From him, she learned the art of dealing with people. He used his charm shamelessly on women and business associates who had something he wanted. It was rare that Elliot found himself rejected in any arena.
She continued to use the skills he taught her to smooth ruffled feathers and maintain their public image.
After five official years with the company, Aubrey technically worked for Elliot but didn’t report to him.
The majority of her time at the office was spent alone as a little department of one, handling tasks that were unusual and required a certain level of finesse.
For the most part, she reported directly to Phillip McAllister and as far as she knew, most of her work remained between the two of them.
She didn’t mind.
Being around Elliot too much made her heart hurt.
* * *
The land on either side of the worn track was heavily forested and followed a narrow creek bed.
It was peaceful and Aubrey always did her best thinking on her horse. She wondered when she’d shake the melancholy that seemed to be her constant companion.
She rode Trix down the access road, a lazy walk while they soaked up the sunshine. Her dark hair was in a braid down her back. She wore a soft straw cowboy hat, a tank top, jeans, and her worn Ariat boots.
They rode all the way to the end and stopped on the way back at the section of low bank behind the McAllister place so Trix could drink at the little creek and graze on sweet grass. Most of the creek edge consisted of slippery slate but she’d spied out a safe section years ago.
Aubrey leaned against a fallen tree and read Pride and Prejudice for the twentieth time; loving the story as much as she always had.
Hearing a noise off to her left, she turned, thinking it was a deer. Anything more vicious and she had a twelve gauge on her saddle. Her daddy taught her to be prepared.
She didn’t see anything but realized it had gotten much later than she intended. Mounting Trix with a gentle word, she guided her up the road toward home.
After two hundred yards, she heard the noise again, ahead and to the left.
Scanning the trees, she saw Elliot McAllister less than twenty feet from her, leaning against a thick tree.
A woman was on her knees in front of him, sucking his cock. His hands moved to the woman’s head and she moaned around his length.
Aubrey’s heart slammed against her ribcage at the expression of almost pain on his face. Feeling trapped in a situation that couldn’t be more awkward for her, she nudged Trix with her knees.
Her mare’s snort brought Elliot’s eyes open and their gazes met over the short distance, his green eyes boring into her brown ones.
Oh sweet Jesus.
His entire body jerked and he opened his mouth to speak. Unable to handle anything he might say, Aubrey kneed Trix into a hard run and left the scene behind.
It was forever burned into her brain.
She’d never pushed her mare so hard in all the years they’d ridden together. Back at the house, she brushed Trix down and filled her feedbag in the stall with shaking hands.
In thanks for getting her away so quickly, she added a bit of her homemade granola to Trix’s normal food then went in the house to shower.
She trembled violently as she stepped under the water. As it pulsed over her body, she let her mind process.
Catching Elliot in such a position could potentially change everything. She had to steel herself, prepare for what could happen when she was forced to face him.
She admitted her embarrassment, her disappointment, and eventually allowed herself to feel what she’d carefully insulated herself from for years.
Every time she quieted rumors of the McAllister sons’ sexual exploits or cleaned up the results of a particularly unhappy ex-girlfriend, she pretended.
It was never really Elliot. Not really.
This time, she’d been given a front row seat and she couldn’t lie to herself.
She didn’t have the right to the hurt coursing through her but it didn’t change the fact that it did so strongly.
As the water began to cool, she leaned against the tile, lowered her head, and cried.
Chapter Three
The rest of the weekend passed quickly because, for the first time ever, Aubrey dreaded Monday morning.
Dressed in beige slacks, a chocolate brown shell in raw silk, and matching high heels, she twisted her long hair into a smooth chignon at the base of her neck.
She kept her makeup simple as usual. After a dismal attempt in college to apply it, she knew she hadn’t been born with the necessary skill and gave up.
After performing several can’t wait tasks to stall, she couldn’t delay leaving another moment. Placing her laptop in her purse, she locked up and left.
She drove her dad’s big F150 to work because the morning required more armor than her little Honda could provide. In the cab, she loved that she could still smell his aftershave, even if it made her a little sad.
The drive never took long but it seemed to go by in seconds. Parking in her usual space, she took a deep breath, reminded herself that she was a grown woman who could deal with discomfort, and got out.
Hopping to the ground from the truck was a bit harder for her than it had been for her father. She was five-four and he’d been well over six feet tall.
She chuckled quietly and tugged her top over her midriff when the slide made it ride up. She grabbed her bag and locked the vehicle, turning to walk around the back.
“Tall truck for a short woman,” Elliot said nonchalantly.
She issued a little scream of surprise and watched as he subtly raked his gaze over her from head to toe.
Aubrey’s body betrayed her immediately. Traitor. A hot blush climbed up her neck and face, her heart started pounding, her nipples pebbled, and she became wet at the mere sound of his voice.
