There was a hint of concern etched in the groove on her forehead, but she did as I requested, shutting the door and turning back to me.
“You left a note on my desk?” she asked. “Said you wanted to see me.”
“I do. Have a seat.” I gestured toward the chair across from me.
“Yes, Mr. Parker.” There was a slight tremor in her voice.
Normally, that wouldn’t get me excited. I wasn’t into fear or pain, but I had to admit that I liked the fact Addison was worried she’d disappointed me.
Then again, after the stunt Ben pulled last night, I was experiencing more than a small amount of disappointment. Mostly in myself, which was the very reason I had slept alone last night. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had slept alone when I wasn’t traveling. Having Ben by my side was a comfort I’d grown used to and I fucking hated that he hadn’t been there.
Had I not been to blame, I probably would’ve confronted both of them about this thing that was going on.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, studying my face.
She hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to tell her that yet.
Leaning back in my chair, I steepled my hands and rested them on my stomach, regarding her carefully. “How’re things going? It’s been almost a month since you were hired. I thought we could talk.”
She appeared nervous. “Things are good. Now that Dale has started, I have a little more time to learn new things.”
“What do you think of him?”
“Dale?”
“Yes.”
“He’s great. He’s very nice and he seems to have a good rapport with everyone. He’s quite articulate and extremely pleasant.”
She was rambling, which meant she was definitely nervous.
“What about him and Jordan? Do you see any issues with the two of them working together?” I asked, simply because I was curious as to her response.
“No, of course not. They’re both extremely professional. In fact, they’re probably the most professional when it comes to interacting with co-workers.”
Ouch.
“Are you saying there’s a problem with interactions in the office?’
“No.”
Her curt response was obviously her way of putting an end to that topic, so I moved on. “Do you think you received enough training?”
“I think the job’s pretty straightforward. Not sure how much more I could learn by sitting with someone else. Anytime I have a question that I don’t feel you or Mr. Snowden should answer, I’ve gone to Luci. She’s always willing to help.”
“Good. So, I’ll assume that means you’re going to take responsibility for your performance from here on out?”
“Yes, Mr. Parker.” The glimmer that I’d seen before was not in her eyes. In fact, they were dulled, and I could sense some anger on her part.
Probably didn’t help that I was interrogating her for no good reason. The truth was, I had wanted to bring her in so we could talk about why I had left so abruptly, but again, I chickened out.
“What else is going on? Any questions for me?”
“None that I can think of right now.”
Well, if she didn’t want to talk, I certainly wasn’t going to keep her. Nodding my head, I sat up. “That’s all I needed, Miss Hayes. You’re dismissed.”
Addison looked almost angry that I was excusing her. Had she expected something else? Perhaps for me to lay her across my desk and have my wicked way with her?
The thought was damn tempting, but for now, I was holding back. Until I found a way to address this issue, it wasn’t fair to either of them. If I couldn’t give them every part of myself, I damn sure didn’t deserve any part of them.
“Is everything all right?” she finally asked, making no move toward the door.
“Of course. Why?”
“You just… It seems like something’s off. You’re different.”
Different? I wasn’t sure I appreciated her observation. “Well, I’m sorry to have disappointed you.” Fearing she was going to push my buttons and I was going to unleash on her, I motioned toward the door. “You can go now,” I said, adding a slight bite to my tone.
Addison jumped to her feet and scurried to the door. I watched her go, and although I enjoyed the view a little more than I probably should have, I also knew that I had just fucked things up even more than I already had.
It seemed that I was starting a trend.
*
BEN
THE SECOND I SAW ADDISON come out of Mr. Parker’s office, I knew something was wrong. She was rattled and angry, stomping across the floor, hands balled into fists at her sides.
It was a stupid question, but I was going to ask it anyway. “Something wrong?”
Without so much as a sideways glance, she snarled, “That’s a question you should be asking your Dom.”
And that damn sure wasn’t how I expected her to respond. Mostly because it was rude, not only as her boss, but also as her…whatever I was to her. Based on her response, I was nothing.
