Surrender 01 - Surrender

Ari’s floor. Anticipation mounted as the car moved upward. When the doors opened, he stepped out and looked around at the staff, all of them hard at work. The manager seemed to be running a tight ship, and Rafe was pleased.
    He turned a corner and spotted Ari at her desk — his gut instantly clenching. It had been a little over a week since their last encounter. He wasn’t thrilled by the fact that he’d felt her absence. He’d often gone two weeks, sometimes a month, without seeing one of his mistresses when he was traveling. It had never bothered him. But now…
    It must be only because their relationship wasn’t official — still left up in the air. He didn’t like the waiting — the uncertainty.
    “Ari.” He said nothing else as she stiffened before slowly lifting her head. He could see she’d rather be anywhere else at that moment than trapped into a conversation with him with her co-workers within hearing range.
    “Mr. Palazzo, what are you doing here?” she asked between clenched teeth.
    “We have unfinished business. Since you’ve refused to answer my calls, you’ve left me no choice but to seek you out.”
    “There is no unfinished business. We’ve said all there is to be said. Now, I’m at work, so I’ll kindly ask you to leave. This is highly unprofessional,” she scolded.
    Damn, he really did like her fire — loved the fact that she wasn’t afraid of him. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t break her; it just meant that it would take much longer for him to grow bored with their relationship.
    He grabbed her arm and pulled her from the chair, not saying anything else as he led her to an empty conference room. Rafe had no doubt that the only reason she was coming along without a fight was her fear of causing a scene. But it worked for him at that moment.
    Once inside with the door shut, she turned to him with fire in her eyes.
    “Seriously, who in the hell do you think you are? This is where I work. If you think I’ll come willingly to you if you get me fired, you’re wrong.”
    “I have a trip tomorrow and I want you to go with me, so I don’t have time to wait for you to figure things out. I’ve come to expedite the situation.”
    “Then you’re going to be very unhappy with what I have to say. I’m done with you. No more games, no more drunken nights of sex. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Do you comprehend?”
    “You are still refusing me?”
    “That’s what I’ve just said!”
    “Then you’ve left me no choice.” He walked away. Let her think what she wanted. She’d be his tomorrow.

    *****

    Ari watched Rafe walk out. She stayed where she was like a caged animal. Was it a trick? Was he going to turn around at any moment and pounce? She didn’t know what to think right then. She waited for several minutes inside the conference room, and her body tensed when she saw the door handle begin to turn.
    He was back.
    “Ari, what the heck was that all about? Mr. Gorgeous stormed by my desk looking like he was pissed.”
    “Honestly, I have no idea, Amber,” said Ari, still rattled but relieved that Rafe wasn’t the one who’d walked through the door. “He wants to be in a relationship, but I’ve repeatedly told him it’s not going to happen. He basically told me this was my last chance, and when I still refused, he left. It’s not like him. I’m a bit afraid of the other shoe dropping.”
    “I get that I don’t know him — but he’s gorgeous, has a drool-worthy body and buttloads of cash. Why would you not want to go out with him?”
    “It’s complicated and I just want to get back to work. I promise to tell you all about it when I’m not so freaking ticked off,” Ari said, hoping to appease her friend.
    “I’ll respect your privacy, but I hope you know this is taking years off my life. I’m dying to know what the big mystery is .”
    When Ari didn’t say anything else, Amber le t her be. Ari walked from the room and went straight to the bathroom, where she could splash cold water on her face and freshen up her make-up. She was in the middle of her shift and didn’t have time to fall apart.
    If Rafe had other plans, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, so it wouldn’t do her any good to fret. She’d been away from her desk for a good fifteen minutes now and it was time to get back to work.
    When nothing else had happened by the end of the day, she decided that maybe he’d just given up. What Ari didn’t understand was the slight