To top off the rather pleasant night, she’d tried to drag a prostitute into her house.
Her face burned and she minimized the website’s window.
How mortified could one person be? He’d had to push her inside and close the door on her. It was her house, and he’d shut the door in her face.
She wiped her forehead of the sudden sweat, embarrassment turning her stomach.
There was no way he’d want to go. No way. He’d probably worry he’d wake up in a bed somewhere, tied down.
“You still working?” Ben poked his head in the door of her office. His comb-over was a little frayed and his white five o’clock shadow gave his face a grizzled look.
He was another director. One who had been passed over for a promotion for years upon years. Clumsy, nerdy, and chubby, he was the office scapegoat. Yet he stayed. Kaylee had no idea why. His unkempt appearance aside, he was intelligent and insightful, often turning a clunky process into an efficient one.
He should’ve been rewarded ten times over. And when she became VP, she’d make sure it happened.
She leaned back in her chair and turned toward him. Ben was also the only person in the company she let herself relax with.
“Not really,” she said. “I’m stalling.”
“Oh yeah?” He took a step forward and leaned on the doorframe. Brown splats dribbled down his white shirt. Probably a coffee accident. Ben was known for his propensity to stain his white dress shirts. “What’s keeping you?”
She smiled. A man with a lovely wife and two daughters in their twenties, he was pretty good at reading subtle signals. “Nothing. A man. You know the song and dance.”
“You women created the song and dance.” He spread his hands and offered up a kind smile. “Men are simple creatures. If you think we’re keeping up, you’re wrong. My advice—just tell him what you want. It’s that simple. Tell him what you want, and be prepared to walk away if you don’t get it. You’re too smart to stick around with someone not worthy of you. As soon as my wife learned that, my days of sitting peacefully on the couch while she did everything for me ended.” He twisted his mouth and shook his head. “I sure miss those days.”
Kaylee laughed.
“Unless he’s a fool—and I can’t imagine you’d have that twinkle in your eyes for a fool”—he straightened up—“he’ll come around. Believe me.”
“I think you’ve forgotten what it is to be rejected and embarrassed, Ben.”
“I’m embarrassed in this job at least twice a day. And that’s on a good day.” He pointed at his stained shirt. “Trust me. Just tell him what you want.” He smiled once more and headed off down the hall.
Ben’s advice was great…if this were a normal situation in which she was dating someone rather than paying him to chaperone her.
“Tell him what I want. What do I want?” she said softly, glancing at the clock.
The VP job. And a partner to help her get it.
She pulled up the website for BD.
* * *
Three hours later, Kaylee’s phone vibrated.
She slowed down on her elliptical, one of a few pieces of exercise equipment in her house, and pulled her phone out of the pouch in her hoodie. Her screen was lit up with the song, but she hadn’t received a text message.
After getting back to the home screen, she saw a red two over the email app. OCD about emails, she tapped the icon as the song changed, a fast hip-hop tune that egged her on.
The email was from BD Escort Services.
Her heart started to pound. Possible rejection and extreme embarrassment were mere seconds away.
We sincerely apologize, but we are not able to accommodate you for your event. Please try back at a later date, or add yourself to the wait list.
Her heart sank and tears came to her eyes. Clearly he was worried that he’d wake up in a bathtub full of ice, missing an organ. Or in a well, shivering while she yelled down at him about lotion and baskets.
She shook her head and stuffed her phone back into the pouch. It didn’t matter. It had been a long shot, anyway. He was too relaxed. Too blasé about everything. He’d make the wrong impression—maybe even get her fired instead of promoted. She would be fine on her own. She always had been.
Tears still pressing at her eyes, she resumed her workout. Her phone vibrated again, but she ignored it, pushing harder, trying to work through the pain.
On the faux-date, he’d seemed so sure she would call him for the company dinner. That his weird surprise and supposedly creepy antics wouldn’t dissuade her from contacting him again.
