Page 12 of Caged By the Stranger (Bad Decisions #1)

I contemplated having some alone time with my electric razor prior to dinner to clear my head but decided not to chance ending up a crying mess again.

That’s not how I plan on meeting McDonnell and facing the other sales reps tonight.

So, here I am, heading down the corridor toward the dining lounge, just as fired up as when I arrived, if not more so.

Fucking Rory and his stupid, low-key flirting.

I will not give him the satisfaction of accidentally overhearing me try to get myself off.

An entire ship and he has to be my freaking neighbor.

Whatever. Only three nights. At least I didn’t have to room with someone like he mentioned.

I couldn’t imagine getting caught undressing in front of Niel or any of the other salesmen that I know.

Exhaling, I make my way toward the sounds of music and the familiar laughter of people I know, co-workers I’ve seen on web meetings and at conventions countless times. I have what it takes to oversee the company’s marketing team, don’t I?

I mean, I know I got this invite, but I can do it. I can. I’m not just fluffing my feathers. I kind of wish my boss hadn’t let me in on the secret though. If I didn’t know about the opening, then I wouldn’t have any cause to be disappointed if I didn’t get it.

Right. Maybe it’s the hype that’s been getting to me and not my nuts after all.

That line of thinking puts me at ease so much that I find myself smiling when Carmen and Niel wave me over to where they’re sitting at the bar.

I order a drink and take in the long dining table in the middle of the room.

It’s complete with fancy table settings, candles, and folded linen napkins.

The hors d’oeuvres that Carmen and Niel are fawning over at the bar show that no expense has been spared for us on this trip.

“Can you believe all this?” Carmen remarks, flipping her long braids over the shoulder strap of her cocktail dress. “I take back anything bad I’ve ever said about this company.”

“I’m telling you,” Niel pipes in, spearing a bacon-wrapped water chestnut, “look around. There are only twelve of us sales reps from all the regions. That means they’re fattening us up for the kill.

I bet they’re going to downsize and double our workload, and this is the last hurrah before our nose is to the grindstone, and our territories triple in size. ”

Swatting his arm with the back of her hand, Carmen gives him a harsh whisper, “Stop it. Maybe we just got called here for incentive rewards. Either way, I’m going to enjoy myself, damn it.”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Niel lets out with a sigh, shaking his head.

“Nuh uh. You’re not going to ruin this for me.” She holds up a finger, turning her back to him. “What do you think, Charlie? Don’t tell me you share Mr. Doom and Gloom’s theory.”

I don’t know if it would be kind to let her in on my knowledge, but I’m too distracted by the sight across the room at the moment to do so.

A salesman from the East Coast steps away from a leather sectional that wraps around the corner of the room, revealing Rory.

I didn’t know the man could clean up so well.

At the few conventions I’ve seen him at, he was either in a sweater or a casual blazer.

Tonight, he’s opted for a black suit jacket and a crisp white dress shirt, un-fucking-buttoned, of course, and no tie.

Why does he still look better than I do?

Even his unruly hair looks like he gave it some attention and gelled it back, making him more presentable for a formal setting. Who the fuck is he trying to impress?

His head turns away from whomever he’s listening to, and his gaze meets mine, but his smile doesn’t falter.

All I can see on his face is my dirty little secret, his slick fingers on my balls, the playful glint in his eyes from earlier, and that fancy-ass suit he clearly wore to steal my fucking promotion.

Fucking hell. Why did I ever trust him? He’ll dime me out in a heartbeat. I just know it.

There’s something…intimidating about him, which is bonkers.

Nothing about the guy should be intimidating.

When his mouth isn’t ticked up at the corner, he’s quiet in thought with this deep, far-off look in his eyes like he knows secrets of the world that no one else does.

It’s…unsettling. I don’t even know how he got invited on this cruise.

I’d love to find out his sales record. Guaranteed, I freaking smoked his, but that delighted look in his eyes right now tells me that the first chance he gets McDonnell alone, he’ll spill the beans about why I’m not a good candidate for the job.

“Charlie…”

“What?” Snapping my attention back to Carmen, I find her flashing me a peculiar look.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Fine. I’m fine. What were you saying?”

