “They’re calling for snow tomorrow.”
    Figures. If it weren’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any. But I don’t have anyone to blame but myself. I should have taken care of this right away. “Shouldn’t be a problem, not with the Honda CR-V.” I offer hopefully.
    “It will take time away from your other tasks.”
    “I’m sorry.” How many times do I have to say those words?
    He blows out a harsh breath. “Fine. Complete the application, get your birth certificate. And get your picture taken.”
    Wait. What? “I have to do that too?”
    “Yes, Ms. Bennett. You do.” He turns and marches out of the office.
    I print out the application, complete as much as I can. I’m so immersed in the process, I lose track of the time. What seems like only minutes later, my office phone rings.
    “Ms. Bennett.” It’s him. Of course it’s him. “You do know dinner’s served promptly at seven.”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    “It’s 7:15.”
    “Sorry.” I wince. “I’ll be right there.”
    We conduct dinner in silence. I’m not about to say anything in case he feels like biting my head off some more.
    Next day, I breakfast alone.
    “Mr. MacKay left for the office, Miss,” Moseley says. “He had an early appointment.”
    Thank God and the little fishes. “May I ask you a question?”
    He nods.
    “Has he always been this”—pissed off—“difficult?”
    “When dealing with Mr. MacKay, it helps to obey him to the letter. That way he will have nothing to complain about.”
    He’s right. Sterling MacKay thrives on order and perfection. But the thing is I want to know what made him the way he is. As secretive as he is about his life, I can only learn