Drastic Measures Read online

  Pam paused by the edge of her desk and ran her fingers down the smooth, glossy surface of the wood. The desk was secondhand, something she’d bought at an estate auction. She’d spent hours scraping off the old paint, sanding it smooth and adding the glossy, golden stain. A lot of the furnishings in her office were secondhand items that she had searched out, fixed up and made her own.

  Just like this club. She’d found it, fixed it and it was hers. Settling down behind her desk, she turned on the computer, letting it boot up in silence. She stared out the huge, one-way mirror that made up one of the walls. It faced out over the main part of the club. She’d spent hours there, watching the people dance, laugh, have a good time…or a lousy one. She’d seen fights, breakups and engagements happen down on that floor. She’d seen people fall in love and out of it.

  Tearing her attention away from the empty dance floor, she faced the computer and quickly pounded out a letter. Shawn stood behind her silently and she knew he was reading as she wrote.

  She hit the print key and grabbed the phone, calling the head bartender, Sam, into the office. It took him a few minutes and Shawn used that time to try to touch her but she evaded his hands. When he persisted, she stood up and moved away from the desk, away from him.

  Sam came inside with an irritated look on his face. He’d been doing inventory and being the anal-retentive type, he did hate having somebody pull him away from a task before he finished it. He was detail oriented, quick and usually fairly easygoing.

  He was also as trustworthy as the day was long and he knew how to keep his mouth shut. That was exactly why she’d had him come up instead of one of the others who were down there getting the club ready for the day’s business. “Yeah?”

  “I need you to witness something,” she said. She took the page from the printer and read over it.

  “We need to talk this through.” Shawn slid Sam a dark look. “I’m not—”

  “Yes,” she said coolly. “You are. Because if you don’t, you’re shit out of luck. You can call Ethan, tell him I said ‘hell no’, and then you can deal with the consequences yourself.”

  Shawn laughed. “You wouldn’t do that. This is your club.”

  With an icy smile, she said, “Not yet, it’s not. Not completely. And you apparently must be pretty damn desperate to even agree to this. So you either agree to sign the club over to me completely or you deal with it on your own.”

  He looked at the letter and shook his head. “This wouldn’t be legally binding, Pam. You know that.”

  She smirked. “It doesn’t have to be legally binding. But imagine what some of your clients would think if they knew about this mess. If you try to renege, I’ll tell them all.” With a sweet smile, she murmured, “You know, you’ve used my computer several times to send out some of your little hot tip bulletins. I’ve got all those email addresses and it wouldn’t take much time at all to let every single one of them know about this. All of it.”

  Shawn’s eyes narrowed and she knew she’d hit a nerve that time. Shawn took only a few things in life very seriously—primarily his brother and his career. Once, she’d thought herself to be on that list but apparently she was wrong. As he scrawled his name on the letter and handed it over to Sam to witness, she twisted the ring off of her finger. Yeah, she’d been majorly wrong but there was no way she was going to compound her stupidity by marrying him.

  Sam glanced at her, a dark frown on his face. He glanced from her face to Shawn’s and then back. Behind the lenses of his glasses, his hazel eyes were more than a little curious but he wouldn’t ask any questions. At least not yet. She took the letter from him and folded it up, slid it into an envelope and taped it shut. Then she turned it back over to Sam. “I need you to take a break and take this over to Dani’s office.” Danica Lawson, Dani to her friends, was one of Pam’s closest friends. She was also a lawyer—Pam’s lawyer. She had nothing to do with the club because when they’d gotten the club up and going, Shawn had convinced Pam that they needed somebody who specialized in businesses.

  “You got it, boss,” he drawled. He gave Shawn one last look and then he left, closing the door behind him.

  Once Sam was gone, Pam faced Shawn. She held out her hand, offering him the ring back. Shawn looked at it, startled. Then he looked back at her as though his brain wasn’t working right. “What…what’s that for?”

  Pam continued to stand there, holding it out and fighting to control the fury and heartache welling inside. “Take it, damn you.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “Damn it, Pam. This is just one fucking night. I already told you that he wasn’t going to make you sleep with him or anything.”

  “But he expects me to,” she said, her voice bitter. He still hadn’t taken the ring so she tossed it at his feet. “And you apparently don’t care that much.”

  He shouted, “You think I want to think about you fucking him?” His tanned face flushed red, and for once, she caught something in his eyes besides that damn selfishness. He was jealous, damn jealous.

  For some reason, that actually made her feel a little bit better. She smirked a little and said, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. If it happens, I’ll close my eyes and try really hard to think about you.” Then, in a cold voice, she said, “Get the hell out. I’ve got a club to run.”

  Chapter Two

  She’d said yes.

  Staring out the window of his condo, Ethan tuned out everything but what Shawn had just said.

  Pamela James was finally going to be his.

  “Ethan.”

  He glanced back over his shoulder at Shawn. The man looked terrible and Ethan wasn’t that surprised. He’d known that Shawn wouldn’t have the balls to stand up to him and while part of him felt as though he should be appalled at what he was doing, he wasn’t.

