“I don’t see how.” She breaks down again, crying into the phone.
I look up at Zack, unsure of what to do.
“Go to her,” he mouths, nodding.
I raise my eyebrows. He can’t be serious. Although, I did cover for him yesterday.
“I mean it,” he whispers. “Go. It’s all right.”
I don’t know that I feel entirely comfortable with this, but I feel even worse knowing my sister will spend the rest of the day in hysterics if I don’t do something to help and fast. “Where are you?” I ask her.
“In my car, outside work. I didn’t want anybody to see me like this.”
Good thing, too. At least she had the sense to leave the office. “Okay. I’ll meet you there. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
“You’ll come? Now?”
One more look at Zack before replying, “Yes. I’ll come now. Just stay there.” When I hang up, I let out a heavy sigh and slump in my chair.
“That sounded pretty terrible,” Zack observes, his voice softened with sympathy.
“I feel awful about it. I was the one who pushed for this florist. They seemed so great and I heard nothing but good things. Their work is beautiful. Now, I’m the heel who recommended them.”
“It happens. Plans fall through. This isn’t your fault. I’ll handle the Dawsons while you go to her and figure out the solution.”
I can’t help but eye him suspiciously. We’ve only been at this friendly stage for around a minute or so, and I’m not entirely sure that he can be trusted. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a ploy for you to seal the deal on your own and get all the credit.”
It’s like I flipped a switch and the lights went out. One second, he’s warm and caring. The next, his face goes cold. “Are we still on that? You honestly still think I’m that low?”
“Don’t take it so seriously.” I shouldn’t have said it. I should’ve kept it to myself. All the progress we’ve made just disappeared, and all because I was too stupid to keep my mouth shut.
“No. I will take it seriously, because I thought we were better than that now.” He turns away, shaking his head. “Maybe I’m not the black-hearted creep you think I am.”
I feel around two inches tall and wish we were anywhere but in the office. I could stop him, ask for his forgiveness, try to talk it out. In front of our coworkers? Impossible.
All I can do is get my things together and head over to where my sister is waiting for me. I hope I’m more of a comfort to her than I was a partner to Zack just now.
I need a win today.
Zack
I can’t believe her. No way, she’s real. Real people aren’t so damn suspicious. Always on the lookout in case, somebody takes advantage of them. All right, sure, I started things off this way, but how many more hoops do I have to jump through to get her to chill out? And stop seeing me as an opponent.
Hell, I even encouraged her to go help her sister, when I could’ve insisted the Dawsons like her and she had to come to lunch with me to make sure we got the bid taken care of. Something niggles at the back of my mind. The truth is maybe she can’t trust me because her intuition is picking up some subtle signs from me. I haven’t been totally honest with her.
No wonder she suspects something is up, even if she doesn’t know what it is.
I push all of it out of my head as I enter the restaurant. It is one of those upscale casual places that tries to be a lot better than it is. Hipster-preppy. Not normally my taste, but the customer is always right.
Everything is riding on this. More than ever.
“Zack!” The Dawsons walk in just behind me.
Mrs. Dawson looks around, smiling. “Where’s Sienna? It seems like we can never get the two of you together at the same time anymore.”
I force a smile. “She had an emergency to attend to, came up just a little while ago. She was very sorry to miss this.”
“What a shame,” she replies, tsking. “Never mind, I’m sure we can get everything squared away.”
“Certainly. I have the paperwork with me. And I’m sure she’ll do what she can to hurry, too. She did want to sit down with you.”
But something tells me she won’t be able to make it in time.
Sienna
Damn it. I hate that I missed the lunch.
But at least I solved the florist issue. A phone call to them, a few references to the contract and deposit my sister put down and a polite, yet firm, demand that they put me in touch with another florist willing to take on the work. To honor the deposit already paid or a legal letter would be on their desk Monday morning and suddenly… we were back on track.
They were magically able to clear the space in their schedule.
And I get it. I do. They’re busy, highly in demand, fantastic at what they do. It isn’t easy to turn down the prospect of new work, probably bigger than my sister’s wedding. At the end of the day, they’re a small business with the ever-present need to build their client base.
However, they also made a promise to my sister, and I’ll be damned if I let them walk all over her.
All is great again in her world as I stroll into the office, well past the point where hauling ass to the restaurant would make any sense. It’s already past two o’clock. I’m a little disappointed, honestly, that Tami didn’t have the presence of mind to hold them to account and I had to drop the most important deal of my career to sort her out.
I hate feeling like I let anyone down. And I have let Zack down. The Dawsons had gotten comfortable with me and they were expecting me. But I helped Tami. And I’ll remember that when I carry my bouquet on the day of her wedding. If Dad were alive, he would’ve been proud of me today. He always said, “You’re in charge. Take care of your sister now.”
The sounds of typing coming from Zack’s office tell me he’s back. I have a decision to make: slip past his cubicle without a word because I feel like an idiot for what I said earlier, or face him like a grown, professional woman.
Darn it. I hate being a grownup sometimes.
