On the day Brendan Matthews took over the company, Rebecca Connor had a splitting migraine headache. She wanted to blame it on the cold, rainy weather outside but that wasn't the reason.
The real reason why she had the headache was because she'd heard what a demanding and obnoxious pain in the ass Brendan Matthews was.
She had been working at X-Dream Software for ten years and had been the office manager for seven of those years. She loved her job and was excellent at it. Now, she was in fear of losing it or at the very least getting a demotion. It was no secret how much Brendan Matthews hated women.
She had just arrived at her office when the intercom went off. It was her assistant Shelley.
"Mr. Matthews wants to see you right away in his office."
"Right away?" Rebecca asked wearily.
"Well, about ten minutes ago." Shelley had the decency to sound apologetic.
Rebecca rolled her eyes and knew that something terrible was about to happen. She didn't expect Mr. Matthews to give her a hearty handshake and tell her what a lucky person she was now that she was going to be getting a huge raise.
Yea, right.
She took a deep breath and checked herself in the mirror that hung on the wall in her office. Patting her hair in place, she went up to meet her new boss.
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"Where the hell is she?" Brendan Matthews screamed to himself. "I told her secretary to have her come up right away." He checked his gold Rolex and shook his head impatiently.
Rebecca Connor had already made his shit list and he hadn't even laid his eyes on the woman yet.
There was a knock at his office door. He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Finally! The queen has arrived!" He went to open the door to let her in.
He'd been told that Rebecca Connor had been working for the company for ten years and that she was incredibly efficient, practical and bright. What he hadn't been told was that she was the most incredible looking woman he would ever lay his eyes on.
Her long, soft blond hair hung to the end of her back in a beautiful curtain of silk. Her gorgeous face was emphasized by the most amazing blue eyes he had ever seen and perfect cheekbones as well. Her figure was perfect, shown off in a pretty gray suit that came to just above her knees. And what legs she had.
Brendan was taken back just for a moment. He hadn't expected this sexy, luscious woman to walk through his door. He had expected someone frumpy and plain.
Rebecca Connor was a long cry from frumpy and plain.
He momentarily lost control of his facilites but then quickly became in control again.
"You're late," he said with a disapproving tone to his voice.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft. "I just got the message."
"Obviously you're secretary is an incompetent fool. Well, come in, come in." He closed the door behind her. "Sit down, Mrs. Connor," he told her, waiting to see if there would be a correction on that. It was his oh-so-subtle way of finding out if there was a Mr. Connor.
He admired the sway of her hips as she sat in the chair opposite his desk.
She crossed her legs and her skirt rode up a bit on her thigh. God, her legs were perfect. Brendan did everything he could not to drool all over his Armani suit. And she didn't correct him either. He didn't see a wedding band on her finger but even that didn't mean anything.
He went and sat down in his chair on the other side of the desk. He looked at her, trying very hard not to stare. It was extremely difficult. She was just so beautiful and sexy.
She cleared her throat. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Matthews?"
He could hear the nervousness in her voice. Good, he liked that. It meant that he was in control again. He could intimidate her if he wanted to. Maybe he should just so that she would know who was boss.
He kept staring at her legs. He couldn't help himself.
"Mr. Matthews?" she repeated.
He looked up at her, into those eyes. Those eyes...Brendan was getting lost in them.
No, this would not do. He had to stop this. Rebecca Connor was just an employee, nothing more. He had to keep reminding himself of that.
"Your secretary needs to be reprimanded for not giving you your messages right away," he told her.
"It wasn't Shelley's fault. It was mine. I was a little late getting to work this morning. I wasn't feeling well and wasn't sure if I was coming in or not."
He immediately felt concern for her. "What's wrong? Do you need to go home?" He knew that she had an outstanding attendance record.
She shook her head. "I get these migraines. I took my medicine so it started to kick in already."
No, this definitely will not do, he thought. I am not going to be concerned for this woman just because she is gorgeous and does wonders for the color gray.
He looked at her. "If you need to go home, Mrs. Connor, then let me know. I can't play guessing games with you."
She was taken back by his attitude although it was what she expected from him. "I don't have to go home," she assured him. "I'm fine, really."
"Well, I certainly hope so. I don't tolerate my employees taking a lot of sick days."
She averted her eyes from him. He was making her feel so uncomfortable and yet, there was something very appealing about him. Maybe it was his incredible green eyes and dark hair that got to her. Or maybe it was his incredible body that did wonders for the black suit he was wearing. It could even be the spicy cologne that he was wearing. Whatever it was, it was having an effect on her.
"Mrs. Connor..."
"It's Ms.", she turned to look at him, "if you don't mind." The hell with him, she thought. He can call me Ms. Connor and not Rebecca.
"Fine," he said abruptedly. "I need to talk to you about the monthly reports."
Rebecca tried to pay attention, really she did. She had taken her medication but her headache was coming back full force. Sometimes, the migraines got so bad that all she wanted to do was stay in bed for days.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked her, the concern coming back into his voice.
She put her hands to her temples and shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing."
"Don't give me that bull. You're as pale as a ghost." He got up and came around to her side of the desk. "Can I get you anything?"
His sudden show of kindness made her grit her teeth. "I'm fine." She tried to assure herself as well as him.
"If you have a headache then I suggest you go on home and sleep it off. I don't like it when my employees can't give me 100 percent."
She stared at him for a moment and then stood up. Even in her heels she barely reached his shoulders. "I think you will find that I have an outstanding work record, Mr. Matthews. I've been the office manager of this company for the past eight years. I think that speaks for itself, doesn't it, considering that I'm only 29? I suffer from very bad migraines and I've always come in even when I just wanted to stay home in bed and sleep them off. If you think a headache is going to get me down then you are sadly mistaken. Now if there's anything else?"
He looked at her in admiration. He admired her gumption. She was fiesty and he liked that. He liked a lot of things about her.
He shook his head, for once admitting that he was put in his place. "No, you can go."
She left his office without saying another word.
Brendan slammed his fist down on top of his desk. This would not do, not at all. Her perfume still lingered in his office.
No, he was not happy about this at all.
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Rebecca went back down to her office. Shelley was waiting for her expectantly.
"Everything okay?" her assistant asked her. She wasn't being nosy. Rebecca knew that she was just concerned.
She nodded as she held her head. "I've got a terrible headache."
"Why don't you go on home?" Shelley knew about her migraines.
Rebecca shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to sit in my office with the light closed for a little while."
Shelley nodded. The middle aged woman knew the drill. Rebecca wasn't to be disturbed unless it was an absolute emergency.
She went into her office and closed the door behind her. She lay on the couch and shut her eyes, putting a pillow under her head. Sometimes all she really could do was just rest until the worst of the headache passed.
She thought of Brendan Matthews. He was the rudest most obnoxious man she had ever met in her life. He was conceited and full of himself.
Rebecca found him disturbingly attractive and that bothered her more than her headache did.
She soon fell asleep to put all thoughts of Brendan Matthews out of her mind.
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He felt like a caged animal as he paced his office back and forth. Damn Rebecca Connor. Who the hell did she think she was coming into his life like this?
No, that's wrong, he thought. She was here before me. I walked right into this trap, an unknowing fool.
He was 30 years old and had built himself up over the years as a shrewd businessman. He had a great deal of money and everything he touched turned to gold. Everything, that is, except for his love life. He'd been married to a conniving, two timing bitch who had only been after him for his money. The divorce had been messy and painful. He was glad that it was over. He had moved to New Jersey from Seattle to get away from the painful memories of what Deanna had done to him.
The situation with Deanna had turned him into a bitter woman hater. He despised them now and knew that they were put on the earth for one reason alone. He decided that from now on that he would never fall in love with another woman for as long as he lived. He could use them too the way he was used. Used and spit out like a piece of meat. Screw that. All women could go to hell as far as he was concerned...even Rebecca Connor. Beautiful, blond, sexy Rebecca Connor with those legs of hers.
