Big Swinging D: Wall Street Royals Book 2 Read online

  “How would you like to be my new personal assistant?”

  Chapter Four

  The next morning, Isaac was still trying to decide what the fuck he’d been thinking when he offered Maggie his PA position. She’d agreed instantly. Of course she had. Almost as quickly as he’d asked her if she wanted it.

  Hiring Maggie Warren was the epitome of bad ideas. Not only was she nowhere near being organized enough to function as his PA, but he’d thought about her all night. About her naked and on her knees before him, looking up at him with those green eyes that’d haunted him damn near every waking hour.

  The only thing worse than hiring Maggie would be fucking her. He’d already screwed up and done the former, he would not, under any circumstances, do the later.

  Yeah, you would, and you know it. Lance might live in London, but Isaac knew exactly what he would say if he was sitting in the room with him right now. Unfortunately, the Lance in his head was no easier to shut up than the one currently living in London.

  “What’s up?” Ty asked walking into his office. “After you disappeared yesterday, I feared me being back in New York was such a horrible thing, you decided to leave as well. Thank goodness you sent that text last night.”

  Once he finally made it back to his place, after a most delicious Chicken Marsala, he’d sent Ty a text apologizing and asking for a quick meeting before the staff arrived. He’d asked Maggie to come in around nine today. Normally, her day would start at seven, but he had several things to get into place before she showed up.

  Ty took a seat at the round conference table Isaac had in his office. “Are we going to dial Lance in?”

  Isaac wasn’t in the frame of mind necessary to have a conversation with Lance about Maggie. Hell, he wasn’t sure he was in the right frame of mind to talk with anyone about her, but it no longer mattered. In less than two hours she’d be here. “No, I don’t see the need to fill Lance in on this just yet. I can send him an email later.”

  Isaac sat down across from Ty. Even though the three partners had gone to college together and had remained friends and business partners ever since, it had been a long time since he’d spent nearly every day with Ty. It didn’t escape his attention that for the last number of years, he’d been closer to Lillian.

  “I keep feeling as if I need to apologize,” Ty said. “If it weren’t for me coming back, Lillian would still be your PA and I know how hard she is to replace.”

  Based on the haunted look Ty had, Isaac assumed Ty was talking about more than just replacing her as a PA. Even though Lillian had worked as Ty’s PA before the divorce, he was as easygoing as Lance and didn’t have the difficulties Isaac had finding decent help.

  “Funny you brought Lillian up. One reason I requested this meeting is to let you know I have a new PA starting today.”

  Ty nodded. “I heard the temp you brought in didn’t make it until lunch yesterday.”

  Isaac cringed just thinking about her. “No, she didn’t.”

  “Is the one today a temp?”

  Isaac ran his hand through his hair, hoping it didn’t turn out that hiring Maggie had been a mistake. “No, this one isn’t a temp.”

  “That was fast.”

  Isaac swallowed his laugh and the 'you don’t know the half of it' he wanted to say. “Yes. Do you know Tobias Warren?”

  “The oil guy?”

  “Yes, she’s his daughter-in-law.”

  “Didn’t I hear that his son had died? A fire or something?”

  Isaac gave him a curt nod. “Yes, Maggie is a widow.”

  “Didn’t I also hear that they suspected the daughter-in-law of starting the fire?” Ty leaned forward. “Are you sure she’s the best one for the job?”

  No, he wasn’t sure at all that Maggie was the best person to be his PA, but it had nothing to do with the fire rumors. “She had nothing to do with the fire that killed her husband.” Even if he’d thought it possible she did, a letter from their insurance company had been on her table along with those piles of stock certificates. The letter informed Maggie that following a lengthy investigation, arson had been ruled out as a cause for the fire, and it was their expert’s opinion that the root cause was faulty wiring.

  Also on the table was a letter to Maggie from her mother-in-law telling her they didn’t care what the insurance company said, they held her responsible for both the fire and Ellis’s death. Isaac had heard friends talk about how they didn’t get along with their in-laws, but none of them sounded as bad as the Warrens.

  “Have you already worked with IT to get her all set up and access to what she needs?” Ty asked.

  “Yes, I took care of all that before you arrived.”

  Ty chuckled. “Have you been here since five?”

  “Something like that.” Five-fifteen, to be exact. “The other thing I wanted to discuss with you and the main reason I asked you to come in early, is that I was wondering if you were going to rejoin The Club since you’re back in town?”

  Ty and Isaac had been members of The Club since graduating from college. It was a private BDSM club with few people knowing of its existence. Members of the club were even fewer. Lance had never wanted to join, preferring to play at his house. Ty’s membership, inactive since he’d been living in London, would be reactivated at his request.

  Ty sucked in a breath. “Does she go?”

  There was no need to ask which she he meant. He only got the lost and haunted look in his eye when talking about his ex-wife.

  “No,” Isaac told him. “At least not that I’ve ever seen.”

  Ty nodded, but didn’t ask any further questions. “I think,” he said. “That I could handle almost anything other than seeing Lillian play with another Dom.”

