Perception (6 page)

Uncharacteristically
restless, Xander leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he glanced
up at Mercedes to see that she was smiling. He wondered if she was entertained
by his unease. Probably.

Any other
day, he might’ve taken offense to her obvious amusement at his expense. But
today… Today he just couldn’t find it in him to get pissed off.

No, today
he was apparently going to spend every waking moment thinking about her naked.

The woman
had blown his damn mind last night.

Having
known her for years, Xander had to give himself a significant amount of credit
for keeping his hands to himself all this time. Lord knows he’d been tempted
ever since he first saw her in that rat trap of an office she had been working
out of back when Shane introduced them.

Rather
than try and seduce her, which he knew would’ve been futile because Mercedes
had a firm set of beliefs and his intentions didn’t fit them, he’d allowed
their relationship to mold into a rather intimate friendship.

Xander
didn’t have many friends, but those he did have, he kept close. Both Mercedes
and Shane were in that category. But, unlike any normal friendship, when it
came to Mercedes, Xander had suffered some unbearable physical aches through
the years, fighting tooth and nail to pretend the woman didn’t turn him the
fuck on.

Oh, how
she did.

But after
last night, seeing her in a different light, he wasn’t quite sure he could
continue on with the charade. Or rather, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Even if
it were obvious that she wasn’t happy about the outcome from their scene, no
matter how hard he tried, Xander could not stop thinking about the way she’d
come apart in his arms. It’d been incredibly difficult to make it through the
night knowing she was tucked in her bed while he was just one floor above
tossing and turning from an aching hard on that couldn’t be sated.

When
Shane approached again, Xander glanced over his shoulder, remembering where he
was and what he was supposed to be doing.

“Seriously,
X. Tell me you’re joking.”

“Do I
look like I’m joking?” Xander stated firmly, keeping his expression blank as he
forced his attention back to the task at hand.

It wasn’t
a secret that Xander enjoyed the shit out of getting Shane riled up, but this
morning he just wasn’t feeling it. It was usually the highlight of their
interactions, which these days seemed to be more and more frequent as Shane’s
business continued to grow.

Boone
Development, LLC, was a light year ahead of Gibson Enterprises, but that divide
was shrinking as Shane built a name for himself. And despite the fact that they
often found themselves in direct conflict with one another, Xander was
genuinely happy for the man.

“I’m
making an offer on the Milton building, and you fucking know it,” Shane said as
he stalked across the room once again. “Why can’t you ever make this easy for
me?”

“Life’s
not easy,” he told him, knowing his blasé attitude would only piss Shane off
more. It didn’t change how he felt about the whole deal.

They were
currently discussing an undeveloped opportunity zoned for either commercial or
residential that had just come up. Shane was interested in buying the property,
and Xander didn’t blame the guy. Shane was a housing developer, and this particular
area was growing by leaps and bounds.

The
problem was, there was more residential space than necessary in the area, but
he couldn’t seem to convince Shane of that. As for Xander, he mainly dealt in
commercial property development, and in this particular building, he already
knew of a company interested in relocating. Either way, their offers would be
quite competitive, but when it came down to it, Xander would walk away with the
property. He always did.

“Fuck
you, Boone.”

That
statement, and the fierce expression on Shane’s face made Xander laugh. He
pushed up from his chair – after all, his size was his best intimidating factor
– buttoning his jacket as he did. Turning away from Mercedes, Xander thrust his
hands into his pockets and addressed Shane directly.

Through
the years, Xander and Shane had managed to meet somewhere in the middle on many
deals much like this one. By middle, Xander meant more so in his favor. When
there was a business opportunity that Xander wanted, he would certainly do what
needed to be done to ensure he didn’t lose. Pissing off one of his closest
friends in the process was usually the end result.

“I’ll
back off of the land if you want it,” Xander informed him. “But I’m not letting
go of the Milton building. As far as I’m concerned, this conversation was done
before it ever even started. So, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to move on to
something else.”

Business
was business, and on that point, he and Shane always butted heads. They
probably always would. They frequently found themselves in direct competition,
which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Despite
their business relationship, Xander knew that, by the end of the day, Shane
would’ve forgiven him. Somewhat. They were also friends.

