“What I meant to say was let’s have shots.” My hand shot into the air to get the waiter’s attention. When I caught his eye, I pointed at the table at a cluster of shot glasses and raised three fingers. He nodded his understanding, and my gaze went back to my new intern’s.
Rose’s eyes were wide. “You guys do shots at work events?”
“It’s not a work event. It’s a social event with people we happen to work with. There’s a difference.” My lips curved into a smirk. “If the boss is okay with it, who’s going to argue?”
She lifted her index finger. “I won’t argue, but I’m going to pass. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Thanks for the offer.”
I blinked at her. “You’re refusing a drink with your new boss on your first day?”
Girl has balls. I’ve got to give her that.
Her head dipped in a slight nod. “May I remind you you’re not my boss? You’re my mentor. That means I’m here to learn from you, not work for you or drink with you.”
With an amused glance at Shane, I pointed a finger at her chest. “You’re my intern, which means you work for me while you learn from me. That was the deal, right? International internship?”
Shane rolled his eyes and gave her an apologetic look. “He’s right. That was the deal.”
Rose’s eyes narrowed, and she huffed out a breath. “Fine, you’re right. I just don’t see how drinking with you is a part of working for you.”
“It’s not,” I said as the waiter carried a tray with a fresh round on it toward us. “It’s part of getting to know each other and networking. Here.”
I plucked a shot glass from the tray and held it up. “If you don’t want it, don’t drink it. If you’re holding back because you’re worried it’ll be unprofessional for you to drink with us, take the damn shot.”
I held her gaze as the tequila dangled between us. In the mere hours since I’d last seen her, I’d forgotten just how beautiful she was. Those big brown orbs glinted with either determination or challenge just before she took the shot from me.
“Just this one.” She waited for Shane and I to pick up our glasses, then raised hers higher. “Here’s to the next six months.”
“The next six months,” I echoed, feeling something pass between us as we continued our stare-off.
Shane said the same, shook his head at the two of us, and downed his drink. Rose and I tipped our glasses back at the same time, but neither of us seemed willing to be the first to break eye contact.
She’d only been here a day, but I already had a feeling our time together would be interesting. She wasn’t afraid of a challenge or of calling me out. I found those qualities sexy unfortunately.
“Why do you like to drink with your staff?” she asked as she finally sat down beside me. “I mean, don’t you have friends you can do this stuff with?”
I barked out a laugh. “It’s just some harmless fun I like to have with the people who work with me. We spend more time together than most do with their families. Why not toast to the end of the week together?”
“Because maybe they’d like to do that with their families instead,” she said bluntly. “They’re off the clock.”
“They are, but everyone here chose to come here instead of going home or out with other people. I don’t force anyone to be here. Everyone knows we have a standard reservation for this table. If they want to join us, they do. If they don’t, it’s their business.”
She paused, pursing her full lips in thought. “What about your business, though? How does spending this amount of money on entertainment for employees help it? What’s your strategy here?”
“My strategy?” I picked up my beer and tipped the open end of it at her. “Do you ever switch off? Just have fun?”
“Nope.” She smiled sweetly. “Especially not on my first day.”
I laughed, taking a drink as I inclined my head in concession to her point. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it wasn’t about the people. My people. If I can’t have fun with them, then I don’t want it.”
“Is that true?” Her shoulders lowered maybe a fraction of an inch. “There’s no ulterior motive or angle to it?”
“Did you think there was?” My lips curled at the corners. “You think we lured you here to liquor you up and wait for you to make a mistake?”
“No, it’s not that.” She took a drink of the water she’d brought with her. I snagged the glass when she put it on the table and replaced it with a beer. Rose frowned at it but gave a shrug and picked it up. “I didn’t think it was a trap for me specifically, but I can’t help wondering how it fits into any business model.”
“It doesn’t,” I replied simply. “You came to the wrong company if you think everything I do will fit into a business model out of one of your textbooks. I am who I am. As you pointed out earlier, all these people are off the clock, but so am I. I chose to come here tonight, same as anyone else.”
“There’s a lot of literature about authentic leadership. Would you say that’s your style?”
Jesus, she sounded like she was interviewing me. “Nah, I don’t have a style. Business just means nothing to me if I can’t have a good time with my employees once the day’s over. But you’re having another shot for that question.”
“What?” Her eyes blew wide open. “Why?”
“If you’re not careful, he’ll order you a shot for that question as well,” Shane chimed in from the side, having dragged up a chair to the head of the table. “It’s best not to talk shop at these gatherings if you want to avoid having to take the penalty drinks.”
Rose’s chest expanded on a deep breath as she looked at Shane, seemingly trying to determine if he was serious. Another beat passed before she nodded. “Fine. Let’s do things your way. I’m a student. Drinking is part of who we are.” She took a large sip of her beer. “Game on.”
“Game on.” I clinked my glass against hers, settling in to finally see a more real and less uptight version of this woman. “How are you finding Australia so far?”
“It’s good.” She smiled, more genuinely this time. “Okay, that’s not true. It’s been really great, even if I haven’t had a chance to do much exploring. It’s so beautiful and sunny here.”
