Deep Longing (Bend to My Will #4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the playroom, Vivienne submitted to him, unquestioningly, and if Jacob had to be a heartless bastard, he could be.
    Not so in his bed. But Jacob knew women well enough to know that to ask Vivienne to shut off her feelings in the playroom was asking a lot. It was likely asking the impossible. He had ruined a good thing, and now had to deal with it.
    There was no choice. Jacob would have to talk to Vivienne about their arrangement. He had to be sure that she didn’t hope for more than he could give. It was important to set things straight, get back on solid ground, as soon as he had the opportunity.
    *****
    Later that morning at his office, Jacob worked through the pile of papers on his desk, and his overfilled inbox. The flood of emails seemed out of proportion to his two-day absence. He waded through the most urgent matters, intent on carving out time to connect with Walsh, to find out if he had more insight on the investigation. Considering the investigator’s reliability, he probably would have let Jacob know about any new developments.
    Meg came in and plopped a folder on his desk. “Here is the background on the wine producer in Chile that you were interested in. Marketing sent it over,” she said.
    “Oh, good. I’ve been waiting for that.” Jacob looked up at his assistant. “Did you have a good weekend?”
    “Yes, actually.” Meg pushed her hair over her shoulder. “My boyfriend took me to a Broadway play, and then dinner.”
    “Nice,” Jacob said. “What did you see?”
    “ Wicked , and it was amazing.”
    “I need to see that,” Jacob said.
    “You do. The songs are unbelievable, and I can’t begin to describe the costumes or the set. It was like being transported into the Land of Oz. And the performances were just outstanding.” Meg grinned. “I’m going to see it again. It was that good.”
    “Great recommendation.”
    When Meg went back to her desk, Jacob decided he should take Vivienne to see the show. They were past quibbling over the semantics of dating. Now that she could call midweek, Jacob could certainly take her to see a show. Even if she’d seen it, Vivienne liked to see shows more than once. It would be great to see her enjoy it.
    Thinking of Vivienne distracted him from work. Jacob still couldn’t fathom how his control had unraveled, even after establishing the rules early on. Yet Vivienne could not be confined to the playroom. Somehow she had become part of his life.
    Before lunch, Walsh came to Jacob’s office. “Can we talk?” he said.
    “Sure, come in,” Jacob said. “I was about to come down to see you.”
    Walsh’s hair was a bit wild, like he might have been up all night, and his expression was serious. He sat across from Jacob. “We’re getting better insight into this matter with the distributors.”
    At that moment, Trace stuck his head in. “Oh, I didn’t know you were busy. Just checking to see if you wanted to grab a bite, but I can come back.”
    Trace Farrington wasn’t just a trusted employee, but also a loyal friend. Jacob had filled him in on the distributor issue, knowing that the man’s technical expertise might be useful. “Trace…come on in. You should hear this.” He waved toward the open chair. “Shut the door behind you.”
    The difference between the two men across from Jacob was stark. Walsh was a weightlifter, and even under his shirt, muscles bulged. Trace was a ladies’ man. He kept fit but had a leaner build, and a suave demeanor. There was no dress code in IT, or investigations for that matter. So Trace wore a polo shirt and jeans. He dropped into the vacant chair.
    Hardly missing a beat, Walsh continued: “I’ll cut to the chase. The harassment leads back to Williamson Imports. The multiple efforts to turn our distributors away were just a smokescreen. Once we traced each incident, it was clear that the trouble came from a single source.”
    “So I have to ask why Williamson would do something like that, when it will affect