  She deserved better than Shawn. Outside of business, Shawn was spineless. He didn’t have the guts or the wisdom to know he needed to shake loose of his brother and he didn’t have the balls to stand up to Ethan about the ultimatum he’d issued. Because of Shawn’s cowardice, Ethan was going to get what he’d been dying to have for the past four years.

  Pam.

  Soft, sexy Pam with the smile of Mona Lisa and the body of Venus. Voluptuous curves, dark green eyes and a southern drawl that had haunted him since he’d met her. Shawn had brought her to a business function shortly after he and Ethan had gone into business together but the first time Ethan had seen her, he hadn’t realized she was with Shawn. All he’d seen was a soft, sexy woman with a sweet smile and he’d wanted her instantly.

  She had stood out in the crowd, her pale skin glowing like a pearl against the black velvet of her dress. She’d looked like heaven to him—all soft, warm and round, her big breasts rising in smooth curves above the rounded neckline of her dress and her plump ass and round hips looked as though they had been designed for nothing other to fill a man’s hands. And she would fill them. He knew she hated those generous curves. For the past four years, he’d done his damnedest to learn everything about her, from the size of clothes she wore, to the gym where she worked out, to the place where she’d bought her wedding dress.

  Her wedding dress…

  Shawn had asked Ethan to stand up with him at the wedding but Ethan had refused. Not that he intended to let the wedding happen but even thinking about her walking down the aisle to marry Shawn made him sick.

  He was taking a risk here, he knew. There was a possibility she’d hate him after this but at least she would have a better idea about what kind of man she planned to marry.

  “Damn it, are you going to listen to me or just ignore me?”

  Ethan gave Shawn a bland look, jerking himself out of his reverie. “Do you have anything important to say or are you going to stand there and bitch about the mess you’ve gotten yourself into?”

  “If it was just my mess, I wouldn’t be bitching so much,” Shawn growled.

  Ethan cocked a brow. “It is your mess, my friend. You’re the one who pulled P
am into this when you put up the club as collateral. Next time you get into this situation maybe you should discuss it with your business partner first.” He leaned back in his chair and gave Shawn a shark’s smile. “Of course, if you ever pulled something like this with me, I’d slice your balls off.” Then he shrugged. “Don’t worry so much. I’ll take good care of your fiancée.”

  Shawn looked down at something he held in his hand, something so small that Ethan couldn’t even see it. “Yeah,” Shawn muttered. “I bet you will.”

  * * * * *

  Three days later, Pam entered her office to find a huge crystal vase on her desk. There were easily two dozen roses in it—pale, pale roses that seemed white from a distance but as she got closer, she saw that they were actually the palest, creamiest shade of pink.

  The petals felt satiny against her fingers when she touched them. She scowled a little. Shawn wasn’t prone to romantic gestures, even when he was in the wrong, so it was going to really suck throwing these out.

  It was the principal of the thing, though. It had been three days since she’d given back his ring and he’d been calling regularly. Pam had ignored the calls but it wasn’t going to be so easy to ignore the roses. She found the card and opened it, already formulating the message she’d have somebody pass on to Shawn the next time he called.

  But it wasn’t from Shawn.

  Wear the dress.

  Tonight at 7 a car will pick you up at the club.

  Ethan

  Her first instinct was to tear the card into two thousand microscopic pieces. Her second was to take the roses and hurl them, crystal vase and all, against the wall. And her third instinct was…what dress?

  The Bash, she realized. It was already time for the Bash…and this damn ‘date’. Damn it. Pam hadn’t wanted to think about the Bash and for the past three days she’d done a damn fine job of doing just that. She’d made arrangements for tonight though. She might be burying her head in the sand about the actual event but she’d made the preparations to have the night off.

  She had a dress at home she planned on wearing and once she got her work done here, she’d leave the club in the capable hands of Sam and Maya, the club’s manager. Time enough to take a bath, get dressed…

  The dress.

  “What dress?” she muttered as she glanced around automatically and that was when she saw the box on her desk. It was so damn big that she wondered how she could have missed it. She recognized the name on the lid and blinked, a little startled. It was from a designer boutique that sold dresses worth more than her entire wardrobe.

  At home, she had laid out a black velvet dress that she had bought for the few formal things she attended. Simple, basic, elegant—it was pretty much the only thing she owned for this sort of thing and she’d be damned if she went and splurged on something for this…this…blackmail.

  Probably something pink. Or red. She hated red, made her skin look a little too rosy and pink. She really, really didn’t like pink. Already irritated, she started to work the lid off. She had no qualms with others wearing it and chances were there would be a dozen other women, at least, wearing some shade of pink tonight but she just wasn’t—

  Damn! When she first caught sight of the dress, she gasped. Her eyes widened at the green silk dress and unwittingly, she reached out and touched it.

  One thing she had worked on really hard over the past three days was to not think about Ethan. In any way. At all. But now, she couldn’t help it. This was really going to happen.

  Her belly pitched and she sagged against her desk, staring at the dress. Then she looked up and stared around the club. Was she really going to do this?

  Part of her shouted, No. You can’t do this.

  The other part kept remembering Shawn’s face as he’d said, It’s not like you have to sleep with him or anything.

