by Cassidy Coal
Steamy Short Stories by Cassidy Coal
A Mile High Romance: The Complete Collection
An Undeniable Attraction: The Complete Collection
A New Year’s to Remember
* * *
Sweet Short Stories by Cassidy Coal
writing as C. Coal
Puppy Love: Volumes 1 to 13
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Novels by Cassidy Coal writing as C.K. Carr
Something Worth Having
Something Gained
A Mile High Valentine
Cassidy Coal
Contents
A Mile High Valentine
About the Author
A Mile High Valentine
Sarah Baxter sat in the back of the large conference room, her arms crossed under her chest, frowning at the gorgeous man on the TV screen. Tyler Corrigan looked as great as ever with his jet black hair and piercing green eyes.
Bastard.
Jane, her best, and only, friend in the office, elbowed her in the side.
"Sarah, the arms…" she hissed through her teeth.
Sarah glared at Jane, but she uncrossed her arms. Sometimes it was a frickin' curse to be busty, especially when you worked in a place like Corrigan, Inc. where every other woman seemed to be rail-thin and a size A cup. Sarah stuck out like a sore thumb.
Always had. Always would.
She should just quit. Beat having to hear everyone silently judging her for her low-class roots. They never said anything. That would be too crass. But the slight frowns of disapproval as she tottered into a meeting on her too-high heels or the slight sniffs as they glanced at her newest blouse, spoke volumes.
She glared back at Corrigan, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair. He'd tried to "help" her when they'd returned from that magical trip to Paris. Every girl's dream, right? Have some billionaire take you on a shopping spree to buy any and every outfit you possibly wanted?
She snorted and looked out the window, remembering how painful that day had been.
First, the places he liked to shop didn't exactly carry a wide variety of choices for women her size. Tyler kept grabbing size six outfits and holding them up for her to see. She didn't want to tell him what size she actually was, so she just waved him off.
And then there were his ideas of what colors she should wear. Beige, brown, ivory, white, black. Pink. And not a bright pink like she liked, but the pale pink of a delicate rose. Ugh.
Was that really how he saw her?
The whole experience had made her skin crawl. She felt like he was trying to change her, like she wasn't good enough for him. That stupid Beyoncé song, "Upgrade U", kept playing through her head the whole time.
And with every passing moment, Sarah just got more and more pissed. Especially when she walked out of the dressing room, pleased to show off an ivory silk blouse and a knee-length dark brown skirt and the saleswoman tsked and said, "Oh dear, that won't do. It's way too fitted in the hips and your breasts, my dear. Oh no. This will not work."
And Tyler had agreed with the woman, silently nodding his head.
That was it. Sarah stormed back into the dressing room, ripped the clothes off her body, threw on her comfortable jeans and t-shirt (which had absolutely scandalized the woman when they first arrived) and stormed out, calling to Tyler, "I'll find my own way home, thanks."
Tyler tried to call her a dozen or more times after that, but she sent him to voicemail. Even when he called at work, she sent the calls to voicemail. She knew that was dangerous. You don't just blow off the CEO of your company without consequences, but he'd never needed to speak to her before they'd slept together, so why should he now? He could always ask Mr. Horowitz whatever he needed to know.
Fortunately, he'd left two days later for a trip through the Asian-Pacific offices. Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore. He'd been gone for almost three weeks now.
And Sarah had been doing just fine without him, thank you very much. She'd managed to bury herself in her work. Easy enough to do between the mess that was the Paris office—a senior executive had managed to siphon off almost three million Euros before he was caught—and all the year-end accounting.
But at night…Well, let's just say she'd spent a few more nights than normal at the local bar drinking with her high school friends and trying to forget the amazing way Tyler Corrigan had made her feel. The bastard had played her body like a frickin' master violinist.
Two weeks in Paris with the perfect man.
It was more than most girls got, right?
Right.
Too bad that perfect man had immediately morphed into your stereotypical entitled rich boy the minute they'd returned.
Well, whatever he'd become, it didn't change the magic of the time they'd spent together. They'd always have Paris…
She laughed to herself as she glanced back at the screen, studying him. He really was beautiful. No denying that. Jet black hair, emerald-green eyes. Perfectly dressed as always—this time in a navy blue suit with a crisp white collared shirt underneath. No tie. He never wore a tie except when a magazine like Forbes was running a profile of him.
He looked tired. Dark circles under the eyes, a certain tension around the mouth. It was subtle, but it was there. Sarah felt a momentary wave of concern and squashed it.
Nothing like he'd looked on Christmas Day. Then he'd been smiling, happy. They'd opened their packages—a veritable feast of local delicacies—laughing, kissing, touching the whole time.
She loved the way he'd delighted in every little bit of it and how he'd stared at her fascinated as she shared stories of her family Christmases. (He'd never celebrated Christmas with his own family. His parents thought it was a waste of time.)
She was supposed to go into the office that day but never had. They'd spent the rest of the day feeding each other treats as they lounged in bed, talking, touching, and sharing. She'd never felt closer to anyone in her life.