Had she known he’d be waiting for her at the rear, Aubrey might not have ever left the cab.
Silently thankful that her sunglasses were still in place to hide her deer in the headlights expression, she plastered a smile she didn’t feel on her face.
“It’s a bit tall but it was Dad’s. Good morning, Elliot.”
Then she walked calmly around him toward the elevators. He fell into step beside her without a word.
Fill the awkward silence!
“I’ll have the projections for the community theater project on your desk later today. I think it’s going to be a success. I’m proud of the work the theater committee presented for consideration. They went above and beyond.”
Ah, filling the silence meant babbling like an idiot virgin because she’d witnessed the man she was secretly in love with getting a blowjob in the woods. How incredibly mature.
She pressed the elevator button praying someone, anyone, would come along so she didn’t have to enter an enclosed space with him alone.
No. Such. Luck.
Panicking, she filled any possible opening for mutual conversation with bubbly dialogue out of nowhere as she selected the ground floor and the doors closed.
“I know we have the department meeting at eleven but it conflicts with the only appointment I was able to get for the hospital project so I’ll have to miss it.” She’d never talked so much to Elliot at one time.
Why stop now? Keep making an ass of yourself.
Doggedly continuing, she wasn’t about to provide the man with a chance to say anything. She wasn’t ready. Couldn’t they both pretend it never happened?
“The auction is on the fourteenth and I have an updated guest list for you to review. The response from the community has been outstanding.”
Please get me out of this elevator. Lord, I’m begging you.
At ground level, they got out and he once again fell into step beside her as they approached the corporate building. Crossing the lobby, she stood at the bank of elevators and was thankful when several employees approached to ride up with them.
She felt like she
could breathe normally for the first time in two minutes and removed her sunglasses with a trembling hand. She was practically dizzy from the lack of oxygen.
Everyone got on together and a young woman from Noah’s department said good morning. Aubrey smiled politely in response, almost afraid to open her mouth.
Donna asked, “Are you going to the fair? They’re already setting it up at the rodeo grounds.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Don’t you like fairs? Honey, you spend too much time alone! You need to get out more. You should say yes to some of those dinner dates you’re offered.”
This can’t be happening. Getting out had her in enough trouble. She’d stay home for a while, thank you very much.
Aggressively cheerful, the woman wasn’t ready to let go of her opinions on Aubrey’s personal life. “You keep saying you’ll go to lunch with us but you never do. You should let me and the girls drag you out today.”
“I’d love to but I won’t be back from meetings in time.”
Is this the longest elevator ride in history?
Counting to three, she searched for a topic change. “Do you think you’ll have those approvals on the auction budget for me today? I need to get the checks cut.”
Flustered at the switch, Donna nodded. Blessedly, her floor arrived and Aubrey felt almost manic with relief.
“That’s wonderful to hear. I appreciate your help on such a tight deadline. Have a great day, Donna.”
The woman smiled brightly and Aubrey escaped the elevator of doom without guilt about hurting her feelings.
She clicked on her office light and turned to close the door when she realized Elliot stood behind her. After another ridiculous movie scream, she touched her temple.
“That’s not the reaction I usually receive.”
Exhaling slowly, she crossed her arms over her stomach and gave him a half-smile. “I imagine not.”
There. She’d acknowledged his popularity with women and smiled while looking him in the eye.
Could they move on now?
She walked behind her desk and removed her laptop, plugging it in and starting the power up process. Quietly, she moved around conducting her normal routine.
While she opened her shades, watered her plant, and checked her inbox at the corner of her desk, he leaned in the open doorway, watching her.
Every morning for five years, she was always the first one who arrived on the sixth floor. Everyone else strolled in around nine. Elliot usually came in much later.
Leaning over her desk, she keyed in the password, and knew he’d come in early specifically to talk to her.
Finally, she couldn’t ignore the fact that he had no intention of leaving. “Elliot was there something you needed? You don’t typically drop by to visit.”
His bright green eyes were waiting for her when she raised her head and she straightened, carefully clearing her throat.
“Uh, we’re fine, you know. Nothing will affect my work performance or respect for you as a person. I’d rather things not be a-awkward, if that’s possible.”
She knew her skin was red because she could feel the heat creeping up her chest and neck.
Somehow, she managed to maintain eye contact with the one man who made it difficult for her to do so. She’d said her piece and she was done being silly and immature by filling the silence.
It was Elliot’s turn.
Chapter Four
For almost a minute, Elliot McAllister simply stared at the young woman who’d been put in such a horrible position because of his actions.
He remained quiet, gathering his thoughts, and wondered if she was going to return to her panicked chatter to keep him from saying anything as she had in the elevator. When she watched him in return silence, he had to smile.
It probably wasn’t easy for her.
“I’m not sure I can guarantee that it won’t be awkward.” He felt uncomfortable in his own skin. He needed some time to form a game plan. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“I…yes, thank you.” There was a small frown on her face.
