by Mara Jacobs
“So, next steps,” Petey continued, though it seemed to Deni that he had caught the look that’d passed between her and Sawyer. “I’ll take this all to Darío. If he likes it, and I think he will, we’ll go to the bank and sign the papers, set up the funds.”
“You aren’t going to get another bid? Another plan?” Sawyer asked what she was thinking.
Petey walked closer to Sawyer and stood right in front of him.
“Is anybody else going to have a better idea than wind?” he asked.
“No,” Sawyer said without hesitation.
“Is this a fair, honest bid? No extra padding?”
“It’s a good bid. We aren’t going to take a loss—”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“—but there’s no padding.”
Petey looked at Sawyer for only a second before nodding. “Okay. That’s good enough for me. We won’t be bidding it out elsewhere.”
“Probably not a good way to do business, Petey,” Sawyer said quietly.
Petey shrugged a massive shoulder and said, “Aw, hell. You know I’m going to be a shitty businessman, Sawyer. Thank God, Al’s got a good job.” Then a grin spread across his face that had Deni guessing Petey was a lot sharper than most gave him credit for.
“Let me get your final packet, and Darío’s, too,” Andy said, leaving the conference room. They’d left clean copies in Andy’s office so they’d feel free to pull apart and mark up the copies in the conference room—which they definitely had.
Deni started gathering up the various papers, sketches, and other things that had been strewn around the room. Sawyer paid some attention to Lucy, who’d been so good during their meeting, quietly lying under the table with her head on Sawyer’s feet.
Petey joined Deni at her end of the large table. “This is a nice room,” he said. Deni looked around and nodded her agreement.
“I don’t know what I expected. Lots of mechanical pencils and protractors and shit lying around, I guess.”
“You really haven’t been in the professional world much, have you?” she asked him good-naturedly.
“Nope. I have a degree from Tech in business, if you can imagine that, and I’ve handled my money and endorsements and stuff like that. But the day-to-day, show-up-at-the-office stuff? Never.”
“Think you’ll like it?” she asked. She’d finished straightening up and leaned a hip against one of the chairs, watching Petey as he thought about her question.
He looked at her and let out a long sigh. “I honestly don’t know. All I ever knew was hockey. And yet…today…right now? I’m kind of the happiest I’ve ever been.”
“Alison?” Deni asked. It wasn’t really a question. And she didn’t need an answer. The goofy look on his face gave him away.
“Yeah. Hey, I’m sorry about the other night, bringing her to dinner. I guess that shit happens to her a lot, small town and all, but I don’t want to put you in an awkward position.”
“You didn’t. It was fine. We actually talked about it and know that there is the potential to cross paths a lot more if Summers and Beck is doing your driving range. It’s fine.”
“Okay, good. I just don’t want you freaking out because the woman sitting next to you at the Commodore knows all your dirty little secrets.”
Before Deni could answer, he leaned in and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Because she knows all of mine, and it sure freaks me out.”
A bark of laughter escaped her. “No freak-outs, I promise. Besides, in my sessions I mostly just bitch about my mom.”
“Ha! And then she comes home and I bitch about my dad.”
“At least she gets paid to listen to my bitch sessions.”
He gave her a wink. “Oh, she gets paid to listen to me. It’s just in a different currency.”
As Deni was laughing again, an arm slid around her shoulders.
“Wanna knock off early and get something to eat?” Sawyer said in her ear. His hand stayed around her shoulder.
“Sure, where—” Petey started.
“You’re not invited,” Sawyer said.
Petey laughed. “Yeah, I know. I was just busting your balls, Beck. Not that I haven’t invited myself before.”
“But not this time,” Sawyer said, pulling her a little closer to his body.
She was stunned. They’d been very careful to not show any PDA in the office. And he was the boss. And there were glass windows all around. Yep. Sure enough, Andy was standing at the door, handle in hand, frozen at the sight of them. She craned around Sawyer. Double yep. Charlie and Mac were standing by Charlie’s cube staring. There was surprise on Mac’s face and what looked to be resignation on that of her dear friend.
“I can’t even suggest a double date. Al’s doing the girlfriend thing tonight with Lizzie.”
“Another time,” Sawyer said.
“Sure. Absolutely. Well, thanks again. We’ll get back to you as soon as we have an answer.”
Andy had recovered and was now fully in the room, handing Petey the folder they’d prepared for him and Darío. “And if you have any questions in the meantime, anything at all.”
“I’ve got your number,” Petey agreed, shaking Andy’s hand. Nodding at Deni and Sawyer, he left the conference room and then the office.
“Seriously?” Andy said to them both. Sawyer knew that tone. He was about to get a sermon. “In front of a client?”
“Petey Ryan,” Sawyer said, as if that explained everything.
“Still a client. And only a potential client at that.”
Sawyer took his arm from around Deni’s shoulder, already missing the feel of her body against his. He couldn’t explain why he’d felt the need to be so demonstrative with Deni—other than he’d been dying to all week. It was seeing her laughing with lady-killer Ryan that made him do it. And damn, but he wasn’t sorry. Even with Andy giving him the stink-eye and poor Charlie burning a hole in the back of Sawyer’s head with his undoubtedly hangdog eyes. Unless…
“Are you okay?” he asked Deni quietly.