“We were just wondering what your take on this all-expenses-paid cruise was? Does McDonnell have evil plans for all of us, or is he really the best CEO to have ever CEO’d?”

A steward, dressed in a formal uniform for the evening, calls for our attention near the doorway. He makes the announcement that dinner is ready to be served and for us to take our seats.

“I doubt it’s anything malicious,” I inform Carmen, taking her hand to help her from her stool as she gathers her drink. The least I can do is not burst her bubble.

As we step toward the dining table, I notice there are place cards in front of each of the chairs. Assigned seating. What the hell does that mean? Is there a pecking order?

I feel an elbow in my ribs, and Carmen whispers in my ear as she nudges me toward the head of the table. “Tell me if you find anything out.”

I spot my name at a seat right next to the end of the table. Right next to the head of the table, to be exact. That has to be a good sign, right? Maybe my boss knew what he was talking about after all.

Taking my seat carefully, I try not to wince at the awkward sensation against my nether region. It is so incredibly bizarre to be sitting in a room full of my work counterparts, wearing a cock cage under the table, unbeknownst to them. Well, all of them except one. Where the fuck is Rory?

Glancing down the table, I find every single chair is occupied. Did he skip out or something? He’s honestly so eccentric, it doesn’t surprise me that—

“Good evening, everyone.”

The smooth, deep voice that I remember from earlier comes from above me to my right. I follow the crisp dress shirt and black suit jacket up to find Rory’s intelligent eyes twinkling in the candlelit room, a hush going over the table. What the fuck is he doing?

“I think I’ve gotten the chance to meet most of you, but for those I haven’t, I’m Riordan McDonnell, CEO of Amor. On behalf of myself and the company, I’d like to welcome you to this appreciation cruise for all your hard work this past fiscal year.”

His mouth keeps moving. Words keep coming out.

Professional words, free of sarcasm or innuendo, but I stop hearing them after that.

All I hear is CEO of Amor . CEO as in…CEO of the fucking company that I work for.

CEO, as in the guy who will be picking who gets the promotion. McDonnell. Rory McDonnell…

Rory is Riordan McDonnell?

Why didn’t I take one of his fucking business cards when I had the chance?

No. What did I do instead? Showed him my dick and asked zero questions later. Holyfuckingshit! I never cared that our company doesn’t have pictures of our sales reps or board members on its website until this moment.

“Charlie?”

“Huh?”

He’s seated now. When the hell did he stop talking and sit down?

The steward is holding a tray of salads.

Rory’s curious gaze flicks from mine to the steward like an instruction.

I mumble something unintelligible and sit back to allow the man to place a bowl in front of me, and then he moves on.

When he rounds the table to the salesman across from me, I finally find the nerve to speak again.

“ Riordan? ” I mutter accusingly under my breath, realizing my theory about him looking like an Italian model has been blown entirely out of the water by his Irish-sounding name.

There’s that annoying hum. “Yes. But…my friends call me Rory.”

Friends . Am I supposed to be his fucking friend? I can’t be his friend. I work for him.

You know what else I can’t be? The guy who shows him a fucking cock cage!

Fortunately, everyone sitting around us is eager to speak to the elusive CEO we’ve never set eyes on before.

That affords me the luxury of silently reliving every embarrassing interaction I had with the man.

Maybe the yacht will sail close enough to shore so I can grab a life preserver and jump overboard.

When dinner is cleared, I still haven’t looked at him once, but there’s no way to salvage this. Even if he doesn’t give a damn if his employees wear cock cages, how in the hell could I ever work directly under him knowing what he knows and has seen what he’s seen?

I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I can barely sit next to him as it is.

My skin is on fire. And the most bizarre thing is that…

I feel like I’ve somehow betrayed that asshole from the club who put the cage on me by showing it to Rory.

I swear, for once in my life, I think I’m honestly considering the idea of getting a boyfriend, just as Rory suggested.

I doubt, however, a boyfriend could supply that level of desire a cage is supposed to represent, the way Rory described in his cabin earlier today.

Listen to me. Thinking of getting a boyfriend. I’m just sick of being in hell and sick of the wrong people knowing about it.