“I’ll be right back.”
Inclining his head, he walked out of her office and made his way to the coffee bar they’d installed on the first floor. Realizing he didn’t know how she took her coffee, he asked the barista if he knew Aubrey.
“Sure do! I’ll make her usual…and for you, sir?”
What Elliot wanted wasn’t on the menu.
He murmured for the man to make two while he considered the issue of the woman upstairs.
Aubrey Price was a woman he found unbelievably attractive. Per his parents, since the day she joined the company, she was also staunchly off-limits.
Meeting her chocolate brown eyes over the head of another woman delivering a mediocre blowjob was not one of his proudest moments. He’d argued with himself all weekend about driving to her house to apologize.
In the end, he knew that showing up at her home would have made things worse. She wasn’t the type to bring their human resources department into the mix but Elliot knew he’d be crossing a very clear line.
For the hundredth time, he wondered why he’d chosen that spot for such an act but the reasoning was beyond him.
All the McAllister boys knew Aubrey regularly rode her horse on the access road. More than once, the three of them had checked her out through the telescope on Elliot’s balcony that had a clear view of the entire creek bed.
Over the years, they competed quietly – and not so quietly – to determine who would ultimately be best for her.
Noah, being closest to her in age, had been confident about snagging the lovely and intelligent Miss Price. He started flirting with her when she was still in high school and paid his older brothers substantial sums of money because of her repeated, though polite, rejections.
Gage’s approach had been subtle but his position as a mentor for her growth within the company once prompted her to tell him, “If I could have chosen an older brother, it would have been you. Noah and Elliot are very lucky.”
After that, the eldest McAllister son became protective of their object of affection. More than once, he waylaid their plans to garner her attention. He even shoved Noah into a stairwell when he’d had a couple drinks that gave him false bravery. Eventually, their big brother forbade them to discuss her around him.
“She’s too good for any of us and you’re going about your interest in her all wrong,” he said to Noah over dinner one night.
“Suddenly, you’re an expert?” Noah always spoke without thought and he was clearly defensive. “What do you know about her?”
Gage sat back and considered the two of them with a critical eye. “More than either of you, I promise you that. You’re not ready for her and she has zero interest in me romantically. Aubrey isn’t a woman who changes with the season and her opinion of me is now fixed in stone. If you continue to carry on as you are, you will never have a chance with her.”
Naturally, their headstrong little brother hadn’t listened. He continued to flirt wildly with Aubrey as well as other women in her presence. She might have been the younger of the two but it wasn’t detectable based on behavior.
The three of them chased women as if it was a competition sport and lusted after their ideal in the privacy of their own thoughts.
Aubrey had no clue about her effect on men. None.
Elliot received the permanent gift of the young woman to his department when she graduated college.
Within one week of working with her, he couldn’t wait to see what she was going to do next.
She drew investors like bees to honey, the community adored her, and she thought outside the box about international marketing campaigns.
In her second year, she impressed a Dubai sheik visiting their father, simply by knowing specific customs and serving him a rare drink only available in his home country.
Instead of running her to ground the way he did most members of the opposite sex, Elliot took a step
back, took in the big picture, and waited.
He recognized that she was young and deserved time to stretch into the woman she was destined to become.
However, they lived in a small town and in the past five years, he was aware that she hadn’t dated, accumulated the majority of her vacation time rather than using it, and didn’t appear to have close friends.
Since her father’s death, she worked more hours, she smiled less, and her rides on her faithful horse possessed an air of deep sadness.
Standing outside her office, Elliot took in Aubrey’s features and knew he’d spent years settling to avoid admitting how much he wanted her.
He had never asked her out for fear of the rejection Noah received but many of his recent dates looked similar to her physically. They were no match for her intellectually.
When he’d looked up and met her eyes in the woods, for a moment, he forgot that he was receiving oral sex, taken by the closer image of her on the back of her chestnut mare.
She wore a cowboy hat and boots, a tank top, and worn jeans pulled taut over strong legs. He saw a beautiful country girl who competed at the city level in business.
Then the horrifying embarrassment washed over her face and he wanted to say something. Tell her to wait or apologize. She tore off down the access road, bent over her saddle.
The expression on her face had devastated him.
Coffee in hand, he stood watching her work and wondered how he could make things right.
Aubrey glanced up and took in his pensiveness with a gentle smile. After a long pause, she murmured, “Quick. What was her first name, Elliot?”
Understanding what she asked, he was unable to reply. Not out of discretion but because he honestly couldn’t remember. A soft chuckle escaped her lips.
“There’s no need for this to be uncomfortable. Chasing women is part of who you are.”
Elliot stepped into her office, an unfamiliar pressure on the back of his neck. It was the worst thing anyone had ever said to him, made more painful because she said it.
Somebody: A Country Romance Page 2