Doing the Right Thing (33 page)

“Later,” said Ed and winked.

Addie loved Ed’s eyes. She couldn’t ever imagine him sad.

Addie’s group met in the library. There were seven of them—four guys, three women plus the group supervisor, Justin. Tony, the man who’d dragged her away from Ed, set about establishing his position as dominant silverback gorilla.

“Sit down everyone and I’ll read out the first challenge,” he said and grabbed the single chair facing the fire.

Addie sat on one of the two couches perpendicular to the fireplace. A guy called Bernie sat one side of her and a dark-haired beauty named Phaedra on the other. Addie turned to introduce herself.

“Hi, I’m—”

“Let’s get on with it,” Tony interrupted. “The quicker we get started, the best chance we have of winning.”

“Hey, hold on.”

There was a sudden silence. Even the fire stopped crackling. Addie waited to see who’d spoken.
Oops.

“Don’t you think we ought to get to know a bit about each other?” Addie asked.

Tony snorted. “We can all read. Our names are on our badges. We have thirty minutes to complete the first challenge and you want to swap recipes and makeup tips?”

Addie bristled. It was bad enough she had a domineering mother. No way would she let this guy trample all over her. “A couple of minutes saying hello isn’t going to be wasted. This course is about more than winning. How can you work effectively with people if you know nothing about them?”

Tony looked at his watch. “Fine. I’m Tony Fell, marketing director of Magelan’s.”

Addie crumpled inside.
Shit.

“Phaedra Sutton, HR director.”

“Bernie Dunn, I manage a travel agency in Knightsbridge.”

“Louise Shaw, the same in Islington.”

Addie’s heart sank so fast, she could feel it tickling her toes. How could she make what she did sound either interesting or important?

“James Bean, deputy marketing director.”

“Graham Dixon, office manager, Leeds.”

That was stretching it, Addie thought. But so could she.

“Addie Winter, photocopier controller, Leeds,” she said stretching it even further.

She didn’t miss the sneer that Tony cast her way, but everyone else laughed.

“Is there anything more you want to know? Like whether we’re married or single, or can we get on with it now?” Tony snapped.

“Go ahead.” Addie maintained her sunny smile and crumpled a little more inside.

She listened as he went through the first challenge which involved making a weight-bearing transportation system using paper, straws, string and a bag of marbles.

There was no discussion. Alpha male Tony took charge, barked orders and everyone jumped. He glared at Addie a few times, but she said nothing, just folded and glued and wished she was back in bed, wrapped in the sheets and stuck to Will.

“Finished,” Tony declared. “Eight minutes and thirteen seconds to spare. Well done, everyone. Good team effort.”

“It’s great, Tony,” James said. “Excellent idea. Works really well.”

The towers already sagged. Addie fought a snigger.

“It might have worked better if the paper had been folded three times,” Bernie said in a quiet voice.

“It doesn’t matter so long as it works,” James said.

“How does everyone else feel about that?” Justin asked.

“Getting the job done as a team, to a satisfactory standard, within the time allocated was the challenge, and we met it. End of story.” Tony looked around, daring anyone to beat their chest harder. Addie had learnt her lesson. Her lips were zipped, glued and stapled.

There was silence.

“What do you think, Addie?” Justin asked.

That served her right, she thought. But since she’d already upset Tony and wasn’t going to be working at Magelan’s much longer, she had nothing to lose.

“If that was the challenge—fine. If the challenge was to involve all the team equally in deciding what we did and how we did it—not fine. If the challenge was to produce the best possible design—not fine.” She stopped. The hole she’d dug was deep enough.

Tony locked his arms across his chest. “So, do you have a better idea?”

“No, I’m useless at design and technology, but Bernie has spent his life building model planes so he could have had some good suggestions about weight and balance.”

Bernie stared at her, his mouth open. “I don’t build planes.”

Addie smiled at him. “But you might have. We could have found out before we started if anyone had any particular talents that would have helped us, but we didn’t.”

“Did anyone?” Tony asked.

He had a talent for lip-curling, Addie thought. She prayed for an amateur engineer.

Silence.

