HAPPY FOREVER AFTER

It was Tuesday. By the end of the day, Emma felt like she had walked high voltage lines. She was tired. All she could look forward to was a cool refreshing bath when she got home.

Catherine Martin, her secretary, knocked on her office door.

“Come on in,” Emma called from within.

Catherine walked in. “Mr Barrett called. Said he wants you, Tom and the rest of the crew at Kay Corp. Apparently Mr Rohan wants to meet the whole crew. He’s already there.”

Emma groaned. “But he already met me.. Why do I have to go?”

Catherine laughed. “That’s what Mr Barrett said. Are you done?… I could finish up for you”

“No I don’t need any help” Emma replied. “You can go home if you are done”

She cleared up the papers scattered on her desk. Picked up her handbag and drove away from the office. The thought of seeing Daniel brought back memories of Saturday night. Memories she had been doing everything in her power to avoid thinking about.

Reddings crew waited in the lounge when she arrived, standing in groups around the room. Emma went to stand besides Tom.

“You look terrible” he said “Coffee?”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Yes please” said Emma, accepting the Styrofoam cup.

The door swung open beneath Barrett’s hand. He entered and stepped to one side to admit another man. From behind several sets of shoulders, Emma saw Daniel. Dressed in a lightweight business suit standing in the doorway. Then he stepped into the bright light.

Three nights ago, this man had held her in his arms and danced with her.

A light veneer of sophistication touched his swarthy features, which were enhanced by his tailored gray suit and a soft blue shirt. His silk tie was loosely knotted. The contours of a chiseled mouth relaxed as Barrett introduced Daniel to each person.

Emma swallowed and stared at Tom. He was gaping in disbelief. She elbowed him, and he grinned down at her. “Same guy” he whispered.

Her hands formed tight fists at her sides as she took a deep breath and planted her shoes firmly on the concrete floor, forcing her expression into immobility.

Daniel’s head dipped in response to the introductions, and Barrett’s barroom bass voice carried to her ears. “Neely, this is Daniel Rohan. He’s replacing Rainy as president.

” Neely ” The deep voice acknowledging the introduction raised goosebumps on Emma’s skin. Her scalp tingled as she remembered the husky rasp: ” come with me, lady ”

She scrutinized each hard feature, her head cocked to one side. In the harsh light she saw that the crisp black hair glistened with silver. His mouth and jaw were hard. Creases slashed the lean cheeks, deepening as his white teeth flashed. Ebony lashes fringed eyes untouched by warmth.

Tom stepped forward. She heard Barrett’s rumbling. “This is Tom”.

There was a pause after Tom’s “Glad to meet you, sir”.

Emma shuddered, her palms growing moist.

Daniel studied Tom. “Hello you” he drawled. “I recognize you from Saturday night. Nice to see you again”.

Tom’s eyes locked with Emma’s. Slowly he winked.

“And of course, you’ve already met Emma Green”

Daniel faced her. A muscle tightened in his jaw as he towered over her. The tension crackling between them was almost audible.

Emma’s chin lifted, and she met the blaze of his black eyes with narrowed ones.

Slowly, the glittering half closed eyes traced her face, from her upturned nose to her generous mouth. His gaze inched down her neck to rest on the curves covered by her shirt, then skid to the short skirt. The languorous appraisal traveled with microscopic care upward again until it met her cold stare.

She shifted her weight and looped her thumbs in her skirt to keep her hands steady. With much care as his, Emma’s eyes swept the arrogantly tilted head, the expensively cut suit, down to the custom-made shoes. Then, without a flicker, she met his eyes.

Daniel tensed. His fist tightened at his thighs as though he would have liked to wrap them around her neck.

As Emma forced one corner of her mouth upwards, a flush appeared beneath Daniel’s tanned cheeks.

He turned to Tom, his voice harsh. “You two work on the same crew?”

“Yes” Tom drawled confidently

“I hope your friendship or relationship with her doesn’t affect your work?”

Barrett’s eyebrows rose. “You won’t find any fault with their work. I give them a reprimand quicker than anyone”

“I’ll see,” Daniel growled. Then, quietly to Emma, he added “I want to see you in my office immediately, Green”. He excused himself with a curt nod to the others.

