Page 2 of The Facilitator, Part 2

A lex had left for the day; most of the staff had gone. I was sitting at the desk with report after report to scan through. I heard a slight feminine clearing of a throat and looked up.

“Lauren, have you got a moment?” Gabriella asked.

“Of course, can I get you a drink? I thought you’d left with Alex.”

“I’m meeting him in a few minutes. I just need to run something past you.”

She took a seat. “I’ve been going through all the staff, where we have any duplicates. I’ve made a list I’d like you to go through. Unfortunately, we are going to have to let go of some. One is Jenny, and I’m not sure where we can place Sally either.”

“Okay. It is what it is, I guess.”

Jenny had been my assistant; and Sally, the elderly and wonderful assistant of Jerry’s.

“I thought you’d prefer that I deal with it,” she said.

“Would you give me a day or so? I’m meeting Jerry for dinner, and I know he wants to start another project. I’d like to talk to him about taking them on.”

“Okay, that sounds fair,” she smiled.

I knew we’d be letting some of my old colleagues go, and it had turned out to be more than we’d anticipated. Trymast had a far more capable team than Jerry did, and integrating the two companies hadn’t proven as easy as originally thought.

“Any decision yet?” I asked. She smiled, knowing what I was referring to.

“I have to go, don’t I?”

“You do. Gabriella, you can’t pass up the opportunity of marrying Alex and starting afresh. He can’t pass up the offer to run all the U.S. operations. I feel a little responsible though.”

“How?”

“Mackenzie told me, in not so many words, he wanted to stay in the UK because of something . What he meant was, someone —me. Had that not happened, I doubt there would have been any need for Alex to leave.”

“Aw, honey, you can’t think like that. You’re right, he’s staying put because of you, but isn’t that wonderful? I’m just going to miss you both, that’s all.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll get to meet up regularly, and we can always Skype.”

“I can’t believe how deep our friendship has become in such a short time. And as for him…” She raised her eyes to the ceiling, to where Mackenzie’s office was, directly above us.

“I know. He’ll miss you so much.”

“It’s time to let go, isn’t it? He doesn’t need me as much as he did, and I’m glad.”

“He’ll always need you, Gabriella. You’re his best friend. I’ll never replace that, nor would I want to.”

She stood and left the file on the desk. “We need to make sure we spend the next few weeks creating some fabulous memories, for the days when I’ll miss you.”

“We will. Now go before you have me in tears,” I said, with a laugh. “That man of yours is waiting.”

“And this man is waiting for you,” I heard, as Mackenzie strode into the office.

He pulled Gabriella into a hug and I heard a gentle sob.

“Baby, don’t cry, you know I hate that,” he said.

It didn’t affect me in the least to hear him use that term, the same word he called me. She was his best friend. She’d loved him, she’d cared for him, and helped him when he’d needed her. I loved that he loved her as a friend. He looked over his head at me and I smiled at him.

“Now look what you’ve done, you look like a hag,” he said, provoking laughter from her.

She rifled around in her bag for a tissue to wipe her eyes.

“I’ll see you both tomorrow,” she said, and without another word, she left.

“God, I’m going to miss her and Alex,” Mackenzie said as he perched on the end of the desk.

“I bet you are. Is there nothing you can do, to keep them here?”

“Yes, I can sell. I don’t have anyone, Lauren, who I trust enough to run that side of the business. Not yet anyway. And it’s not like he’s going without her.”

“I know, at least they have each other.” I sighed, “I guess you’re ready to leave?”

“I am. I’m done in today. Tired, I guess. I didn’t get a great deal of sleep last night.”

“You look tired. How about I make dinner while you relax? I’ll give you a massage later.”

“Relax, yes. Massage, for sure. You cook?” He laughed.

“I happen to be a great cook, if you’d let me be,” I said.

“You are about the only person I know who can burn toast, Lauren. And the fucking machine tells you when it’s done.”

Once, only once, I’d gotten up early and hungry. I’d loaded the toaster, yet another high-tech and totally unnecessary machine, and before I knew it, the alarms were shrieking. Mackenzie had run downstairs naked to see me wafting a towel to disperse the smoke.

“Yeah, well, the fucking machine clearly didn’t tell me when it was done, did it?”

He pushed himself from the desk, took the two strides towards me that placed him so close—close enough to feel his breath on my cheek—and leaned towards my ear.

“Fucking. Mmm.”

I laughed. “I don’t have the high-tech shit you have on your windows. There are staff out there. Oh, thank you for the photograph, by the way.”

“Then it’s time we left.”

“I still have…” I said, protesting just a little. He cut me off.

“The only thing you have to worry about is me.” He gave me a wink.

I raised one eyebrow. “Let’s get one thing clear, Mr. Miller. I’m a studious employee; I take my position very seriously. I don’t walk out at the drop of a hat and on command.”

“Studious, I like. I’m glad you take any position seriously, but as for commands…” he ran his fingers down my cheek, “…don’t make me spank you here.”

My eyes widened, my stomach clenched. “Home, Lauren,” he added.

I gathered my bag and we left. I smirked as I passed him, I’d let him have that round.

We drove home; all the while Mackenzie was on the phone, taking one call after another.

There were a couple of hours a day when the clocks aligned and he’d spend it chatting to his CEOs in America.

He was also helping to move his father. It seemed LA wasn’t suiting him in his old age, and Mackenzie had already secured him a condo back in his hometown.

“You know, you really should make a trip out there,” I said, when he’d finished his fifth call.

“I think I’ll need to at some point soon.”

“We can Skype,” I said.

“You’ll come with me.”

“I might not be able to, depends on my work schedule.”

“Clear it,” he said.

“No. If I can, I will, obviously.”

“You are impossible, sometimes.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. Mackenzie was too used to getting his own way and, sometimes, I liked to keep that in check.

We were still finding our balance, he’d been on his own for so long and I hadn’t been. He liked to control and I was independent. It made for some interesting times. Unless we were in the bedroom…I was more than happy to concede to him there.

While he took yet another call; I pulled out my phone and checked on some emails. I was hoping for details of the restaurant Alex had recommended. I also needed to think about Mackenzie’s birthday. Although some months away, he wasn’t going to be the easiest to buy a gift for.

Perhaps an ‘event’ would be a better choice.

Only, what type of event to plan for a man who owned the most exclusive sex club in the country, and who had probably tried most things himself?

An image came to mind. I’d seen a man tie a woman so intricately it was almost art.

Mackenzie would never allow me to restrain him, but perhaps we could take lessons.

I wondered how to word the Google search and silently chuckled at the thought someone, sometime, could check my search history.

Good old ‘ Ice Queen Lauren’ had a browser full of providers of sex toys, sexual positions, and BDSM.

Finally, Mackenzie switched off his phone. He slipped it into his pocket and rested back into the seat. He loosened his tie, and I knew he was, for the moment anyway, officially, out of work .

“You look tired,” I said, taking hold of his hand.

“I feel tired today. Like I said, I didn’t get a great deal of sleep last night,” he replied with a smirk.

“Maybe an early night is in order.”

“I have a few things to organise, but I like that idea.”

“Organise? Anything I can help with?” I asked.

He turned to me. “Just a tick off my list, Miss Perry,” he replied.

“Will I get to see your list?” I found my heart had started to race at the thought.

“Lauren, you will get to see my list, one item at a time, as and when I decide,” he said, without worrying about Dave overhearing.

“What if I don’t like it?” I challenged.

“I know you will.” His tone of voice gave no room for discussion or disagreement. I liked that about him…sometimes.