“Not that it’s any of your business,” Rachel said, her tone cool, “but we went out to dinner the other night.”
“Dinner?”
Rachel rolled her eyes.
Hailey looked around the store. “You are so lucky that there are other customers in here, pal,” she said, her tone low and dangerous.
“Hailey,” Rachel hissed. “It’s fine, okay? We just caught up. It’s no big deal.”
“Oh yeah? Then why is he here with pizza?”
“So we can eat?” Rachel said.
“Oh, don’t be naïve,” Hailey said. “He wants something.”
Ren finally felt his irritation bubble up. “He is also standing right here,” he said, forcing his voice to stay mild. “But mostly he wants to have dinner with Rachel and maybe help her with some marketing strategy, if she needs a study buddy.”
“You had a chance to be a buddy ten years ago,” Hailey pointed out.
“I’ve apologized,” he said. “Though, as Rachel pointed out, it’s not your business. I am trying to make amends.”
Hailey looked at Rachel. “And… you’re okay with this?”
“It’s no big deal,” Rachel said, and for a second, he believed it. She sounded almost bored. “I mean, bringing pizza was really thoughtful, Ren. I appreciate it. And I’m not going to turn down some help with this quiz, if you want to help out a bit.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
“Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.” They walked past Hailey and Cressida, who was watching with wide eyes. He put down the pizza boxes on the counter, then they helped themselves to slices.
“You remembered I love Hawaiian,” Rachel said, with a small smile.
Hailey followed them in, as did Cressida. “I’m grabbing some of this meat special pizza,” Hailey said, still staring at him suspiciously.
“I brought some for everybody,” Ren said easily.
She grabbed a piece, then gave the I’m watching you expression. Rachel shook her head.
“I’m sorry. She just remembers what it was like… you know, back then.” Her doe eyes were solemn. “I was kind of a wreck for a while, and she tends to hold a grudge.”
Guilt stabbed at him.
She ate her pizza, looking pensive, then looked at him. “I’ll let you help me study,” she said. “I missed being your friend.”
He swallowed, and it had nothing to do with the pizza he was eating. “I missed you, too,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“But it’s just friendship,” she said, and her tone was sorrowful.
He paused a beat, looking at the door. The sisters were helping customers before the store closed. He wished he could have this conversation in more of a private setting. “Why?” he pressed. “Why just friendship?”
“We’ve already talked about this.”
“You’ve given me reasons for why you’re nervous about it,” he admitted. “But there are solutions to those reasons. And I wonder why you couldn’t give me – us – another chance.”
She bit her full lower lip. God, what he wouldn’t give to be able to do the same.
“I can go slowly,” he reiterated. “I told you, I’ll do what it takes.”
Her forehead furrowed slightly. “You’d do whatever it took? What if I gave you some… I don’t know, Herculean labors?”
He laughed. “You wouldn’t.”
“It’s been ten years,” she said, and her eyes lit ruefully. “Maybe I’ve changed, and developed a dark side.”
“Okay, do you have any chores for me?”
She looked at the ceiling as if she were considering it, then shook her head. “I’m not the type to come up with some kind of vengeance plan,” she said, shaking her head.
“I know.” He smiled.
“Although I could ask for Hailey’s help,” she pointed out. “And Cressida’s surprisingly creative when you piss her off.”
He felt his stomach knot. “That’s… disturbing.”
She laughed. “You’re here, anyway. I have an early morning tomorrow, so you can’t stay that long, but if you’re serious about helping me study, I’ll take it.”
“All right.” He helped clear away their dishes, then looked at her. “Where do you want to study?”
“All right, the store’s closed,” Hailey said, coming into the kitchen with Cressida.
“I’m going to make some dinner for Noah, when he gets off shift,” Cressida said, looking at Rachel.
“He can have some pizza,” Ren offered, remembering Rachel had mentioned Cressida’s boyfriend.
“That’s nice of you.”
“We’re just going up to my room to study,” Rachel said.
There was a moment of silence, and Ren felt his heart accelerate. It was déjà vu, just like high school. Only back then, if they could go up to a room by themselves the last thing they’d do was study.
Damn it, she means “study” this time!
He was berating himself, ready to follow Rachel, when Hailey held his arm, holding him back as Rachel began ascending the stairs.
“It was cool of you to loan us your plane,” Hailey said begrudgingly. “But if you’re trying to leverage that into getting back into Rachel’s pants, I am going to beat some goddamn sense into you.”
He stared at her. “Jesus, Hailey,” he said, shocked. “What kind of person do you think I am?”
“I don’t know, do I?” she snapped. “All I know is, after ten years, you’re suddenly taking her out to dinner, bringing pizza by? Offering to help her ‘study’?” Hailey scoffed. “You broke her fucking heart. She cried for months over you. And she still hasn’t gotten over it. If you’re here, you’d better be fucking serious.”
“I am serious,” he said sharply. “How far we go is up to her, but I’m in this. All the way.”
Hailey stared at him, as if studying him. Then she nodded.
“Just don’t hurt her,” Hailey said somberly.
