Michael eased out of bed, pausing to slip into his jeans before he headed to the living room to refill their empty glasses. “Be right back,” he said over his shoulder.
Maggie grinned and rolled onto her back, gazing up at the modern silver chandelier hanging over the bed. Unbelievable. After all this time... Of course, he’s leaving tomorrow. She grimaced slightly. He’ll be in the Maldives for two weeks. With Vivian. She sighed deeply, wondering if she remembered exactly which one was Vivian. They were all fairly interchangeable. Stop analyzing it. Just enjoy the moment. We’re adults here.
She could hear him putting ice in the glasses. The cold clink of ice cubes was replaced by the ringing of the doorbell. Frowning, she glanced at the bedside clock and saw that it was 11:30. Then she heard voices.
“What are you doing here?” she heard Michael ask. “It’s nearly midnight.”
“You called me, remember?” replied a female voice.
“That was hours ago. I’m not alone,” Michael countered.
Alarmed, Maggie tiptoed to the bedroom door. Her mind flashed back to Doc Watsons. Michael was checking his phone all evening. Realization dawned suddenly. He was trying to find a ‘victory fuck.’ And nobody was available. When he couldn’t find anyone else, he settled for me. She felt a cold buzzing numbness wash over her.
The woman laughed. “Glorious. We haven’t had a threesome in ages.” Maggie didn’t wait to hear his reply. She went into his bathroom and quickly dressed. Shit! My panties and shoes are out there. Shit!!
She hurriedly combed her fingers through her hair and straightened her blouse and skirt as best she could. In the mirror, she saw the wild look in her eyes, the one she got when she tried to hold back tears. Her eyes fell to the bracelet on her wrist. Mechanically, she undid the clasp and lay it gently on the bathroom counter. Then she pulled herself up as tall as she could and made her way out into the living room.
Michael, still shirtless in his jeans, was standing beside a chic-looking blonde in a long black trench coat. Because Maggie was avoiding Michael’s eyes, she saw the woman smirk at her.
“Oh, my, what have we here?” the woman said.
“Shut up, Gwen,” Michael warned softly.
Silently, Maggie picked up her jacket from the couch and crossed to the kitchen counter, grabbing her shoes and panties where they lay on the floor just beneath it.
“Mags, don’t go,” he said.
“No, don’t go. Stay,” the woman chuckled. She opened her coat and dropped it to the floor. Gwen had arrived at Michael’s door wearing a sheer black lace bustier with black stockings and a matching g-string.
Maggie gaped at the woman briefly before turning toward the door. “I’ve gotta go,” she muttered.
Michael followed her. “Mags, please...”
Maggie couldn’t look at him. She felt too foolish. The last thing she wanted to do was to break down and cry in front of the two of them. As she pulled open the door, she heard Gwen’s laughter.
“Really, Michael. Don’t you think a pity-fuck is beneath you?”
“Shut up, Gwen!” he repeated, more forcefully this time.
Maggie stopped for an instant, then continued toward the elevator without looking back.
Maggie didn’t answer her phone that night. She didn’t answer it the next day. In fact, she turned her phone off and left it that way all weekend. On Saturday, she couldn’t find the strength to crawl out of bed. She felt as though she’d been hit by a truck. The scene kept playing over and over in her mind.
I am an absolute idiot. I know what he does. I know that none of his women mean anything to him. I mean even less. I was simply available.
She thought about how things at the office would be when he returned from vacation. He’ll probably act like nothing happened. Because in his mind, nothing did happen. We fucked. End of story. Except that it meant so much more to her. Well, it had. Until she realized...
I can’t face him. I can’t possibly go on at work like nothing happened.
Late Saturday afternoon, Maggie forced herself out of bed and went into the living room where she’d dropped her purse the night before. Picking it up off the couch, she rummaged around inside it and took out the business card Rance had given her.
When you decide to leave the dark side, give me a call.
She perched on the edge of the coffee table and glanced at her switched off phone. She put down Rance’s card and stalked to the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of wine and stood staring across the room at the phone on the coffee table as if it were a snake. Thoughts of the LeRoi case swirled through her mind, intertwined with memories of last night in Michael’s bed, in Michael’s arms.
Pity fuck...
“I can’t do this anymore,” Maggie murmured to herself. She chugged the wine and returned to her phone, ring it up and ignoring the eight missed calls and ten texts. She took a calming breath and dialed Rance’s number.
On Monday morning, Maggie knocked on the open door of Brian Murphy. He looked up, grinning in surprise. “Hey, Maggie! What are you doing on the 48th floor?”
She forced a cheerful smile. “Hi, Brian. Sorry to bother you. Can I talk to you a minute?”
“You’re not bothering me, come on in. What’s up?” he asked. “Is the 50th floor in shambles with your fearless leader away?” Brian laughed heartily.
Maggie sat across from him gripping her leather folio. “I need to give you my two-week notice,” she said.
Brian’s mouth fell open. “You... what?”
“I’m taking a job with the DA’s office. I start there two weeks from today.” She handed him her formal resignation.
He looked down at her document as though something there would alleviate his confusion. “But... I mean... What did Michael say?”
“He doesn’t know yet,” she said. “The resort where he’s staying doesn’t have phone or internet service.”
“Doesn’t know?” he echoed. “I don’t understand, Maggie. I thought you were happy here. You’re a valuable part of the Murphy, Rannigan team. This seems so sudden.” He looked pleadingly back at Maggie.
She shook her head. “This last case, LeRoi? It really did me in. I did things I didn’t like,” she explained. “Michael knows I was unhappy with the position I was in. I don’t think he’ll be surprised. You know, before I accepted the job here, I was planning to work for the DA’s office. I just sort of got side-tracked for a while.” She tried to smile reassuringly.
“I don’t know, Maggie,” he said. “I hate like hell to lose you. I can’t think Michael won’t feel the same way.”
She shrugged. “It’s time for me to move on,” she said simply.
***
Pandora Spocks is a sassy ginger and hopeless romantic, living her happily ever after in South Florida. She enjoys reading and writing literary erotic romance. She is the author of the three-novel epic romance Rannigan’s Redemption, and a naughty little romantic novella, Just One Night. The Dream Dominant Collection, a series of light BDSM stand-alone novels, includes Luke & Bella, Lost & Bound, and For Sparrow.
Pandora is currently at work on her next spicy romance. In the meantime, you can find more of her work, including what happens next for Michael and Maggie, through Amazon and Goodreads.