by Kait Nolan
“I’m just really sorry you got roped into coming tonight. You’re really amazing, you know that? To do something like this for someone you barely know…that’s a rarity.”
“Well, outside of the constant sexual harassment, it’s actually kind of nice. It’s been a long time since I had an excuse to put on a dress and eat a $50 plate of chicken.”
Caroline could feel him relax against her slightly as he chuckled. “Well I’m glad you’re finding a silver lining in everything. The moments I’ve spent with you away from the frat brothers have been good, at least. You and Gwen sure seem to have hit it off.”
Other than the fetching figure that Drew cut in his charcoal suit, Gwen had been one of the best parts of the night. Although the feeling of his arms around her, gliding her expertly across the dance floor, might be coming in a close second.
“She’s amazing. I get really giddy sometimes when we get artists or writers in for a signing at the store, but she’s the one who really made me fall in love with comics. Thank you for introducing me to her.”
“A friend of mine really likes her too,” Drew said, a faraway look passing through his eyes before he focused intently on her. “I haven’t gotten a chance to introduce them—I’m not sure I ever will. So I’m glad I got to do that for you and make at least part of this night special.”
“Outside of coffee provisions, I’m pretty sure meeting comic book royalty is a surefire way to make me feel like the most special girl in the room.”
Unexpectedly, he caught her hand and spun her out from his body, making the soft twinkle lights overhead twirl lazily around her. She laughed as he reeled her back in and cradled her to his body, bringing her low in a dip with his hand strong on her back.
“Good, because I really like seeing your smile.”
When he brought her up out of the dip, his face was so close to hers that she could see the impossible length of the lashes that framed his deep grey eyes, the individual specks of blue that scattered in them like stars.
It was like everything had slowed down around them, leaving only her in his arms on the dance floor. Drew tucked one curl behind her ear, his hand lingering to cup her jaw. Caroline’s lips parted without thought, and before she could take another breath, his mouth gently covered hers.
She felt his kiss all the way down to her toes. The first kindling of desire shivered its way down her spine, exploding into warmth where his hands held her close, at the tracing of his tongue across the seam of her lips.
Their embrace was interrupted by the band’s loud flourish at the end of the song, the polite applause rising up from the dancers around them and the tables on the periphery of the floor. They broke apart, Drew looking dazed while she felt like she might combust.
“Wow, that was…” She couldn’t make the words form, her brain was so scrambled from his touch. “Just wow.”
“Caroline, I…”
“If everyone will please take their seats, the CEO of Strong Man Comics, Martin Thompson, would like to say a few words.”
The crowd around them began to move back toward the tables, but Drew looked rooted to the spot.
“Hey.” She touched his hand, giving him her best ‘so what if you just kissed me, we’re totally cool and I’m not at all freaking out internally or thinking of jumping your bones’ face. “Let’s go sit down, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. After this, we can probably get out of here.”
She linked her arm loosely in his and concentrated on making her wobbly knees function properly on the walk back to the table. He pulled out her seat for her, ever the gentleman, and she shivered when he grazed her bare back lightly with his fingers.
Caroline wondered what the hell was happening, how suddenly things were so different from just moments ago. Was it the magic of a dress and low lighting, a grateful gesture gone too far? Was it part of the girlfriend act they were putting on for the night?
Or was it something else? She wasn’t sure she was prepared for the answer.
~*~
Drew could barely concentrate on the CEO’s speech, even though he helped the director of corporate communications with some of the content. He was too busy feeling the ghost of Caroline’s soft lips against his, remembering how the pulse in her neck thudded hard against his thumb while she went pliant and welcoming in his arms.
What the hell was he doing?
She had everyone convinced of her role as the loving, dutiful girlfriend, even Macy—was he just getting pulled into the undertow? He studied her profile, glowing skin framed by soft curls, and he felt both like kicking himself and leading her into a dark corner to chase the sweet taste of her lips one more time.
It had just been one kiss, but what a kiss it was. And apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought so. It was enough of a macho display of possession to get Chad to dial it down a few decibels. His boss gave Caroline a wide berth as if Drew had scented her and now she was off limits, while looking at him with some sort of drunken respect.
Dessert came and went, Chad’s drunk dead weight was carted out by Greg and one of the accountants, the Station 8 team congratulated him on a job well done, and suddenly it was over. He’d been dreading the partner dinner for so long, worked so hard on the acquisition, that to have it in his rearview mirror felt odd, almost hollow.
Caroline excused herself to go freshen up, but when she didn’t come back to the table, he got a little worried. If she bailed on him for the stunt he pulled on the dance floor, he couldn’t really blame her. Even he couldn’t believe that he’d kissed her like that. But in that moment, it was like there was some kind of magnet between them that he had no ability to deny.
“I’m going to go check on Caroline and get her home,” he said to Macy. “You’re planning on taking a car service, right? The valet looks insane out there.”
“Yes, I just requested a driver in the app a few minutes ago. Glad I didn’t drive myself…I needed those glasses of wine.”
“You earned them.” Drew gave his assistant a hug, beyond grateful to have someone like her working alongside him. “I don’t know that I would have pulled any of this off without you.”