  She couldn’t get rid of the feeling that that was exactly what Shawn wanted her to do. He wanted her to do whatever Ethan asked of her so the man would wipe Shawn’s debt clean. Shawn was good with money but he was also greedy. A night that would erase a quarter-million-dollar debt…

  Her gut knotted as she realized the ramifications of that. Yeah, Ethan had a lot of money. He was good with it. Everything he touched turned to gold. But he was willing to write off that loan for a night with her. Her. Pam was short, on the plump side and while she wasn’t unattractive, she’d never be much more than cute. She wore her blonde hair long because keeping it short required more trips to the salon that she cared to make. She burned in the sun so she was always pale. Her skin seemed to blush pink with even the slightest emotion and her green eyes always looked a little surprised, in her opinion.

  Nothing special.

  So why the hell was Ethan Parker willing to let go of that kind of money for a night with her?

  “Oh, shit.” She pressed a hand against her belly to still the nerves dancing around in there and then she looked at the clock. Three hours.

  Her hands shook a little as she lifted the dress out and held it against her. Slowly she turned and stared at the mirror that hung over the couch on the opposite side of her office. The green seemed to glow against her skin and she looked even paler than usual. Of course, that could be because she was scared to death.

  “You really are going to do this,” she whispered.

  Part of her wanted to insist it was because she didn’t have much of a choice.

  Part of her wanted to insist she was doing this because she didn’t want to lose the club.

  But deep inside, she knew that wasn’t the only reason. She wanted to know exactly why the hell Ethan Parker wanted a night with her, of all people.

  Chapter Three

  The dress and the flowers weren’t the only surprises waiting for her. Under the dress, she’d found all the lingerie needed for a dress like this, all in a matching shade of green. There were even shoes and when she slid the thin-strapped sexy emerald-green heels onto her feet, she found they fit perfectly.

  Too perfectly.

  Now, two and a half hours later, she stood inside her small personal bathroom off the back of her office and stared at her reflection. The dress had a sweetheart neckline, fitting to her breasts as though it had been made for her. Under her breasts, it fell in graceful folds to her knees and when she studied her appearance, she saw that the way it fit made the most of her curves. At the same time, it managed to hide the flaws she hated, her belly and her thighs.

  Her skin glowed against the vivid green. Slowly, she reached up and trailed her fingers across her collarbone then along the swell of her breasts. The reflection in the mirror moved accordingly—yes, it was definitely her.

  But she looked, well, pretty damn good. Pam had no illusions about her physical appearance but the woman staring back at her was more than cute. She was…well, actually kind of beautiful.

  Combing a shaky hand through her hair, she watched the golden strands float back down to frame her face. It didn’t look right, though, hanging past her shoulders, not with the dress. She left the bathroom and searched through her desk until she found a clip for her hair. Standing back under the bright bathroom lights, she combed through the thick locks again, smoothing her hair up and away from her face, twisting it into a loose knot and securing it with the clip.

  There was a spare makeup kit in the bathroom since she had a habit of forgetting to put it on. With a light hand, she applied it, taking care with her eyes. She couldn’t help but notice that the dress seemed to make her green eyes look even greener and she wondered if he’d done that on purpose. She dismissed the thought, though. That would imply that Ethan knew what color her eyes were, that he gave a damn.

  If he didn’t give a damn, he wouldn’t want you for a night.

  She shut off that sly little whisper. “For all I know, he’s just doing this to piss off Shawn.” It wasn’t completely out of the question, she guessed. Ethan had the money to throw away on a gorgeous dress and sometimes she suspected he had a mean streak. Or may
be it wasn’t a mean streak. Maybe it was just ruthlessness that she sensed inside him.

  He wasn’t cruel. She knew that. Over the past few years, she knew of things he’d done that a cruel man wouldn’t do. Little considerations that cruel people weren’t capable of, such as helping one of Pam’s managers carry in supplies, or stopping his work to walk his assistant outside because he didn’t want her walking alone to her car in the dark. Little things, yes, but little things often told detailed stories.

  There was something inside him that Pam didn’t trust. He liked to piss Shawn off—that was one thing she’d seen him do entirely too often—and then smile because of it.

  Because of that, she couldn’t totally rule out the possibility, though it didn’t seem to jibe.

  “Stop thinking about it,” she muttered as she leaned forward to put on eyeliner. She took a little more time with it than usual. When she was finally done, Pam straightened and studied her reflection, turning this way and that so she could see the back of the dress.

  It was cut a little lower than she liked. She tended to cover up a little more than this, though she wasn’t exactly modest. Sexy clothes just seemed to be made for the under-size-ten set, not for size sixteen.

  At least usually.

  She had to admit she felt very sexy right then. The lingerie she wore was made with every bit as much attention to detail as the dress. The strapless bra had a sparkly rhinestone heart right between her breasts and the skimpy thong panties had a matching heart that nestled right atop the crevice of her bottom. The garter belt was made of the same green silk as the bra and panties, holding up flesh-colored stockings. The swirling length of the skirt floated around her legs, caressing her mostly bare curves and she flushed as she thought about meeting Ethan somewhere wearing this dress. He’d know what she had on under it.