by Jill Shalvis
It didn’t come. Something else, another feeling entirely, came instead. It’d happened without his realizing it, but it had happened. He wanted to be with her.
He reminded himself they were too different. She was whimsical, fanciful. Happy to just…be.
He was driven, hungry and ambitious.
And full of crap.
Fact was, he’d never had a good handle on Kenna. She might be fanciful and whimsical, but she worked hard, too. And she had plenty of drive and passion.
He had the Teen Zone memories as proof of that.
So did he…had he actually, maybe fallen—
“Wes?”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t sleep with you so you’d put our reports together.”
He laughed.
She didn’t.
With a sigh, he looked into her face. “If I’d thought so, we wouldn’t have done this.”
“I just wanted to say it.”
“Well…thank you.”
She sat up. “I’ve got to go get ready.”
But he wanted round two. “So…later, then?”
She looked startled. “Later what?”
“Later…more.”
“Oh. Um…”
He ignored his heart shriveling, along with other parts of him as she bent for her clothes, her cute, edible little butt wiggling as she shimmied into her panties. “I’ll take that as a no.” He got to his feet, thinking he should have stuck to his usual routine after sex and gone to sleep.
She found her blouse, swore when she remembered the torn buttons. Tossing it down, she went into the bathroom and the bag he’d dumped on the floor, rummaging until she came up with one of his shirts. Shoving her arms in, she hauled her skirt over her hips, shimmying a little to get everything tucked in, belatedly finding her bra. That got stuffed in her pocket. “Wes…”
He looked into her eyes and saw a surprising amount of nerves. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Are you sure?”
Hell, no. “Absolutely.”
She headed toward the door, in his shirt, for the second time in an hour fully dressed to his being completely naked.
“See you at the meeting,” he said. “I’ll bring the reports.”
She looked back at him. “You don’t have to bring mine.”
“Shut up, Kenna.”
“I just meant that this—” She gestured to the bed. “And that—” She looked at the report she’d left on his dresser. “They’re not all tied up together or anything.”
“Look, I know that this—” He jerked his chin to the bed. “And that—” And then the report on the dresser. “Aren’t tied up.”
She nodded in relief and left.
And then he was alone, wondering how the hell was it that he’d been ditched, when he hadn’t even known he wanted both this and that in the first place.
WELL, SHE’D DONE IT, hadn’t she? She’d finally caved in to the attraction between her and Wes, and what had it gotten her? A perfect orgasm.
Two, in fact.
In her own room she showered and dressed, then stalked downstairs with moments to spare before the board meeting. The conference room was set up with food and drinks, but she’d lost her appetite.
What had she done? She’d mixed business and pleasure, and how. That’s what she’d done. How in the world had this happened? She felt…so misdirected. Lost.
Alone.
Stupid.
“Kenna.”
Whirling, she faced the man who only a little while before had had her whimpering and begging him to finish her off.
He was solemn now, his mouth tight, his eyes tired and tense behind his glasses.
He was holding her report. “You okay?” he asked.
She started to nod, then slowly shook her head. “I feel…a little mixed up.”
“Like you were hit by a truck?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I felt the same way. Until I thought about it.” He looked at her for a long moment. “We started out pretty adversarial, didn’t we?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“But it didn’t stay that way,” he said. “I’d like to think we’ve built a mutual respect, even a friendship.”
“What just happened wasn’t about respect or friendship.”
“But it was good.” He smiled, and her heart tipped on its side.
Thank God she’d finally gotten it right and worn waterproof mascara.
“It doesn’t have to be so complicated, Kenna.”
Right. It didn’t.
He held out her report. “Let’s start here, only because we have to. Are you ready for this?”
“Why? Do I have something to do in there other than be Mr. Mallory’s daughter?”
“You don’t like being your father’s daughter?”
“Sure. Outside the boardroom.”
His gaze caressed her face. “Your report is good. Go for it in there.”
She looked around to make sure no one was listening. “Are you sure that’s not the sex talking?” she whispered.
He looked shocked. “What? I thought you said these were two separate issues.”
“Just checking. I mean, if you say the report’s good, then…you get more sex later, right?”
He grinned. “Would that actually work?”
She had to laugh. “I’m not too ashamed to say yeah, it would work, but tell me it’s not so anyway.”
“It’s not.” He lost the grin and went serious. “Do it, Kenna. Go in there and do your thing. You’re good at it.”
“I am.” She looked at the food spread. There were chocolate doughnuts. Good. She needed one. Two. This was definitely going to be a two-doughnut meeting.
17
THE ENTIRE TIME Wes spoke in front of the board, the only person he was aware of was Kenna. Everyone appeared to be listening, nodding, whatever, but he didn’t really care…except about what Kenna thought.
Would she do it? Stand up and get what she wanted?
“Excellent, Roth,” Mr. Mallory said when he’d finished and everyone had applauded. “Thank you. The newest addition is coming along better than I had hoped, and we know we owe that to you.”
“I didn’t work alone.”