He’d been right. The problem was, he hadn’t expected her to get handsy. She’d put no contact on the initial form, after all. She’d agreed not to touch him. Yet she’d wrapped herself around his neck like a human necklace and tried to drag him into her lair. He was probably so tired of women throwing themselves at him. With a face and body like that, he would need to fight off waves of female admirers every day.
She pumped the pedals faster, past tired and still close to crying. It was completely irrational, but her heart ached. She felt horribly, unbearably lonely.
Her phone vibrated again and she rolled her eyes. The clock on the machine read one hour and fifteen minutes. She’d gone fifteen minutes longer than normal. She’d be sore for the dinner.
Super.
She staggered off the elliptical and brought out the accursed phone so as to pull out the cord for her headphones. The screen lit up and two text messages waited from an unknown number.
She frowned and swiped one to the side, pulling it up.
Dear Miss Kick-Ass Lady, I would love to help you lock down that VP position. Her stomach flipped and air filled her lungs. Her smile probably lit the whole room. But you’re delusional if you think you’re paying for it. Text me the details. Or call. Anytime.
Her heart attempted to break through the cage of her ribs. She felt like she was having a cardiac arrest.
The next message made her smile so hard her face might’ve cracked. I’m at Colton’s. If you want, come over. The girls want to talk strategy as an excuse to work on your alcohol tolerance.
Kaylee was outside and locking her front door so fast that she had to check if she’d remembered to grab her purse in the process of rushing out. It wasn’t until she was in front of Colton’s door, her finger poised over the doorbell, that she hesitated.
Her makeup was probably halfway down her face. Her gray men’s sweats, the only ones that fit her long legs, lumped around her body like a potato sack. Hair fell around her face, but not because it was down. Several tendrils had just escaped the bun and hairspray, dangling in a stiff sort of way. She didn’t have a mirror, but she knew the score. She’d seen herself after plenty of workouts.
“Shit.” She looked around like a burglar. But really, where would she find a mirror on the outside of the house? Bringing her phone up, she saved Ethan’s info, then texted him. Knock knock. Who’s there? A girl that needs another girl to answer Colton’s door. Thx.
Biting her lip, she waited for a moment, hoping he had his phone handy. It had been half an hour since he’d sent the text message, after all. Maybe he had set it down and wandered away.
A moment later, the door swung open without warning, making her bend her knees into a crouch, ready to sprint away. Her flight reflex was strong.
A smile spread across Madison’s face. “Had a few parties busted up by the cops, have you?”
Kaylee straightened up with a laugh. “Am I that obvious?”
“Oh yeah.” Madison’s gaze drifted down Kaylee’s body. “It looks like you’ve been running.”
“Uh…yeah. I was working out when I got Ethan’s text.”
“Like…” Madison’s brow furrowed and she looked out at the quiet street. “You were running at nine o’clock at night? In the dark?”
“No. I have an elliptical machine. Although…” Kaylee looked behind her. “I certainly have run at nine, or later, around here. Who�
�s going to get me? A pudgy, middle-aged guy ready for a heart attack?”
“A young guy looking to rob rich people?”
Kaylee shrugged. “I have training.”
“Technically so do I, but all I seem to do is fall backward with karate-chop hands. I should really do those classes again.”
“No joke,” came from within the house.
Madison glanced behind her before turning. “Really? You were too lazy to answer the door on your own, but now you get up?”
Janie appeared in the doorway, shoving Madison to the side. A smile drifted up her face. “Holy shit, look at you. If you weren’t so goddamn pretty, you’d look like a wreck.”
“She’s prettier looking like this,” Madison said.
Janie tilted her head to the side and her eyes went distant. “She is. Very much so. Huh.”
Madison frowned at her friend before shaking her head and turning back to Kaylee. “What do you need? Dirt on Ethan? Because we’ve got it.”