“Hi.” I step just inside the doorway, lingering in case he decides to tell me to get lost.
He hesitates before turning around in his chair. “Oh. Hi.” He’s blank faced.
“How’d it go?”
“How do you think?”
I sure do wish he’d be a little more… something. Angry, happy, whatever. So long as he’d show a little feeling instead of looking and sounding so flat. “You… got the paperwork signed?”
Another hesitation. Doesn’t he know he’s driving me to the brink of insanity here? I want to crawl out of my skin, I’m so agitated. “Okay. I guess I’ll go, then,” I whisper, unnerved and disappointed.
“Come on.” He grins suddenly, the biggest, brightest grin I have ever seen anybody undertake. “Of course, everything went fine. It’s all in order—in fact, I just shot a message off to Nick to let him know we’re ready to move forward, that we’ll need his signature and all that. It should only take another couple of days at this point, depending on his availability.”
I clutch my chest and start laughing with relief. He had me worried for a minute there, and he knew it. He likes knowing he threw me off, too. I can tell by the way one corner of his mouth quirks up in a smile… all at once sexy and infuriating.
I guess I deserve it a little, after insulting him earlier.
“Now that we have that out of the way, we should celebrate.” He folds his hands in front of himself, elbows on the arms of his chair. “Dinner’s on me.”
“Another dinner?” I purse my lips, pretending to think it over. “Hmm. So long, as it’s not Italian. I’ve had enough of that lately.”
He chuckles. “Done.” As I’m leaving, a smile on my face, he adds, “Did everything go all right with your sister? Sorry, I should’ve asked before now.”
“Everything’s great. Nothing a well-worded warning about the power of a signed contract couldn’t fix.”
�
��Atta girl.” He grins. “I knew you’d set things right.”
For a moment there, he sounds like the sort of supportive man I’ve always wanted in my life. It’s a shame he’s not actually in my life.
Sienna
“Tell me something.” I lean forward, conspiratorial. “Did you really almost put your sister through a wall?”
Is it my imagination, or is he blushing ever so slightly?
Zack shrugs. “She makes it sound a lot worse than it is. And all these years later, there’s little way for me to defend myself.”
“That’s not an answer,” I remind him, my voice light and somewhat teasing. My skin feels warm and my stomach is all fluttery. Who I am turning into?
“All right. The truth. She was a bruiser,” he replies, shrugging. “No man likes to admit that his sister ‒ his younger sister, at that ‒ beat his ass when they were kids, but there you are. She played field hockey, for God’s sake.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I guess it helped inspire you to build your body up a little, huh?” If that’s the case, Beth did the world a favor.
“It was part of the reason,” he admits with a chuckle. “And you’re the only person in the world who knows this, so keep it confidential.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” I wink.
“I guess there comes a time in everybody’s life when their sister or brother drives them to that point when you lose it and just want to kill them.” He grins.
“Oh, yes. Tami and I used to throw down, I’m not happy to admit.”
“Usually, I’d give her a shove and that would be her excuse to put me in a headlock or something similarly humiliating,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. He’s cheeks are flushed.
It’s rather endearing, knowing Mr. Perfect wasn’t always so perfect.
“Until that day when it all got to be too much,” I say.
“Yeah. I shoved just the right way, she hit a cheaply made archway, and the rest, as they say, is history.” He smiled with the memory. “You can imagine how horrified our parents were at the damage. I was grounded for a month.”
“To younger sisters.” I raise my wine glass in a toast, which he mimics with a rueful chuckle.
I hate to admit it, but I’m liking him more and more all the time. Now that there’s no more rivalry between us, no more childishness, I can relax and enjoy him for the person he is.
I like the person he is.
I like him a lot.
And if I’m not mistaken, I think he likes me, too. Now that there’s no ulterior motive for him to flirt with me it’s a lot easier to believe he’s not putting on an act. He really is this warm, this personable. This freaking charming.
Ugh. Why does he have to be so charming? Isn’t it enough that he’s gorgeous and sexy?
You use to hate that charm, a voice in my head reminds me. Yes, I did, but that was when I saw him as a rival. We don’t have to be rivals anymore, or enemies. There’s more than enough room for both of us, more than enough sales to make.
There’s a good chance I’ve had too much wine.
“Sienna!” I recognize Mark’s voice before I feel the touch of his hand on my shoulder. “What a surprise, seeing you here.”
It’s an effort, plastering on a smile when I look up at him. He would have to come by at the worst possible time, wouldn’t he? Poor timing was always one of his undesirable qualities. And there were many to choose from.
“How are you?” I ask, not really wanting to know. But in a situation like this, one has to observe the niceties.
“Just great. You know, I was thinking about reaching out to arrange another showing of that house.” He hasn’t stopped touching my shoulder since he approached, and he has deliberately avoided acknowledging Zack’s presence.
“Really?” I ask, still smiling through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry, but it looks as though it’s been sold.”
His pleased expression falters just a little.
I enjoy this very much since I know he has no real interest in the house. Just a ploy to make me run after him.