“You probably wouldn’t have—the Station 8 team loves me more than they do you,” she teased. “But lucky you, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“Thanks, Macy. Seriously. We’re so close, soon we won’t have to worry about a lot of things.”
“Your lips to God’s ears.” Her phone chimed, and she gathered up her things. “My ride’s here, I’ll see you on Monday!”
“Good night, be careful!” He watched her go, a spring to her step that had been lost for weeks. He knew that Chad had hurt her pride and her confidence when he tried to fire her on Greg’s word alone, but nothing could take away the triumph of their successful work on the acquisition.
A few more moments ticked by and still no Caroline, so he gathered her wrap from her chair and bid the rest of their dining partners a good evening. She wasn’t in the lounge, or near the restrooms, so he started walking through the beautiful hotel’s main floor trying to find her.
Drew finally ran into her out on the moonlight-drenched patio, her face shadowed in what looked like deep thought.
“Hey,” he said softly, trying not to startle her. “I brought you your wrap, it’s kind of chilly out here.”
He settled it across her bare shoulders, trying (and failing) to ignore his now heightened awareness of her.
“Thanks.” She draped the ends across her collarbone, snuggling down into the soft silk. “Quite an evening, wasn’t it? But it looked like it ended up a success after all.”
“I can’t thank you enough for coming with me tonight. You were the perfect companion.”
“Happy to help, really. Monica has done so much for me that I could never tell her no when she’s in need.”
Drew hoped he kept the disappointment from reading on his face. “She’s like you—she loves to problem solve, help people find the best sol
utions. I’m lucky to have a mom who cares so much.”
“Mine cares a lot, but sometimes she gets caught up in her own thing,” Caroline said. “It’s nice to have a second mom-like opinion around when the going gets tough.”
“Listen, about earlier…I’m sorry. I’m not sure what got ahold of me.”
“It seemed more like you got ahold of me, really.” She tried for a laugh. “You don’t need to apologize, it was nice. And it really sold the whole ‘keep your hands off my girl’ vibe to the douche brigade.”
“I just…” Drew swallowed around the lump of guilt in his throat—guilt over the shuttered look in her eyes the second he apologized, and guilt over kissing Caroline when, for days, his thoughts had been consumed by Emily.
“Things are complicated, I get it.” She reached out and put her hand on his. “For me, too. I won’t hold it against you if you do me the same favor.”
“It’s that easy?” He grasped her hand and pulled her up to stand beside him. “We just forget about it?”
“I don’t know if forgetting is really possible.” It was dark on the patio, but was that a blush he could detect on her cheeks? “But dealing with it right now just may be more than I can handle, even as much as I want to.”
“Want to what?” His voice came out husky and low, the proximity to her making his heart beat faster and his brain want crazy things.
Caroline leaned up on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, grazing the corner of his mouth as she pulled away.
“I’ve got to go before we both find out,” she whispered. “Good night, Drew.”
With a whisper of silk and the musk of her perfume still hanging in the cool, humid air, she was gone.
Chapter Eleven
Drew scrubbed a hand over his face for the millionth time that morning, feeling the stubble scrape over his palm. He kept replaying the moment with Caroline in his head, and weighing it against how he felt about Emily. The guilt that swirled in his gut made him a little sick.
Not to mention the fact that he really didn't need the Virtual Match service anymore. The dinner was over, the boss was mollified, things were looking up at the office. And...that was thanks to Caroline's last minute efforts as much as to Emily's texts.
His phone rang, breaking him out of his thoughts. Ava's smiling face greeted him from the screen, and relief poured through him. She would know what to do. She was always a voice of reason when he was conflicted.
"Hey, Ava. How's your morning going?"
"Screw my morning, brother. How was your night? How did the dinner go?" Her voice was equal parts eager and concerned.
"Surprisingly well considering that Chad basically told me that if I didn't show up with a date and play nice with Station 8, the acquisition might be in jeopardy."
"You're kidding me...what an asshole. Did he take it well when you had to make an excuse for why your quote-unquote girlfriend didn't appear on your arm?"
"Well, here's the thing...she did. Sort of. My mom's marketing assistant Caroline came as my date. Mom found out what was happening and thought she could help. Honestly it worked like a charm."
There was silence on the other end of the line before Ava burst into peals of laughter. "You're telling me that the girl your mom has been trying to set you up with for weeks saved your butt last night and you didn't call me immediately? I'm kind of insulted. That's not best friend behavior. We dish on the spot."
Drew sighed. "I know, I just...I needed to think about things. I actually had a really great time with her, Chad and the team notwithstanding."
"That's great, Drew! You needed to meet a nice girl."
"I already have met a nice girl. That's the problem."
"Not Virtual Match...really?"
"You were right, I seem to have caught some feelings. I am just not sure I realized it until last night. And I felt so guilty being out with Caroline on this fake date, having a great time, but still wishing it was Emily there with me."
"Oh, Drew." Ava's sigh was loud enough to make the phone crackle. "Only you could go from no girls to too many girls, I swear. Were there sparks with Caroline?"