He shook his head and angrily stormed out of the office. He was going to find Rebecca and tell her what he really thought of her.
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Shelley nearly jumped out of her chair when Mr. Matthews stormed into the office.
"I need to see Ms. Connor immediately." He glared at her as he emphasized the 'Ms.'.
"Ms. Connor is in her office, Mr....wait, don't go in there!"
But it was too late. He had stormed into her office without even bothering to knock.
It took him a minute to get adjusted because it was dark in there. The light was off and the shades were drawn.
He could smell her perfume. He just could not see her.
"Ms. Connor, are you in here?" he demanded.
He heard her moaning from where she lay on the couch.
He flipped the light switch on and saw her laying there. She was pale and had vomited on the floor.
"Damnit!" he cursed and went to her. "What is it?"
She shook her head. "Please, the light."
"Sorry." He closed the light again and then opened the blinds on the window just an inch so that he could see where he was going.
He went to her again. "Can you sit up?"
She shook her head again. "My head...it's so bad this time."
He felt sympathy toward her although that was the last thing he wanted to feel. He didn't want to feel anything at all toward this woman.
He sighed and got some paper towels and began to clean the vomit from the rug.
"No, don't," she whispered. "I can do it."
"You're in no position to do anything but go home. You're obviously very ill, Ms. Connor. You need to be home resting in bed." He threw the paper towels out in the wastebasket. "It looks like this rug will need a professional cleaning. Come on, Ms. Connor. I'm going to take you home now."
"I have my car," she assured him.
"Yes, but you're not able to drive on your own. You could end up in a pretty serious accident. I'll carry you downstairs if I have to, Ms. Connor."
Even though she was suffering and in pain, she never missed it each time he referred to her as 'Ms.'
"You need to go home," he said gently. "You're in a lot of pain. I won't be angry if you do go home but I will be if you stay in the condition you're in. Let me take you home and tuck you in bed."
He suddenly had visions of this beautiful woman laying on crisp satin sheets, completely naked. It was a very disturbing image indeed.
She nodded. "Yes, please. I need to go home."
He helped her to get up and then put her coat on for her. He fetched her handbag and then led her out of the office.
"I'm taking Ms. Connor home," he explained to Shelley. "She's ill."
Shelley nodded. "I'm sure it's for the best." She gave Rebecca a concerned look. "Do you want me to stop by and check up on you later or do you want to just rest?"
"I just need to rest," she whispered to her. "But thank you."
"Take care, Becky," Shelley said and winked at her.
Becky. Brendan looked at her as he began to escort her out of the building. He wished he could call her Rebecca or Becky. No. She had made it very clear that she wanted to be called Ms. Connor. Fine. She could go right on along and keep calling him Mr. Matthews too.
He led her to his car, a brand new Mercedes. He'd brought it to cheer himself up after the divorce. If Ms. Connor was impressed by his wheels, she certainly didn't show it.
She leaned on to him and he enjoyed the feeling a great deal. She was so soft, so feminine.
"Get in, Ms. Connor." He held the passenger door open for her.
He helped her to get in the car. It was obvious that she was in a great deal of pain. He had to admit that he felt sorry for her. He didn't know too much about migraines but he knew that they could be extremely painful.
He got in on the other side and then looked at her. She had those gorgeous blue eyes of hers closed. He reached across her to grab the seat belt. His arm accidently brushed up against her breast. She opened her eyes to look at him.
"I have to buckle you in," he explained to her. "Safety first."
She closed her eyes again and Brendan sighed. It was a shame that she was in so much pain. He realized that he was in pain too. He wanted to take her in the back seat and have his way with her. She was so amazingly beautiful. He admired her legs again. Her skirt had bunched up around her thighs and she hadn't bothered to fix it. It was probably the furthest thing from her mind but not from his.
Rebecca Connor was something else and he was determined to find out all he could about her.
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"I can manage from here," she assured him once they were at her house.
"Like hell you can. I'm taking you inside and make sure you get right into bed."
She didn't have the energy or strength to argue with the man. He took her in his arms again and led her up the walkway to the front door. He noticed how neat and pretty everything looked. She didn't have a big house but it was cozy and sweet.
He took the keys from her and unlocked the door. He led her inside. Her house smelled like freesia and everything again was so neat and pretty. She had a nice home, modest yet downright comfortable.
"To bed," he told her and noticed the big black and white cat that had jumped off the couch to greet her.
He hated cats. Hated them with a passion. They were nothing but selfish, self centered animals that shed all over the place.
"Who's that?" he demanded of her.
"Who's who?" she asked, nearly asleep in his arms.
"The cat, damnit, who is it?"
"That's Sylvester."
"I hate cats," he mumbled. "Make sure he stays away from me."
He led her into the bedroom. It was cool and inviting in there. The bed was huge and he could imagine himself rolling around on it with her.
"Where's your nightgown?" he asked her.
"Really, I can take care of myself now."
"I asked you where your nightgown is."
She sighed as she sat on the bed. "Second drawer on the right."
He went to the dresser and opened up the drawer. Scented lingerie in all colors greeted him. The pink nightie that he picked from the top of the pile seemed to taunt him.
"Here, put it on." He practically flung it at her.
She looked up at him. "I will not get undressed in front of you."
He glared at her again. "You think I haven't seen it already? Fine, if it makes you happy I'll leave the room." He stormed out and slammed the door behind him.
She took her time getting changed. Once she had her nightie on, she got under the covers and pulled them all the way up to her chin.
"Aren't you finished yet?" he demanded in an impatient voice.
"Yes," she called out to him.
He practically ran into the room.
He was disappointed that she was already under the covers. He was hoping to see something.
"Will you be all right now?" he asked her as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
She was unnerved that this handsome, sexy man was sitting on her bed with her. The fact that he was her boss didn't help the situation either. He nearly flew through the roof when the cat jumped up next to him. Sylvester meowed at him in a loud voice and Brendan broke out into a sweat.
"Cats," he spat the word out. "I hate them." He looked at her. "I'll be going now. Do you need anything else before I leave?"
"No," she whispered as her eyes closed. "Thank you."
"Fine, Ms. Connor. You sleep it off. If you're not able to come to work in the morning then don't worry about it. I'll speak to you tomorrow." He left quickly.
In no time, Rebecca was asleep, Sylvester curled up beside her. Her dreams were inhabited by a tall, strong man with sexy green eyes and a killer body.
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He went back to the office.
"She's resting in bed," he told Shelly. "I told her to call if she needs anything."
"This is the first time she's ever had to go home because of a migraine. She gets them bad but she never had to leave before."
Brendan was sympathetic but he didn't want to show it too much. He didn't want anyone to think that he actually felt sorry for Ms. Connor. That would be losing control and one thing he did not want to do was lose control.
But all day long he couldn't stop thinking about Rebecca Connor. He wanted to pick up the phone so many times to call and check up on her but he did not want to disturb her. He remembered how vulnerable she looked lying in bed like that and all he wanted to do was crawl in next to her and take her in his arms and make her pain go away.
He couldn't stop thinking about her no matter how much he tried. Rebecca Connor had gotten under his skin and there was no way he could get her out of it.
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Rebecca's headache was still there but she had managed to come to work the following day. She came in a few mintues earlier to catch up on some work and that was where Brendan had found her.
"Ms. Connor, you came in today." It was a statement that was filled with surprise and maybe even a little bit of admiration.
She smiled at him. "Thank you for helping me yesterday. I appreciate what you did."
"I'm just glad to see that you're feeling better. Is your headache still bothering you?"
"A little bit but I can deal with it now."
"Good. I'll be in my office if you need me."
