by Gia Riley
The first night, I settled into my apartment, opened some wine and worked on unpacking. Within an hour of being home, he was knocking on my door. First, he came with flowers. When that didn’t work, he upped the ante with chocolate the following night. Along with a box of letters he wrote each night I was gone. Those were tucked inside my mailbox on day three.
It would be so easy to run back to him—to thank my lucky stars he’s finally putting in the effort I always wanted from him. However, I didn’t go away to come back home and fall into old patterns. I shouldn’t have to break up with him for him to realize he doesn’t need anyone else.
Grant’s persistent though—a quality I used to adore. After days’ worth of rejections, I thought he would be sick of the chase by now. Then again, he always was an overachiever. Why settle for one girl when you could have two? Why move in with one when you could keep both?
All of that coupled with the frustration of not being able to present a package appealing enough for a current client, makes me wonder why I was so ready to come home.
After I hang up with Mrs. Evans, I move to my e-mails, hoping they’ll be an even better opportunity for representation awaiting me. The first two don’t appeal to me, but the third catches my eye. I’m about to reply to a woman with exceptional credentials as a curator for one of the largest museums in the area when an e-mail from my boss interrupts me—again. In true overbearing fashion, he’s scheduled a meeting for me to meet with a new client during my lunch hour. I wouldn’t care if I had time to eat breakfast this morning, but after dealing with Grant until all hours of the night, I overslept. I was lucky I had enough time to take a shower and dry my hair.
What I wouldn’t give to be on that damn ship again.
True to his word, my door opens promptly at noon. Like nails on a chalkboard, I wait for his nasally voice to start shouting demands. It only takes him five seconds. “Clear your schedule, Lark. You’re about to become a very busy woman.”
“Yeah? Did you change your mind about the deal, Mr. Cooper?” I finish typing the last sentence in my e-mail to the curator before turning my head to address him. All the blood drains from my face.
It’s been four weeks since I’ve seen Easton Beck. Speechless doesn’t even begin to describe the way I’m feeling. Tears prick my eyes when I can’t get a read on him. Why is he standing in my office with my boss? How did he even find out where I work? I know for a fact I never mentioned the name—mostly because this is a high profile firm I keep very separate from my personal life. The two can’t mix thanks to a slew of non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality.
But Easton looks so damn good, I can’t take my eyes off him. As nervous as I am to see him, I want him to kiss me. I need him to be here for me—I don’t want to go home to another night alone with Grant calling me, begging me to take him back. I thought when I left the ship, I was going home to my safe bubble. Now that I’m here, I’d do just about anything to pop it. Turns out, I’ve outgrown safe and predictable.
“Easton? What’s going on?”
“Hello, Ms. Williams,” he says diplomatically and not at all how I remember his voice, and nothing like the way he sounds on his CDs. I would know because after the second week apart, I went and bought as many as I could find. I also started browsing the tabloids at the grocery store for as much information as I could find about Midnight Fate. The world knew they were back, and every gossip rag was itching for the next big story. I couldn’t be sure what I was reading was at all factual, but I couldn’t look away.
Mr. Cooper ushers him into one of the chairs in front of my desk. He takes the one beside him. “Lark, we’ve talked about new opportunities for you. You’re too good to be stuck behind a desk all day when you could be out in the world making exceptional things happen for talented people like Mr. Beck.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I just signed a contract for you to be the head of public relations for Midnight Fate. Surely, you know all about their success since they’ve returned to the music scene. Not everyone could pull it off, but talent speaks for itself. Now that they’re back into the spotlight, their manager needs help fending off all the sharks looking for interviews for all the wrong reasons. Easton wants to do them, but he wants quality. That’s where you come in.”
“Why me?”
“Because I won’t accept anyone else for the job,” Easton adds, finally saying something to end the silence between us. This isn’t the man I left behind. This is a man resigned to get back what he wants, however he has to go about doing it.
“What about my position? I have a new client I’m meeting with at the end of the week. From the information I’ve found out so far, it has the potential to be a huge contract. I’d like to see it through.”
Mr. Cooper looks to Easton and smiles. “I told you she’s always been our best. The determination in this one is a once in a lifetime find.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Easton says, never once taking his eyes off me. “I’ve heard how great she is at what she does.”
This time, his voice is laced with sexual innuendos only I would know exist considering Mr. Cooper has no idea we slept together—or shared any kind of romance at all. “When would this contract begin? And where would I be going?”
“It begins immediately. By the end of the week, you’ll be on tour with the band.”
“On tour? What about my apartment? And my family?”
Mr. Cooper sits on the edge of his seat like he’s preparing to pacify me. Why couldn’t Easton call me like every other potential client? Why did this meeting have to be secretive and through my boss? Did he really think I would be above meeting with him? Yes, he did. Because I’m the one who walked away from him
“Lark, do you remember your interview?”
“Yes. You hired me on the spot.”
“And do you remember why I did that?”
“You said I had too much potential to pass up.”
“Correct, and do you remember your response when I asked you where you saw yourself in five years?”
Shit. I remember exactly what I said, and it does nothing to help my case. “I said I wanted to be working with the biggest names in the business.”
Mr. Cooper smiles, again. The man is going to get a cramp if he doesn’t stop. “And what else? Don’t hold out on us, Lark. It was a fantastic interview.”
“I wanted to see the world.”
Mr. Cooper smacks the arm rest on his chair, making me roll my eyes. He’s enjoying this a little too much. “And here it is, Lark. Your wish is coming true. Midnight Fate is the best in the business, and you’re about to see more of the world than you could ever see sitting behind this wooden desk.”