  “She’s not dating anyone I’m aware of.” Isaac had probably kept her too busy for her to have much of a social life while she worked for him. He hadn’t thought about it at the time, but she’d never said anything about all the hours he’d asked her to work. Would Maggie be the same? Was Maggie seeing anyone?

  He didn’t even try to pretend like he didn’t care. He did and what was even more improbable to understand, was how he felt the need to protect her. From her in-laws and all those people who thought she’d had something to do with her husband’s death. Maybe it was the Dominant in him.

  “What made you bring up The Club?” Ty asked.

  “I’m going to ask Maggie if she’ll mind keeping up with my schedule there as well,” Isaac told him. “Lillian always did and Maggie’s a widow, so it’s not like she’s a virgin or anything. If you’d like, she could also keep up with yours.”

  “I think that sounds like a perfectly good way to get smacked with a sexual harassment lawsuit.”

  “It's not like I'm going to make it a condition of her employment, I’ll ask if she would mind.”

  Ty leaned forward. “She’s your employee, it’s not enough to ask her if she’ll mind. She could still say she felt coerced. Besides, just saying she’s not a virgin isn’t the same as saying she’s kinky. She could be vanilla.”

  His partner had a point, but it had been so helpful when Lillian kept up with his entire schedule. Not only that, but when Maggie teased him the night before about liking to command people, he got the impression she wasn’t totally vanilla. “Maybe I’ll just say they’re meetings after work I need her to keep up with. I’m sure I can word it in such a way that won’t let on to exactly what it is I’m doing.”

  Ty looked at him for several long seconds before asking, “You like her, don’t you?”

  “It doesn’t matter if I like her or not. Maggie and I could never be together.”

  “Why is that?”

  Isaac swallowed a chuckle. “I’ll let you see for yourself when you meet her.”

  Maggie had vastly underestimated the time she’d need to get ready for her new job. Part of that was because the humidity made her hair completely unmanageable. This was nothing new, she’d been living with her hair all her life, but
for some reason it seemed to be different when she was getting ready for work. Damn curls wouldn’t do a thing and she wanted so badly to make a good impression on her boss.

  Isaac.

  It still didn’t seem real almost twelve hours after he’d asked her if she wanted to work for him.

  It shouldn’t matter what her hair looked like because there was no way she could look any worse than she did yesterday. And at least today she didn’t stink. No, her hair shouldn’t matter, but it did. She didn’t want to give him one reason to regret his job offer.

  She finally managed to tame her hair into a ponytail so it didn’t look too much like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket. Her entire closet was hopelessly outdated, but Isaac had wanted her to start today, so she’d have to make do with what she had for now. Maybe she’d be able to go shopping over the weekend and find something more appropriate.

  For today, she did the best she could with black slacks and a white dress shirt. Surely that would be generic enough to fit in anywhere. She checked her appearance one last time before walking to the subway.

  Though she thought she’d left in plenty of time to reach her new office by nine, she soon realized she was cutting it close. The office was further away than the one she’d been working as a temp at and when she made it to the stop she needed to get off at, a quick glance at her watch told her she couldn’t afford to stroll if she wanted to arrive on time.

  She didn’t jog because it would totally suck to show up sweating so much it looked as if she’d just hopped out of the shower; she power walked. Feeling accomplished as she neared the building, she slowed down. No need to arrive panting like she’d just won a race. Then it began to rain, and of course she didn’t have an umbrella. With a sigh she spotted the office building just up ahead. She put her head down and quickened her step. At least with her hair in a ponytail it wouldn’t turn into a ball of frizz.

  She didn’t slow down until she’d almost reached the building. Was it her imagination or were people staring at her? It couldn’t be her outfit. One out of every three females she passed wore the same black pants and white shirt. She glanced out of the side of her eye, glimpsing her head in a reflection. Nope. Couldn’t be her hair. So far it was staying put right where it should.

  Odd.

  The air conditioner was definitely working inside the building. The drop in temperature paired with the faint sheen of sweat and rain on her body made her feel as if someone had dumped her in ice water. Nothing she could do about it, hopefully she’d dry soon.

  Isaac had told her before he left the night before that he’d meet her on the twenty-fifth floor, right outside of the elevator. Nine o’clock straight up a glance at her watch informed her as she stepped inside. So much for being early, but at least she wasn’t late.

  She did her best not to sigh in impatience when the elevator slid to a stop on the tenth floor and even managed to smile at the guy waiting to get on. He looked up from his phone, took a step forward, saw her, and took a step, shaking his head.

  What the actual fuck?

  That had not been her imagination. She couldn’t even pretend it to be so. The back of the elevator was metal. Not shiny enough to be a mirror, but if she turned the right direction, it was enough for her to see herself.

  Or at least for her to tell that the rain had made her shirt and bra completely see-through.

  Chapter Five

  “Oh, yeah,” Ty said as he waited with Isaac for Maggie to arrive. “This will never work. I thought it was a rule anyone working with you had to show up ten minutes early for everything?”

  “Unspoken rule,” Isaac said. “So she wouldn’t know about it yet.”

  “I give her until Friday at noon. Or at least that was my bet in the office pool.”

  Isaac looked at his partner in disbelief. “There’s an office pool?”