“No, she’s not okay,” Andy said, getting heated now. “You treated her like arm candy when she’s a respected part of this team. She’d just given a stellar presentation—great job, by the way”—he directed this to Deni, who tried to answer, but was cut off by Andy continuing—“and you reward that by treating her like your girlfriend. It totally—”
“She is my girlfriend,” Sawyer said.
“What?” That made Andy stop in his verbal tracks.
“It’s early days, but yeah, we’re…um…shit, can you be forty and have a girlfriend?” he asked Deni.
She gave a small smile. “Yes. My mother is fifty-eight, and she has a boyfriend.”
“I’m not even going to do the math to know if I’m closer to your age or your mom’s.”
“Smart man,” she told him, the smile still on her face. Then she seemed to remember the glowering Andy and sobered up. “But Andy’s right. This is the office. Petey is a client, and—”
“Did you mind?” he asked her as he stepped closer to her. “Honestly?”
“I should have. I’m one of two females in this office. You’re a partner. Professionalism is—”
“Did you mind?” he asked again, meeting her eyes and holding them with his gaze.
“No,” she said softly. “But don’t do it again,” she said, probably for Andy’s benefit.
Good enough for him. “Mea culpa,” he said to Andy, his hands up in surrender. “It’s been too many years since I’ve been in a professional setting.”
“Oh, bull. Don’t play the hermit card. You know perfectly well not to paw the employees.”
“Well then, we’re going to get out of here so we can paw each other properly.”
Deni stifled a giggle. She was so damn cute.
“Oh no. Not just the two of you. You’re taking the team out for drinks to celebrate all the hard work they put in this week to turn it around so quickly.”
“I’ll
give ’em my credit card. I’m happy to pay.” He stepped aside and motioned for Deni to lead the way, which she did. Quicker, he silently tried to relay to her, so Andy wouldn’t—
“Good news, everybody,” Andy said from behind them once they were out of the conference room. “Sawyer’s treating everyone to drinks and dinner to thank you for all the hard work. Let’s skip out of here early and enjoy the evening”—Sawyer could feel Andy’s eyes on his back—“at the Indian River Steak House.”
Of course he’d pick the most expensive place in town.
Well, if he didn’t get to paw Deni over dinner, at least he’d get a damn good T-bone.
Chapter Thirteen
I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
~ Edgar Allen Poe
Charlie wasn’t speaking to her. Or at least it felt that way.
Oh, he and Mac cornered her right away when she arrived at the restaurant, to pump her about the presentation.
Sawyer arrived a short time later, after dropping Lucy off at his brother’s house. And from that moment on, Charlie moved to the other end of the bar area, ostensibly to talk to Snide Randy.
Yeah, right. Charlie liked Randy’s company about as much as she did.
Sawyer had stood behind her while they commandeered the bar area waiting for a table for them all. Sue had declined, wanting to attend her grandson’s high school hockey game, as did Bob, who had other plans, but the rest had made it on short notice.
When Randy made his way over to Andy, no doubt to suck up in some way, Deni excused herself and made her way down to Charlie, taking Randy’s empty stool.
Alison had applauded her today for being so open and honest with Sawyer about what she wanted, but in truth Deni was just not good at playing social games. Not with potential boyfriends or platonic friends. That was why she liked being around engineers so much, most of them were the same way—literal, logical, and to the point.
“Hey,” she said to Charlie as she sat beside him.
“Hey,” he answered, not looking up from the beer in front of him.
She took a sip from her own beer bottle, then set it down on the polished oak bar.
“So, out with it,” she said.
He just shrugged his shoulders, started peeling the label off his bottle and said, “Out with what?”
“Come on, Charlie. This is me.” She jostled his stool with her foot.
He turned to her but took forever to look her in the eye. When he did, she could see the hurt. “I know. That’s the problem.”
She could pretend she didn’t know. That was kind of what she’d been doing for the past couple of years, on some level. She’d not thought about it because she loved spending time with Charlie and didn’t want that dynamic to end.
But it looked like it was going to.
She put a hand on his arm and said quietly, “I’m sorry it couldn’t have been you.” She meant it. Life would have been great if she’d fallen for Charlie. But she hadn’t.
“And it’s him?” he asked, with not a whole lot of surprise in his voice.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe not.” She looked at Sawyer talking with Andy, engaged and yet…not. “He’ll probably end up breaking my heart.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Charlie said, with no emotion. “I mean, the guy totally checked out since his wife died. He’s older, not to mention your boss.”
She could argue with each of his points, but he was right. She’d told herself the same things. And yet she’d turned to Sawyer on that stool in Tootie’s and told him she wanted more from him that just a fling.
And he’d said he wanted it, too.
“I know. But there’s…something there, Charlie. Something I haven’t felt before.”
“Do you think maybe it’s just the SAD? That feeling any emotion is such a good thing right now that you’re making it out to be more than it is?”
