by Tara Sue Me
“It sounds even worse when you put it that way,” I said.
“Good.”
“Good?” I asked. “It’s good? What about it is good? And why are you sticking up for him all of a sudden? You know how I feel about him.”
“You’ve judged Tenor based on nothing at all. You’ve met him all of one time and you’d already made up your mind about him before that. And I’m willing to bet that judgment was made from the fact that you didn’t like the way he ran his matchmaking business.”
I hated it when Wren was right about me being the asshole. I couldn’t deny it. She was right. I’d painted Tenor to be an ass based solely upon the fact that I didn’t like the way he ran his business and not on the man himself.
Thinking back to our brief meeting, there hadn’t been any part of him that screamed asshole. On the contrary, up until I thought he’d propositioned me with sex, he’d been charming. Talking with him had been rather nice.
Was it possible I’d been wrong about him? Thinking about it made me feel itchy. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed possible. I glanced at the folder to the side of my plate. The proposal would be very telling.
Wren, of course, could just about read my mind. We’d always been that way with each. Today was no different. She tapped on the folder. “I’m going to leave so you have time to read. Keep an open mind, okay?”
I nodded and stood up to hug her. “Thank you, Wren. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I’m sure you’d do just fine.”
I didn’t believe that for a second and I shook my head. “I don’t ever want to find out.”
She laughed and cocked a hand on her hip. “Lucky for you, I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me, sister.”
I grinned even though I saw the sadness and truth she kept hidden inside. If she truly had her way, she wouldn’t be here in Boston. And she most definitely would not be working as a journalist.
No, for as long as I could remember, Wren only wanted to do one thing and that was dance. She took class after class after class of ballet as we were growing up. She danced before school and she danced after school. She didn’t get into the ballet company she wanted, but she didn’t let that stop her. She worked teaching classes for kids and filling in when needed anywhere else she could find.
About three years after graduation, she decided to take a few business courses and as it turned out, there were several people from our graduating class at the same school. They would all get together on weekends to party and such. Wren went out with them frequently. She would often beg me to join them, but Mom and I were new business owners and more times than not, I’d turn her down.
I don’t regret much in my life, but I do regret that I wasn’t there to support Wren during that time. To this day, I’m not sure what exactly happened, but a group of them all went to Italy together and when she came back, she was no longer able to dance due to a skiing accident.
She didn’t talk about it then and she still doesn’t. I’d learned over the years that it’s just one thing I’d have to deal with: not knowing what happened in Italy. I’ve long since given up trying to get it out of her, but I think there was a man involved.
So, when she looked at me with that sad smile she tried to hide, and told me I was stuck with her, I smiled back. “We’ll say that, but only because we both know it’s because I’m never leaving your side.”
We said our goodbyes and she went back to not dancing and I picked up the folder Tenor gave me and settled in to read.
Later, when I finally put the pages down, I was surprised because his offer was much later than I’d thought. I glanced at my watch. I’d spent hours going through everything. Because, as I’d just learned, Tenor is nothing if not fastidiously thorough.
The packet he’d put together for me contained not only his offer of employment, but terms and conditions on the forgiveness of the loan, a detailed perspective of Bachelor International, and the bios of all of his current employees, as well as a good number of those no longer with the company.
He noted in the documents that I was free to talk to any of them and ask questions about the job, the company, or him. He’d also indicated that he would pull together information on past clients if I would like to talk with them, but that it would take some time due to confidentiality.
I felt shell-shocked, for lack of a better word. Not only was Tenor nothing even close to an ass, but from all appearances he was hardworking, generous, and honest. In fact, he was so far away from the man I had pictured that I almost wanted to go dig up some dirt on him, just to prove he wasn’t perfect.
I pulled out my phone and glanced at the number on the top of the paper. Was it wrong that the way he perfectly wrote his numbers annoyed me? Without allowing myself to think about what I was going to say or ask, I punched the digits of his cell phone into mine.
I told myself it was late and more than likely he was out with friends or on a date or something. He was almost certainly not sitting at home or in his office, waiting for his phone to ring.
Which is why it took me longer than average to respond when he answered with, “Hello?”
“Tenor?” I asked because I still couldn’t believe it was him. His voice was just as deep and commanding as I remembered and an unexpected warmth began to grow in my lower belly.
“Yes,” he answered and then added, “Is this Mia?”
I closed my eyes in embarrassment. Damn, the way he said my name. “Yes. Sorry, I didn’t expect you to answer.”
He chuckled. “I have to question the type of people you hang around if they normally don’t answer their phone when you call.”
“It’s not like that,” I stopped myself before I blurted out that it was just him I didn’t expect to answer. “Besides, you didn’t know it was me until I confirmed it.”
“True.”
“And,” I continued. “Now that you know what my number is and you made that comment, you’ll always have to answer my calls.”
“Also true,” he said and I heard the smile in his voice. “Although I have to confess, I would have always answered your calls even if I hadn’t made that comment. I assure you, it is no hardship.”
