Surrender To Me (Surrender Trilogy Book 2) Page 15

  “Tell me. I could use some good news.”

  “Did something happen?”

  I turn away from her concerned, wide-eyed gaze, close a file and turn off the computer.

  “No, nothing out of the ordinary. I just wish I was still somewhere on a beach with you, but we had to get back to work at some point. What’s the news?”

  “Traci says she’s really happy with my work.” She laughs, her demeanor happy, if a bit self-conscious. Why?

  “Even if there were all those days where I couldn’t be there,” Penelope adds. “Well, I did try hard to make up for that. She thinks I could go to New York. There are some workshops for people in my field, and another event where she thinks I should do a lecture. I’m nervous already.”

  “No need. You’ll be great.”

  “I’m not sure. If someone like you gets stage fright…” She perches on my desk, her navy blue pencil skirt riding up. I barely keep the sigh from coming out.

  “You’re ready to go to dinner?” she asks.

  “Yeah, let’s go. You can tell me all about it on the way.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Your choice. What are you in the mood for?”

  “Thai would be great,” Penelope says. “I’d love to celebrate with you later. New York really is a big deal. It’s something I did myself.”

  This stings a little, even though I know she didn’t mean it. I have no reason to be so sensitive about the subject. It took Penelope a while to adjust to the lifestyle we have, not to feel constantly guilty about it. She’s right. New York is a big deal.

  My employees are loyal. In the end, they do what I say, but Traci would have told me if giving Penelope a job in the philanthropy department wasn’t a good idea. In fact, this is where she thrives. I don’t expect her to sit at home waiting for me all day, so once she has finished her studies, she’ll have a permanent position there.

  Probably.

  I don’t think she would ever betray me, but the connection to Laurier is odd. Nick and the crew will have my back, but I also have to make sure Penelope is safe. That, and to have her all to myself, have always been my priorities.

  Nothing has changed.

  The waiter has brought water and wine, and I attempt a lighter tone for the conversation. “Would you like to go shopping, for New York—or in New York? I’m sure we can make time for that.” I do have a personal shopper. I also used to leave the house without breakfast on a regular basis, much to the chagrin of Marlene, my chef and good friend. Penelope has changed my habits. She made me a happier person.

  “I think I’m okay. I didn’t know you were free to go…?”

  “I can make time. What, you don’t want me to be there?”

  Penelope hesitates for a split second. “I think I’d be kidding myself if I said it would be easy to be apart from you. Sometimes, it’s hard to be apart from you the whole day—I know Haley and Lara probably think it’s silly, but that’s the way it is. I know I could do it on my own.”

  “That’s not the question.”

  “No, it’s not. If you’re okay to come, I’d love that, but don’t drop everything on my behalf. I’ll survive if I have to.” She leans close to whisper, “If all else fails, we could have phone sex.”

  I nearly spit out my wine at the suggestion. This is not on option. I want to touch her, taste her, and feel the shiver run down my spine when she says my name the moment she comes. The dark red wine helps me forget about the daunting revelations—the sexually suggestive conversation helps too.

  “No way. I’ll be with you, and you’ll have the real thing. There are some people I could meet in New York. I could show you one of our offices there.”

  Penelope’s jaw drops ever so slightly. “One of…never mind. Okay, yes, I’d appreciate to have you there.”

  Our food arrives, and like everything on the menu, it’s delicious. I order a second quarter of wine for both of us. Why, I have a driver, and I can just drop Penelope off at her workplace tomorrow.

  “You’re trying to get me drunk?” she asks. There’s a sparkle in her eyes that might be from the candle on the table, or undisguised lust.

  “Do I have to?”

  “No. I’m all yours and you know it.”

  I return her smile as we click our glasses together. “Can’t harm to check.”

  I excuse myself to go to the bathroom where I check my phone. Nick has sent me a picture that shows Penelope in a café, talking to Catherine Laurier. This doesn’t make sense. Penelope doesn’t have to revert to secrecy and lies for money. I would give her whatever she asks for—when we got married, to the surprise of my team, I signed over half of my business to her. Gillian who is a gifted lawyer and head of my legal department, was not happy, but in the end, she had to accept my decision.

  There is an explanation somewhere in here, and Nick better work hard to get me the answers in that one week. Even though Penelope technically could have made those transactions, there’s no reason why she should have. She didn’t even know who I was before I got her kidnapped.

  I turn off the phone and join her at the table. “How about dessert?”

  “Yeah,” she whispers, “but not here.”

  “I like the way you think. Just let me get the check.”