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question.
    “I hope so.” Serena nibbled on her lower lip. She
    had no idea if he’d understand, but the dominant would
    have to accept that she supported her friends. That was
    simply part of who she was. “He seems to know and
    understand when I work late.”
    “Ask him if he has two brothers,” Debbie told her.
    Serena smiled, then looked at Claire with growing
    concern.
    “About six-thirty? Or do you want to make it
    earlier?”
    “So touching!” mocked Mark, striding out the door.
    “Claire, did you finish those letters?”
    Claire inhaled sharply.
    “No,” she muttered. “It was a little difficult since
    you didn’t finish telling me what you wanted.”
    Keith stared at the empty doorway, and was even
    more surprised when Serena and Debbie made
    sympathetic noises toward Claire. With a new
    awareness, he wondered what else he had missed about
    Mark. What else had he missed as he worked to build
    up his company to show he didn’t need support from the
    family corporation? As a result, he failed to pay
    attention to the type of people he’d hired. Had Mark
    been like this all along? How could he not have seen
    this? And this man was going to marry his cousin?
    Penny was barely twenty-two!
    “Claire, you better head back,” Serena advised, her
    face suddenly pinched. “It looks like he’s in one of those
    moods again.”
    “Those moods have come and never left,” Debbie
    muttered as Claire hurried out. “‘Rena, I’m worried
    about her. Paul really hurt her…”
    As if realizing Keith was still there, Debbie fell
    silent. Serena reached out and caught her hand.
    “I know. We’ll figure something out, Deb. Go on
    back.”
    With a reluctant nod, Debbie also left.
    “What else have I missed?” Keith asked quietly.
    “You sure you want to know?” Serena wondered,
    mildly surprised at his drawn expression.
    “That man is engaged to my cousin,” he reminded
    her. “If he treats you and Claire this way in front of me,
    so sure that he’ll get away with it, how is he with Penny
    behind closed doors?”
    Serena stared at the rose. His primary concern was
    his cousin. It was something she could understand, but
    deep in her heart, some part of her died. She was just
    his assistant. That was the only reason he’d defended
    her.
    “I thought you liked him.”
    “He’s never been this way around me.” He shook his
    head. “Dammit! I’ve known the man six years! I should
    have a better idea of how he treats people.”
    Serena relented.
    “If it’s any consolation, he wasn’t always like this.”
    “It’s not,” Keith muttered. “How long has he been
    like this?”
    “Well,” she propped her elbows on the desk and
    rested her chin in her palms. She didn’t want to think
    about it, but it looked like she didn’t have a choice.
    Professional, Serena . Keep it professional. “Let’s see.”
    She frowned slightly. “Mmm,” she raised her eyes to his.
    “Sometime after I came to work for you. Claire wasn’t
    his assistant yet, of course. He goes through one every
    four to six months.” She grimaced as she glanced at the
    calendar. “And at the rate he’s going, Claire’ll be
    putting in for a transfer in a few weeks.”
    “He started dating Penny about three months after
    you started working for me,” he frowned, speaking
    quietly. “Not sure…,” He smiled. “When we were
    working on the Franklin contract.”
    She nodded, crossing her fingers under the desk.
    The hope that he would press for more information
    brought a hitch to her throat, even if it scared her.
    Would he think she had done something wrong?
    “That was a bit complicated,” she mused. Did he
    realize that he remembered personal things in relation
    to business? “I don’t think we left the office before ten
    for three or four weeks.”
    Keith clenched his jaw.
    “I’m screwed,” he muttered. “Penny will never
    believe a word I say against him. She likes you, but if
    you or Claire tell her about how he