Was he flirting? I was so stunned I didn’t say anything.
Finally, he coughed. “Is there something I can help you with, Mia?”
Right. Right. Right. “I had a chance to read through the proposal.”
“Ah, good. Did you have any questions? Anything I can clarify?”
Why do you have to be so nice? But I couldn’t ask him that, so I answered with, “Not really. Nothing specific anyway.”
The silence between us hummed and I closed my eyes, as if that would make it go away. But of course it didn’t. Why had I called him again?
“Should we get together to discuss everything?” he asked and was it intentional that he used ‘get together’ instead of ‘meet’?
Did I care?
No.
“Yes,” I told him. “That would be great.”
There was a smile in his voice when he spoke again. “Excellent. I’m in meetings almost all day for the next three days. Are you free for dinner either tomorrow or the next day?”
Dinner? Why dinner? “Umm…” I started and then stopped because I didn’t know what else to say.
“I know it’s an odd request,” he added. “But as I said, I have all-day meetings for the next few days and dinner is the only time I have free. We could always wait until they’re all finished, but to be perfectly honest with you, I can be an impatient man when I see something I want.”
Two hundred butterflies should not have taken up unexpected residence in my belly at the way his voice grew low and rough as he said that last line. They should not have. This man was a potential employer and I had no business getting butterflies at anything he said.
But I wasn’t about to turn him down. I wanted to discuss his proposal and truth be known, I wanted to see if I could get to the b
ottom of why everything about him affected me the way it did. “Tomorrow night would be perfect.”
Chapter Five
Tenor
The phone call from Mia settled it. I was a bastard and a half. No, on second thought, make that two bastards. I was two bastards with a double helping of lying asshole.
I did not have all day meetings for the next three days. There was no reason for me not to have lunch with Mia instead of dinner. Hell, there was no reason for us not to meet at nine-thirty in the morning.
No reason other than I wanted to have dinner with her and I knew as soon as she accepted an offer of employment from me, that door would be closed. Even though I was two bastards with a double helping of lying asshole, I would not in any way, shape, or form, do anything remotely inappropriate with an employee.
“Wrong,” my best friend, Piers, said when I told him what I’d done. “You’ve never done anything inappropriate with an employee before now. All bets are off with Mia. You’ll rewrite the fucking employee handbook for her.”
I almost flipped him the bird, but doing so would only prove him right. Hell, I’d probably brought Mia up every time Piers and I talked since Dee walked into my office.
“I should cancel dinner,” I said instead.
“Yes,” he said. “As your corporation’s attorney, that is my recommendation. However, as your best friend since third grade, I know that isn’t going to happen, so instead my advice is, if you’re going to fuck her, do it before she officially works for you and don’t have her start until this time next month.”
“You have got to be the worst lawyer on the planet. I don’t know how you managed to pass the bar.” Was he actually suggesting I sleep with her for a month and then break it off so she could work for me?
He shrugged. “Truth hurts. That doesn’t make me a bad lawyer. It just means I know you too well to think I’d be able to talk you out of having dinner with her tonight.”
I stood with a sigh and raked my fingers through my hair as I walked toward the large window in my home office.
I’d worked from home again today, although work was a word I’d use lightly. Other than leaving my admin speechless over the fact that I was working from home two days in a row, the only thing remotely resembling work that I’d done was to call Piers over.
I told myself no matter what happened tonight, not that I planned on anything other than dinner happening, tomorrow would be back to normal. I’d wake up and go into the office and everything would be the exact same it always had been. And maybe, just maybe, Bachelor International would have a new employee joining, but that wouldn’t change anything.
Because even if something did happen tonight, which it wouldn’t, I assured Piers one more time, it would only happen once.
The hours seemed to trudge by, but eventually, it was time to leave for the restaurant. I’d asked Mia if she’d like for me to come by pick her up on my way, but she was quick to remind me that this was a business dinner, not a date, and that no, there was no need for me to do such a thing. She would meet me there.
Because of the way she showed up at my office so unexpectedly, paired with what I’d already knew about her, I fully anticipated her beating me to the restaurant, even though I was a good ten minutes early. However, a quick glance around the entryway showed me I was wrong. I checked in with the hostess, but told her I wanted to wait for the rest of my party before being seated.
When fifteen minutes had passed and Mia was officially late, I began to worry that she wouldn’t show up. Hell, she’d have called first wouldn’t she? Or was this her not so subtle way of telling me exactly where I could put my job offer?
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and groaned when I realized I’d turned it off after Piers left because he kept texting me smart ass comments. While he seemed to have given up on getting a response out of me, I’d also missed three texts and two phone calls from Mia.
Fuck. I was such an idiot. I pulled up her contact info so I could call her back, but her line rang a few times and then switched over to voicemail. I didn’t want to leave a message. With a sigh I hung up and told myself I had to wait four minutes before calling again. I’d negotiated with myself to wait three and a half when the front door opened and Mia breezed through.
