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about her, anyway? Maybe it was her cool but friendly manner. Or it could be the fact that since she’d joined the mayor’s staff and first landed on his horizon he didn’t remember ever hearing about her hooked up with anyone. Not that he involved himself with gossip, but he made it his business to know who was doing what with whom. You never knew when you might need an edge with something.
    Of course, the reason could be the bombshell Max had dropped on him. Mistress Star. A Domme, of all things. As a longtime Dom, Branch well knew the pleasures of BDSM play, the responses heightened by the combination of pleasure/pain, the power exchange between Master and sub when complete submission was achieved. But the women he partnered with craved that submission as part of their ultimate satisfaction. Lee didn’t impress him as a woman who would submit easily, if at all.
    And therein lay his problem. That dumbass stupid bet he’d made with Max. He couldn’t even get the damn woman to give him a call, much less agree to submit to him in a D/s environment. And it irritated the hell out of him. Anyone else would have been on the phone to him at eight o’clock Monday morning.
    But Lee Sullivan isn’t most people.
    That was the damn truth. And she pushed buttons he didn’t even know he had.
    Now it was Thursday morning, and he was done waiting. Point to Lee Sullivan for forcing him to make the next move, a strong signal she was as much about control as he was. He finally asked Karen Jericho, his administrative assistant, to call Mayor Vincent’s office and get his public relations officer on the line. Now.
    “Tell her it’s about the grant the mayor’s been after me about,” he added. “That should get her attention.”
    It rankled him that he needed something to get her attention at all. He sat in his chair, feet up on the desk, fiddling with a stress ball shaped like a football while he waited for the connection to be made.
    “Mr. Colby?” The voice came from the little speaker on his desk. “I have her on the line.”
    “Thanks. Put her through, please.”
    “Good morning.” Her voice was like low, soft music, soothing to the nerves. No wonder she was so good at talking to the media. She probably hypnotized them. “To what do I owe this honor?”
    “I thought you were going to call me.”
    He snapped the words out before he could think. Damn it. He was already putting himself at a disadvantage and maybe putting her on the defensive. He swallowed.
    “Scratch that. I was hoping you would call.”
    A low chuckle reached through the wires. “Would I be out of line if I suggested you’re used to people doing exactly what you expect of them.”
    He answered with his own laugh. “You’ve got me there. Let’s start over. Good morning, Miss Sullivan, thank you for taking my call.”
    “You’re more than welcome, Mr. Colby.” He could hear the amusement in her voice. “To what do I owe the honor?”
    “If you recall, I mentioned I’d like to discuss the mayor’s request for a grant in further detail,” he reminded her.
    Idly, he picked up a stray rubber band from his desk and hooked his fingers through it.
    “And I suggested Mayor Vincent would be the optimum person to have that conversation with,” she reminded him.
    “Maybe so, but I’d rather discuss it with you.”
    He dropped his feet to the floor and sat forward in his chair. He wasn’t above using a little blackmail to get what he wanted.
    “Vincent has told me how important this project is to him. If he wants to move forward with it, then you and I are going to have a meeting.”
    She was silent for a long moment.
    “Fine. I’m assuming you want me to come to your office? When would be a good time for you? I’m sure your schedule is far busier than mine.”
    He heard the touch of amusement again. Was she teasing him? Baiting him? He had become used to people automatically bowing to his will and falling all over themselves to accommodate and