Tony’s sneer turned to a nasty smile. “Well, if we need anything photocopied, we’ll be sure to ask you.”

“Please do.” Addie grinned. “I’m very good at it.”

Everyone but Tony laughed.

Addie started to enjoy herself. She didn’t care what these people thought. She’d never see them again. She didn’t have to impress anyone.

“Addie made a relevant comment,” Justin said. “Before you start the next challenge, spend a little time discussing what makes a team work. Remember the size of the team isn’t important. Successful marriages are excellent examples of good teamwork.”

“Teams need a strong leader.” Tony leapt straight in.

Addie wondered what his wife thought about that. “I thought we were talking about teams, not leaders,” she said.

“Teams need leaders, otherwise they go in circles and never make any decisions.”

Tony glared at her, challenging her to defy him.

“Teams need effective communication,” Bernie said.

“We have to trust each other,” Phaedra added.

“And support each other,” Louise said.

“Teams should be able to collaborate and share responsibility,” Bernie suggested.

“To succeed we need a purpose, a vision,” Phaedra said.

Addie wondered if they’d all been reading the same book. They could certainly write it.

“And a leader with excellent motivational skills,” Tony said.

Addie couldn’t resist it. “And a big stick and an enormous carrot.”

A smile flashed across Justin’s face.

“That’s enough of that.” Tony picked up an envelope. “To make it fair, we’ll take turns being in charge. James, you lead the next challenge.” He smirked at Addie.

“Unless you want us to put names in a hat and draw for it?”

“Is that how you got your job?” Addie asked.

Tony’s face became redder and rounder and Addie wondered if she could make him pop. That would be an interesting challenge.

James opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper. He looked at it for a few moments and then turned it upside down.

“Come on, James,” Tony said, his foot twitching. “What do we have to do?”

“I can’t read it.”

Tony snatched the sheet, scanned it and handed it to Phaedra. “Let everyone have a look,” he said.

When the sheet reached Addie, she gave a brief smile and knew this was Will’s doing. It returned to the hands of James.

“Some sort of code?” James suggested.

“Looks like a language,” Bernie offered.

“That’s what I thought,” Tony announced. “We’re in the library. There’s probably a dictionary. That will be the challenge, to see if we can find it. Louise, you start at that end, take the first two sections. Bernie, follow Louise.”

Addie sat and listened as he took charge again and allocated work to each member of the team.

“Opted out already,” Tony snapped at Addie who had not moved from her seat.

“If you’re not going to take part, what’s the point in being here?” Graham asked.

“This is about team building.”

“I don’t need to look for a book,” Addie said. “I know what it says.”

“What?” Tony demanded.

“Coffee and biscuits in the breakfast room at eleven. Be prepared to exchange one of your team members.”

“How do you know?” Phaedra asked.

“It’s Japanese. I have a degree in it.”

A sea of incredulous faces turned in her direction.

* * * * *

At lunchtime Addie slipped upstairs and was disappointed not to find Will in either room. She stared out of the window. It had stopped snowing, the sun was out and the world looked new and clean. The hotel sat on a bluff above a river valley and the water below wound like a slinky black ribbon across a wedding-dressed landscape.

Addie wanted to play and went back downstairs.

Outside the hotel, the pristine white grounds ached for a snowman, but Addie had left her gloves in the room. Taking a deep breath of the cold, crisp air, she closed her eyes and turned her face to the sun. How quickly life could change. Misery to happiness in the blink of a Will. She sighed with happiness and then jolted as something punched her in the back.

Some bastard had thrown a snowball. She glanced round and saw Ed tossing a ball of snow from hand to hand. He stood there smiling, his shirt sleeves rolled up, dark trousers crumpled low over his hips and there was a look in his eyes that brought Addie up short. Her heart lurched and she swallowed hard. This was Ed, not Will.

She bent and scooped up enough snow to make a large ball of her own, ignoring her freezing fingers. The first one she threw missed by miles and Ed laughed. The second one fell yards in front of him.

“Come nearer,” he called. “I like to give the physically impaired a chance.”

Addie stepped forward, throwing a fistful of snow every few feet. Ed ducked each of her pitches until Addie was about ten feet away.