“I won’t,” he promised, then quickly went to follow Rachel up the stairs to her bedroom.
She’s the one that’s dragging her feet, he realized. And with a punch of shock, he realized.
She’s the one that could hurt me.
#
Why are you inviting him up to your room?
Rachel’s mind was racing. Ren had caught her off guard, showing up to the bookstore unannounced. He was being friendly about it, and it was a nice gesture. But she knew what he was after.
The only problem was, she wasn’t sure how she felt about what he was after.
Now, she was leading him up the three stories to her loft bedroom. At least Hailey and Cressida were downstairs. That would keep her from doing anything epically stupid, like sleeping with him.
Would it?
She winced, rubbing her face. It had better, she warned herself.
She needed some way to get control of this situation. He was saying the right things. He was appealing to that side of her that had always wanted him to apologize. And he looked better than she’d dreamed. He was saying he’d wait for her, that they could take it slow. He was bringing her food and volunteering to study with her.
He was considerate those years that you dated, too. It was why you fell in love with him. But when something more important came up…
She frowned. And that was the issue, wasn’t it? He was always lovely – until he made a different choice.
She stepped into her bedroom, surveying it to make sure it wasn’t too messy. Her dirty clothes were in the hamper, thankfully, and her bed was made.
He looked around, then glanced out the window. “This is nice,” he said, taking in the view, then looking over her double bed, the maple dresser. “A little weird, though. To be in your Grandma Frost’s room.” He grinned. “I remember thinking she’d kill me if she found out what we’d done together.”
“Trust me, she considered it,” Rachel said, shrugging. “But we wound up getting me birth control instead. After Mom had two unplanneds – m
e, and Hailey – Grandma got a lot more practical.”
They were quiet for a long minute. Then Ren cleared his throat. “So, marketing strategy…?”
“That’s not why you’re here, and we both know it.”
His dark eyes gleamed. “Well, I do want to help you, if I can,” he said. “But no, it’s not the main reason I’m here. I just want to spend some time with you.”
She sat on the edge of the bed. He looked around.
“Sorry, three narrow flights of stairs are a long way to carry up furniture, so I don’t have any chairs,” she said, then patted the bed next to her. He sat down next to her, and she could feel the heat from his body. He still had his coat on.
She thought about taking it, but reducing the numbers of layers between them suddenly seemed like a bad idea.
Ren sighed. “Why don’t you tell me what’s worrying you, Rachel, and I’ll see if I can address it?”
Putting it that way sounded so damned logical. “I’m scared of you, Ren.”
“I told you, I’ll give you as much time as you need to get used to me.”
“That’s part of the problem,” Rachel said, then bounced up with nervous energy, pacing the room. “That sounds like… it feels like you’re wearing me down by inches when you talk that way.”
“You’re a strong woman. You can say no at any time,” Ren pointed out.
“By that point, it’ll probably be too late,” she muttered, and Ren shot her a grin. “I don’t want to feed your ego, but you were always good at this stuff. You were a romantic. You were considerate and compassionate and generally speaking, a great boyfriend.”
“Thank you,” he said, sounding sincere.
“Which is why you blindsided me when you dumped me,” she said.
He winced. “I don’t see how else I can prove that I’ve changed than showing you through action, though.” He got up, too, holding her, preventing her pacing. “Why don’t you set a time limit?”
She blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t want an open-ended courtship, apparently,” he said, then grimaced. “Although ‘courtship’ sounds like something out of a Jane Austen novel. Anyway, you want to set some boundaries, feel more in control of the situation, am I right?”
She bit her lip. Damn it. He always could read her. She felt contrary, and crossed her arms. “Maybe,” she said, even though they both knew she was lying.
“So why don’t you set some ground rules? How long do I have to convince you, and what do I need to do?”
Her mind raced. That actually felt good. It gave her anxiety a focus and helped her feel like she was getting a grip on the situation.
“One week,” she heard herself say, and drew herself up, standing straighter. “You’ve got one week to convince me.”
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t that. “One week? That’s… that’s barely any time at all!” he spluttered.
She felt relief come over her in a wave. “It’s plenty of time,” she countered. “Most people only need three dates or so to figure out if someone’s worth spending more time with. Heck, most people only need one date.”
“If that’s the case,” Ren countered, “then we’re good to go. I’d say our first date went very well.”
“After you answered your phone for work during it,” she said.
He reddened. “That was rude,” he admitted. “But it was a work emergency.”
She held up a hand. “One week,” she said, feeling more confident. “If you can get me over my reservations about you in one week, then I’ll start dating you again.”
“That seems really arbitrary,” Ren complained.
“You were the one that said set a time limit,” she replied.
“I was thinking more like six months. Or three months – you know, a business quarter.” He looked at her with a sexy, imploring smile. “Dating with a quarterly performance review? You’re a business woman, I would think that’d appeal to you.”
He was thinking of how he could use it to his advantage, she thought. “One week,” she repeated, more firmly.
He sighed, then nodded. “Okay. One week.”