"One second before you go, please." She stood up and came to him. "Can you just sign this for me?"
"Certainly, Ms. Connor."
He took the paper that was in her hand but his eyes never left her. She looked stunning in a black suit. Again, her legs were shown off to their full advantage in an above the knee length skirt and high heels.
They looked into each other's eyes for the longest time.
"Ms. Connor..."
"Mr. Matthews..."
They laughed. He had actually laughed and it felt so good.
"You first," he told her.
"Okay. Why don't you just call me Rebecca? Ms. Connor is much too formal."
He was smiling at her, giving her a sexy grin that made her feel warm all over.
"Okay, but only if you call me Brendan."
"Okay."
The ice had been broken. Maybe it had been broken when he had cleaned up her vomit or when he took her home and tucked her into bed. Whatever had done it made him realize that she was nothing at all like Deanna had been.
Maybe, he could even learn to like cats too.
"How's Sylvester?" he asked her.
She smiled. "He's fine, thank you for asking." Then she gave him a suspicious look. "I thought you hated cats."
He shrugged. "I do but I guess I could learn to like them."
"Sylvester is a sweetheart, you know."
He wanted to say 'So are you' but he refrained.
"Why do you get such bad headaches?" he asked her.
"I've been getting them for the longest time. My mother used to get them. I've been through x-rays and MRI's. I take these super pills of mine and they do seem to help. Yesterday was just a particularly bad day."
"You were obviously in a lot of pain. I felt bad for you."
Rebecca couldn't believe what she was hearing. She heard that Brendan Matthews was a complete bastard, that he was out for blood and despised women.
This was a side to him that not only shocked her but confused her as well.
"We need to go over a few things," he told her in a gentle voice. "That is, only if you're up to it."
"Of course. I need to talk to you about a couple of things as well."
"Fine. Why don't you come up to my office in say, about an hour?"
"Okay. I'll do that."
Brendan turned and hesitantly left her office.
"What was that all about?" Shelley asked her. "He acts almost human around you."
"I guess he's not as bad as everyone seems to think he is."
"He sure is good looking though. And he did seem very concerned about you yesterday."
"I'm a little embarrassed by what happened. I can't believe he actually cleaned up my vomit and took me home."
"Obviously he's concerned about you. I don't get it. He's supposed to be this real woman basher. He's been nothing but a complete gentleman with you."
Rebecca shrugged. "He can be a bit abrasive at times but he doesn't seem to be all that bad to me."
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Brendan paced his office as he once again waited for Rebecca. This time, it wasn't because he was angry or annoyed. He anticipated seeing her again. Why did he tell her to come up in an hour? It seemed much too long.
Finally, there was a knock at his office door.
He breathed a sigh of relief and went to let her in.
He smiled at her. "Hi."
She returned his smile. "Hi."
"Thanks for coming up. Please, sit." He motioned toward the chair that faced his desk.
"Thank you." She sat down and crossed her legs. Brendan was sure that she had no idea how erotic that was.
He went to the other side of the desk and sat down in his own chair. He stared at her legs for a moment, enjoying the view. Maybe he was a bit sexist but if she was willing to show them off then he was willing to look.
"I hope your secretary isn't angry at me." His eyes went back up to hers.
"She's my assistant, not my secretary."
What was it with women these days, he wondered? He was so tired of being politcally correct. In the old days they were called secretaries. Now they had to be referred to as "assistants".
"Sorry," he found himself saying despite what he was thinking.
She seemed to be amused.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
"It's nothing, really. Before you came here, there were all these stories going around about you saying what a bear you could be. But I don't see it. I actually think you're a pussycat."
"A pussycat?" he glared at her.
She nodded. "In a good way. You're a lot nicer than I thought you would be."
"Hmmm." So she thought he was nice. Well, that was something. Maybe, just maybe, he could learn to be nice, especially to her.
When hell freezes over, he thought. She might be beautiful and have amazing legs but she was still a woman and he was a confirmed woman hater.
He glared at her again. "I am going to the Miami office next week, Ms. Connor."
So, they were back to that business again, were they, she thought.
"And?" she asked expectantly.
"And you're coming with me. I need to get involved with this entire operation and familiarize myself with the company as a whole. And...what's the problem now, Ms. Connor?"
"You want me to come with you?"
He nodded. "Who better than our prestigous office manager? You know all the ins and outs of this company. I'm making arrangements this afternoon. You'll have to get someone to look after that beast of yours for a few days."
"Beast?"
"You know, that animal of yours at home?"
"You mean Sylvester?"
He looked at her as if he thought she was the most dumbest creature in all of God's creation. He sighed. "Yes, Ms. Connor. That's exactly who I meant."
"I'm sure Shelley can look after him for me."
He stood up, letting her know that their meeting had come to an end. "I don't care who watches him for you. Just be ready to leave next Tuesday morning."
He dismissed her.
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Rebecca began to pack her bags a week early. It was her way of making the trip a reality.
"I can't believe I'm going on this trip with him," she told Sylvester as he sat on the bed watching her. "I mean, he was so nice and then he just started acting like a jerk. Maybe I should have never called him a pussycat. No offense, honey." She scratched the cat behind his ears. "And don't worry. Shelley's going to take good care of you. I wish you could come. I hate being away from you."
But the idea of going away with her new boss intrigued her. He had such a split personality at times. He could be so sweet and kind and charming one minute and the next, he was acting like a grumpy old bear. She couldn't figure him out. Maybe she shouldn't try so hard to.
The work week was progressing along nicely. Brendan was acting halfway decent with her until that Friday afternoon before they were scheduled to fly to Miami.
He had buzzed down to Shelley to have Rebecca come up to his office immediately.
"She's on the phone with a client," Shelley informed him. "A very important client, too."
"I don't care," he barked into the phone. "Nothing could be more important than her coming up when I tell her to."
Shelley sighed. "Very well."
He hung the phone up, the sharp sound of it going back onto the receiver stinging her eardrum. She winced and then knocked on Rebecca's door.
"Come in."
Shelley opened the door and saw that Rebecca was still on the phone. "Hold on, Mr. Jacobs," she said and cradled the phone in the crook of her neck. "What is it, Shelley?"
"Mr. Matthews wants you to go up to his office immediately. He says it's important."
"Did you let him know that I was on the phone with a client?"
She nodded. "Of course I did but he doesn't care. He wants you up there pronto."
"Okay. I'll just finish this call and go right on up."
Shelley nodded and closed the door.
Rebecca didn't emerge from her office until 20 minutes later. By then, Mr. Matthews had called downstairs again, seething.
"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked her when she saw that Shelley was crying.
"It's Mr. Matthews!" Shelley exclaimed. "When you didn't go up to his office right away, he called down here again. He started screaming at me, telling me what an incompetent fool I was and that if you didn't come right away when he tells you to, that I was going to lose my job. He thinks I never gave you the message, Becky."
Becky became visibly angry. "Why that..." She went to Shelley and put her arms around her. "I'm sorry, honey. It's not your fault. Don't worry. I'll straighten him out. You just relax and forget what he said to you. How dare he threaten you like that. I'll take care of this. I promise."
But when Rebecca went upstairs, she knew that she didn't have a chance against him. He was boiling mad.
"How dare you?" he yelled at her when she went into his office. He looked at his watch. "I told your stupid secretary to have you come up to my office immediately. That was almost a half hour ago. Does that sound like immediately to you, Ms. Connor?"
"First of all, do not refer to Shelley as my stupid secretary. She is not stupid, not by a longshot. She told me about your message and she also told me that she informed you that I was on the phone with an important client."
"I don't care, Ms. Connor! Nothing could be more important than when I summon you!"
"When you summon me?" she demanded. "What am I, your loyal subject? Cutting a phone call short when you're with someone very important is bad public relations, Mr. Matthews. Surely, even you would know that."
