Charmed: A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Willow Springs Series Book 3)

by Laura Pavlov

  “Tell us about yourself, Maura?” Ben asked, completely derailing the conversation. I looked up to see him staring at me once again. My gaze landed on his left hand where a gold band rested on his ring finger. The dirtbag was not only being completely unprofessional, but he was also married. And he made no attempt to hide his interest in me. I thought I was being paranoid at first, but I didn’t think that anymore.

  I looked up at Crew, unsure if I should answer. “I’m an intern at the agency. Just filling in for Layla.”

  I didn’t want to share too much as this was a business meeting, not a first date. The fact that he just interjected while Crew and Carl were deep in discussion about a future campaign had everyone a little dumbfounded.

  Ben smiled and nodded. “We can always use some help around the dealership if you want to get some experience in a different industry this summer. I’ll get your number before we leave, and I’ll let you know if we have a place for you.”

  The table grew completely still as we were all clearly caught off guard by what he’d just said. Had I asked for a summer internship? Where was this coming from? Ben’s phone rang and he pushed to his feet and excused himself. Carl jumped up and said that he needed to use the restroom and Crew turned to face me. “What did he do when you jumped?”

  “It was nothing. He just bumped me with his foot.”

  “Like hell he bumped you. The whole table shook. He’s been stripping you naked the entire lunch. What the hell is wrong with him? He just asked for your goddamned number. The man is married and you’re half his age. This is a business lunch. Who the hell is this guy?”

  “Let’s just forget about it. The meeting’s going well with Carl, right?”

  “We’re not forgetting about it, Maura. That’s not how this works.”

  His voice remained completely calm and he raised his hand to the waiter for the check. I said a silent prayer that we could just leave without making this any more awkward.

  But something about the way Crew squared his shoulders told me that was not going to happen.

  Chapter Six

  Crew

  My blood was boiling. Maura may be a Benson, but I’d be damned if I’d bring her to a work lunch and allow this piece of shit to disrespect her so blatantly. Even Carl, who had the personality of a soap dish, appeared uncomfortable. The guy had been watching her, trying to get her attention, and acting completely unprofessional.

  “It’s fine. Don’t make it a thing.”

  “I’m not the one who made it a thing. But it’s definitely a thing now.” I handed my card to the waiter when he approached the table.

  Dipshit number one, Ben, walked back toward us, and my gaze landed on his hand as I watched the asshole pull off his wedding band and slip it into his pocket.

  This guy was a complete tool.

  This was the first time he’d come along with Carl, and it would most definitely be the last. This was not a guy I trusted, so negotiating a deal with him was out of the question.

  “Sorry about that. It comes with the territory when you’re the big dog at the company.” Ben raised a brow at Maura, and my hands fisted on the table.

  “I think big dog would be a stretch. I’ve never met you before today and I’ve been working with Carl for two years. So how about you stop salivating over the lady and show some goddamn manners.”

  His eyes doubled in size just as Carl joined us at the table and took his seat. “What did I miss?”

  “You missed us excusing ourselves. Your flunky is not someone I’m willing to do business with,” I said as the waiter walked over, and I signed the check quickly and slipped the card back into my pocket.

  “What? We’re just having fun. She didn’t seem to mind. What, are you two a thing? Am I taking a piss on your turf?” He smirked.

  “You just took a piss all over your job, you pretentious prick.” I pushed to my feet and pulled Maura’s chair out. She moved to her feet quickly and tucked her notebook in her briefcase. I could feel the tension radiating from her body, and for whatever reason, I felt the need to protect her.

  She may be the enemy by birthright, but she was a woman. One I’d actually grown to respect. And she deserved a hell of a lot better than to be treated like a piece of meat by this dickhead.

  “I’m sorry, Crew. How about we reschedule? I’ll deal with this and get back to you,” Carl said.

  “What? He doesn’t decide anything. He’s trying to get our business. We’re the client,” Ben shouted, and people turned and looked in our direction.

  I leaned over the table, keeping my tone in check when everything inside me was raging. “You listen to me very carefully. We are the most sought-after agency in the state of Texas. Your boss here knows that. When you want to take your company to the next level, you call us. The problem is, I don’t do business with assholes. And you’ve shown your cards, so as long as you work for Carl, this deal is off the table. Now take your eyes off her ass and I won’t knock your teeth out. Are we clear?”

  I knew I could snap his scrawny ass like a twig. I was raised on a ranch. I had three brothers and we grew up wrestling. This guy wouldn’t go one round with me. I may wear a fancy suit, but he had no idea who he was dealing with underneath.

  He glanced at Carl, expecting him to get angry at me, but instead Carl shook his head. “Ms. Benson, I’m sorry about this. I had excused myself to call the office to let them know that what went on today was extremely unprofessional. Ben will be meeting with HR when we get back.”

  Carl may not have a booming personality, but I knew he was a decent man. And anyone who sat through this lunch would have noticed what went down. Maura nodded, her cheeks were pink, and I could tell she was uncomfortable with the whole situation. The vulnerability in her honey brown eyes when they met mine nearly brought me to my knees. But then I reminded myself that she was a Benson. I could stand up for a lady without needing to comfort her. I’d done what needed to be done.