Mr. Mallory looked at Kenna. “Yes, my daughter. I’m thrilled she’s been able to help you.”
Kenna’s smile didn’t falter, but then again, she was a Mallory. Tough. Resilient. “She more than helped me,” Wes said. “And she has a report as well.”
Mr. Mallory lifted an eyebrow and looked at his daughter.
Kenna stood, and with a perfectly calm voice and steady hands, told every board member what she thought of the bonuses that had gone to executives instead of being trickled all the way down the line to the employees who needed it more, what she thought about the lack of available child care for their thousands of employees. She told them what she thought about their nonexistent programs for maternity and paternity leave, and what she believed was a far more fair package. She discussed costs and suggested alternatives.
Then her father stopped her. “Expensive ideas.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But if you look at the financials, worth it. Especially considering that in the long run, some of these things are cheaper and have a bigger payoff than the executive bonuses.”
Her father nodded. “I’ll think about it. Thank you, Kenna. Next on the agenda?”
Her expression carefully blank, Kenna sat down.
Wes waited for her to look at him so he could smile at her, anything to make her look…happy, but she didn’t.
Mr. Mallory moved the meeting along, not addressing his daughter again, not even when the meeting was over.
Wes supposed that’s when he realized his loyalty had shifted.
Maybe, if he was being honest, he’d felt it shift way back on that very first day he’d met her.
KENNA DIDN’T go to Wes’s room that night. She intended to soak in her tub and
let herself have a good, long, rare pout.
But Wes came to her.
When she opened the door to him, when she moved aside so he could come in, they didn’t talk.
They didn’t even try.
What they did do was their damnedest to burn up the sheets. The shower. The floor in the bathroom.
And in the deep dark of the night, still without saying a word, she fell asleep in his arms.
And woke up alone. He’d left a note on her pillow, written on the hotel stationery.
A smiley face.
It made her laugh. The truth was, she was glad to wake alone, glad for the time, because what had happened here in Los Angeles, both with Wes and in the boardroom, had thrown her a little. She needed to separate it all in her head, needed to think.
By Monday she thought she had it all sorted out. Some of what she and Wes had experienced had been adrenaline, some genuine affection. But mostly it had been pure lust.
And now it was most likely out of their system. In light of that knowledge, work was simpler than she’d have thought. Meetings kept both her and Wes from saying anything to each other except business-related talk, and after a brief flash of disappointment, she decided that was a good thing. They didn’t need to complicate anything with a discussion.
Besides, what would she say? Thanks for the greatest sex ever? I’ll never look at a hotel bathroom counter quite the same way?
Can we get a hotel room tonight, too?
After work, she went to her parents’ house. The Monday-night Mallory family dinner proved to be as torturous as any, and less than three minutes into the thing, Kenna wanted out.
Ray had tried to talk her into dinner with him and his latest significant other. She should have gone, she’d have been so much better off.
Instead, here she was. Feeling this odd restlessness she didn’t know what to do with. Damn, she hated a pity party, especially her own. She bucked up. No more pathetic thoughts, not a one. She promised herself dessert if she managed to keep a smile on her face. A big dessert.
Everyone around her had someone. Her mother and father, of course. Her aunt and uncle. Then Serena and Josh arrived, gazing into each other’s eyes until Kenna felt nauseous.
“Dinner is nearly ready,” her mother said. She stopped to look more closely at her daughter and frowned. “Honey? You look a little peaked.”
Yep, most definitely peaked.
“You’re working too hard. I knew it. I told your father so.”
“Which of course made him laugh.” Kenna watched Serena and Josh come around the corner. Josh’s tie was crooked. Serena had a goofy smile on her face.
“Laugh?” Her mother frowned. “Why on earth would he do that? Actually, he agreed with me. Told me how much effort you’ve been putting in.”
“He did?”
“Your father isn’t a sentimental man, Kenna. You know that. It isn’t often he’ll wax poetic over hard work and dedication, but he notices. Don’t you ever think he doesn’t.” Her mother checked her spotless dress, smoothed back her hair. “Isn’t Serena lovely tonight with her new beau?” She moved into the kitchen, and for lack of anything else to do, Kenna followed her. “I hope he treats her right.”
Kenna laughed and helped herself to the tray of hors d’oeuvres on the counter. “Don’t you have that backward? I hope she treats him right.”
“Is Josh a good man, then? Oh, good. Your aunt was so worried. I know he doesn’t come from much, not that that really matters, but—”
“He’s a good man. His family is—”
Strong.
Smart.
Sexy.
And suddenly she wanted to see Wes so badly her body hummed.
“Kenna.” Her father came into the kitchen. “We haven’t had a chance to talk privately since the meeting. You did great.”
“What?”
“Something wrong with your hearing? Your proposal was solid.”
“You hated my proposal.”
Her father looked shocked. “Of course I didn’t.”
“You didn’t agree with a single point.”
“Yes, well, that was business. But you were well-prepared, you were smart, sharp and articulate.” He smiled. “I was proud of you.”
“You were…” Stunned, Kenna looked at her mother, who was also beaming with pride. “Proud.”