Her eyes widened. She was surprised he hadn’t negotiated for more time.
“In that time,” he said, with a lopsided smile, “I am going to romance the living shit out of you.”
She burst out laughing. “Let’s not go crazy.”
“In exchange,” he said, “I would like you to be available to being romanced. No dodging me for a week and then calling it off.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she scoffed. “I play fair.”
“I know. Just putting some ground rules of my own down.” He looked at her, his head tilting slightly. “So, it’s a deal?”
She nodded. “It’s a deal.”
“Let’s kiss on it.”
Her breathing went shallow. “A handshake ought to do.”
“I didn’t get a kiss after our first date,” he said. “And if we’re going to do this, we might as well do it right, yeah?”
She swallowed hard. Then she shrugged. “I guess…”
Before she could finish her sentence, he moved in, his mouth covering hers, his lips pressing against her own. His lips were firm, perfectly molding themselves to her. It was like getting into a warm bath, that feeling of perfect comfort and warmth.
Then, suddenly, things got hotter.
His mouth opened, his tongue teasing her lips until they parted, then moved in to sweep against her tongue. She felt the heat of it zing to her breasts and between her legs, and she reached up and grabbed his broad shoulders for some kind of stability as she felt the room give a lazy spin. He devoured her, and she found herself matching him, her mouth moving nimbly against his, her body pressing against him. He was hard against her – not just his muscles, but the jut of his erection.
You’ve got a bed right there, her body projected. You know he’d be good.
It was that little brainstorm that made her jerk away. “One other rule,” she said. “Maybe we should keep sex out of the equation for the time being.”
“Oh?” he croaked.
“Because I don’t think straight when I… when we…”
He grinned. “Still?”
“If that kiss was any indication, yes,” she said, noticing she was panting a little. Shit.
“But we can still kiss, right?” His eyes were puppy-dog cute and imploring, even as his grin was devilish.
“Yes,” she said, then realized… kissing with him would probably lead to sex, if she wasn’t careful. “Now, go on. I’ve got studying to do.”
“I can still help.”
“Not with that hard-on, you can’t,” she said, and he barked out a laugh. “I think that we’ll only distract each other at this point. Go home, Ren.”
“Okay,” he said, and he brushed another kiss over her lips. “But be ready to go out tomorrow, okay?”
“All right,” she said, then returned with a kiss of her own… which led to another kiss.
In moments, they were making out again, ravenously. Her hands went under his coat, tugging at his shirt. He had his hands woven in her hair, holding her tight to him. They finally pulled apart, breathless.
“You’ve got to go home,” she said, shaking her head at herself. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He grinned, tucking his shirt back in. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll see myself out.” He winked. “Call you later?”
“Okay.” She rubbed at her temples as he shut the door behind him.
Do you really think a week is going to save you?
She’d better start coming up with some safeguards, she realized. Because if tonight was any indication, she was sunk before she even had a chance.
Chapter 4
Ren stood at a whiteboard in one of the conference rooms. That morning’s meeting had gone on a full hour longer than it should have, and now he was looking at the notes they’d taken for how to deal with the factory in Zhuhai, which was st
ill having problems with productivity and process on the line. Next, he’d be dealing with the software problems they were having with the Electronics Division’s sales functionality, and with the inventory system which directly linked up with the Zhuhai factory.
“You’re going to need to talk to the software people tonight,” Ted, one of his software engineers, said with a grimace.
“I’m not going to be in tonight,” Ren said absently. “Do we have all the process notes right for these chips? It feels like we’re missing a step somewhere.”
“What do you mean, you’re not going to be in tonight?”
Ren looked up at the sharp surprise in Ted’s voice. “I’ve got to be out of the office by five-thirty,” he said.
“Lessee… that’d be, what, nine-thirty in the morning in Zhuhai,” Ted muttered. “Okay, you can still catch them in time, they’ll be in by eight.”
“I know,” Ren said, feeling irritated. “Is that it, Ted?”
Ted didn’t seem to register Ren’s impatience. He grabbed his papers, then used his phone to take a picture of the whiteboard. “We’ll have another check-in on Thursday.”
Ren sighed. “What are we going to have to check in about in two days? Until we get the process stuff figured out and we iron out what we’re going to do about the software developer, we’re just going over the same ground, over and over.”
“We can’t make any decisions unless we go over every option, though,” Ted said.
Ren frowned. “I’ll set up a meeting with the COO and the CIO,” he said.
Ted’s eyes widened. “All right.”
Ren grabbed his stuff and headed to his office. Work stuff had gotten steadily more challenging since his parents had moved him over to the troubled Electronics Division. He was currently working almost as a consultant, doing operations stuff. He knew it was a tough spot for the CIO to be in, as well: he was, essentially, acting as the boss of his boss’s son. He knew that the guy felt threatened and a little resentful of Ren’s position.
That said, Ren was also there to do a job. Things weren’t working, and his parents had put him in place to make sure things would work. Whatever it took. Failure wasn’t an option.
When is it ever an option?
Ship of Fools Page 5