  I shook Carl’s hand and led Maura out of the restaurant. People were staring as we’d made a bit of a scene, but no one really knew what went down. The car was waiting at the curb, and I helped her in before making my way around to slide in beside her.

  “I’m so sorry. I promise you that has never happened before. I don’t know if he misread the signals, or if I did something to mislead him. I promise you I am very professional.”

  I turned to face her. “Stop.”

  She stopped talking and her eyes watered. She thought she was in trouble and that pissed me off.

  “Jesus. This wasn’t your fault. The dude is a royal asshole. Why are you blaming yourself?”

  She let out a long sigh. “I’m trying to prove myself, and that was about the worst outcome we could have had.”

  “I’ve seen worse.” I chuckled.

  “What could be worse?” she asked, shaking her head with disbelief. I looked down to see her hands shaking on her lap, and my chest squeezed just enough for me to notice. Maura Benson was not her father. She’d already proven she had an impressive work ethic. She wasn’t the spoiled princess I’d expected her to be. Her father had more money than God, and she didn’t need to be here putting in these hours, yet here she was.

  “I didn’t call the cops this time, did I?”

  “That’s right. It’s kind of your thing,” she said, and a smile spread across her pretty face.

  I laughed. “Only when I feel the need to bring in the authorities.”

  “It was a fender bender.” She rolled her eyes as we pulled up to the curb in front of the Carlisle Building.

  “My life was at risk,” I said, and I jumped out of the car and came around to the other side to open her door.

  “You know that Officer Powell is my neighbor, right?”

  “That’s why you didn’t end up in the slammer,” I said, as we walked inside and I saw her glance arou
nd to look for Beevis or Beeves, or whatever the hell she called him. He was usually gone in the middle of the day. I only knew that because I often had lunch meetings. He was always parked outside the building in the morning and in the evenings when I left. We made our way inside and moved toward the elevator and Cam, a security guard, nodded at me and held the door open for us. “Martin is also one of my best friends. I called in a favor.”

  “Martin Powell is one of your best friends? You jerk. I was so nervous.” She stepped on the elevator in front of me.

  “Serves you right.”

  “Serves me right for what? Accidentally tapping your fender when you slammed on your brakes,” she hissed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at me. I noticed her jacket had remained buttoned ever since this morning. I was thankful for that because I found it hard to look away from her perfect tits. Jesus. I was just as bad as that asshole, Ben.

  No. There was a difference between admiring and blatantly hitting on someone. Ben was a married man, more than two decades her senior, and behaved completely inappropriately.

  I just noticed the way Maura’s skirt accentuated her curves. The way her honey brown eyes showed everything she was feeling. Fear. Nerves. Confidence. Humor. Anger. Hell, I’d seen it all.

  “You’re a Benson. I couldn’t help myself.” I raised a brow and she studied me.

  “So, you judge a book by the cover then, huh? Doesn’t sound like a very solid plan for a man running one of the largest ad agencies in the country.”

  I held the door open for her when we came to a stop. “I never judge a book by the cover. But I most definitely judge a Benson.”

  There was a tease in my tone, but she looked up and when her gaze locked with mine, I think we both realized that there was nothing funny about what I’d said. Regardless, if Maura was a decent employee or even a decent human being, it didn’t matter. She was guilty by association.

  “Good to know.”

  I nodded and stopped at my office. “Get to work on those files for the presentation tomorrow. I’m in meetings the rest of the day. Call me if you need anything, otherwise don’t disturb me.”

  “Got it, boss.” She moved to her desk, and I glanced back at her.

  That dickhead Sam came around the corner the minute he realized she was back, and I called him over. “What’s up, Carlisle?”

  I hated that he acted like we were friends. We weren’t. “Helen needs help printing out brochures. I know what a team player you are, so head over to printing and help her get that together. I’ll let Dave know you’re going to be tied up the rest of the afternoon.” Dave was Sam’s supervisor and he’d already come to me multiple times complaining about how much socializing Sam was doing during work hours.

  Sam groaned. “Helen’s not really my type. She hates me.”

  Helen had worked for the company longer than I’d been alive. Gramps always joked that she came with the building. She was in her sixties, and she took no shit. She was a workhorse, and she oversaw all the printing jobs for the company. I’d sent people her way before, and usually a day in the printing room with Helen did the trick.

  “Good. This is your place of work, not a nightclub,” I hissed as I looked past his shoulder and saw Maura typing away on her computer.

  I didn’t need Sam distracting her. She was trying to do her job. She’d already been harassed by one tool today, this was the least I could do.

  I’d do this for anyone.

  It didn’t mean Maura Benson was anyone special.

  My phone vibrated on my desk, and I glanced down to see it was Juliette. She was a woman I hooked up with occasionally. She understood how I felt about relationships—they weren’t for me. Not right now. We weren’t monogamous, so there were no strings attached. I was focused on my career, and I wasn’t looking for anything serious. There were two women that I’d had a similar agreement with, and they were both on the same page as me.

