Free The Secret Fantasy Society by Vanessa Devereaux Page A

around that might not be far from the truth.
     
    * * * * *
     

    I’d called The Secret Fantasy Society and told them I had a gift certificate I wanted to use. They’d assigned me a fake name and given me the name of the man who’d be playing my boss. Duncan Thorpe. I’d told them I was free on Friday night. I’d asked for their address but gotten a sharp response.
    “We don’t give that out. Mr. Thorpe will visit you, and you’ll take it from there,” I was told.
    I assumed he’d stop by my house, but on Friday afternoon I had a surprise when my assistant told me there was a man in reception wanting to see me.
    I glanced at my appointment book. He wasn’t penciled in.
    “Did he say what he wanted?”
    “Only that he has some business to discuss with you.”
    “Okay, you’d better show him back here.”
    I was in the middle of sketching a new design for one of my regular clients when I heard a tap on my door. It was my assistant again.
    “Mr. Thorpe to see you.”
    I dropped my pen when I recognized the name. I didn’t expect him to come to my office. I was a mess. I hadn’t brushed my teeth after lunch, my hair needed a good comb; and my make-up… Forget it. It was a disaster.
    He stepped inside. He was tall, probably over six feet, with dark wavy hair and a cleft in the chin. Broad shouldered, he wore what looked to be a very expensive, dark blue, designer suit.
    “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I said.
    He closed the door before heading over to my desk.
    “We have a lot to talk about,” he said.
    Without being asked, he pulled up a chair and sat in front of me. I took a quick drink from my coffee mug. The coffee had been sitting there most of the afternoon and was now cold and bitter. My mouth was suddenly dry. Partly because of fear of the unknown, and the other fifty percent was due to sheer anticipation.
    He crossed one leg over the other.
    “It’s come to my attention that you’ve been a naughty girl, Chloe.”
    He brushed some lint off his navy blue pants, the silver ring on his little finger catching the light and shining directly onto me.
    “Who told you that?”
    “I have my sources in the company.”
    “Maybe they’re wrong.”
    He leaned forward, putting his right forearm on my desk. His eyes were green with tiny flecks of hazel in them. Gorgeous, and something I would always remember about him.
    “I don’t think so. There’s over a million dollars missing from my company, and all clues point to you. The fancy clothes, the new car, and the trip to Monaco last year.”
    I swallowed hard twice. He made this all seem so real that I felt as if he’d backed me into a corner and I had actually done something bad.
    “Can you prove I used your money to fund all that?” I asked.
    “You’re not as smart as you think. I’ve had a private investigator following you and checking into your banking activity for the last six months.”
    I stood and walked around to the front of my desk, leaning my butt up against the edge. He eyed me up and down beginning at my legs and working his way upward. Today I’d opted to wear my black skirt and white blouse that had a zipper as a closure, and no buttons.
    “So you’re here to tell me that you’re going to turn me over to the police?”
    His smile was sly and sexy. “That wouldn’t be much fun. Even though you’ve embezzled from me, you’re still a valuable employee.”
    “You’re going to look the other way?”
    He tapped his fingers against his lips and stared at me, almost without blinking. If I didn’t know this was all part of a game, his stare would have intimidated me big time.
    “I can’t look the other way, and you’re going to need to be punished. I want you to learn the consequences of taking money from me.”
    He loosened his tie, pulled it down from the collar a few inches, and then very slowly, popped open the button of his shirt.
    “Punish me?” I asked, unable to look away from the hint of skin he’d