Cindy Smith blinked at the screen and her blood came to a slow boil. Her website had been on the fritz for a week now. And her requests thus far had been ignored.
Until this little gem had just popped into her inbox.
From: Adam
Your website seems to be running fine.
Her cat Gizmo hopped up into her lap and started mooking. Kneading biscuits some people called it, Cindy called it heaven. A free massage from Gizmo usually made her feel better.
Not today.
She continued staring at the screen trying to figure out what part of ‘broken’ the tech support guy didn’t understand. Maybe it was the B. Second letter of the alphabet, surely he’d learned that in school. On the other hand, perhaps it was the R. Maybe the O.
Gizmo continued mooking and Cindy’s frown deepened.
Yet again, she clicked reply. Giving the tech support guy, Adam, as much information as she had. She stressed that this was her business, her number one promotional tool. She was speaking at a conference day after tomorrow and her website had to be working flawlessly.
She hit send and waited. And waited some more. Gizmo gave both legs a massage and then gave up. Glancing at the Garfield clock on the wall she saw an hour had passed. She checked her inbox again. No new message.
No surprise.
It had taken three days to get the first response anyway.
She pushed away from her desk, grabbed her empty Diet Dr. Pepper cans and headed for the kitchen. If this was one of her books she could simply find a way to torture the tech support guy until he did what she wanted. A sinister smile curved her lips as she tossed the cans into the recycling bin.
Gizmo circled the ceramic food dish and gave a delicate little meow.
“I know,” she said with a sigh, looking down at the orange and white fuzzball. “You’re hungry. So am I.”
Except she wanted blood. Figuratively of course.
Cindy filled Gizmo’s bowl and then headed for her bedroom. She still had to pack for her trip. And find her flight information. A great suit was what she needed to knock people’s socks off. And of course, matching shoes. The devil was in the details as they say and with a whole room of people staring at her, it was important to get her details right.
Reaching into her closet her hand closed around a hanger and pulled it out. Her red power suit hung from the wooden triangle like battle gear. Nodding in satisfaction she hung it on the closet door and dove back in for shoes. Something red. Something tall. Something stellar.
She came nose to nose with a sexy red satin stiletto. Perfect. Now for the other one…
Stalking the shoe she tossed things over her shoulder, swearing to herself that she would organize her closet when she got home from the conference.
“Meow!” Glancing over her shoulder she saw Gizmo dodging shoes and making her way to the door.
“Sorry,” she called, her gaze landing on a black leather whip. She’d forgotten she even had it. It had been a prop for a Halloween costume several years ago… not to mention feisty nights in the bedroom.
Forgetting the shoe, she picked up the whip and smiled.
***
Pushing aside her apprehension, Cindy stalked up to the door of her hosting company. The hot Las Vegas sun threatened to melt her on the spot but her anger fueled an even hotter flame. Dressed in her Habanero hot power suit, her sinful strappy heels crunched the cement.
Swinging open the door a burst of cold air hit her, freezing the perspiration on her forehead. The small reception area wasn’t what she’d expected. It was rather dingy and unwelcoming, but she supposed they didn’t have many clients show up to tour the facilities. Or demand the time of day from the support staff.
A mousy haired woman sat behind a desk, her computer screen reflecting off of her round glasses.
“I’m here to see Adam,” Cindy said, clasping her hands in front of her.
The receptionist looked at her wide eyed.
“I hear it’s his birthday,” she continued in a whisper. “If you’ll just tell me where to find him, I’d be so grateful,” Cindy said, her voice oozing southern charm.
“Last office on the right,” the woman said and pointed to the hallway at her left.
Cindy gave her a bright smile and marched down the hallway. Without knocking, she stepped through the doorway. A wirey man with dark brown hair sat behind the desk his fingers hovering above the keyboard.
He turned his bright blue gaze on her and did a double take.
“Hello, Adam.”
He spun his chair to face her then and she closed the door.
“Can I help you?”
She took a moment to look him over. He wasn’t what she’d expected. He was cute, in a geeky almost boyish sort of way. Actually looked a lot like the Mac guy from the TV commercials.
He wore a simple T-shirt that showed off a flat chest and stomach. Not an ounce of fat on him, she’d bet. The navy bands at the end of the shirt sleeves drew her attention to corded muscle and toned arms. Ragged jeans and Birkenstock’s finished off his outfit.
“I certainly hope so,” she said, lowering her voice to a husky murmur. Stepping across the room she dropped her purse onto his desk and then slid a hand along the back of his chair. He stared at her wide eyed, as if unsure what to say or do. “I have this problem, you see.”
She walked her fingertips down his arm and then rubbed a fingertip back and forth across the vein at his wrist. She could feel his pulse leap at her touch.
This might be more fun than she’d thought. She could get her revenge and her jollies. After all, this was Sin City.
Settling herself against his desk, she crossed her legs showing off a healthy dose of skin.
“I’ve heard reports… well reports that you and your fellow customer services reps aren’t doing your jobs very well.” She held up her hand when he started to deny the claims and reached into her purse. She handed him a folded wad of papers. “It’s all right there. All the complaints on several web hosting review sites.”
He opened the papers and glanced over them. She unrolled a length of bondage tape and leaned forward. His gaze snapped to her cleavage and she used that to her advantage. Quickly, she pushed one wrist down against the arm rest and secured it with the tape.
“What are you doing?”
“Teaching you how to do your job, Adam.” She secured his other wrist and the papers fell to the floor.
She stood up and went to lock the door. The bolt sliding home sounded rather loud in the quiet space. She let her eyes rake over the messy room with its boring gray walls and then settle on him. He was frowning.
“It seems that you’ve been a very… bad… boy.” Slowly she unbuttoned the suit jacket, watching his eyes follow her progress. His frown diminished slightly.
“Is this a joke? Did the guys put you up to this?” he asked, looking rather pleased at the idea. She supposed a strip tease was as common in Vegas as a drive through wedding.
“No joke.” When she slipped the red silk from her shoulders and draped it over the desk his jaw had dropped a little.
“Like it?” she asked, trailing her fingers over the appliqué trim of her red and black corset. He nodded. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.