When the steward starts clearing the table for dessert, I have every intention of hopping up out of my seat to excuse myself. Gerald, the salesman seated across from me, however, says the most idiotic thing I’ve heard.

“Divine has nothing on Amor. Our sales beat theirs five to one,” he boasts in response to Rory’s mention of one of the top chocolate competitors.

“Actually, they outsell us three to one,” I correct, unable to help myself. When it comes to statistics, I can’t keep silent.

Scoffing, Gerald’s cheeks go pink as he glances from Rory to me. “Um, no, actually . Hardly any of my suppliers carry them in my region.”

“You’re what—in the north? Most of your suppliers deliver from Canada, right?”

At that, he nods suspiciously. I can feel Rory’s eyes on me, but I ignore the weight of how his gaze makes me feel. I still have a job at the moment. I might as well pretend like I do, even if it’s just for one more evening.

“Divine is a European-based company. You’re getting their duties from Canada on your shipments, which your suppliers might not want to pay.

And I meant they outsell us three to one across the board, not just in your region.

You have to look at our competitors’ sales as a whole, not just from the territory you work in.

” While I’m aware how flawless my argument was, it looks like I’m trying too hard to dig my way out of cock-cage hell, so I sit back and shrug like it’s not that important of a topic, finishing with, “So they do … have something on us.”

Snickering an ugly noise, Gerald tries to sound like he’s making a joke. “Jeez, who do you work for? Them or us?”

I refuse to be baited into a squabble in front of the man who massaged my cage cable with lube mere hours ago. Those chestnut eyes of his flick to mine and hold my gaze with something that almost looks like appreciation.

Was it all a game to him, I wonder? Did he know he wouldn’t be able to get the cage off me? Did he know I had no clue who he was? Does he seriously not care and still want the best man for the job?

A plate is thrust between us. There’s a delectable-looking little mound of chocolate cake on it with some type of fancy, hardened chocolate web covering it. Even the plate circumference is adorned with a swirled design of chocolate syrup, more fitting nods to our company’s products.

“What is that?” Gerald asks.

“Hazelnut caged mud pie,” the steward informs him regally.

My gaze flits to Rory’s over the sinful dessert because of-fucking-course it does. Caged? Did he just say ‘ caged ?’ I’m met with Riordan McDonnell’s poker face, which sears me to the depths of my flesh.

Smiling at the steward, he reaches for the plate. “That sounds absolutely delicious, Ben. I’ll take that.”

“And you, sir?”

I hop up faster than I intend to, bashing my knee against the table as I do. “Um…no. No, thank you. I’m good.”

There is no way I’m sitting here watching Rory break through a chocolate cage with his fork and then shove it in his mouth.

I don’t know if I expect something, some type of explanation, but when I get back to my cabin, I sit there for what feels like hours, waiting.

After a cold shower and the television on low, I lie awake in bed, listening to the sounds of the ship.

Finally, I hear footsteps by the door to my cabin.

They slow. I think they may even stop outside because my pulse quickens, but then they move on.

It’s better this way, I tell myself in the silence that follows.

I don’t need some awkward apology over my embarrassment from earlier.

Clearly, Rory McDonnell is a man of the world, and I am not.

Some people know the ins and outs of sex clubs and cock cages and some don’t.

Some people don’t bat an eye at them, while others do.

No matter what happened, he can’t say it’s had any effect on my work performance.

What I do in my personal life should be no concern of his.

He gave me that fucking card, after all.

Part of me, however, still wants this freaking promotion.

I know this company and don’t want to start over somewhere else.

I also don’t want to stay and keep running the same sales routes over and over for the next ten years.

If Rory can stand to work directly over a guy with a kink, then why shouldn’t I be able to stand working directly under a guy who’s…

who’s eccentric in his own right? It’s not like I’d even have to see him much.

Sighing, I click the TV off and roll onto my side, closing my eyes.

Tomorrow is a new day. I’ll just lie low for the day trip they have planned to the island and keep to myself.

If he wants to meet with me, I’ll keep it all business this time.

Now that I know who he is, I won’t be shooting the shit and divulging my soul to him again.