Charlie and her mother were the only two people she’d told about being diagnosed with SAD. She had a mild form of it, and there was no reason to believe that it wouldn’t lessen and disappear when spring came around. So it wasn’t something she shared with people like her brothers or friends back in Farmington Hills or her other coworkers.
“I don’t think so,” she answered. “Who knows? We’re taking it very slowly.”
Except for kissing in front of the Commodore on the day she met him. And grinding on him in his truck four days later.
“We haven’t actually had a real date, yet.”
She couldn’t even imagine Sawyer on a date—dinner and a movie, or something as normal as that. And she wanted normal.
She looked over at Sawyer again. He was being talked to by Snide Randy now, who had wisely stayed down at that end of the bar. But he wasn’t looking at Randy. His eyes were glued to her.
He wasn’t quite as tall nor nearly as broad as Petey Ryan, or as classically handsome as Andy. He was nowhere near as sweet and friendly as Charlie, and he sure had a lot more baggage than the guys her age. But…
He mouthed “You okay?” to her with a look of concern.
She nodded to him, then turned back to Charlie.
“But I need to see where it’s going.” Her voice became so quiet she barely heard herself as she added, “I have to know.”
There was a moment where neither of them said anything. Then Charlie said, “Well, don’t think you can come crying on my shoulder when he leaves you to go be a hermit again.” There was more teasing than venom in his voice.
She smiled at her buddy. “I won’t.” She started to get off her stool. “We’re good?” she asked. She knew they’d probably never get back to the hanging-out pals they’d been. That had shifted, but she still wanted Charlie in her life.
“We’re good.” As she started to walk away, he reached for her hand and held it. “You can, you know. You can come crying to me if it doesn’t work out. I’ll be there if you need me.”
Oh, how she wished she could be in love with sweet, wonderful Charlie. “I know,” she said. She took her beer bottle, squeezed Charlie’s arm as she passed him, and returned to Sawyer.
The dinner seemed to go on forever. Sawyer watched as Deni, sitting across the long table from him, tried to hide a yawn. Yeah, they had worked a ton of hours this week. Burning the candle at both ends was nothing new for him—though doing it in an office setting was. He’d been hoping to have a quiet dinner with her and then to finally finish what they’d started in that Iron Mountain parking lot. It’d only been a week ago, but it seemed like forever since she’d been straddling him and moaning as he—
“Sawyer? Did you hear me?” Andy pulled him out of his truck memory. Stupid Andy.
“What was that? Sorry, lost in thought.” He gave Deni a look that hopefully told her exactly what thought had him lost. By the flush that rose in her face and the way she dropped her eyes, he guessed she got it.
“I said, thanks for dinner, and more importantly, for taking on this project.”
“We don’t have it, yet,” he reminded the ever-optimistic Andy.
Who waved the negative thought away. “I know, I know. But it’s a great plan, and we wrote a great quote. If they do it at all, they’ll do it with us and follow the plan you came up with.”
“The plan we all came up with,” he quickly pointed out. He’d expected a level of resentment from the group—him swooping in and leading a large, high-profile project when he hadn’t shown his face in ten years. But no, everybody had been great to work with. Except maybe Charlie when he’d caught Sawyer staring at Deni various times during the week.
Poor kid. He had it bad for Deni, and she only thought of him as a friend. They seemed to make some kind of peace earlier, though. He’d ask Deni about it later when they were alone. She yawned again, and he realized that this night was going to end just like all the others in the past week—with them both going home alone, exhausted. She would get some much-needed shut-eye. He would battle sleeplessness, and thin
k about getting Deni naked while he jerked off.
His sigh of frustration coincided with the waitress putting down the check in front of him. Everyone laughed, thinking that was the cause, but Deni knew. She had a look that said the night hadn’t gone how she’d wanted, either.
He had a moment of thinking they’d rally and salvage it, but she yawned once more. He shrugged his shoulders and reached for the check.
Somehow, they managed to be the last of their group in the parking lot. He walked over to her car, where she stood as if waiting for him.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Long day.”
She nodded. “Long week.”
“Very.” He put a hand to her cheek, which was already cold from the frigid night air. “But a good one.”
She smiled. “It was.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but the lights of a car pulling into the lot shone in his face, stopping him. He hadn’t thought it through, but blurted out, “I’d like to take you somewhere tomorrow. Are you free?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a bit of a hike. It’d be better to spend the night, but I don’t want to rush or presume—”
“I’d like that,” she quickly said.
“Great. I’ll pick you up at nine. I know you live in East End, but what’s your address?”
She told him and he memorized the number. There were only five or six streets in that cluster of older homes, and he knew hers well.
“Dress warmly. We’ll be outside for a while. Very, very, casual. Like long johns or ski pants. Warm and casual.”
“How romantic,” she teased.
“That’s what I’m going for,” he said, and they both smiled. “And pack light. Like a backpack, if you have one.”
Another car entered the lot, shining on them. She moved to get in her car. Sawyer opened the door for her and held it. “Okay,” she said. The same reluctance to leave that he felt came through in her voice. “See you tomorrow morning.”
He kept his hand on the door longer than need be but then finally shut it. She looked at him through the window, then turned forward and started up her car. He walked to his as she pulled away and turned out of the lot.