“I saw where you called, but I knew I’d get here faster than it’d take for me to call you back,” she said. Other than breathing a bit heavier and quicker than normal, she seemed fine.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. “I’m so sorry. I never turn my phone off, but I did today because my lawyer was being a pain in the ass, and well, since I normally don’t turn it off, it didn’t register with me to turn it back on.”
I was prepared for her to pout or get upset. In my experience, that’s what women did when they thought you were ignoring them. Mia, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly and was looking at me with a curious expression.
“What?” I asked.
“Does that work?”
“Does what work?”
“Turning your phone off and ignoring your lawyer,” she said. “Because if it does, count me in.”
I gave her a tentative smile. It appeared I wasn’t going to have to deal with either a pout or an upset woman. “Not really. But in my case, the lawyer in question has been a friend since elementary school, so if I ignore him long enough he just stops by my home and refuses to leave.” She nodded, but didn’t say anything. “You never answered,” I reminded her. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “I was just calling to tell you I was going to be a bit late. I went outside to get in my car and I realized I had a flat tire. A nail, of course. I swear, if there’s a nail in the road, I’m going to run over it. It’s a gift of mine.” She glanced down and then looked at me with a mischievous grin. “One call would have been enough, of course, but when you didn’t answer, I remembered our earlier conversation and wanted to be obnoxious.”
Her response was so unexpected, I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. “Thought to teach me a lesson, did you?”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean to make you worry. Sorry about that.”
I was so happy she wasn’t hurt and nothing was wrong, I didn’t think twice about being worried. “The only thing that matters is you’re fine and you’re here.” I glanced over to where the hostess of the restaurant waited discreetly. “And, of course, that our table is ready.”
She laughed and I held out my hand to her. “Shall we?” I asked.
With a nod, she took my arm and I led her to the front of the restaurant. As we followed the hostess to our table, I couldn’t stop myself from watching the woman at my side.
When she arrived a few minutes earlier, I’d been so worried something was wrong, I’d only focused on the fact that she wasn’t bleeding and nothing appeared broken. Now, however, I was able to take in all the details that made her, her.
She wore a smart-looking suit in a pale pink that fit and enhanced her figure instead of covering it up completely the way a lot suits did. Her hair was neatly styled and her makeup applied with a light touch. She was beautiful, even though every inch of her screamed that this was one hundred percent a business dinner and not a date, thank you very much, so don’t even bother to think otherwise.
Once we were seated, instead of reading the menu, she looked at me. “How were your meetings?”
“My what?” I asked while reading over the specials of the day.
“Your meetings,” she said. “The ones that lasted all day and were the reason why we had to meet tonight for dinner and not lunch.”
Oh, damn. Those meetings. The completely made up ones I’d obviously forgotten about. “Cancelled,” I said, with a smile. “Thank goodness. I hate day-long meetings.”
“Cancelled?” The corner of her mouth curled up, just a tad. Almost as if she didn’t know if she should believe me or not. Smart woman. “In that case, it must have been a very good day for you.”
“Regardless of the meetings,�
� I said. “The day is much better now.”
I’d love to say dinner was nice, but dinner was a fucking nightmare. Every damn thing Mia did was a turn on. Not that she did it on purpose. Seriously, people eat with a napkin because sometimes they needed to wipe their mouths. I knew that. More to the fact, I knew Mia was not wiping her mouth in an attempt to turn me on.
That didn’t mean my dick understood.
By the time our desserts came, I was in serious trouble. All these years, I’d only given thought to having Mia work for my company and now that it appeared it would finally happen, I had it all wrong. I didn’t want her for the company, I wanted her for me. Not as an employee, but as a girlfriend.
Looking as though she was completely content, which I couldn’t believe to be the case, she glanced up from the employment contract and gave me a smile before she continued to read. Moments later, she signed it and I should have been happy. Instead, I faked a smile and signed my name under hers.
And with that stroke of the pen, I ensured that the one woman I wanted, I would never have.
Chapter Six
Mia
I couldn’t get to sleep that night. I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason I had the strangest feeling over dinner that Tenor wasn’t happy with me working for Bachelor International. Although why that would be the case, didn’t make sense.
Seriously, it wasn’t my idea of the perfect job and I wasn’t head over heels happy with the situation myself, but honestly, he was the one who put everything in motion. It made no sense for him to be unhappy with the way things turned out.
More than likely, I was reading the entire situation wrong. Typically, I was nearly almost always accurate when it came to reading body language, but I’d be the first to admit that it had been a trying few months and it made sense for me to be a bit off my game.
After thinking about it more, that had to be what it was. In fact, it made total sense when I stepped back and looked at the situation more objectively. Before we parted ways earlier, Tenor told me he didn’t expect me to be at the office until next week. He said he knew it was a difficult time for me and he could see that I was still dealing with my mom’s passing.