Free Surrender Your Heart by Raven J. Spencer Page A

situation. They will regret their lame attempt at
going over my head.
    “If you don’t
want her to have a razor, why don’t I get her some products?”
    “Yes, why not?
Brilliant idea, Marlene. Thank you so much.”
    I think this is
a good moment to stalk away and get back to the computer. I’ll deal with
her—and Penelope—tomorrow, though there is something oddly comical in this. I
have thought of everything, her apartment, her work, the people in her
life—everything, except this small detail. Not comical at all to think of what
could have happened. It’s silly, I know. I can’t watch her 24/7. I don’t want
to invade her privacy so much as to have her watched 24/7, and yet…there are
scarves and belts in the closet, and if I had overlooked anything in Penelope’s
past life, only I would be to blame. I shake off the chill that’s coming with
the thought. So far, things are going as well as can be expected, I guess.
    * * * *
    In the office, I
pour a finger of rum into a tumbler—after washing my hands, finally, welcoming
the burn.
    She was so
sweet.
    You don’t get
sweet very often in the cutthroat world that I inhabit, and most of the time, I
don’t complain. There are enough women and men in my life who want something
from me, sex, money, a deal, I can pick and choose and then move on. Not bad
for the girl whose parents thought she wasn’t feminine enough. I’m not sure if
they are feeling better these days—I’m not married. Their daughter was a
lesbian after all, just like they’d worried, but on the other hand, it’s hard
to argue with a Fortune 500 company and their home in the Caribbean . My brother Jimmy might be a
gifted artist, but he never managed to make that much money with his music . I consider him a rebel
for still not having a real job at his age—it’s kind of adorable. A t
least he makes enough money to keep his ex- and current wife happy, or so the
tabloids say. Janet, my sister had a wedding worthy of a Disney princess, and
she actually married real royalty. A guy with a title, not much of a fortune.
She sends a card at Christmas.
    Intimidated,
wary, jealous, I’ve had all of those thrown at me, from my family, and
strangers. I can work with that. It came after the mocking and dismissing,
because I couldn’t care less about prom, because I knew I deserved a place at
the decision-making table even as the only woman in the firm—something I
learned to handle.
    Now, there’s something
completely different. Penelope. Sweet, sexy, she’s oblivious to the fact that
she has my world teetering on its axis. I’ve bent the law before when
necessary, never before broken it this blatantly. I’m fortunate enough to have
friends and acquaintances in high places who owe me.
    I set the glass
aside and open my emails.
    To be frank, I
have little interest in this electronics chain, but talking to partners and
attorneys I’ve been advised that it could be a worthy addition to Forbes Inc. I
don’t need their okay—that’s mostly window dressing. What I’ll enjoy most is
kicking out Marcus Wellington and his posse. Selling his business is a done
deal, unavoidable, but I know he’d much rather have his stores go to the other
buyer who’s an old friend of his father’s, old money, the same old bullshit.
Sexual assault charges brought up against Wellington were dropped last year, not so much because of his innocence, but
because he and his lawyer successfully intimidated the women who had filed the charges.
Yes, more than one. Threatened with an uncertain future for themselves and
their families, one by one recanted.
    I have looked
into the cases. I know exactly which employees to keep, and which ones told the
women to shut up. I can’t fire each of them personally, but the thought at
least is uplifting. It’s too bad I’ll have to leave Penelope alone another time
for this, but if she’s not too pissed at me in the morning, I’ll let her go to
the pool by herself. I’ll have