“This is Tanya, with the human resources department at WOLF. Mr. Wolfe has made his choice for the position as his assistant. He’d like you to start on Monday. I’m going to need you to come in tomorrow to sign all the new hire paperwork, after I explain the job to you and you accept it, of course.”
“Of course!” I put my hand over my mouth to silence the scream of happiness that was dying to escape. “Any specific time, Tanya?”
“No, just before five in the evening. I’ll need about two hours of your time. See you tomorrow then. Have a nice evening and congratulations, Miss Bengal.”
With the call over, I began to jump around my apartment, finally able to let out my excited screams. Bethey came out of the bathroom with a puzzled look on her face. “And what’s this about, Julia?”
“This is about,” I grabbed her hands and made her jump in a circle with me, “me getting my first job! I got the assistant job at that new network, WOLF!”
“No way!” She shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve been on one interview, and you’ve landed your dream job in less than two days. Julia, do you have any idea how rare that is?”
“I totally do.” My head was spinning, so I stopped jumping.
Bethey pulled me in for a hug. “This needs to be celebrated. I say let’s go out and get our dance on, girl.”
I agreed, feeling ready to celebrate. We got ourselves dressed up and decked out, then headed out to one of her favorite clubs. I was never one to go out a lot. School came before anything else, and that had hampered my clubbing.
Whenever I had gone, I did enjoy it. The only drawback was that I’d met my ex-boyfriend at one of the bars that were popular with Columbia students—and that relationship hadn’t turned out to be so great. But we weren’t going to one that he frequented, just to be on the safe side.
Bethey didn’t know the whole story behind our breakup. No one did. I preferred to keep that to myself. I wasn’t particularly proud of myself for what had happened with the guy.
Bethey bought my first and only drink, as I’d never been a huge drinker either. I was a seasoned pro at making one drink last for hours. When you put your head into the books, alcohol proved to be your enemy.
We danced like no one was watching, as the saying goes. I loved to dance. I had no idea if I was any good at it, but I loved to do it. Bethey and I were dancing our little hearts out, and I felt like I was on cloud nine.
The music was rocking. The crowd was electric, and the night was going fabulously.
Until I felt someone grinding on me from behind and turned around to let the fucker know that that was not okay. And that’s when I spotted my ex, smiling right at me, his face only inches apart from mine.
His soft blond curls bounced over his broad shoulders as he moved his hips in a sexy gesture. Bright blue eyes and boy-next-door good looks made him seem like the exact opposite of what he was—a great guy.
“What do you think you’re doing, Price Stone?” I asked him as I stopped moving and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I’d worn a short romper that revealed a ton of cleavage and I didn’t want him looking at it.
He had the nerve to put his hands on my hips. “Come on, baby. I’ve said I’m sorry more than I’ve ever said it in my entire life. Can’t you cut a guy a break?”
“No.” I pushed his hands off me. “Leave me alone.” Turning around, I tapped Bethey on the shoulder, as she’d turned away to dance with someone else. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
She waved me on, and I left the crowded dancefloor. My great mood had been blown to smithereens by the man. We’d only dated for six months, and it had been a month since I had broken up with him—it defied my imagination why he thought I’d ever change my mind and want to start seeing him again.
How can a person keep seeing someone they don’t trust?
It wasn’t as if we were in love or anything like that. So why did he keep on showing up, calling and texting me, and telling me over and over again how sorry he was for doing something he claimed he didn’t remember doing?
Just when I thought I’d effectively ditched they guy, I felt a hand on my arm, pulling me back. “You and I need to talk, Julia. This is the first time I’ve seen you in a month.” There he was again, the asshole.
I glared at him. “Price, you don’t even come to this club. Are you stalking me or something?”
He smiled that smile that had first attracted me to him. But now it made me kind of sick. “Stalking is an ugly word, baby. I just wanted to see you. I’ve missed you. Haven’t you missed me at all?” His fingers tightened around my arm, reminding me again why I dumped his sorry ass.
“No, I haven’t missed you at all.” That was the truth. How could anyone miss a person who’d done something so wrong to them?
The way he looked into my eyes stupefied me. “Don’t lie, baby. I know you’ve had to miss me. How many times do I have to tell you I’m sorry before you’ll believe me?”
“You can’t say it enough,” I let him know as I jerked my arm out of his grip. “So stop doing it. If you’ll notice, your apologies haven’t done one bit of good. Frankly, I don’t understand you, Price. You’re a reporter for The New York Times. You’ve got your good looks and can be charming. So, what’s stopping you from moving on and finding yourself another victim? I mean, girlfriend.”
His expression changed to one of hurt. As if my words really had an effect on him. “Victim?” He shook his head sadly. “Julia, I don’t remember what I did. I have to take your word for it. And I have. I was the one who woke up with a large bump on the side of my head, and I didn’t see a mark on you. But I believed you and apologized to you and swore it would never happen again. Why can’t you accept the fact that people make mistakes, baby? I am only human. And I don’t want anyone else. I only want you.”