 “Are
you handling this for him?” Shane directed his question at Mercedes, clearly
annoyed with Xander’s lack of cooperation.

“If he
asks me to,” she said.

“What if
I
ask you to handle it for me?” Shane questioned, thrusting his hands in his
pockets and mimicking Xander’s stance.

Xander
tried not to laugh.

“I can
only work for one of you, so you’ll have to decide which one that is. You know
I won’t get in the middle of this. I don’t get paid to be a referee.”

“I’m not
letting this go,” Xander told Shane firmly, ignoring Mercedes’s comment. “You
can bid on the land, and I’ll back off, but I’m gonna take this building.”

“Fuck,”
Shane hissed, sliding his hand through his spiky blond hair. “Why do I even
bother?” Shane huffed on a frustrated sigh. Although it was phrased like one,
Xander knew it wasn’t a question.

Glancing
over at Mercedes, Xander nodded his head. It was his approval for her to move
forward with the offer. She tipped her chin in agreement and leaned forward,
her fingers flying over the keys on her keyboard.

“You two
don’t waste any time, do you?” Shane asked, sounding much calmer than before.

That’s
the way things worked between them. Shane would get pissed; Xander would tell
him how it was going to be and then Shane would move on with his life. The guy
didn’t have much stress because of it. Or maybe he didn’t have much stress
because he worked a lot of it out at the club. After all, the blond-haired,
blue-eyed pretty boy was one of the most sought after Doms at Kink.

“When
you’re done with that, move forward with my offer on the land.”

Mercedes
glanced up at Shane and smiled. “Already working on it.”

She knew
them both so well.

“Y’all
going to the club tonight?” Shane’s sudden change of subject released the
tension in the air.

Looking
over at Mercedes, Xander said, “no” at the same time she said “yes.”

He pinned
her with a glare.

Shane
then directed his statement to Mercedes, seemingly ignorant to the underlying
tension that was lingering between them. “Want me to pick you up on my way
there?”

“Yeah,
that’ll be great.”

“You sure
you don’t want to go?” Shane asked Xander, forcing him to look away from
Mercedes.

“I’m
sure. I’ve got another commitment. I’m sure you’ll have a good time without
me.”

“We
certainly will, won’t we, doll?” Shane said to Mercedes with that damned pretty
boy smile.

She
didn’t answer, but Xander didn’t need her to.

Shane
didn’t waste any more time, nodding his head at Xander. “I’ll catch up with you
later.”

“Later,”
Xander called after him as Shane darted out of the office.

Xander
listened to his friend’s footsteps down the hall, then across the Travertine
entry way and then finally when Shane opened and closed the front door behind
him.

As soon
as he knew they were alone, he turned his attention back on Mercedes. “There is
no way in hell you’re going to the club tonight.”

Mercedes
didn’t know how she managed to keep from cracking her keyboard right in half
when Xander spoke.

She
inhaled slowly through her nose and then out through her mouth as she tried to
control the anger that snaked its way into her bloodstream and threatened to
burn her to a crisp.

The man
had balls; she’d give him that.

She could
handle a lot of things, such as Xander being an asshole when it came to his
business dealings, but she damn sure didn’t do well with anyone telling her
what she could or couldn’t do.

“Last I
checked, you don’t make my decisions for me,” she told him, grateful she’d
managed to hold on to some semblance of calm.

“The hell
I don’t,” he bit out.

Mercedes
clamped her jaw shut, afraid if she didn’t, it just might hit the floor. Never,
in all the time she’d known Xander had he talked to her like that.

The man
was clearly delusional.

Taking a
deep breath to calm herself, Mercedes got to her feet and moved around to the
front of the desk to where Xander stood. She crossed her arms over her chest,
keeping her back straight, her chin up as she approached him.

“Excuse
me?” She couldn’t go nose to nose with him because he was several inches taller
than she was. But she did meet his eyes. “Is there something we need to talk
about?” she asked him curtly.

“No,” he
bit out. “As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t anything to discuss,” he argued,
sounding not at all like the calm, confident man she knew so well.

“Well, I
think there is.” Mercedes took one measured step back, not wanting to crane her
neck as she argued with this insufferable man. “What the hell is wrong with
you?”