The concrete vacated by his expensive shoes seemed to smolder as Emma looked down at it. Her senses were filled with her own anger, the tang of highly priced after shave, and his last insulting appraisal of her body.

————————————–

The door to Daniel’s office stood half open. Emma took a deep breath, then raised her knuckles to the walnut finish.

At her first rap, a “Get in here” snaked out at her. She hesitated, then entered the expensively decorated office.

Daniel stood behind a massive walnut desk in the center of the room, his suit jacket discarded. His tie lay in a heap atop stacks of paper. Black chest hair escaped the loosened shirt. Emma noted his forbidding expression and the large hands gripping the back of the desk chair.

His eyes scanned every inch of her like laser beams. They took in her shirt, her handbag, down to her shoes. Slowly, they returned to her face.

“Sit down,” he barked.

Emma went to one of the chairs in front of his desk with a casualness she didn’t feel.

She sat down and dropped her hand bag beside her. Her ponytail hung across her shoulder.

Suddenly he sprawled in the desk chair and rested his head against its high back. His dark hair standing in contrast to the scarlet fabric.

Emma’s blood beat against her skull as she met his gaze. Her hands tightly grasped the walnut arms of the chair.

One thick eyebrow arched. “I’m waiting for your personal file. Emma Rachel Green” he said in a tone that grated on her raw nerves. “I’m going over it with a fine toothed comb. Tomorrow may find you working in the office… Or on suspension.”

The secretary bustled into the office clutching a file folder. Daniel’s dark hand shot up to take it from her. “Thank you, Mrs Darrin”. He slapped the file on the desk and flipped it open. Head bent, he went through it as the heavy door clicked quietly behind the secretary.

He studied the papers intently, his face in shadow as he read. Silence spread over the room, disturbed only by the crackle of savagely turned pages.

Suddenly his head jerked up as he snapped the folder shut and tossed it aside. “Dammit woman, don’t you ever talk?”

Emma shifted in her chair, her fingers aching from gripping the arms. Her heart thumped somewhere in the region of her throat. He had to learn that she could hold her own, or she might as well walk out of his office and say goodbye to her job. Her tongue swept over her soft lips. His eyes followed the movement.

His anger showed in every line of his tanned skin. But Emma refused to be intimidated. “I talk. But you must realize it’s after five and I’m on overtime”

Daniel flicked a glance at the wall, he toyed with a pencil, which looked like a yellow matchstick in his large hands. “All right… I will make sure you get overtime” he agreed

She nodded, then said “exactly what credentials do you bring to this job Mr Rohan?”

He stared at her a moment before answering. “I started as a grunt like everyone else. Now I own Kay Corp”

Emma met his steady gaze. “And why do you question my effectiveness? Why do you think my friendship with Tom affects my work?… Is it because I’m a woman?”

“I have no problem with women. I have women working for me. In fact they are better at handling details. He paused, and the pencil snapped between his fingers, then clattered to the desk.” But you lady, are a different matter”

Emma’s toes curled inside her shoes at the sensual fire in his eyes.

“I hope this relates to my job. Mr Rohan ” she said slowly. She stood up and picked up her hand bag. One more minute of those black eyes on her face and she would pick up his paper weight and fling it at his head.

“So we are back to that Huh?”. He asked coolly. “Back to Mr Rohan?”

She didn’t answer.

His voice came so low that she barely heard its mocking rasp. “What are you going to do?”

She faced and planted her fists on her hips, making no effort to contain her anger. “I do my own work, Mr Rohan. Read those papers in front of you. I have been cited for outstanding service two times in three years”

His face hardened, and the growl changed to a threatening purr. “Sit down, lady. I want this matter between us settled before work hours tomorrow. I said, sit down,” he repeated quietly.

“There is no matter between us to settle,” she said. But she sat down.

“Now that’s better,” he commented.

When she stared blankly at him, he spoke slowly, distinctly. “Understand this, lady. I’m the boss and you are the employee. That’s a basic immutable fact.