I laughed. “I guess it is. England’s not exactly known for much sunshine, so it must seem doubly true to you. Where in the States are you from?”
“Ohio.” Rose loosened up pretty quickly after that. She had a couple of more drinks and actually ended up looking like she was having fun. She spoke with animation, her hands moving and features opening up instead of having that closed-off look about them.
She laughed often, and the sound of it was contagious. It had been months since I’d laughed as much as I did while I listened to her tales about growing up on a farm.
Covering her face with her hands, she shook her head and groaned as another memory hit. Then she began animatedly telling us about falling into a pool of chicken manure once.
Her nose wrinkled. “I smelled awful for days. It was so bad, I cleared out a church pew the next Sunday.”
Everything about her was attractive, but her ability to laugh so easily was even more so. I’d been right earlier when I’d thought I hadn’t met many women like her recently.
When I caught a couple of the others shooting curious glances our way, I realized I had gotten a little too caught up in her. Time to pull back on the drinks a bit.
Oxford wouldn’t think too highly of me if I got intimate with their top student on her first night here. But once that thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t shake it so easily, even knowing it would be a bad idea.
Chapter 11
ROSE
I had been so wrong to question why these people drank together. And that isn’t the alcohol talking.
They were a lot of fun, and I was having a blast with them. At first, I’d felt a little out of my depth, but then Shane had come to get me, and the evening had taken a turn from there.
Jude and Shan
e had moved on to make conversation with some others a little while ago, but I was never alone. Everyone rallied around me to make me feel welcome.
The girl sitting next to me—Poppy, I thought her name was—giggled at something the guy opposite her said. I was trying to remember all their names, but I was struggling. That was definitely the alcohol’s fault.
“Did you hear he’s going to be on the cover of Fashion Forward magazine next month?” maybe-Poppy asked, turning her attention back to me.
“Who?” I frowned and discreetly pointed at the guy. “Him?”
She giggled. “No, our esteemed boss. The journalists around here love him. They’d put him on every cover and run a story about him in every tabloid if they could.”
Somewhere in the back of my hazy mind, I remembered the book I’d read on the plane. “I’ve heard he’s the most eligible bachelor in the country.”
“Try the most unavailable.” She pouted but then winked as she flipped her blonde hair. “That man is gorgeous, but he’s not settling down again. That’s for sure.”
My ears perked up. I knew I shouldn’t be this curious about his personal life, but I was. “Really? Why is that?”
“Apparently, his ex is a real piece of work,” she said, bending her head closer to mine. “They broke up years ago, but he hasn’t been in a serious relationship since.”
So he is a player. “I’ve read he’s always with different women.”
She shrugged, the corners of her mouth pinching in. “Just because he’s photographed with people doesn’t mean he’s with all of them. We’ve been out with him. Tons of women throw themselves at him, but he’s not the guy he’s portrayed to be.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true,” the guy said, obviously overhearing us despite her lowered volume. “The guy is living the life imagined, people. I don’t necessarily agree that he won’t ever settle down again, either. I just think he’s not in a relationship now, so why not make the best of it?”
My nose crinkled up. “Sleeping around is making the best of it?”
“I don’t think he sleeps with all of them,” Poppy said again, shooting the guy a glare. “Don’t buy into all that. You know it’s not true.”
“I guess,” he said, then shook his head. “Well, we know a lot of the shit in that so-called biography wasn’t true, but the rest of it?”
A tiny weight lifted off my heart. “The biography isn’t correct?”
Poppy snorted. “Some of it is. Some of it isn’t. He’s not a bad guy. You’ll see.”
“He’s definitely going to be a great mentor,” a new girl who collapsed into the open seat beside me said. “You’re lucky to have him.”
Encouraged by their words, I grinned and glanced at my empty drink. “Thanks, guys. I’m going to get a refill. Can I get anyone anything?”
There was a choir of orders, which I hoped I’d be able to remember as I stood up and made my way to the bar. We were the only group left here, so it took me no time at all to place our order.
While I waited, I drummed my fingertips on the counter. I was glad I’d had that conversation with my new co-workers. I’d judged Jude harshly over the contents of that biography, but maybe I had to withhold judgment until I knew him better.
Everyone who actually had a relationship with the man seemed to like and respect him. I’d needed that extra armor against him and his ridiculous looks, but now that I was here and in the thick of things, it was time to rethink my approach to dealing with it.
Just because he was handsome didn’t give me a reason to be rude to him. My answer for what a better approach might be came in the form of the bartender who delivered our drinks to me.
It wasn’t the same guy I’d ordered from, and this one was cute. In fact, most of the Australian men I’d met had been good looking. There has to be something in the water down under.
“You new?” the bartender asked as he started lining up glasses he was transferring from the counter behind him. “They come in every week, but I haven’t seen you before. I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten a face like that.”
Wow. My cheeks heated. Forward, much?
But then I looked into the sparkling, azure blue of his eyes and decided to flirt back. One way of keeping my thoughts off Jude was having someone else to occupy them.