Not that she'd shared everything with him. She hadn't wanted to ruin the day with reality. No stories about her mom who still lived in a trailer park or her uncle who was in prison or her dad who'd been killed in a bar fight.
She didn't talk to anyone at work about that. And just because she'd slept with a man and he stared deep into her eyes and said he wanted to know everything about her didn't change that.
She'd had enough of being judged for being poor when she was in college. Now she just faked it. She hadn't lied to Tyler, she just hadn't felt the need to share the nitty gritty details.
Mr. Silver Spoon would never understand no matter how much he tried. What did he know about the shame of using food stamps? Or of only having one pair of hand-me-down jeans? Or not being able to play basketball because she couldn't afford to pay for the hundred-dollar activity pack?
He'd had everything he wanted, always. The combination of want, need, and shame that Sarah had grown up with were completely foreign to his experience.
The only thing he'd ever been denied was the love of his father. That they at least shared.
Hers was dead. His was just dead inside.
Oh well. It was over. Done with.
None of it mattered anymore, so why did she still think about him so much?
Maybe because the mere sight of him still made her quiver deep down inside. Or because that vulnerable look he had when he was talking about his childhood made her want to hold him close and protect him from the world.
As she watched him on the screen, she imagined for a moment that he was looking at her, studying her face the way she was studying him.
She shook herself. She was being silly. Why would he care about her anymore?
He'd given up calling after the first week. Probably moved on by now. Wouldn't be h
ard. Women were always throwing themselves at Tyler Corrigan.
He'd certainly had some beautiful woman draped on his arm at the launch party for the Sydney office. Tall, willowy, pale blonde almost white hair, porcelain skin. Perfect in every way. Just the type of woman to match him.
Sarah almost puked when she saw the photos in the company newsletter.
She stared out the window again, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. Why was it so hard to let go of him? They would never work out. Girls like her didn't end up with guys like him. It just didn't happen.
Of course, that didn't keep her from dreaming about him every night.
"Greetings everyone," Tyler said. "I'm pleased to see you all for this first company call of 2015. I'm here in our lovely Hong Kong offices, soon to return to our Sydney office for another few weeks."
One of the five people who ever actually spoke on these calls, George Burns, head of the London office, interjected, "That's because it's summer there and you don't want to deal with the winter weather back in the States, I bet."
There was a polite chorus of laughter and Tyler nodded slightly. "All part of my launch strategy, of course. Open each new office when the best surfing opportunities exist." He smiled his little half-smile and Sarah looked away, suddenly angry.
He was so relaxed. Like losing what they'd shared in Paris meant nothing to him.
Asshole.
She spent the rest of the conference call staring out the window, trying not to listen to Tyler's little rah-rah speech.
Maybe it was time for her to leave Corrigan, Inc. She didn't fit in and she never would. And, now, with what had happened between her and Tyler…
It was just too much.
* * *
Over lunch Sarah perused the want ads and realized they weren't exactly the way to go if she really did want to leave. Lots of entry-level jobs or jobs that paid about half what she earned. She wanted a fresh start, but this clearly wasn't the way to do it.
Crap.
Mr. Horowitz, her boss, walked up to her cubicle and she immediately spun around, turning her monitor to the side so he wouldn't see what she'd been doing.
"A little lunchtime shopping, Sarah? Don't worry, we've all done it at one time or another." He pushed his glasses back up his nose, looking every bit like Santa Claus. "Are you done with your lunch? I need to talk to you about something."
She glanced down at her half-eaten meal. Well, meal was a bit generous. It was one of those nasty diet bars that are dense as hell and taste like cardboard. She'd probably end up running down to McDonald's with Jane in ten minutes or so.
Kinda defeated the purpose when you ate a diet bar AND lunch, which is why her New Year's resolutions to lose weight always ended in miserable failure.
She threw the bar in the trash. "Yeah, I'm done. What do you need?"
"Come to my office. We'll discuss it there." He turned and walked away before she could react.
Sarah closed down the job search site and hurried to catch up to him.
Was he about to fire her? He hadn't even smiled. And lord knows she hadn't exactly been cheerful the last few weeks. She had done her job, though. No one could accuse her of slacking in that regard.
Then again, no one ever accused her of slacking. It was always her "attitude" that got her in trouble. She wasn't nice enough. She wasn't polite enough. She wasn't refined enough. Like dropping the f bomb every once in a while was really that big a deal.
Screw them. If that's what this was about, she wasn't going to bow her head and apologize this time around. She'd had enough of that for a lifetime.
"Have a seat, Sarah." Horowitz gestured towards the chair in front of his desk and closed the door behind her.
"What is it, Mr. Horowitz? You're acting strange."
He sat down without saying anything, his brow scrunched down and lips tight.
"Sarah, I…" He steepled his fingers and rested his mouth against them, studying her. "This is an awkward conversation to have. Um…"
She waited for him to continue, crossing and uncrossing her legs, trying to smooth her skirt down as it scrunched its way a little too far up her hips.