“Yes,” Zack adds, his voice somewhat louder than it strictly needs to be. “We came out to celebrate her success with the sale.”
God bless him.
Mark shoots a look his way, finally forced into acknowledging the fact that I’m not alone.
As far as I’m concerned, Zack couldn’t have chosen his words better. The one thing Mark would never do when we were together was celebrate my victories.
Boy. I’m liking him more and more every minute.
The best part, the very best part, is the way Zack stares at Mark. His eyes are narrowed in a challenging way, and his mouth curls in something between a smirk and a sneer.
Oh, my God. He’s jealous. He’s actually jealous. Can it be? Mr. Wonderful, Mr. Sexy, Mr. Every Woman’s Fantasy, is jealous? Over me? It makes me want to stand up and do a happy dance right there in the middle of that crowded restaurant.
“I see.” Mark’s hand drops from my shoulder so fast it was as if I had suddenly burst into flames. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” I wait until he has walked away before my eyes shift back to Zack. “And thanks.”
“A bit of an overstatement, wouldn’t you say? Telling him the house is sold?”
I notice how uncomfortable he looks now, like an unsettled animal. Mark has riled him. “Whatever.” I shrug, finishing off my wine. “He’s not interested in the house. Not really. I hardly think I lost us a sale.”
“I wouldn’t let him buy it, anyway.” His voice is close to a growl.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t like the looks of him.” He stands rather abruptly, surprising me. “You know what? I’d love a nightcap, but not here. Somewhere a little quieter, where we won’t be so easily interrupted.”
I look up at him and notice the way he looks down at me. The possessive look in his eye. The way the muscles of his shoulders and arms work beneath his shirt as he slides into his coat.
Yes. Yes, I would like an intimate nightcap very much.
Sienna
He’s a real contradiction, this Zack. Just when I think I have him figured out, he throws me a curve ball.
Judging from the sort of car he drives and, of course, the expensive clothing and watches, I was sure his house would be a showplace. The sort of house that would put a modest little saltbox like mine to shame.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, our houses could’ve been built off the same plans.
“This is where you live?” I ask as I climb from my car, parked beside his in a short, wide driveway.
“What’s wrong with it?” he asks.
“You’re reading me wrong, as always. I expected your house to be more… like your car, I guess.”
He laughs. “There’s only me here and I like someplace homey. Comfortable. You know?”
“Sure. I’m the same way,” I admit.
“You don’t know how many ridiculous apartments and houses I’ve been inside; cold, immaculate places only one person lives in but could fit twenty.”
“Oh, you mean the house we’re currently trying to sell?” I laugh as we step inside the living room, just off the front door.
“Something like that.” He flips on the light, revealing a living room with a beautiful fireplace set in a brick wall, an overstuffed sofa, an entire wall covered in shelves nearly overflowing with books.
Who is this man?
“Can I fix you something to drink?” he asks, walking to the kitchen.
I follow close behind, admiring the small office to one side and the dining room to the other before stepping into a thoroughly modern, thoroughly lived-in kitchen.
“Honestly? I think I should stick to water if I’m driving,” I admit. My head’s spinning a bit, but that could be from the company and the overwhelming feeling that I have no idea who I’m truly dealing with.
He pulls a bottle from a refrigerator stocked with a mixture
of fresh food and takeout containers. All right, so that’s not entirely outside my opinion of him. But the cast iron skillet on the stove catches my attention, and I have to ask about it.
He beats me to it. “I was frying chicken a few nights back,” he explains.
“You fry chicken?”
“It’s one of my favorite meals. Granted, I have to put in a few extra laps at the pool every time I make it, but I’m not complaining.”
I perch on a stool around the island in the center of the room. “What else do you cook?”
“Play your cards right and you’ll find out for yourself one day.” He grins, leaning his elbows on the island.
I lean over, too, meeting him in the middle. I can’t help it. He’s too charming, too charismatic. A magnet. The opposite of me in many ways, but isn’t that when magnets attract each other?
I have to stop myself from climbing over the island and taking the front of his shirt in my hands when our mouths meet and it feels like the world is finally right. Why have I passed a single day of my life without kissing this delicious man? Our mouths were made for each other, fitting together perfectly as they move together.
In my fantasy, other things fit perfectly too…
Things happen and I find myself lying on my stomach on the cool granite of the island surface. With a tug, he slides me over to him. He lifts me bodily. Oh my, this man is really strong. He made that look effortless. Sitting me on the surface, he stands between my thighs. I pull him in, wrapping my legs around his waist and holding tight. All that matters in the world right now is being close to him.
His hands slide over my back before finding the zipper of my dress and sliding it down to my waist. I slide out, letting it fall to my hips, throwing my head back as his mouth skims my throat, and over my chest.
I gasp when his tongue slides between my breasts, lighting me on fire, sending shockwaves straight to my core. My skin tingles for more, every nerve on fire. I need more—all of him. It’s a relief when he unclasps my bra and closes his lips around one nipple. My back arches, my body offering itself to him in a desperate plea.
Accidental Rivals_An Office Romance Page 13