This guy, with his floppy blond hair, golden skin, and leanly toned arms was a great candidate.
A smile formed on my lips as I nodded. “Yeah, I just started today. I’m Rose.”
“Rees,” he said, flipping the cloth he’d used to wipe down the bar after setting the drink down over his shoulder. “Rose and Rees. Our names sound good together.”
Well, he’s definitely not shy. “It’s nice to meet you, Rees. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around, but I should probably be getting these back to my colleagues.”
“No worries. I can get Babe to take it over.” Before I could ask who Babe was, Rees whistled between his teeth and the waiter from earlier looked up from where he was wiping down one of the empty tables. “See? All taken care of. Wanna have a seat here with me?”
Did I? I glanced back toward the table and saw Jude laughing with a pretty brunette from marketing. A funny feeling made my gut clench when I saw them together. I had no right to feel this way—or any other—about the man, so I nodded.
“Sure. I’d love to.” I pulled out a barstool and took a seat just as Babe came over to collect the others’ drinks. When we were alone again, I turned my back on where Jude stood and grinned at Rees. “So, why did the place empty out so early?”
He shrugged, leaning with his forearms folded on the bar. It brought his face closer to mine, but I didn’t mind it so much. “We’re more of a lunchtime and after-work joint. I think that’s why Jude and all the other Hudson Technologies folks like it so much here. They can come party without having to worry about all the attention he gets elsewhere.”
I nodded and tried to make it look like I knew exactly what he was talking about. “Sure. That makes sense.”
“I don’t want to talk about that, though. Tell me about you. Where did you come from, gorgeous?”
“Gorgeous?” I chuckled, arching my brows at him. “Has anyone ever told you that you come on really strong?”
“Yeah.” He grinned again, but this time, it was wide enough to show off two dimples in his chiseled cheeks. “If I see something I want, I go after it. I’m assertive. It’s just the way I was built.”
“I can respect that. I’m the same way.” Just not with men, but everything else? Sure. “Okay then, Assertive Rees, what would you like to know?”
“Everything.” He winked at me. “And it’s Smitten Rees to you, because that’s what I am.”
I hiccupped, though I wasn’t sure if it was from the drink or astonishment. I think the guy has assertive and aggressive mixed up, but okay.
As I chatted to him for what ended up being the better part of half an hour, I kept finding myself inadvertently glancing at Jude. I also had another drink, and I was really starting to feel it.
No wonder my inhibitions about being caught staring are going out the window. He was never looking back at me, though, so I didn’t think he’d noticed.
Rees turned his back to top off my beer, and I felt the small hairs on my arms lifting as if the air had been electrified. Next thing I knew, Jude appeared at my side and offered me a kind smile.
“How are you feeling, Oxford?” he asked, his hands hooked into the pockets of his dark slacks and his button-down shirt stretching so very enticingly over his broad chest.
I had the sudden urge to slide my fingers into the gaps between the plastic disks just to feel the skin beneath them, but I hadn’t had quite that much to drink. My inhibitions were lower, not obliterated. But still, so tempting. He’s so pretty.
Instead of focusing on that thought, I focused on what he’d called me. “Is that what you’re all going to call me now? Oxford?”
Jude’s vibrant eyes glittered with humo
r, but he shrugged. “Until you earn a different title, I suppose so.”
“What kind of title?” I knew I shouldn’t have, but I pouted. “You’re kind of a bully, you know that?”
His brows lifted as he stared at me. “Hardly.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever you say.”
Rees came back with my next drink, but Jude shook his head at him. At the same time, he kept his gaze on mine. “We’re winding down. Let me get you a cab.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine,” I protested. “Rees and I are still talking. I’ll get a cab later. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Ah, but I do,” he said softly. “Come on, Rose. Don’t fight me on this one.”
The look he gave me was strangely imploring, and I felt my defenses melting away. No matter what I told myself, I couldn’t resist him when he looked at me that way.
“Okay,” I said, relenting much faster than a strong independent woman who could get her own cab should have. “Let’s go.”
Jude smiled and extended his hand toward me, but I shook my head. I wasn’t that far gone.
He shrugged when I didn’t take it but stayed with me as I got up and said my goodbyes to Rees. The bartender’s mouth was turned down with disappointment, but I couldn’t find it in myself to feel too sorry for him.
“Send the bill to my office,” Jude said, bumping his fist against Rees’s. “We’ll see you next week.”
“Sure thing.”
As we headed toward the door, Jude’s hand came to rest gently at the small of my back. It felt like a brand, regardless of how tender and innocent the touch was. I felt the heat of his skin through my shirt and ached to feel it in other places.
The dream I’d woken up to popped into my thoughts, and I swallowed against the onslaught of need it made me feel for him. Blissfully ignorant to how he was melting me into a puddle of mindless desire by something as totally non-sexual as this, he guided me to the street and flagged down a cab waiting just down the block.
I turned to face him, needing to break off the contact between us before I became just another woman who threw herself at him. “Thanks, I’ve got it from here.”
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