“
Me?
What the hell is wrong with
you
? Do you not remember anything that
happened last night?”

“Yeah,
actually I do,” she answered abruptly. “I remember going to Devotion with you
to help you with a demonstration. That’s what that was, right? A demonstration?
Nothing more, nothing less? As a favor to you, I was your assistant, if I
recall correctly.”

Xander
exhaled sharply, but he didn’t look away, the smooth skin on his freshly shaven
jaw taut, that telltale vein at his temple giving away his true frustration.
“It was more than that and you fucking know it.”

“I don’t
know anything of the sort,” she lied.

Yes,
Mercedes could classify what happened between them as un-fucking-believable.
But it was a fluke. A stroke of luck. Inconvenient timing. Strange alignment of
the planets.  Call it what you will.

She knew
it had never happened to her before, but what Xander didn’t seem to understand
was that it would never happen again.

Nev. Er.
A. Gain.

“You’re
lying,” Xander said, his eyes locked on her. “You know how I know? Because you
can’t look me in the eye when you say it, Mercedes.”

Keeping
her eyes locked with his, just to prove him wrong, Mercedes argued, “I think
you forgot one little detail about last night. It was your idea. You’re the one
who needed my help on a demonstration. A
demonstration
, Xander. Nothing
more.”

Xander
didn’t say a word in response, so Mercedes continued. “Oh, and get this,” she
added sarcastically, recalling the email she’d received just a short while ago.
The one that had made her damn near choke on her tongue. “Logan McCoy emailed
me a few minutes ago. He wanted to let me know that Sam definitely has an
interest in D/s lifestyles.” Mercedes frowned. “Thanks to you and your
brilliant plan, he thinks I’ll be a good person for her to chat with. The man
thinks I’m a submissive.”

Despite
her outrage, Xander’s expression didn’t change. He just stared down at her, his
hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed and comfortable as always, even though
the tightening of the muscle in his jaw gave him away entirely. She had to
admit, he wasn’t usually so easy to read.

“And
that’s a bad thing how?”

Mercedes
fought the irritation that was eating away at her. “You know good and damn well
that I’m not a submissive,” she bit out. “But after your little scene last
night, they seem to think I am.”

“Fine. Do
you want me to set them straight? I’ll do that. That doesn’t mean you can’t
give her information on the subject.”

Mercedes
didn’t respond as she continued to glare at him.

Even
though they hadn’t talked in depth about what had happened, Mercedes knew there
was no way Xander would believe she’d willingly go from being a Domme to his
submissive just because he gave her an orgasm.

Hell, it
didn’t work that way. She didn’t want to be a sub. Not his or anyone else’s.
There might’ve been a time in her life when being passive seemed natural to
her. Too bad life had changed her, and she’d soon learned that taking the reins
and being in control was the easiest way to get to the top. She’d made it her
mission and somewhere along the way she’d built a reputation as an extremely
successful entrepreneur, not to mention, as one of the most formidable
Mistresses in her circle of friends.

She
wasn’t looking for a personality overhaul, thank you very much.

Throughout
their friendship, she had reminded Xander that she was the dominating half of
her relationships, and she had no interest in switching sides. Not for anyone.

Especially
not for him.

Nothing
had changed.

She was
suddenly compelled to move away from him and to change the subject. Without
haste, she went back behind her desk and as gracefully as she could manage slid
down into her chair, keeping her eyes on him. She waited for him to sit, which
surprisingly he did.

“I need
to know what your initial bid for the Milton building is going to be so I can
get a contract drawn up,” she told him, morphing into her role as his real
estate agent.

Business
was probably the only safe subject they could discuss at the moment.

“Get me
comps and some information on the company selling and I’ll let you know.”

“I’ll get
right on that.” Grabbing her pencil and a notepad, she focused on the task at
hand.

Mercedes
jotted down the notes, taking more time than necessary, hoping he’d get the
hint and head out the same way Shane had.

When she
looked back up, she found Xander staring at her, his expression unreadable.
“What?” Mercedes asked, her voice soft but insistent. “Why are you looking at
me like that?”

“No
reason,” he grumbled, pushing to his feet.

Mercedes
continued to watch him, holding her breath as she waited to see if he’d say
something more or just leave her be.