“No—” Kaylee narrowed her eyes, and tried with all her might to ignore the offer. “No—” She clenched her jaw, but it didn’t help in the end. “What dirt?”
Janie pointed at Kaylee’s face and looked at Madison. “She likes him! She wants to know what she’s getting into. So that means she likes him.”
Madison put out a straight arm and pushed her friend into the wall in a sudden show of violence. Janie bounced off, unscathed and clearly unaffected. “Ethan is weird, strangely irresistible, and he’d cut off an arm for a friend in need…but only after he annoyed the shit out of them while simultaneously making them smile. I wouldn’t go there. His OCD would drive me batty.”
“You’re with Lionel. You wouldn’t go anywhere,” Janie said.
“Wait…” Kaylee racked her brain. “Lionel? I thought his name was Colton?”
Madison rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same.
“Never mind. It’s Colton, yes.” Janie went back to staring vaguely at Kaylee.
“Anyway…” Madison gave her a firm look that had Kaylee’s back straightening. The woman was in slippers, yoga pants, and a loose sweatshirt, yet she looked effortlessly commanding.
“Teach me,” Kaylee said without meaning to. “I could wear flats with that look.”
Madison’s brow scrunched, and Janie’s eyes tore away from Kaylee’s face to focus on her friend. “Oh. That,” Janie said. “That’s her business look.” Back to looking at Kaylee, she said, “But seriously, what do you need?”
Kaylee waved her hand in front of her face. “Do I have makeup all over?”
“Yes,” they both answered.
Kaylee stared at them for a moment. “Well? Where?”
Madison looked behind her. “Let’s sneak her into a bathroom. I am not about to lick my finger and fix this mess.”
Nine
“What do you suppose they’re up to?” Ethan asked as he waited impatiently in the kitchen with the other guys. “It’s been a while.”
“I don’t know, but I’m slightly concerned.” Colton leaned against a counter. “When Janie and Madison start getting secretive, it usually involves a bad idea and a huge mess.”
“You’ve got that right,” Dave mumbled.
“So the contact form was uber-professional, then?” Noah asked.
“Yeah. Like it was from a stranger.” Ethan could still hardly believe it. He’d given up hope after watching his phone nonstop for the last few days, waiting for communication that never came. “But she’s here. And her text was cute. So…”
He shrugged. He had no explanation for what was happening. For why she’d waited so long to get in touch. Surely she wouldn’t have come over to Colton’s if she was just interested in him in a “professional” capacity? Her actions didn’t line up, but no way was he about to push. When Dick had forwarded her request, that weird feeling deep in his middle had come back, only stronger this time. It had been accompanied by butterflies, of all things. He didn’t remember the last time he’d felt those.
He was back to floating down the stream, and he couldn’t wait to see where it led.
“She probably had second thoughts because of the price.” Dave glanced at the counter behind him. “You guys have gone crazy with pricing.”
“Jealous?” Noah grinned.
“Yes, actually. Hey, let’s move to somewhere with seats. I’m tired of standing.”
Ethan nodded and grabbed his beer, leading the way out of the kitchen. As he turned the corner to head to the back living room, he caught movement and pulled up short.
The three women started and their eyes rounded. Madison yelled, “Hah!” and struck out her hand while staggering away.
“Yup. There’s those self-defense classes hard at work,” Janie said, watching Madison. “She should ask for her money back.”
Ethan’s gaze was stuck on Kaylee. Part of her hair glistened with water and was barely flattened on her head, and the rest exploded out of a high ponytail, falling in a fuzzy mess. Black barely smudged the top of one eye, and a slight shimmer said there was a patch of makeup left on her cheek. Baggy, loose sweats, showing more than a few stains, hung from her trim body, only hinting at the shape of her breasts and hips. The glow of exercise infused her cheeks, and light shimmered in her beautiful blue eyes.
The way she looked, natural and messy, like she’d just come in from a run on Saturday morning after waking up in his arms, took his breath away. In that moment, looking like she did, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
She was way too good for him. Which he would definitely not tell her. He didn’t want to ruin his chances.