She had him there and he knew it. But he wasn't going to let her know that. There was no way that Rebecca was going to get the upper hand over him.
He stood right in front of her. He was standing so close to her that she could smell the aftershave that he was wearing. "Ms. Connor, you have a very smart mouth and I don't like it."
"Well, I don't like it when you threaten to fire my assistant, especially since she did nothing wrong."
"Then you are to blame and you should get reprimanded. Agreed?"
She shrugged. "I'm not going to play games with you, Mr. Matthews. If you want to fire me because I was a few mintues late coming up here, then go right ahead. I can get another job, especially with my qualifications."
"Sure you can," he said sarcastically. "I hear there's a big demand for women like you on the street corners in this neighborhood."
She stared at him for a moment in shock and disbelief and then tears sprang to her eyes.
"You bastard," she said softly and she slapped him across the face. She turned and walked out of his office and ran back downstairs.
Rebecca ran past Shelley and went into her office, slamming the door behind her. Shelley could hear her crying. She got up and knocked on the door. "Becky! Becky! What is it? What's wrong?"
A moment later, Rebecca opened the door and let Shelley into her office.
"What happened? What did he do that upset you so much?" She watched in shock as Rebecca began to collect her things. "What are you doing? Are you leaving?"
Rebecca looked at her and told her what he said that upset her so much.
Shelley's mouth went wide. "He said that to you? I can't believe it!"
"Well, believe it. He said it and I am not staying in this building another minute. I'm not going to put up with being spoken to that way."
"You can't go and leave me alone with him!" Shelley cried.
"I'm sorry, Shell. I can't stay here. I can't believe he said that to me. He is the rudest, most obnoxious man I have ever known in my life. There is no way that I can work for someone like him."
But he's also the most gorgeous and sexiest man I have ever seen too, she thought. And I liked the way he was acting up until this happened. He almost seemed human to me, not quite the beast he led everyone to believe that he is.
She shook her head to clear it of the thoughts that she was having. No. She had to leave. Even if he were to get down on his hands and knees and beg for her forgiveness, she was still out of here.
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Brendan said every curse word in the book as he watched Rebecca storm out of his office in tears. What a jerk he had been, even before he said what he did to her. There was no call for that. He had been such an idiot.
The truth was that he couldn't stop thinking about Rebecca Connor no matter how hard he tried. Day and night she inhabited his mind. And when he had told Shelley to have her supervisor come up to his office, all he had wanted to ask her was a very simple, stupid question.
Did she want the window seat on the plane when they went to Miami? He was trying to be considerate of what she wanted. Instead, the whole thing turned around and bit him on the ass.
It was all Deanna's fault. He always blamed everything on his ex-wife. She had soured him so much on women. He didn't know how to act around them anymore, especially around someone like Rebecca. She was a real lady, somebody with dignity and class. She was smart and bright and had a great personality too. And she was a real looker and he could appreciate that too. He appreciated everything about her and could admit to himself that he had feelings for her, feelings that went beyond nine to five. He couldn't stop thinking about her no matter how hard he tried.
Rebecca was the complete opposite of Deanna. He wanted so much to be nice to her, to get closer to her. He had been really looking forward to their trip to Miami together. He had hoped that it would be pleasure besides business. And now this...
He wouldn't be a bit surprised now if she decided not to go with him or even if she decided to quit her job altogether. She was right when she said that she was qualified to get another job. She was smart and had several different degrees. He knew he couldn't let her do anything drastic even though he didn't blame her if she did. He'd been a jerk, a real ass with her. He knew that there was only one thing to do.
He ran out of his office and went downstairs to try and make amends with Rebecca Connor.
---------------------
He stormed into her office and found her packing her stuff away. Shelley was babbling a mile a minute, asking her not to go.
He cleared his throat and they both stopped and glared at him. His eyes went to Rebecca. "Can I speak to you a moment, Ms. Connor?" And as an afterthought he said softly, "Please."
Her eyes went to Shelley. Her assistant got the hint and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.
"What is it?" she asked him wearily.
He was humbled as he looked at her. Her beautiful eyes were wet with tears. He felt terrible, he really did.
"I am so sorry," he whispered to her. "That was a very nasty comment, completely uncalled for. Please accept my apologies and know that I did not mean what I said."
"It's too late," she told him as she continued to gather her personal belongings together. "That was the most disgusting thing anyone could have ever said to me. I really didn't appreciate it at all. Now if you'll excuse me."
"Please, Rebecca, I'm begging you to forgive me."
"Oh, so now we're back to first names, are we?" She glared at him. "You're a beast, Mr. Matthews and I am leaving. I won't work another minute for someone like you. You're a creep. First you pick on poor Shelley and make her cry. Then you say what you said to me and you've got me all upset. Well, you are not worth it."
"No, you're right," he said softly. "I'm not worth it."
She stared at him, waiting to hear what else he had to say.
"I don't want to sound lame and blame it on my ex-wife but it is her fault. She treated me like dirt and soured me on women."
"That's not my problem."
"You're right. It's not. I used to be a real nice guy before Deanna screwed me. I was a gentleman and I had complete respect for women. Now, I'm an admitted woman basher."
"I had nothing to do with what your wife did to you. I'm not going to tolerate a flimsy excuse like that for what you said to me."
"I was wrong and I admit it. That was a disgusting comment and I apologize sincerely for it. Please, won't you forgive me?"
"I could file harrassment charges against you."
"I know. Yes, you could. Again, I'm sorry. I don't know how to act around somebody like you."
"Somebody like me?" she exclaimed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're a lot different than the kind of woman I'm used to. You're smart and bright and beautiful and you fight back. I like that. I like you."
She turned away, uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going. "Mr. Matthews..."
"Brendan, please."
She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I can't. I'll stay and work here since you had the decency to give me a heartfelt apology but I want to be called Ms. Connor again. I don't want any familiarity between us at all."
He sighed. "If that's what you want."
"Yes, it's what I want."
"Will you still come to Miami with me?"
"If it's neccessary."
"Yes, it is. Thank you."
"What did you have to ask me before that was so important?"
He shook his head. "Never mind. It wasn't important."
"Fine." She turned away from him , letting him know that the conversation was over between them.
She didn't know how she was going to last in Miami with him for five days.
---------------------
They sat together on the plane and she couldn't even look at him. This is a really bad idea, she thought to herself as she pretended to be engrossed in the novel that she was reading. He kept trying to engage her in conversation and when she answered him, she kept it short and to the point. He finally got the message and left her alone.
He kept staring at her legs. It was a bad idea to wear a skirt. She should have worn slacks instead. And yet, she liked it when he looked at her like that. He was so handsome, so sexy. She admitted that she was very attracted to him. Too bad he was such a jerk.
He had told her that his ex-wife had soured him on women. He had never told her why but she wished she knew. It was obvious that he was still in a lot of pain and hurt by whatever she had done.
Too bad. She wasn't going to feel sympathetic to him, not after what he'd said to her that day in his office. He was a jerk and she was glad that he was hurt.
No, she wasn't. That thought made her feel ashamed of herself. Rebecca prided herself on being a compassionate person. She was sorry that he was hurt and wished that whatever his ex-wife had done, he would tell her about it. Maybe then, she would have a better understanding of why he was the way he was.
"Almost there," he said softly to her.
She nodded and went back to her book. He could be so nice, so sweet at times. At other times, he was a complete brute, a beast. She wished she had him figured out.
And then she put her book down and looked up at him. "Just tell me why...why did your wife sour you this way? What did she do that made you such a bitter, nasty person?"
"Is that what you think, that I'm bitter and nasty?"
"No, I think you're a complete gentleman and that you should get the Man of the Year award for the gentle way you are with women." She rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"
"Okay, you don't have to be so sarcastic about it." He sounded offended to her.
