Free Taking Courage by S.J. Maylee Page A

to him first.” Anne shook
her head.
    Lydia
put a hand over her heart. “I'm just glad he took the time to notice his
initials in the lock before he spanked my ass.” Her gaze drifted off.
    “Should
we leave her alone?” Janna looked at Anne, and the two shared a quick giggle.
    “I
wonder if Jake will give us a replay on Friday.” Anne took a step closer to
Janna. “I'm not sure which of them enjoys those spankings more.”
    “Are
you guys talking about me?” Lydia's gaze lowered to them, and an adorable blush
kissed her checks. “Sorry, kind of got lost in a memory there.”
    “Aw,”
Janna and Anne said in unison.
    “All
right, you two just wait.” She pointed at them.
    “Don't
hold your breath.” Anne shrugged her shoulders. “What were we talking about?”
    “You
guys were giving me tips in prepping for the board meeting.”
    “Right,”
Lydia said. “You should be careful around Gina.”
    “She's
in your technical writers group, too, right? The one with the
long dark hair and striking blue eyes.”
    “Yes, lucky me. Her desk is
next to mine. She's been pretty quiet lately, but I'd still be careful around
her. She tends to cause trouble.”
    “Thank
you both for this. Your help is invaluable.”
    Anne
grabbed her hands. “I'll give you one piece of advice for tonight and Simon.
Follow your instinct and be honest.”
    She
took their advice, and the day flew by. Meeting after meeting Janna got a
deeper and clearer view of the details. She had one more hour to double check
her slides and figure out what she was missing. There was always something
between the lines that a good Project Manager could find. What was it?
    The
last hour ended without an answer.
    “Are
you ready?”
    She
sat back in her chair, ready to give up.
    “Simon,
I'm missing something, and for the life of me I can't figure it out.”
    “You've
been at this for three days. We're already worlds ahead from where we were.
Now, come on before I get tempted to spank your ass for doubting yourself.”
    “That
sounds better than facing your board.”
    He
shook his head and dragged her from her chair. “Come on, they're our board now.
You're a part of this team, remember?”
    “Yes.
You're right.”
    “Besides,
they're a bunch of teddy bears.”
    “I
keep hearing that. It's starting to feel like a bad omen.” She did a final
save, closed down her files, and gathered her notes. “I thought Keller was
supporting me, but I can't be certain, not really.”
    “Try
not to worry about Keller. He likes poking at things to see what you're made
of. You've been here for two days, and you know plenty more about this project
than I thought possible. You know what you're talking about, remember that,
okay.”
    “Is
that an order?”
    “I'm
suspecting you're trying to postpone your walk down the hall to the board
room.”
    “Not
me, Sir.” She pulled at the edge of her skirt, revealing more of her thigh.
    “If
you were, I'd consider swapping out your current plug for the next size.”
    “Nope,
I'm good.” She stood up straight. “Let's go.”
    “Good
girl.”
    The
board room was twice as large as the conference rooms she'd been meeting in,
and the polished table was a work of art with the inlaid wood pattern. A chill
rattled through her body. They must keep the room colder than the other rooms
in the building. She didn't need any more encouragement to awaken her nerves.
One look at Keller threw her straight into panic.
    She
searched the room for Simon. He was talking with a man at the other end of the
table. The desire to run out of the room fought with her need to stay and work
through her fears. She wanted to claim she didn't need her father. She couldn't
exchange needing her Dad, to needing Simon. If she did, she'd be changing one
jail for another.
    Now
was not the time to debate her strengths.
    It
was scoping time. Time to bring everyone in the room to one
understanding. She didn't know this group, but she'd been in this
situation