Hopefully Janie wouldn’t paint it…
“Hey,” he said in a strangely high voice, like a complete goober.
“Oh wow. Look how tense he is,” Madison whispered to Janie. “When has Ethan ever been tense?”
Janie tilted her head to the side, giving him her Art Stare. Crap. She’d definitely paint it.
“I’m not tense,” Ethan said, rolling his shoulders. “Or deaf.”
“Just dumb.” Colton walked up behind Ethan and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “How’s it going, Kaylee? Nice to see you again.”
“What are we doing?” Janie looked beyond Ethan. “Are we moving locations?”
“Your man is fragile.” Colton passed Ethan and edged around Kaylee. “He is tired of standing.”
“Hi, Kaylee.” Dave edged around them next. “Even a hero’s feet get tired some of the time.”
“No, they don’t,” Noah said, following. “Superman never needs to sit.”
“Clark Kent sat all the time, and he was still Superman regardless of the glasses that supposedly disguised his identity,” Dave responded.
“He sat because constantly standing while in an office would’ve looked weird.”
Ethan continued to stand there, staring. He couldn’t seem to move his feet. Or look away. This woman had made him her prisoner.
He liked it. It would make for great role play in sex.
She smiled at him. “I figured…the more help I could get, the better…” Her voice trailed away and her face flushed. “I’d just finished working out when I got your text. I probably should’ve changed. Or showered.”
Ethan closed the distance between them, desperately wanting to grab her and kiss her senseless. Instead, he stopped beside her and put out his arm for her to take. Women dug that kind of thing. “Not at all. If you were worried about beauty, I’d say that you’ve never looked lovelier. But since you’re not, I’ll say that you look fierce, and that’s super awesome.”
She laughed, a carefree, delightful sound. “Super awesome. That was my goal.”
“Nailed it.”
“Look, I insist on paying you for your time tomorrow.” She allowed him to escort her to the living room. “That way, you can’t give me another horrible surprise.”
He chuckled as they entered the living room at the back of the house, decked out with leather furniture and a l
arge TV, currently dark, lining the wall. Music played softly from the speakers positioned around the room. “Pay me after you get your VP title.”
“No, really—”
“Do you want something to drink?” Colton asked, sitting on the couch. He stuck his hand up and caught Madison’s butt as she started to lower herself next to him, keeping her standing, albeit awkwardly.
“What the hell—” Madison wiggled, trying to get around the obstacle.
“Just some water is fine,” Kaylee said, breaking away from Ethan and sitting in the recliner.
So she wanted to play it that way, did she? Keeping it professional. He could work with that for now. At least she was here. She was talking to him.
He grabbed Noah’s feet, which were spread out across the love seat—the closest piece of furniture to the recliner—and flung them off so he could sit down.
“A watery beer, perhaps?” Janie asked, now staring at Kaylee with a tilted head. “Colton has Bud Light.”
Kaylee smiled with tight eyes. “If you insist. But just one.”
“Madison, look after your guest.” Janie snapped her fingers.
“Exactly, Maddie.” Colton bent his arm and then straightened it abruptly, launching Madison forward. “Look after your guest.”
“Oh man.” Madison looked back at Colton in disbelief. The effect was somewhat undermined by her chuckling. “You are picking up the wrong habits from Janie, do you know that?” Shaking her head, she left the room.
“That’s not going to work out well for you, Lionel.” Janie tsked and shook her head, still staring at Kaylee. “She’ll make your life hell. I should know.”
“Darling, Ethan is the creepy one, not you. Stop staring.” Dave patted Janie’s knee.
If only Ethan could run with his creepy title and keep staring at Kaylee as well. He’d be all for that. He didn’t want to tear his eyes away.
“Kaylee,” Janie said, ignoring Dave. “How would you feel about posing nude?”
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