"You're obviously in a lot of pain. You're incredibly obnoxious and rude to women. I want to know why. What did your ex-wife do to you that was so horrible? You seem so hellbent on blaming her for your downfall. What did she do?"
"You want to know what she did?" He stared at her long and hard and for a moment, she thought that he might actually start crying. "I'll tell you. When we got married, she promised me that we would have a family. After we got married, she told me that she would rather drop dead then have kids. She hated kids and said she would never have them. Here I was thinking that I was going to have children and be a daddy and she never had any intentions of starting a family with me. She stole money from me. She maxed out all my credit cards. And worst of all, she cheated on me with my best friend. I came home from work one day and found them together, in our bed. Laughing at me right in my face. I filed for divorce right then and there and never looked back."
She could see how much the remembering hurt him. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "You went through a lot with her. But that doesn't give you any right to treat other women with disrespect."
"You're right," he agreed. "I've just been so bitter for so long. And hurt. The hurt tears me up sometimes. That's something I have to change but I don't know how. I've been lied to, cheated on and stolen from from a woman who was supposed to love me forever and ever, for richer and for poorer and in sickness and in health. I was a damn fool for trusting her. I'll never make that mistake again."
"Not all women are like her, you know."
His eyes found hers again. "And I suppose you're not?"
She shook her head. "I was involved with a man who hurt me too. I didn't marry him because I saw what a jerk he was before it came to that."
"What did he do to you?"
"He cheated on me too. I was hurt by that and in pain too but I got over it. I can't hold every single man responsible for what one creep did to me."
"Why would any man cheat on you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged. "I was giving you a compliment and you question it."
"Thank you."
"You're beautiful," he told her softly. "I don't mean just physically beautiful. You're beautiful on the inside too. You're kind and compassionate and you care a lot about people. I see that in the way you treat your secre...I mean, your assistant. She worships you. I can understand why."
"If you want respect you have to give it too."
He nodded. "I agree."
"Don't you want to be respected?"
He nodded again. "Yes, I do. I just go about trying to get it the wrong way."
"You don't get people to respect you by treating them that way. You make them afraid of you. That's called being a bully."
"I hope you're not afraid of me."
She shook her head. "I'm not but poor Shelley is."
He couldn't help but smile. "I guess I'll have to talk to her when we get back home."
"I think you should."
"I'm sorry if I ever hurt you," he said softly. "I never meant to do that. I acted like a complete ass and I apologize. I'm going to make a concerted effort to be a lot nicer to you and to Shelley and to everyone else. I promise."
"Good." She smiled at him and then went back to her book. But again, she couldn't focus on the words that were on the pages. What he had said really touched her and she knew that this time he really meant it too.
Maybe things in Miami wouldn't be so bad after all.
They had adjoining rooms from each other. It wasn't so bad at first, not until she made the mistake of walking in on him while he was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. He was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and the sight of him and his muscular body left her speechless.
"I...I'm sorry," she managed to blubber out.
"It's okay. I guess I should have locked the door." He stared at her for a moment with white foamy toothpaste coming out of his mouth. The sight should have disgusted her but it didn't. Instead, she found herself becoming aroused by it.
She quickly shut the door and went back to her room.
There was a knock at the door only a moment later. "Rebecca?" he called her. "I mean, Ms. Connor?"
She sighed and went to open the door. "Yes?"
He grinned at her. Damn him. He still hadn't even put a shirt on. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if you needed to use the bathroom now."
"Oh. Thanks." She quickly disappeared into it and closed the door behind her.
This isn't working, she told herself as she turned the water on for the shower. I can't be this close to him without feeling something for him. Damn him.
She could smell his aftershave in the bathroom. It made her feel warm all over.
She showered and shampooed her hair and then wrapped a towel around herself and her wet hair. She went back into her room and found him sitting on the bed, waiting for her.
She let out a screech, surprised to see him still there. "Mr. Matthews! What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry." He stood up, still in those blasted shorts of his. "I forgot to ask you something." He was staring at her, licking his lips as he looked at her dressed only in a very short and revealing towel.
"Could it wait until I get dressed, please?"
"Oh, of course. I'm sorry. I'll be in my room." He looked at her longingly one last time and then went to his own room.
She sighed as she put on a simple but pretty sundress. She blew her hair out and then pinned it up. She applied a little bit of makeup and then stopped, staring at herself in the mirror.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself. She was getting fixed up and she didn't even have any plans. She was going to order from room service and eat alone in her room. It wasn't as if they had made plans to have dinner together.
He could have at least offered.
He could have at least invited her to dine with him. Maybe he had plans. Maybe he didn't want to be with her.
Fine. She was independent. She didn't need anyone to eat dinner with.
The jerk, she thought.
There was a knock at her door again. "Ms. Connor?" he called her.
Her heart began to race in her chest. She opened the door. "Yes?" She tried not to appear too eager.
He smiled at her, his eyes taking in every inch of her. "Wow! You look great!"
She could feel herself blushing. "Thank you."
"I was going to ask you if you wanted to have dinner with me. I assumed we would eat together but I can see by the way you're dressed that you made other plans. I'll just order something from room service then. Well, enjoy your night. Sorry I bothered you." He looked disappointed as he began to close the door.
"I don't have plans," she said quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. "I just got dressed because...I don't know why I got dressed this way. I was going to order from room service too."
His face brightened up. "Then maybe we could go out somewhere together. The restaurant downstairs has great food, or so I've heard. Would you like to go down there or would you rather stay here and order something in?"
There was no way that she was going to eat in one of their rooms with him, not with a bed so close by.
"We could go downstairs," she agreed. "That would be nice."
"Great! Are you ready now or should I come back for you in a little while?"
"I'm ready. I'll just get my purse and we can go."
He was acting like a complete gentleman to her. All night, he was attentive and warm. He held doors open for her and held her chair out for her in the restaurant. He poured the wine for her and even insisted on paying the bill. It was a nice dinner. They had a wonderful time together. The conversation had been lively and interesting.
She couldn't believe that this was the same man who had barked out orders to her and had made Shelley cry. She couldn't believe that this was the same person who had said what he did to her only a few days before.
"Would you like to take a walk?" he offered when they had finished their meal. "It's a nice evening outside."
She nodded. "That would be nice, thank you." She had drunk more wine then she intended to. Prehaps the night air would revive her.
It was a beautiful night out. The air was warm and balmy with just the slightest hint of a breeze coming in.
He smiled at her. "Ever been to Miami before?"
She shook her head. "This is my first time."
"Me too. You know, you're really good company and you know a lot of stuff about what we're doing. How'd you get to be so smart?"
"I've been with the company for a long time. It's my job to know these things, Mr. Matthews."
"Do you think we could cut out this Mr. Matthews and Ms. Connor stuff now? Don't you think we've gotten past that?"
Something in his voice made her nod her head in agreement. Or maybe it was just too much wine in her system. "Yes," she said softly.
"Good. I like it when you call me by my first name. It's better then having you call me a pig all the time. You see, I can be a gentleman when I want to be."
"I noticed."
"Good. I like you noticing me."
She felt her body grow warm at his comment and from the way he was looking at her. But at the same time, her head began to pound and she knew that a migraine was coming on. It was her own fault for drinking wine. She should have never had any in the first place.
She stopped walking and put her hand to her head.
"What is it?" he asked with concern dripping in his voice. "Are you all right?"
"I'm getting a migraine. I think I need to lie down. Too much wine with dinner."
He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'll bring you back to the hotel and you can lie down. Did you bring your medication?"
She nodded. "It's back in my room."
"Okay. I'll bring you upstairs and put you to bed and you can take it."
Put you to bed, she thought. I really wish that he would. He's so attractive and he's been so nice to me. I think I could fall in love with this man.