He couldn’t seem to recall that I had shown him the bruises he’d left on me. In the month since we’d broken up, I’d started to think that he only wanted me because of my status as a virgin. He’d nearly come on himself when I’d told him that the first time we’d made out and he’d wanted to take it all the way home.
My ideas about sex were different from most peoples. I’d always thought that sex was a lot deeper than most let it be. I wasn’t religious, just deeply spiritual. I knew that sex with the right person could be a spiritual experience. One that made a connection between two people that would last forever—like eternally.
I knew most people didn’t think the way I did. But I wasn’t about to change my beliefs because of what other people thought. And I knew that Price Stone wasn’t the man that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. So he wasn’t ever going to get into my pants and take my virginity the way he likely hoped he would.
It wasn’t in me to be mean to anyone, but I had to stand up for myself. If I hurt the man in the process, that couldn’t be helped. “Price, I don’t want you. There is nothing you can do to make me want you. If you want to know the truth, I had no plans to ever have sex with you. Maybe that’ll help you get over me. There would never have been any sex, Price. Do you understand that completely now?”
He shook his head. “You don’t know that, baby. We were getting close. Hell, I’d finally gotten you to come over to my apartment. That told me you were getting comfortable with me. And that night would’ve led to more nights where you and I could be all alone in the comfort of my place. More nights where we could really get to know one another. I knew it would take a lot of time with you. I was ready for that. I was in it for the long haul, just the way you told me you would be.”
He was taking my words out of context, which was something he excelled at. “I wasn’t telling you that I wanted that with you, Price. I was just telling you that to let you know how I felt about sex. I’m sorry if you understood it differently than how I meant it. Yes, I was getting more comfortable with you, that’s true. And just when I gave you more of a chance, you went and blew it.” I gave him a good look over for a moment, thinking
about my next words. “And it doesn’t look like you learned anything from the experience anyways. You need to stop drinking, for one.”
And just as those words left my mouth, the expression on his face jumped from sad and misunderstood, to one of elation. “I’ll quit drinking. For you, I’ll do that. I’ll do anything for you, baby. You’ve got to believe me. Give me one more chance, please. I’m begging you.”
A few people around us had become invested in our argument. I couldn’t help but notice the women who looked ready to pounce on the good-looking, well-built man who was pleading with me for one more chance.
If I had real feelings for the man, then it would’ve bothered me that those women were waiting for me to walk away and leave him to them. There had been a part of me which had liked Price in the beginning—I never would’ve started dating him if there hadn’t been. But a larger part of me had always felt that he couldn’t be trusted. And that part of me had turned out to be right.
Looking into his blue eyes, I stuck to my guns. “Price, this is over, and it’s going to stay over. Leave. Me. Alone.” And then I walked away without looking back. Because when someone hurts you, you’ve got to have the backbone to not give them another chance to do it again.
Chapter Four
Artimus
When Monday arrived, I found myself feeling giddy for the first time since high school.
Julia would be coming in any minute, and my heart was pounding, my palms sweating, and I found it kind of hard to breathe. I wasn’t feeling like my usual calm and cool self at all.
I’d left my office door open so that she could come right in. I wanted to welcome her to WOLF with open arms.
Adjusting my tie, I opted to take it off instead of continually tugging at it, as it felt tight around my neck. I’d dressed in a dark blue suit, and my pale pink button-down accented it well, but the pale blue tie was just too much. So I did what I usually did, pulled off the tie and undid the top two buttons of my shirt.
Feeling more like myself, I went to look out the window. The people looked like busy little ants as they moved about below. A New York street could hold my attention for a long time, with all the hustle and bustle that went on down there. Not that I had hours to just stand there and look, but I was pretty sure if I did have that kind of time, I would stand there all day.
“Hello, Mr. Wolfe.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to gather myself. Her soft, sultry voice had already affected me. Opening my eyes, I turned to greet her with a smile on my face. “Hi there, Julia. You’re about fifteen minutes earlier than I’d expected you.”
She came into my office. Her long, dark, silky hair had been pulled back into one long, low ponytail. Her bangs fringed along her brow, accentuating her big dark eyes, the lashes naturally thick and heavy. Her lips were full and stained red, her high cheekbones accented with a bit of red blush, too.
Her navy blue suit matched mine perfectly. I had to comment on it. “Look at us. We match.”
Her palm ran over her light pink shirt. “Right down to the dress shirt too. How funny. People will be thinking we planned this.” She laughed lightly, the sound musical, the tones tickling my ears.
“I bet they will,” I agreed, then led her to her office. “First things first. Let me show you your office.” Pushing open the door that adjoined our offices, I let her walk in first to her new space.
“Wow. I can’t believe this.” She went to the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows that gave her a wonderful view of the New York skyline. “This is gorgeous.” Spinning back to look at the rest of the office, she took in the matching sofas, made from Italian leather in a soft cream color. The stainless steel mini fridge, the set of shelves made from the same redwood material that her desk was made out of. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, you can tell me if you like it or not.” I laughed afterward. It was obvious that she loved it. She was in awe of the place. “Those doors over there go to your private bathroom and a closet.”