When he
turned, making his way toward the door, she couldn’t decide whether she was
grateful or disappointed that he’d opted to go.

“Get the
comps and come talk to me. I’ll be in my office.”

Mercedes
nodded, and Xander turned and left.

~~*~~*~~

Walking
away from Mercedes when he wanted nothing more than to address what had
happened last night was harder than he thought. But somehow he managed to make
his way out of her condo, into the elevator and up to the penthouse without
turning around.

Barely.

Once
inside, he went straight to his office. It was the only way he’d be able to
keep his mind off of the woman who’d single-handedly driven him to distraction.

“Hey.”

The
moment he dropped into his chair, Xander looked up to see his assistant, Leah,
standing in his doorway.

“I didn’t
hear you come in,” she told him.

“Just
walked in.”

“Everything
ok?”

As much
as he liked Leah, he definitely wasn’t interested in sharing his personal
business with her. She was a sweet girl. Too sweet actually. Why she stuck with
him, he had no idea.

Leah
Ingram had been his assistant for the last two years. She was young and cute
and so damned innocent, it made Xander’s teeth hurt to talk to her sometimes.
He was constantly trying to watch what he said to her, afraid he’d offend her
sensitive ears.

But the
woman was the best damned assistant he’d ever had. She juggled college and work
and, from what she’d told him, very little else. She was never late, never
asked to leave early and never, ever called in sick.

Strawberry
blonde hair, pale brown eyes, a china doll face that looked far younger than
her twenty-five years, Leah was the picture of a sweet virgin.

Xander
thought she was absolutely adorable, and he genuinely liked her. But she made
him nervous because of how fucking innocent she was.

Oh, and
the woman had caught Shane’s attention and Xander knew his best friend stayed
as far away from Xander’s offices as he possibly could. If Xander thought he
was scared to talk to her because he didn’t want to risk slinging a curse word
and causing her to crumble, then Shane was downright terrified.

“I’m
good. What time’s my next meeting?”

“Eleven-thirty,”
she answered instantly. “You’re scheduled to call Malcolm Hirsh.” Even her
sweet lilting drawl was cute.

Fan-fucking-tastic.
Just what he wanted to do today.

Hirsh was
a persistent bastard who’d been driving him batshit crazy for the last three
months. Xander owned a piece of property that he’d been sitting on for the last
five years or so. He had no intention of doing anything with it just yet, but
Hirsh, the owner of the adjacent property was looking to expand his operations.
He wanted Xander’s land. But he didn’t want to pay anywhere close to what
Xander wanted for it.

“Thanks.”
Glancing over at the clock on the wall, Xander noticed it was only ten. He
looked back at Leah, who was still standing in his doorway. “Why don’t you take
the rest of the day off?”

Her
eyebrows darted up into her hairline before she was able to mask her
expression. “Are you sure?”

“Very.”
At the moment, he had other ideas of how to pass the time, and he didn’t need
an audience.

“Ok,
then. I’ll… Let me just finish what I was doing and then I’ll go. But I’ll see
you tomorrow morning, right?”

“Of
course,” he answered, trying to soften his expression. He was thinking too
much, and he knew that Leah was sensitive whenever he got into one of his
moods. He wasn’t sure why that was, but she shied away from him most of the
time.

“Thank
you.”

He had no
idea what she was thanking him for, but he watched as she disappeared around
the corner. He wiggled his mouse to get his screen saver to disappear, and he
pulled up his calendar.

“Hey,
Leah,” he called out.

“Yes,
sir?” she asked, rushing back to his door.

“Clear my
calendar for the rest of the day before you go. I’ll take Hirsh’s call, but
that’s it.”

“Yes,
sir.”

Xander
tried to work for the next few minutes, waiting for Leah to leave, but he had a
difficult time focusing. Thankfully, his assistant didn’t take long before she
was saying good-bye and heading to the door.

Before
the front door probably even shut behind her, Xander had picked up his phone
and dialed.

“Yes?”
Mercedes asked, making the word into two syllables when she answered.

“Meet me
in my conference room in ten minutes. Bring the comps with you.” Xander didn’t
wait for a response; he hung up the phone and then took a deep breath.

It was
now or never.