They went upstairs to her room and he held her so that she wouldn't fall. Once in there, he placed her gently down on the bed and then went to fetch her medication and some water for her to chase it down with.
She took it and smiled at him gratefully.
"What else can I do for you?" he asked her gently.
"I just need to rest. Thank you."
"Here, get under the covers." He removed her shoes for her and then carefully got her under the blanket.
"Get some rest," he said to her tenderly. "I'll be here all night if you need me."
He closed the light and then got comfortable on the sofa in her room. And he stayed there all night, watching over her.
------------------
She woke up and could still feel her head pounding. She sat up in bed and groaned.
"Rebecca?"
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Brendan sat up on the sofa, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"You're up." He smiled at her. "How do you feel?"
"My head still hurts," she admitted. "Did you stay here all night?"
He nodded as he came to her. "I tried to stay up all night to keep an eye on you but I guess the wine caught up to me and I ended up falling asleep." He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand to her forehead. "You look a bit pale. Are you still ill?"
She nodded. "My head is pounding. I should have never drunk the wine. I should have known better. I can't drink alcohol with these migraines that I get."
"Do you want to see a doctor?" he asked her. "You feel a bit warm."
"I do?" She groaned as she put a hand to her head. "It must be the wine combined with the medication." She lay back down again. "I've got to stay in bed. This one is a real doozy. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he assured her. "You just rest and I'll order some breakfast from room service. What would you like?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, but thank you."
"You've got to eat something. I'll order up some fruit and toast for you. Okay?"
She nodded and closed her eyes again.
When the food came about twenty minutes later, Brendan woke her up again. "Come on, honey, you've got to eat something."
She got out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She bent over the commode and vomited into it.
"Hey, take it easy," Brendan said as he came into the bathroom. "Maybe we should think about heading home today."
She shook her head, fighting off the onslaught of tears that threatened her. "I'll never be able to get on a plane with this headache."
"Okay." He nodded. "Then we'll go home tomorrow. I'll arrange it. You just rest and don't worry about a thing. I'm going to take care of everything, including you."
She smiled gratefully at him and then allowed him to help her back into bed.
The rest of their stay in Miami consisted of her resting in bed and he looking after her.
The whole situation had turned out to be a bizarre one for the both of them. She was thrilled by how kind he was being to her while she was sick with the migraine. He was gentle and compassionate and went out of his way to be nice to her. And he surprised himself by being this way with her. He had sworn off women forever, especially after what Deanna had done to him. Now, he realized that he was falling for Rebecca. She was nothing like his ex-wife and he admired her a great deal for her intelligence, beauty, warmth and charm.
He decided that once they got back home to New Jersey, he was going to ask her out.
It was a week after their plane had arrived back at Newark Airport. Brendan found Rebecca in her office going over some of their most important accounts. He smiled at her. "Hi," he greeted her softly.
She looked up at him, noticing the bouqet of red roses that he was holding. "Hi."
"Have you got a minute?"
"Sure. Come on in."
He went into her office and closed the door behind him. "I haven't seen you much since we got back from Florida."
She studied her computer screen. "I've been real busy trying to finish these reports."
He sat down next to her. "I got these for you."
He put the flowers down on her desk next to her monitor. He felt uncomfortable for just a moment. The truth was that he'd been avoiding her since they had returned to New Jersey because he began to realize that he had feelings for her. Feelings. He never wanted to feel for another woman ever again but the way he felt about Rebecca Connor was something he couldn't quite come to terms with. She was on his mind constantly and things had been going really well between them.
"They're beautiful." She smiled as her eyes lit up at the flowers. She picked them up and inhaled them. "Thank you. But I'm the one who should be giving you flowers."
"Why?"
"Because you took such great care of me while we were away. I don't know how I would have gotten through it without you."
"It was my pleasure to do it. I was very concerned about you. I didn't know that migraines could be that bad. I mean, I know that people who get them suffer but you seemed to be in torture. I felt really bad for you."
She smiled again. "It was my own fault for drinking the wine. I should have never touched it."
"Don't worry about it. Next time we go out to eat we'll just drink water. Which sort of leads me to why I came down here." He cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you would be free for dinner tonight."
"Tonight? Is it a business dinner or pleasure?"
He cleared his throat again. "Pleasure. I would really like to get to know you outside the office and I'm hoping that you feel the same way too."
She felt herself blushing. "So, you're asking me out on a date?"
"Yes," he said softly. "And I hope you'll say yes because I have a confession to make."
She looked into those sexy green eyes of his.
"I really like you," he told her. "You've changed my whole perspective on this woman bashing campaign of mine. You're smart and sweet and funny and beautiful and sexy. I can't get you out of my mind no matter how hard I try to. And the thing is, I don't want to. I like thinking about you all the time. You're an amazing woman and I really want to spend more time with you."
She didn't know quite how to answer him. But when he leaned close to her to kiss her softly on the cheek, all she could do was stare at her computer screen in disbelief. Was this the same man who had once compared her to a street walker?
"We'll go straight from here," he said to her as he stood up. "We'll go anywhere you want to go. You just let me know and that's where I'll take you. I'll see you later, Becky." He touched her soft, golden hair, gave her another smile and then left her alone in her office.
Becky. He had called her Becky. She shook her head, trying to clear it of her thoughts. Nobody called her Becky except her father and Shelley. And now him. Brendan had called her Becky.
And she realized that she didn't mind it one bit.
------------------------
"Hi." He grinned at her when he went back to her office at closing time. "You ready?"
She nodded. "I just remembered that I should go home first to feed my cat."
Brendan wanted to roll his eyes but he refrained. "Okay," he agreed. "I'll follow you to your house and then we can go from there."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure, I'm sure."
She grabbed her flowers and her purse and he followed her outside to the parking lot. He admired the sway of her hips in the skirt that she was wearing. She was so beautiful. He considered himself very lucky to be with her.
"Do you want to come in or wait out here?" she asked him once they had pulled up in front of her house.
He should have said that he would wait for her outside. If he had known what was going to take place, then that's what he would have said. Instead, he accompanied her into the house.
"I know you don't like cats," she told him as she unlocked the door.
"Maybe I over-reacted a bit," he admitted, determined to like her cat once and for all.
He was a bit put off with the way Sylvester greeted her. He jumped onto the couch and then onto her shoulder.
"Hey, little buddy," she said as she pet him. He was purring loudly, rubbing his chin against the side of her face. She smiled at Brendan. "He's very spoiled."
"I can see that." He gingerly reached out to pet the cat and almost screamed when Sylvester jumped into his arms.
"Jesus, he could have warned me that he was going to do that."
"He likes you. He doesn't like just anybody, you know."
"Glad to hear it. I guess I can learn to like him too. Hey, boy." He gingerly pet the cat's glossy, silky fur. "You obviously take real good care of him."
"He's like my child," she explained as she set the flowers down. "He's good company."
"I would never believe that a woman like you could ever be lacking for company."
"I do sometimes," she admitted. "He doesn't make many demands on me and I like that. He likes to be fed and petted and he doesn't ask for much more than that."
"I'm taking it that someone might have made a lot of demands on you at one time." He sat on the couch with the cat still in his arms.
She smiled as she sat down next to him. "You could say that. That guy I told you about, well, he expected a lot from me. He wanted to mold me into something that I wasn't."
"And what was that?"
"The little woman who stays home and cooks dinner and waits on him hand and foot. Don't get me wrong. I'm a bit old-fashioned in a sense but I'm a working woman too. I like to be independent and make my own money. He thought I was too liberated and to him, that meant that a woman couldn't be feminine."
"I happen to think that you're the most feminine person I've ever known."
"Thank you."
"You're a great business woman and you're smart but you're also attractive and you like to look feminine. What's the problem with that?"
"I don't know. I guess he thought it was a slur on his manhood."