“If you can’t hit me from there, I’m going to take you to an optician,” Ed said.

The following ball missed, but the one after, the one Ed hadn’t seen in her other hand, didn’t. It curved in a graceful arc and landed smack on top of his head. He stood stunned for a moment and then shook the snow from his hair and growled like a bear.

“Sucker!” Addie dashed past him toward the house.

The next snowball caught her on the neck. Snow slithered down her back and she squealed.

“You’re going to regret that,” she said and packed another ball in her hands.

When Will came out of the door, he stared in dismay at the scene unfolding before him. Ed and Addie were behaving like school kids. Addie chased Ed, then Ed chased Addie. Snowball after snowball flew though the air. They were both soaked and Addie was squealing.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Will bellowed and they both froze.

“Having fun,” Ed said.

“I’m all wet.” Addie shivered.

Will’s eyes flashed between the pair of them and he tried to conceal his anger.

Addie looked as she always did, sweet and innocent, but Will didn’t miss the predatory gleam in Ed’s eye. The look that said,
game on
. Will clenched his fists. Ed grabbed a fistful of snow.

Addie squealed and leapt behind Will.

Now Addie couldn’t see his face, Will glared at Ed. “You better get changed, Addie.

Ten second start.”

When Addie ran, Will moved toward Ed, who let the ball fall from his hand and started to kick snow off his shoes.

“What?” Ed lifted his hands in the air. “We were just playing.”

“Don’t,” Will said, his fists clenched at his sides, his voice barely under control.

“Have you told her you’re going to be a daddy?”

Will wanted to punch Ed and not just because of what he’d said.

“I’ll tell her. I want us to have a few days of fun.”

“This is wrong, Will.”

Will walked right up to his brother, their faces inches apart. “It has nothing to do with you. Don’t wreck this for me.”

Will wanted Ed to answer, say he wasn’t trying to, but his brother pushed past him and strode toward the hotel. Staring at his back, Will wondered how long Ed had been looking like that at Addie. He could feel his heart hammering. Had he missed something? Ed could flirt for a living. Was that all this was?

By the time Will reached her room, Addie wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing, just the black shoes he’d bought her the day before, her wet clothes on the floor at her feet.

Will’s mind converted to a single track, all thoughts of Ed banished.

“Oh Christ,” he muttered and pulled her into his arms. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

“I wasn’t—”

“I know, I know.”

Will kissed her all over her face and neck before he allowed his lips to touch hers, because he knew what would happen when they did. When Addie opened her mouth and allowed his tongue in, the intensity of feeling that swept through him made Will forget to breathe. She had her own pure taste and intoxicating scent. Will groaned into her mouth as her hands moved to his trousers. When she unfastened the button, unzipped him and slid her hand inside his pants, he trembled.

Addie pushed his shirt aside and held him in her fist, rubbing him across her belly piercing. Moments later she was on her knees, had his cock in her mouth and Will was digging deep for control. She sucked gently and then harder and he pushed his fingers into her wet hair. Will sidestepped onto another planet. It had been a long while since anyone had done this for him. Vee wouldn’t, not even with a flavored condom. He’d forgotten how good it felt to have soft warm lips wrapped around him. She trailed her tongue from the tip to the base and back again, then licked at his crest, fluttering her tongue until Will’s knees shook with the effort of holding back. When she opened her mouth and engulfed as much of him as she could take, Will’s balls drew up.

“Addie, if you don’t stop I’m going to come in your mouth,” he whispered.

She paused, looked up at him and even that threatened to send Will tumbling out of control.

“Is that bad?” she asked.

Will moaned. “No, sweetheart. I’m just warning you.”

She smiled and wrapped her lips and this time her hand as well around him. He was lost. The fact that he was dressed and she was naked except for those shoes was such a turn-on that he was surprised he hadn’t exploded already. A few more sucks and Will felt the orgasm seize his brain. White lightning flashed down his spine, his balls exploded and his cock jerked in Addie’s mouth
.
Oh God, I’m going to choke her
.
But she kept him where she wanted him, swallowed and swallowed until the last spasm had died away. When Addie let him out of her mouth, she licked him clean. Will needed to lie down.