  “Of course there is. I would have told you but I knew you’d want to enter and you can’t because that would give you an unfair advantage.”

  “I wouldn’t want to enter.” Isaac was getting ready to tell his partner to grow up, but the elevator dinged. He looked over in time to see Maggie wrap her arms around her chest and step out.

  She wasn’t soaking wet, more like all over damp. He felt bad for her and wondered if Lillian had left any clothes behind.

  “Good morning, Maggie,” he said in greeting.

  “Good morning, Mr. Gregory.”

  “Call me, Isaac. Everyone else does.”

  “I prefer Mr. Gregory.”

  He wasn’t going to have an argument with her in front of Ty and everyone else to witness. They could deal with that topic later. He motioned to Ty. “This is Ty Bancroft, the other partner in the US at the moment. Ty, this is Maggie Warren, my PA.”

  “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maggie.” Ty held out his hand, but Maggie didn’t move her arms.

  “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Bancroft,” she said. “Sorry I can’t shake your hand right now. I have a bit of a problem.”

  Ty put his hand down and raised an eyebrow. “Is the problem with your shirt or are your arms stuck like that?”

  “Don’t answer him. Honestly, Ty,” Isaac couldn’t believe his partner. He waved toward Maggie. “Come with me, and I’ll show you where your office is and we’ll get you settled.”

  Or at least he hoped they could. She didn’t drop her arms from around her chest, so he wasn’t able to tell if she was injured or if there was something wrong with her shirt. He led her to the little office tucked just outside his own. He’d wanted to take her around the office and introduce her to a few people, but he didn’t see how that was possible the way she refused to move her arms.

  Unsure what to do with her, he stopped in the hallway outside of their connecting offices and pointed out his office, the nearest restroom, and the break room. He should let her sit and read the notes Lillian had left for her replacement.

  “Isaac!” Someone called before he could open his mouth.

  He turned. Nina, Lance’s old admin who now helped all three partners, walked toward him. She held numerous folders in one hand and attempted to sort through them with the other.

  “Yes, Nina?”

  She drew to a stop before them, still juggling the folders. “Lance called. He asked me to print some numbers out and have you review them. He thinks they’re wrong and the temp from yesterday somehow switched something.”

  “It’s not the J and J account, is it?”

  Nina grimaced. “I’m afraid so. Here you go.” She pulled a folder out, and in the process, dropped three others. “Shit,” she said, looking at the papers scattered all over the floor.

  Lightning fast, Maggie bent down to help. Lance watched, amazed at how quickly she dropped her arms. He assumed whatever the issue had been, was no longer a concern. Until she straightened up, handed the files and papers to Nina, and turned to smile at him. Flashing him with the sight of her perfect breasts, encased in a wet white dress shirt and barely-there bra.

  Maggie had never been more mortified than she was watching Isaac’s gaze sweep over her outfit, and then his expression as he turned and walked into his office, closing the door behind him. Even though the damage was done, Maggie wrapped her arms back over her chest. She hadn’t even made it through the first thirty minutes without wishing the floor would open and swallow her whole. That had to be a record.

  Nina nodded in understanding. “That’s why you were standing the way you were. I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

  “It’s raining,” Maggie said while Nina picked up the last of the papers from the floor. “Or at least it was when I came in.”

  “And you didn’t have an umbrella.” Nina seemed to think for a second. “Come with me. I’ll get you decent.”

  “Sure.” Maggie glanced toward her office. “Let me drop my purse off and I’ll be right back.” The purse that from now on would always contain an umbrella.

  Nina placed the folders she’d been carrying on a
nearby table. “I’ll wait here.”

  Much to Maggie’s surprise, when she pulled the chair out from under her desk, she found both a clean, folded white dress shirt and a new umbrella. A glance told her the connecting door between her office and Isaac’s remained closed, but somehow in the few minutes they’d been separated, he’d not only solved her current problem, but ensured she wouldn’t have it again. She couldn’t help but smile at how it made her feel warm inside to have someone look after her. Ellis had been the last person to do so.

  She took the shirt and showed Nina, who looked vaguely surprised, but covered it well by asking if she knew where the restrooms were. Maggie nodded and Nina sent her on her way.

  Five minutes later, she sat at her desk feeling much more human. While she’d been changing, Isaac must have entered her office again. This time he’d left a note explaining he was on a call and would come and get her when he finished. He’d left a binder for her to read. Notes, he said, from his previous PA.

  Maggie read the binder from cover to cover, wishing the entire time the woman who wrote it, Lillian, was still around. The woman had a wickedly funny and sarcastic sense of humor. Maggie assumed Isaac had not read the binder prior to giving it to her. Surely if he had, he’d have removed the sections: THINGS TO DO BUT GIVE HIM A HARD TIME ABOUT and MY FAVORITE WAYS TO DRIVE HIM CRAZY.

  Lillian had also typed a page simply entitled BSD. She explained it was a nickname people gave him, but no one ever called him the Big Swinging D to his face. Yes, he knew about it, but he didn’t care for it, or Lillian added, that was always the impression she got.

  Maggie read the last paragraph of the last page over and over, because it gave her the most insight into how people saw her new boss.