"Well, Deanna wasn't like you at all. She wanted everything handed to her on a silver platter. She never cleaned the house or cooked dinner for me. And God forbid she should get a career of her own. She was too concerned about breaking a fingernail. God, what an idiot I was to marry her." He shook his head at the memories of his broken marriage.
"Your ex-wife obviously caused you a great deal of pain. Isn't it time that you forgot about her and tried to focus on your future, your happiness?"
He put Sylvester down on the floor and then reached out to touch her face. "I could with you.
I could learn to trust with you again."
She covered his hand with hers. "I could help you. I want to."
"Becky," he whispered her name and then pulled her close to him. He bent his head to kiss her and right there, he regretted coming into the house with her as opposed to waiting outside. He was falling in love with her and he didn't want to. But he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"Brendan," she said his name as she slipped her arms around his neck. She inhaled the clean, fresh scent of the aftershave that he was wearing.
"You're so beautiful, Becky," he told her as he pulled her even closer to him. "You're the most incredible woman I've ever known."
He kissed her deeply then, his tongue making a passionate dance with hers. He wanted to touch her so bad, to feel her skin against his.
"You're beautiful," he told her again as he gazed into the liquid blue depths of her eyes.
"You are too." She framed his face in her hands and kissed him, her lips touching his so very softly.
"I want you so much."
"I want you too."
He took that as an invitation to go further. His hands slid to the front of her blouse and as he gazed into her eyes, he cupped her breasts in his hands.
His lips touched hers again and she moaned softly as his hands kneaded her.
"I want to touch you," he whispered to her. "I've wanted to touch you since the moment I laid my eyes on you."
She pulled away just for a moment and then took her blouse off for him. She removed it slowly as she gazed into his eyes.
His eyes devoured her creamy flesh and he had never seen anything as beautiful as she.
"Becky," he whispered her name. "I want you so much. I can't say it enough to you."
"I want you too, Brendan." She began to unbotton his shirt. And just as he was unhooking her bra, Sylvester jumped onto his back.
Brendan let out a bloodcurdling scream and stood up, shaking the cat off of him.
"Are you all right?" Rebecca jumped up, grabbing Sylvester from the couch. "He didn't mean it."
She saw the claw marks on his back. Thankfully, the cat hadn't broken his skin and he wasn't bleeding.
Brendan was obviously stinging from the cat's nails on his skin but he looked at her and then he began to laugh.
"I could kill that cat of yours," he told her.
"He didn't mean it," she repeated.
"I know he didn't. Am I bleeding?"
"No, he didn't break the skin."
"Well, it hurts like hell. Is he always this possessive of you?"
"This is the first time...I mean, I never...he never..."
Brendan stared at her for a moment. "Becky, do you mean to tell me that you're a ...?"
She nodded. "Yes, I am. Why? Does that change anything between us?"
"Only if you want it to. Come here." He took her in his arms and pulled her close to him. "That was a close call. Maybe you'd better give him his dinner so that he keeps himself occupied."
She nodded and smiled at him.
He watched her as she put her blouse back on. "I don't want you to have any regrets. I want you to be sure about us making love together."
"Thank you. That's sweet."
He gave her another embrace. "Are you hungry? Have you decided where you'd like to go to eat?"
This was a side of him that continued to surprise her. He was so romantic, so considerate. It was a big change from when she first met him.
She had no complaints. She was falling in love with him, no question about it.
Dinner had been wonderful. The whole evening had been. Again, he was a gentleman with her, holding doors open for her, holding her chair out for her in the restaurant. After dinner, they took a romantic stroll together. He brought her home and decided that a quick goodnight was better than risking Sylvester's wrath again. He did want to go into her house and continue where they had left off with one another. It was all that he could dream about. He didn't want to push her. When the time was right, he would make love to her. He realized that he wanted to wine and dine her first and treat her like the lady that she was. She was such a refreshing change from Deanna. Brendan knew that he had fallen in love with her. Rebecca Connor was a very special woman and he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy with him.
-----------------
He arrived at the office early the next morning with a big grin on his face. He couldn't stop thinking about his evening with Becky. Although he had almost gotten massacred by her cat, the evening had gone very pleasantly. He wondered how things would change between them if they had slept together. She seemed more than willing but she did tell him that she was still a virgin. He wanted her first time to be special.
He was about to make his way down to her office to wish her a good morning when his heart nearly exploded in his chest. Waiting for him in the lobby was his ex-wife Deanna.
"Really, Brendan, it's about time you got here. I've been waiting for hours, or so it seems."
She spoke to him in that haughty way of hers.
He stared at her, still an ice princess bedecked in tons of jewelry and makeup. She wore a sexy, low cut dress that did wonders for her bosom. Her red hair was sprayed to perfection. Nothing about her had changed.
I can't believe I was married to this, he thought to himself.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked her angrily and several employees turned to look.
"Really, Brendan, is that anyway to treat the woman who was your wife for three years?"
"They were the three most miserable years of my life," he growled at her. "State your business and then go."
"Maybe I wanted to see you. I miss you, Brendan. I was hoping that we could have a chat together. Pretty please?" Her glossy red lips turned up in a pout, her trademark whenever she wanted her way.
It wouldn't work this time or ever again.
"Get out," he said evenly. "I made it very clear to you that I never wanted to see you again."
"Such hostility," she cooed. "What did I do to deserve this?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Rebecca come into the lobby.
"Becky!" he called her, unable to hide his delight in seeing her.
She waved and then made her way over to him. The smile on her face quickly disappeared when she saw him speaking intimately with the beautiful, curvaceous redhead.
"Good morning," he said to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How are you today?"
"Who is this, Brendan?" Deanna asked him. "One of your whores?"
The look on Rebecca's face ripped at his heart.
"You're sick, do you know that?" he told his ex-wife in an angry voice. "This is Rebecca Connor and she happens to have more class in her little finger than you do in your entire body."
Deanna looked at Rebecca and sniffled disapprovingly. "Oh really? I'm Deanna, Brendan's wife."
"Ex-wife!" he nearly screamed. "You're my ex-wife, you bloodsucking, money hungry, manipulative low life. Now get out before I have security escort you out!"
Rebecca was taken back by the way Brendan was speaking to this woman. "Brendan, please."
He looked at her. "Becky, honey, please stay out of it. I told you what she is about. You don't know what she put me through."
"What I put you through?" Deanna asked and then suddenly burst into tears. "What about what you did to me?" She looked at Rebecca. "Don't get involved with him, for your own sake. He beat me and hurt me all the time. He's violent and prone to bad fits of anger. He cheated on me and stole money from me too. He...he," she leaned closer to her, "he raped me," she whispered.
Rebecca looked at him, her eyes going wide.
"Honestly, do you really believe her?" he asked her as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
"I don't..."
"You don't what?" Brendan asked her, his eyes squinting at her in suspicion. "You don't know? Thanks a lot, Rebecca! Are you going to believe the man who loves you or are you going to believe this lying, conniving bitch?"
Her eyes went wide in shock. "What did you say?"
"You heard me! I said that I love you but you obviously don't want to believe anything I tell you. You'd rather believe her." His eyes went back to Deanna. "I suppose you're proud of yourself now, coming here with the intention of wrecking my life again."
She had a triumphant smile on her face. He threw daggers at her with his eyes. "You bitch," he snarled again. "I made the biggest mistake of my life when I married you."
"You're the one who hurt me." She looked at Rebecca with her sad, doe eyes again. "You don't know the torture he put me through, dear. I'm scarred for life because of what he did to me."
