"Maura MacLaren?" he asked.
She smoothed down the cheap black fabric of her dress trousers. "Yes, Mr. Pine."
Eyes darting over her folder, Pine already knew about her prison term, that she was from Ireland, a graduate of Cambridge University in finance and computer software design, the sky-high numbers on her IQ test. "And why are you here, Miss MacLaren?"
Her pink mouth curved in an unamused smile. "As you can imagine, Sir, no one on Wall Street is eager to hire me. But discreet... uh, circles say Jaguar Holdings is willing to take a chance on talent. I believe your head of R&D already vetted me, or I wouldn't be here talking to you. Sir." She held the smile.
"You already know the pay is excellent. Bonuses can be significant." James rose from his desk and idly wandered his office. "I'm sure you can imagine taking a risk on an unknown quantity in my line of work is... unwise. I was recruited to come here from London to oversee the Research and Development Department. Which was failing. Its success now rests solely on my shoulders."
James could feel the warmth radiating off her, the faint scent of sweat and anxiety, as he put his hands on the back of her chair. "I would imagine the pressure is great, Sir."
"Indeed." Suddenly, his hand fisted in her hair and shoved her face down on the desk. Maura stifled a yelp of fear. He placed his mouth close to her ear, his tone hard. "You can understand then, the penalty for mistakes or disloyalty is a fatal one."
"Yes, Sir," she managed, "of course. I would do everything within my mortal power to keep you from disappointment."
James’s hand gripped her hair tighter for a moment, hearing a strangled moan from Maura's throat. His head cocked, confused. There was something about the way she held herself, terrified but anticipatory at the same time, holding still under his brutal grip with her proper responses, and her "Sirs." Frowning, he let go of her thick ponytail, watching her slump with relief. "See that you do, MacLaren. Holbrook is outside, waiting to take you to the lab."
Clearing her throat, she managed to whisper, "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."
Abruptly coming back to the present, James was irritated to realize he was erect. Adjusting his trousers, he thought back to her breathlessness as she'd whispered "Sir."God, that was erotic,he thought, as he got out of his Jaguar.
***
Waking up early the following morning to run before work, Maura took a look in the mirror and groaned. Sure enough, both eyes were blackened and her bottom lip still split and swollen from yesterday's visit with the Big Three. "I'm not going to be able to teach the self-defense class this week," she sighed. "Talk about a trigger when your instructor has two black eyes."
Shaking her head at the irony, Maura laced up her running shoes and walked out onto the dock by her houseboat. The morning sun off the harbor was beautiful, and she smiled, enjoying the warmth of the weak sunlight on her pale skin. Stretching her arms high, Maura pulled one leg over her head, enjoying the moment too much to hear the footsteps behind her.
"Good morning, MacLaren."
Letting out a startled shriek, Maura lost her balance and nearly fell off the dock, but an expensively suited arm reached out to grab her and pull her upright. "Jesus, Mary an’ Joseph," she gasped, one hand to her chest. "What are you doing here?" Looking at James Pine's elegantly raised eyebrow, she amended, "I mean, are you checking on the search torrent? We won't know anything until Nicholas and I access the program today."
"I assumed that." He looked her up and down, slowly. "I came to check on you. Visits to the Blood Room can be... unsettling." Maura stifled a startled laugh at hearing him refer to the intimidating room by its saucy nickname. One corner of his mouth turned up as he watched her. "Of course, I know what it's called. And the nickname is not unwarranted." She chuckled weakly, which died off as his warm hand reached under her chin, lifting to get a better look at her face. "Shame to see such a lovely face so bruised," he mused, running a thumb gently over her swollen lip.
Maura carefully stepped back from his hand, zipping up her sweatshirt to her chin. "I'm fine, Mr. Pine. Nothing to be concerned about. If there's nothing else..." She didn't like how her boss was looking at her, a slow appraisal as if he was seeing her for the first time. His eyes flickered back up to her apprehensive green ones. She hated the expression on his face, the knowing smile that grew from making her so uncomfortable.
Shrugging, James said, "That's all. We'll be waiting for your report." Walking back up the docks to his car.
***
"Anything yet?"
Holbrook's eyes rolled behind his horn-rimmed glasses. "No, Maura, nothing in the last 30 seconds since the last time you asked me."
Irritably, she rolled up the sleeve of her baggy t-shirt, "I know, I know! It's just driving me mad. I keep trying to figure out who on earth could be this stupid. Plus, I'd prefer not to be shot today."
He groaned, "Don't remind me of yesterday! I had nightmares all night. I think I got maybe an hour of sleep."
Trying to change the subject, Maura teasingly smiled. "How did it go last night? Did you meet someone?"
Holbrook's head dropped, "itwasn'tsogreatso..."
"I beg your pardon?" she said loudly, "I didn't hear that?"
Groaning, he looked at her, "I talked to a couple of girls, they came up to compliment me on your band t-shirt."
"See?" she encouraged, "They used the t-shirt as an excuse to say hello. That's good! Did you get a phone number? Buy them a pint?"
"No," Nicholas grumbled, "they wanted me to dance, so..."