  There were no gray areas in our agreement.

  I didn’t do gray areas.

  We’d grab dinner occasionally, attend an event together, but we mainly scratched an itch so to speak. That was our purpose.

  No attachments.

  No complications.

  I didn’t do messy, and from my experience, relationships were messy. I’d had a serious girlfriend in college, and she wanted a ring on her finger and the white picket fence when we graduated a few years back. It just never felt—right, and I’d ended things. I’d learned to trust my gut, and right now this worked for me.

  Juliette ~ Do you want to get together tonight?

  I wasn’t particularly in the mood, and I’d noticed she’d been messaging me more often than usual. Brynn, the other woman I saw occasionally wasn’t nearly as needy. But I understood it. Juliette enjoyed sex, and I couldn’t fault her that. I enjoyed it myself. But with Layla gone and the extra stress at the office, I’d need to work late.

  Me ~ Can’t swing it tonight. Let’s shoot for next week.

  Juliette ~ I’m going to hold you to that.

  I’m sure she was surprised that I was basically turning down her offer for sex, but alarm bells were going off when it came to her, and I wasn’t feeling it today. I got back to work and prepared for my next meeting.

  The days were blurring together as we’d been absolutely slammed at the office. Two weeks had passed since Layla had left to care for her father. There was no sign of her return as his health had taken a turn for the worse, and the stroke had left him with increased neurological damage. Layla was dealing with a lot. But Maura was holding down the fort without error thus far.

  And trust me, I was looking for a reason to call her out.

  She’d lived up to everything Layla had said about her, and if she wasn’t a Benson, I’d have told her so by now. I wasn’t sure how she was managing her night classes as she was keeping the same hours as me at the office. Even Layla never did that. Hell, no one had ever kept my hours. Maura arrived at the office at the same time as I did every single morning, and she stayed until I left each evening, which was long after the office cleared out at the end of the day.

  Impressive.

  We’d had two more lunch meetings in which she’d been completely professional, and no more issues with assholes hitting on her. Carl had called and apologized profusely for Ben’s behavior that day, and the company had let him go, as apparently he’d behaved unprofessionally one too many times before. I’d agreed to move forward. I’d made it clear when I’d arrived back at the office that day and he’d reached out, that the offer to work together was off the table as long as Ben was employed by the company.

  I wasn’t on board with the way he’d treated Maura. Nor would I have been for any woman.

  The office was quiet, and everyone had left for the day about an hour ago. There was a knock on my door and Maura peeked her head in. “Your mom is on line one. Did you want me to place an order for dinner for you?”

  I’d been eating at my desk the past few nights, and I’d never asked her to join me, but I always told her to order something for herself. She ate at her desk, and I ate at mine. I’d already struggled with her lavender scent invading my space. I didn’t need to spend any more time with her than I was already forced to. The way her long legs taunted me every time she stepped into my office. Who needs that? And don’t even get me started on her golden brown waves that fell down her back like goddamn silk. I’d grown mesmerized by the two little dimples on her cheeks that came out every once in a blue moon that she actually smiled at me.

  She despised me, and I despised her.

  We’d just been forced to work together at the moment. I didn’t know why I was even eating at the office now, because my housekeeper Jaya was a fabulous cook. She did my grocery shopping for me, and prepared meals for the week which she left labeled in the refrigerator for me most nights. But for
some reason, I wasn’t in a hurry to get home lately.

  “How does Italian sound tonight?” I asked, clearing my throat as I waited for her response. We’d already argued about her not expecting me to pay for her meal, and I’d informed her that I’d do it for anyone putting in the extra time to help me at the office, and she’d conceded.

  I knew Italian was her favorite because she’d raved about the food last week.

  “That sounds amazing.”

  “I’ll take this call, you order the food, and eat in here tonight.” I looked up to meet her honey brown gaze that widened at my words. I’d kept a very clear wall between us over the past two weeks, as we’d been a little too friendly the day that douchebag had mistreated her. I was cautious, especially when it came to Maura. “I want to go over a few notes for the meeting tomorrow.”

  She nodded. “You got it. Do you want the chicken parmesan again?”

  The girl was sharp as a tack. She didn’t miss anything. I noticed it because I was an attention-to-detail guy. She took notes, she listened, and she took it all in. Down to the smallest details.

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  She was as standoffish with me as I was with her, but I got the feeling she didn’t know the depth of my disdain for her father. A lot of people in town thought our families didn’t like one another because of a longtime feud between our grandfathers, and sure, that was probably where this all started. But it sure as shit was not where it ended.

  She shut the door and I picked up the phone.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hi. Haven’t heard from you much these past few days. I know this is a time of year when you tend to shut down a bit, and I wanted to see how you’re doing?”

  I rubbed a hand across the back of my neck. She was right. We all struggled this time of year. It was like we relived all those memories. Thoughts of my baby sister were still as raw as if it were happening in real time. And my family liked to talk it to death—and that just wasn’t the way I handled things. I dealt with it on my own. I didn’t do breakdowns or emotional outbursts.