"You're scarred?" He laughed bitterly. "What a crock that is! You're the one who destroyed me." His eyes went to Rebecca. "And you're standing here felling sorry for her because that's what she wants. That's her game, Becky, and you've fallen into her trap. And what really bothers me is that I can see from the look on your face that you believe her and not me. Fine." He shook his head in disgust. "Women! You're all a bunch of louses!" He looked at Deanna again. "You succeeded in doing what you came here to do. Now leave immediately before I call the cops and have you bodily removed from here."
They both watched as he turned and walked away from them.
Deanna's innocent eyes went to Rebecca. "Do you see what I mean? He's so angry all the time. He has a terrible temper. Really, I lived in fear while we were married. You don't know what he's capable of. He scared me."
"Then why did you come here today?" Rebecca asked her. "If you're so afraid of him, why did you come here?"
"I was in New York to do some shopping and thought I'd stop in to say toodle-loo to my ex-husband."
"Hmm." Rebecca scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Well, you said hello and now I think it's time for you to say goodbye. He's obviously very upset by you being here."
"You can't possbily believe him when he tells you that he loves you. He said that to me all the time and he hurt me over and over."
"I think I'll take my chances. I love Brendan and he said he loves me. I'm not giving up on that." Rebecca wiggled her fingers at her. "Toodle-loo, dear." She turned and walked away from her.
She found Brendan in his office angrily slamming papers down onto his desk. His face was red and he was obviously not in the best of moods.
She knocked on the door even though it was open and he knew that she was there.
"Go away," he barked at her. "Leave me alone."
"That's a mature way to act," she said as she entered his office anyway. "What did I ever do to deserve the silent treatment now?"
He glared at her. "Silent treatment? I've got a lot to say to you, Ms. Connor."
"So say it. Don't hold it in."
"Fine. You want me to say something to you then I will." He went to her and stuck his finger in her face. "I never laid a hand on her, ever. She tries to manipulate people into believing what she wants them to believe. That's what she does. That's what she's good at. She hurt me. I never did anything to her. And you believe her and that hurts me."
"I never said I believed her."
"I could tell by the look on your face that you did."
"Oh, you could, could you?"
He nodded. "I made the biggest mistake of my life by getting involved with you."
"Involved with me? Is that what you call taking a business trip to Miami together? Is that what you call a few dinners together?"
"A few cheap cops of your breasts on your couch while that damn cat of yours tried to rip my skin off of me? Yea, that's what I call it. And to think I actually fell in love with you. What an idiot I was. I'm glad we didn't make love together that night. I probably would have lived with the regret for the rest of my life. You tried to manipulate me too, wanting me to believe that you're some innocent virgin. You've probably slept with half the state of New Jersey. You're nothing but a lying, conniving bitch too, Rebecca. You give me that warm smile of yours and you made me believe that you really suffered from migraines. That was probably your way of bringing out the sensitive, compassionate side of me. What a fool I was to fall for that. Never again! Do you hear me? Never again! Next time you have one of your pretend migraine headaches don't look at me to take care of you. You can fall on the floor for all I care."
He looked around, realizing for the first time that he was speaking to an empty room.
He sighed and then stormed out of his office.
"Where's Becky?" he asked Shelley when he went down to her office.
"She left," her assitant explained. "And I'm leaving too. I've had it with the way you treat everyone around here. How could you hurt poor Becky like that? She ran out of here in tears. She's the sweetest person in the world and she really loves you. Though for the life of me, I can't understand why! You're nothing but a jerk!"
"What did you just say?" he stared at her.
"I said that you're nothing but a jerk!"
"Not that." Geez, what a time for Shelley to grow a pair of balls with him. "You said she loves me?"
Shelley nodded as she began to swipe at her own falling tears. "She does. She really does and you don't deserve it. You hurt her again, you fool. You think you're something special but you're really not! You're a jerk and I quit!"
He would deal with getting Shelley back later. First, he had to find Rebecca.
---------------
Rebecca lay on her bed holding Sylvester close to her. She cried in his fur as her head began to pound. Just what she needed, another migraine. She got up to take her medication in the hopes of warding it off but it wasn't very successful. Her head went full throttle on her and she had to go back to bed again.
She couldn't believe how cruel Brendan had been with her. She hadn't deserved it. He thought that everything she had done was pretend, from getting her headaches to falling in love with him. He was so bitter because of what his ex-wife had done to him. Well, she was tired of picking up the pieces. Let him think what he wanted. She was through with him. Tomorrow, she would start looking for another job. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep and forget about him.
Her eyes closed and mercifully enough, sleep did come.
She awoke only a little while later when she heard someone calling her name. The pounding at her front door only matched the pounding in her head.
"Stop it, please," she cried as she buried her head beneath her pillow. Sylvester meowed and she heard the pounding continue.
"Make them stop it, please." Tears ran down her cheeks from the pain. Finally, she had enough of the pounding. She slowly got up and went to see who was torturing her like this.
Brendan was standing on her front porch with a pained expression on his handsome face. The look quickly changed to one of concern.
"Becky, are you all right?" he asked her.
She shook her head and began to cry. "Go away. Haven't you hurt me enough?"
He allowed himself to come into her house. He tried to take her into his arms. At first, she resisted but then she allowed him to hold her. She was in too much pain to fight back.
"What's wrong? Do you have another headache?"
"Why do you even care?" she cried. "You think I'm pretending anyway."
"I'm sorry, Becky. I really am. I had no right to say those things to you. I am so sorry. I was just angry because of Deanna. I never meant to hurt you. I'm a jerk and I admit it. But I love you. I do. And I know you love me too."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because Shelley told me. Because I just know. I know, Becky."
"You seem to know a lot of things about me, Brendan, but most of it is in your head. I do love you and you think I don't trust you. Well, you're the one who doesn't trust me. I would never hurt you. I'm sorry that Deanna did but I am not going to be the one to pay for what she did to you."
"I'm not making you pay. It was just her showing up the way she did...it pissed me off. It made me a little sensitive."
"It made you a little sensitive. Well, poor little you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. The world doesn't revolve around you, Brendan Matthews. I'm sorry that your wife hurt you but everyone gets hurt. It's a part of life. Now if you don't mind, I really need to get back to bed. My head is killing me."
He looked at her for a moment and then picked her up into his arms.
"What are you doing? Put me down! How dare you! Put me down this minute!"
"Like hell I will." He brought her into the bedroom and then placed her gently down onto her bed. He put the covers over her and then sat down on the other side. He took his shoes off and then lay down beside her. He brought the covers over him and then put his arms around her.
"You mind telling me what you're doing?" she asked him when he smiled at her.
"Taking care of you. I'm always going to take care of you, Becky, always. Get used to it because I'm not going anywhere."
"Why do you want to do that?"
"Because I love you so much. I do, Becky. I love you more than anything and I'm sorry I hurt you. Now you go to sleep and rest and take care of that headache. Tomorrow I want you to stay home from work and that's an order. I'll have to call Shelley later and beg her to come back. She quit on me too today."
Rebecca couldn't help herself. She began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
"You. Everything."
"Thanks." Sylvester jumped onto the bed and cuddled between them. "You too," Brendan said as he pet the cat. "I can get used to you too."
Rebecca watched as he kissed Sylvester and she knew right then and there that he really meant what he said. "You hate cats," she reminded him.
He shook his head. "I was just bluffing when I said that. I really love them a lot. We could even get another one if you want to. I also said that I hate women but I love you."
She smiled as she reached out to touch his face. "I love you too, Brendan."
"I know you do. Now shh." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Go to sleep now, sweetheart, okay?"
"Okay." And she did. He closed his eyes, his arms around her and Sylvester. He'd never been happier. He really did love this woman even though she had an obnoxious cat and suffered from terrible headaches. But he would take care of her always because he loved her. God bless her, he really did.
What a fantastic, spell-binding write, Debbie. Loved it! but I wouldn't go near a man like Brendan even with a ten-foot pole. His short temper and abusive language is frightening. Great write, Debbie!