He let out a deep sigh. "Well, there's no way to do this except be direct. Sarah, are you sleeping with Mr. Corrigan?"
Sarah laughed, part in shock, part in amusement at the pained expression on Mr. Horowitz's face.
"No, sir."
He stared directly into her eyes looking exactly like a disappointed father who'd just been lied to by his teenage daughter.
"Sarah…I saw the expense reports from Paris. Or, should I say, the lack of them? You didn't even bother to get your own hotel room."
Sarah stared down at the floor, tears prickling in the back of her eyes. How stupid. She wasn't even sleeping with the man anymore and now her boss knew and was…what? Going to write her up for it? Lecture her?
He certainly couldn't fire her for it.
"Sarah…"
She sniffed and shook it off, meeting his eyes. "I did sleep with Mr. Corrigan on that trip, sir. But it ended shortly after that. I was telling you the truth when I said I am not sleeping with him. Seems I was just a way for Mr. Corrigan to entertain himself over the holiday."
She knew she shouldn't have added that last bit and it really wasn't fair because Tyler had tried to continue things, but she didn't really care.
"Oh, Sarah. I'm so sorry." He genuinely looked it, too.
She stared at him, surprised. She'd been expecting the "that's what you get for sleeping with a co-worker" lecture.
He laughed softly. "It was obvious to me that you always had a bit of a crush on Corrigan. You don't have as good a poker face as you think."
She sat back stunned. Sure, she'd found Corrigan attractive since the day she'd met him, but she'd also thought he was an arrogant, entitled, privileged asshole that she could barely stand to talk to.
Mr. Horowitz leaned back, crossing his arms across his chest. "I would've never pried into your personal life, Sarah, but…we have a situation."
She stared at him, waiting for the bad news. When Horowitz said they had a situation, it generally meant Sarah was about to get hosed.
"What kind of situation?" She crossed her arms and then uncrossed them again, settling for gripping the armrests on the chair.
"Corrigan wants someone from my team to come down to Sydney for a month to help the accounting department get up to speed on our systems."
"A month?"
He nodded. "A whole month."
She sighed. "And I'm the obvious choice."
Everyone else in the department was either married, had kids, or both. A month away from home would be difficult for any of them, especially in February when the kids were in school.
"You are now. If you'd been sleeping with Corrigan, I would've sent someone else."
She frowned at him. "Why?"
"Because you're too valuable to have out of commission for a month. I thought this was an excuse Corrigan had come up with to get you close to him. I was going to refuse. It's a hard time of year to lose one of our team. But if you two really are over…"
"We are."
"Then he really must want someone to help out down under. So, what do you think? I won't force you to go, given what's happened between you and Corrigan, but you really are the best choice."
Sarah chewed on her lip as she stared at the floor. She'd never been to Australia. Maybe she could even manage to do some touristy things while she was down there. But…
She didn't want to see Corrigan again. And her mother was definitely not going to understand. Bad enough she'd missed Christmas. If she was gone all of February she'd miss her nephew's first birthday, her niece's third birthday, and her sister's birthday. She'd never hear the end of it.
"Can I think about it?" she asked, wincing, waiting for him to refuse and insist that she go. Mr. Horowitz's requests were never really requests.
He nodded, his brown eyes warm with sympathy. "Sure. Tell me in
the morning."
* * *
Sarah didn't know who to talk to about the trip. Jane would say go. But then again, Jane didn't know about what had happened with Corrigan. It was too salacious for Sarah to share with anyone. She hadn't even told her best friend from high school, Hannah. Tell one person, it was bound to get out.
And she knew her mother's answer. "This job demands too much of you, Sarah. Don't they understand you have a family? You put in your forty hours, that should be enough for them. All this overtime and travel, you're never going to meet anyone. And what about your family? How do you think John Jr. will feel when you're not at his birthday party?"
Forget the fact that John Jr. was one and wouldn't remember anything about his party, her mother would. And every single time Sarah was over, she'd point to a picture of the whole family from John Jr.'s birthday and say, "It's too bad you had to go work and couldn’t be there for your nephew's first birthday party." And then she'd frown at Sarah and say, "I certainly hope you can make the next one, Sarah. Kids grow up so fast."
Everyone might think that Sarah didn't have commitments just because she was single, but they were wrong.
Of course, the real reason she'd asked for time was because her immediate reaction had scared the hell out of her.
Yes! Absolutely. When can I leave?
Her first thought had been that she'd get to see Tyler again. And that maybe…
Maybe he hadn't given up on her yet. Maybe this was all an elaborate ruse to get her to Australia so he could see her again.
A small sliver of hope buried itself in her heart and wouldn't shake loose.
She should say no. Avoid the heartbreak.
But the next morning she told Horowitz yes.
* * *
Two days later, she found herself on Tyler Corrigan's private jet, once again faced with his personal stewardess, the picture-perfect Daphne.