"Yeah, major ones, and I know she felt it too, at least for a minute. But she left the second things might have shifted, and that made up my mind for me. I need to find out if what Emily and I have is real."
"Sweetie, I'm sorry I snapped at you before about this. But I'm worried, what if she's some catfish who is getting paid to play with your head?"
"It's more than that. I swear it."
"I believe you, I just don't want you to get hurt."
His office door opened a crack and Macy stuck her head in. "Chad wants to see you, can I send him in?"
Drew nodded, trying not to let it show on his face that Chad was the very last person he wanted to see in that moment.
"Ava, I've gotta go. Work stuff. Call you later?"
"Sure, no problem. Let me know if you need to talk about everything. I'm here if you need me."
"I know, and thanks. Talk to you soon."
As he hung up the call, Chad walked into his office looking a little green around the gills. Drew was honestly surprised he didn't smell like he was sweating scotch the way he drank at the dinner the night before.
"Bull, great job last night. Station 8 loved you, and they love the work you've done."
"Thank you, I'm glad it's paying off."
"The acquisition will go through next week as planned, and then it's back into the trenches. I've got some campaigns I need you to start right away so that we can capitalize on the new release schedule that marketing sent over."
Drew furrowed his brow in confusion. What the hell? Chad was skipping at least a few steps in their biggest, most important project of the year just to throw him on some promotional campaigns.
"But what about the announcements and the press conference? I need to get those taken care of before I can wrap this project up. Plus I wanted to debrief with the team, since this is only the beginning of acquisitions for us. There are lots of lessons learned."
Chad gave him a look that almost read like pity. "I had a talk with Martin last night and he thinks that Greg will be the best one to handle that going forward. We can't lose your delicate touch on our other PR efforts."
Drew felt the blood drain from his face, and he was sure he was looking at Chad with his mouth hanging wide open. "Greg, as in the guy who does no work and has the tact of a buffalo in mating season? Greg, the guy who repeatedly harasses our female employees and wouldn't know how to make a family-oriented company happy with his crude humor and disgusting attitude? What the fuck, Chad!"
"I knew you'd be upset, but it's really for the best, I swear. Greg will concentrate on finishing up the acquisition and then form a task force of sorts to follow the model you created for this one. And then you'll be freed up to do our day-to-day work."
He felt like he was having some kind of waking nightmare. All his hard work, just handed over to Greg to fuck up. And yet he bet he would still get the blame when it eventually went up in flames.
"What about me being the face of both companies? Why are you pulling a bait-and-switch on me? You know as well as I do that it's a bad idea."
Chad's look of pity was almost too much to handle. "Come on, Bull, be a team player."
Drew stood up so fast that his chair went flying into the wall behind him. "All I've done is be a team player, Chad. I'm the one who has patiently worked and waited while this team disintegrates around me, time after time. The turnover sucks, the morale sucks worse. And you know what? I'm done."
He stalked past Chad to the hook that held his jacket and briefcase, grabbing them both.
"I'll expect my last check and my bonus to arrive from HR by the end of the week."
"Bonus? You're quitting on me and you think you're getting a bonus?" Chad sneered. "Bonuses are for winners, not quitters."
"Bonuses are what happens when your end of the contract goes into effect and I've fulfilled all the criteria to e
arn one." Drew looked down at his almost-former boss for what he hoped was the last time. "If you don't pay it out, you'll find out just what a good PR guy I am, I promise you."
He turned on his heel and walked out, pausing only briefly at Macy's desk. "I just quit my job, wanna come?"
Macy looked up from her computer, the smile on her face so wide it practically threatened to crack her cheeks. "God, I thought you'd never ask! Let's get out of this place."
She grabbed her purse, ripped her building badge off her belt, and put her office keys on the desk. Drew laid both his badge and keys next to them and offered her his arm.
"I'll make you sorry for this, Bull." Chad stormed out of Drew's office and tried to get in front of him. "You'll regret walking out."
"Nothing on earth could make me sorry about quitting on you," Drew said. "Enjoy crashing and burning."
He and Macy walked off the floor and out of the building with their heads held high, parting at their cars with a giddy hug and Drew's promise to call her the second he knew when things would be kicking off with the agency. His agency.
Once she was gone, he got in his car and leaned against the steering wheel.
Holy shit, it was over. He felt so exhilarated to be free of the stress and the frustration that shackled him for so long. He knew that the legal battle wouldn't take too long—there were enough smart people throughout Strong Man who knew that picking a potential PR battle was not smart, not with so much hanging in the balance.
And it was amazing to know that it was no longer his problem to solve. He was free at last. Why hadn't he walked away sooner?
He felt so good that he pulled out it his phone and fired away a text to Emily.
I just did the best thing I've ever done and quit my terrible job. Now I want to do another smart thing that will make me happy. Let's meet in person.
~*~
Let's meet in person.
Caroline had been staring at her phone for almost thirty minutes, trying to figure out what to say in response to Oliver's bombshell. It shouldn't have been as hard as it was, but then again, they had progressed well past the pretend.