“I’ve got my own bathroom and closet too?” She clapped her hands and put them under her chin. “This office is bigger than my entire apartment.”
“Well, you can’t live here,” I joked with her. “But you’ll probably be spending more time here than at home anyway. I want you to have all the comforts of home while you’re here.”
I took a seat in one of the chairs that had been placed on the other side of her desk, watching her as she walked around, running her hands over everything. “This offers me much more comfort than anything I have at home.”
“And what’s that situation, Julia? Do you live alone or have roommates?” I watched her as she moved about with a grace not many had, especially not women as young as she. Her application had said she was only twenty-one. I’d never seen someone so young who had so much poise.
Her eyes landed on mine as she answered my question, “I’ve got one roomie named Bethey. She and I are best friends, too. We met in college. She majored in journalism and works for a writer who works for The New Yorker. How about you?” The nerves I’d noticed during the interview were nowhere to be seen now that she had the job. I found that confounding, as well as remarkable.
“I have several homes—one in the Hamptons, one on 5th Avenue, and a few more vacation homes that are scattered about the United States.” Thinking about how she came from Atlanta, I wondered about her family. “Did any of your family members move to New York when you did?”
Julia came up to the desk, taking a seat in the comfy chair behind it. “This is nice. So comfortable.” She looked me in the eyes again as she went on, “No one came with me to New York. I came here alone. I’m the youngest of four children. Three older brothers made it pretty hard to get into trouble when I was growing up.” She smiled endearingly as she said it, showing there was no bitterness there. “They’re all married now, with families of their own. Only our parents live in Atlanta now. We’ve all made lives in other states, but we all go back home each Christmas. Other than that, we don’t see each other much.”
“Do you miss them?” I asked her as I ran my hand over my leg, wishing I could just reach out and touch her soft skin.
“Of course.” She laughed. “I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t. Mom and I talk once a week, so that helps me. The thing is, they didn’t raise us to stay in the place we were all born. Our parents helped us achieve our dreams and supported each one of us on our journeys so far. How about your family? What are they like?”
I didn’t like to talk about my family situation, or lack thereof. But she’d been so open with me that it would’ve been rude not to share things with her too. “Two years ago, my parents died in a plane crash. I’m the oldest of four—three younger sisters. I’ve got aunts and uncles still, but we weren’t that close to them.”
She looked at me with an empathetic expression as she asked, “And why’s that?”
“My mother came from a wealthy family.” I hadn’t ever told a soul about this part of my life. Funny how it didn’t feel so hard to talk to her about it—and without her having to pry it out of me. “She was an only child and she inherited everything her parents had, which was a hell of a lot. My father came from a large family, which was anything but wealthy. It took his six brothers and sisters no time at all to burn their bridges with my parents as they asked for financial help nearly every single day for years.”
She nodded. “So sad.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yes, it was. And it was even sadder when my parents cut them all off. Every single one of them turned away from our family, calling us all selfish monsters—even me, after their funeral. It wasn’t ten minutes after my parents were lowered into their graves that I was asked for the first hundred thousand dollars. Rushing my sisters to get into the car so they wouldn’t be bothered, I didn’t make it to the car before three more of my aunts and uncles asked for over a million more from us.” I stopped myself, unsure why I was telling this virtual stranger so much about myself.
“It is.” I looked away, breaking the unsettling connection that I’d felt between us as our eyes had locked.
I hadn’t even heard her get up and move in behind me, so her hand on my shoulder surprised me. “Best to leave them where they are then. You’re better off without them in your life. So, how about you show me around the station so I don’t get lost?”
My head went light at her soft touch. And when she pulled her hand away, I felt lost for a second.
This is not good!
Shaking my head to clear it, I got up. “Yeah, let me show you around.”
The walking would help, I hoped. I hadn’t been ready for my reaction to her. I’d been preparing myself for the attraction I felt for her, but the connection was unexpected.
We walked out of her office, and I pulled her keycard out of my pocket. “Here, you’ll need this to get into your office. Keep it with you at all times. But if you do forget it, then you can ask Brady to let you in. He’s got the master, and he can help you out if you need it. But he gets snippy about having to do it, so we all try not to bring that out in him.”
“Good to know. I don’t want to make him get snippy with me.” She smiled, and it took my breath away.
God, how am I going to do this?
I pointed down the hallway. “Those offices belong to our news anchors. Let’s go down to the main floor and make our way up, and I’ll show you everything in between. It might take you a little while to get your bearings, but the great thing is that most of the time you’ll have me to guide you. We’ll be working very closely so you won’t be leaving my side much, especially at first.”
“That’s a relief.” She reached out and pushed the elevator button, as she was closest to it. “I’d hate to get lost in this huge place and have to call for help.”
The ride to the next floor, where other people joined us on the elevator, was a bit awkward. For me it was, anyway. Julia looked right at home already. We got our first comment on our matching outfits from Joe from maintenance. “So, did you find your long-lost twin, boss?”
Dangerous Kiss Page 136