“Absolutely. Keep it up. We’ve got high hopes for you.”
“In the hotel.”
“In the business, yes.”
Kenna drew a deep, shaky breath. “Dad, I’ve given it a shot, and I’ll give you the rest of the six months I promised you, but this is not going to be a life thing for me. I just don’t have the…the passion for it.”
“Didn’t you just hear me say how pleased I am with your progress?”
“Yes, and believe me, I’ve always wanted to hear it.” Only the funniest thing, the world didn’t stop. The heavens didn’t sing.
Her heart didn’t soar.
And no one was more surprised than herself when she said, “I’m so sorry. I just really want to do something else.”
“What?”
She smiled, but it was a little wobbly because though it had just come to her, she thought maybe she’d known it all along. “I don’t want to say until I cement the position. Which I won’t do until I give you the time I promised you.”
Her father looked at her mother, who nodded. He sighed. “I wanted to push you into this, I wanted it to work for you. But I’m not going to hold you to the six months, not if it’s not working. I’m not that selfish.”
Kenna stared at him, then hugged him hard. “Do you remember that Ferrari you dangled in front of me?”
“Of course. Don’t tell me you still expect it.”
“No. Because I have a far better use of that money. It’s for a good cause.”
He gave her a long look. “Legal, right?”
She laughed and hugged him again. “Very legal.”
SHE MEANT to go straight to the Teen Zone to see Sarah, but she made a detour and drove by Wes’s house. She’d never been there, but she’d asked her father for the address. She just wanted to talk, to tell him the things she’d been thinking about…and okay, maybe she’d decided they shouldn’t suffer, they could have mindless sex. All in the name of therapy, of course, but he wasn’t at his small and shockingly adorable cottage on the beach. She left him a note on his front door.
A smiley face.
Onward. She drove the streets of San Diego toward the Teen Zone because what she needed more than mindless sex, what she really wanted, was to see if her glimmering idea could be turned into her passion.
There was a kid sitting on Sarah’s steps, but it wasn’t until Kenna got directly beneath the light that she saw it was Lyssa. “Don’t tell me you’re out here lighting up,” Kenna told her. “I don’t need lung cancer, thanks very much.”
“I’m not smoking.” Her voice broke. “Just…hanging.”
And crying. Damn it. Kenna sat next to her and resisted the urge to hug her. “Is some guy being a jerk?”
“They’re all jerks.”
“At least at your age, they are.” She sighed. “Ever read Cinderella?”
Lyssa leaned back and gave her a hard look, reminding Kenna this girl hadn’t had anything remotely related to a fairy-tale childhood. “Are you going to tell me my Prince Charming is waiting just around the corner?” she asked.
Kenna smiled. “Well…yes.”
“Does he have a car?”
Kenna leaned back and studied the stars. “I couldn’t say, but I know for sure he’s out there. Somewhere.”
“He’s sure taking his sweet time about finding me.”
“Yeah.” Kenna had always had the same problem. Actually, she’d never really looked before. She’d never really been one of those girls who’d dreamed about marriage, two-point-four kids and a white picket fence.
All she’d ever wanted was to do her own thing, and she’d been pretty good at
that so far.
So maybe, just maybe, it was time to think about Prince Charming.
But surely Prince Charming, whoever he was, wouldn’t appreciate her wanting wild sex with Wes. That would be a big no-no.
Maybe she should just make Wes her Prince Charming.
Her heart actually went pitter-patter at that, because he was gorgeous and funny, and—
And she was already more than halfway in love with him.
Oh boy.
“Kenna?”
She realized Lyssa was looking at her. Where were they? Oh yeah, Prince Charming. “Just don’t kiss too many frogs while you’re waiting for him to show up. Better yet, don’t sit around waiting for him, you go pick the one you want.”
Lyssa laughed and swiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Just go get him, huh?”
“Yeah, but if he wants to do more than kiss you—”
“Turn him into a toad?”
“Yes. An ugly one, with warts.”
Lyssa laughed again, and that felt good, hearing her, seeing her smile, knowing she’d helped, she’d really helped.
They watched the night for a few more minutes before Lyssa said, “So where’s your prince? Is he out there also?”
“According to my own rules, he has to be.”
“Have you met him yet?”
“I’m hoping.” She watched a star fall. “I’m hoping a lot.” She gave in to temptation and hugged Lyssa, then stood up. “I’ve got to see Sarah.”
“What about?”
She took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you after it’s done.”
Lyssa blinked. “Okay.” She waited until Kenna had reached the front door. “You going to work here?”
“Are you this smart in school?”
“What, like I couldn’t figure it out?”
“All right, I want to work here.” She didn’t just want to make her father donate the price of a Ferrari and visit once in a while. She wanted to take the additional college courses she needed to counsel the kids. That combined with her life experiences, and she figured she’d be great.
Passionate.
The hours would be long and the pay short, but what was new about that? In the meantime, she’d volunteer. Just like this, giving her time and help in any way that she could. “Would you like if it I did work here?”