“So, it’s settled?” I glance at Easton who has been watching our entire exchange. He still looks as determined as ever, but some of the softness I remember is back. It’s the only thing that comforts me as the world I knew suddenly changes.
“All I need you to do is e-mail me the list of your current prospects. I’ll take care of following up on the leads. Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I’ll let you two get acquainted. You’ll be spending a lot of time together. Don’t be too hard on him, Lark.”
I swallow, remembering just how acquainted I’ve gotten with his body. Mr. Copper stands up, and shows himself out of my office. Easton waits until the door closes before he gets up and walks around to my side of the desk. He holds out his hand, and I stare at it. “What are you doing?”
“You heard him, we need to get reacquainted.”
“And how are you planning on doing that?”
“Same way I did the first time.”
My eyes widen, the memory of being tossed over a speaker in the theater still vivid in my mind. “I don’t believe you.” It would be wrong to start our business relationship by having sex in my office. It would also be wrong to have sex with a client. Despite all the reasons we shouldn’t, it also feels so right to stop denying myself the man I hav
e thought non-stop about since I left the ship a month ago.
“I warned you once before, don’t challenge me, Lark.”
“We work together, Easton. It’s not professional.”
“You work for me. There’s a difference.”
“As a public relations manager. Not your personal blow up doll. I don’t do my clients—ever.”
He smirks, licking his lips as he eyes me with amusement. “First of all, plastic dolls don’t do it for me. I like to feel the real thing. Secondly, I’m not asking you to do your client. I’m asking you to do me. The guy who hasn’t stopped wanting you.”
My heart sinks a little when he reminds me he’s been mine this whole time. I was the one who gave up on us. “That’s practically the same thing.”
“No, Lark. It’s two entirely different things. I’m asking you to be mine, again. When we work together, we can work. But the rest of the time, you’ll be my girl—the way it should have been all along.”
“That sounds complicated. What gave you this idea all of a sudden? You didn’t mention it even as a possibility while we were on the ship. That might have been a better time to put me on the spot. Instead of going behind my back through my boss.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe. I could have chosen any number of PR reps, but if I remember your exact words, you said something along the lines of, we can’t be together because our worlds are too different. I’d be traveling the world, while you were here in this office. This is me fixing that. Plus, Dom is bringing Gina on the road. She’s working for him now, too.”
“Doing what?”
“Turns out she’s an accountant. He bought the building we’re all living in. She’s working the books and taking care of the back office work while we’re on the road.”
“Neither of you see a problem with mixing business with pleasure. You don’t think it’s setting ourselves up for disaster? Because if a relationship folds, so will the business.”
“That’s a chance I’m willing to take—Dom, too. I can’t speak for him, but I’d rather have someone I can trust working for me than a bunch of assholes who are in it for the wrong reasons. I trust you, Lark. I want you to do what you love, and I want you to do it with me.”
“Why?”
“Because I need you, Lark. Isn’t that enough?”
I run my fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp, as I try to process the weight of his words. He needs me. It sounds so simple, yet it means so much. “I can’t believe you did this. This is extreme, even for you.”
“You have no idea the lengths I would go to.”
I raise my head, trying to figure out if he’s threatening me, or simply trying to prove a point. After a few minutes of neither of us giving an inch, I resign to the fact that he’s not going to budge. He came here for me, and he’s not leaving until I go with him. “I give up, Easton. You win. I don’t want to lose my job or quit and burn bridges.”
“If you don’t want to do this, I won’t force you. I’ll tell Mr. Cooper I changed my mind and promise him my decision had nothing to do with you. I thought coming here would make you happy.”
“I am happy to see you.”
“Baby, this isn’t me trying to control your life. It’s me trying to fix it. Because if you’ve been half as unhappy as I have since my contract ended, I wanted to make it better for you. I guess I didn’t realize I was being so selfish.”
“You’re not selfish. Not at all.” My heart’s hammering inside my chest so hard I’m getting a headache. When I woke up this morning, I didn’t imagine Easton would be sitting inside my office, tossing my world upside down all over again. “I can’t believe this,” I whisper.
“You took a risk going on The Perfect Match. This time take another chance—on something bigger than you. Something bigger than us.”
“What’s bigger than us?”
He waits until I’m staring in his eyes before he says, “Forever.” He moves closer, never once taking his eyes off mine. Kneeling in front of my chair, he takes my hands in his. “Shay has my past, but you have my future. Every new chapter, every new beginning is ours.”
I bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t break down and cry in front of him. I have wanted to be with him since he walked out of my room. I’m done denying myself. Without a shadow of a doubt I tell him, “I’m in.”
“Are you all in? I don’t mean just the job, but you’ll be mine?”
I nod my head, my entire body shaking with anticipation of what’s to come for us. “This is absolutely crazy, Easton, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be with you. I’ve never stopped wanting it.”
He rests his head in my lap, relief pouring from his soul. When he raises his head, his smile is infectious. “Thank you, baby. I would have come for you sooner, but I had to make sure I played my cards just right. I wasn’t about to lose you twice.”
I believe him. I believe he’d move mountains to make me happy. Which is what he probably had to do in order for Mr. Cooper to give me this opportunity. Now I get to keep both him and my job—the two things that mean everything to me. “We are going to need to have a couple boundaries for this to work.”
He nods his head in agreement, which surprises me. “I’ll never tell you how to do your job, but I do have one request.”
“And what’s that?” I ask him.
He runs his hands up my legs until he reaches the top of my thigh highs underneath the hem of my skirt. “You bring this skirt with you.” He slides his finger under the elastic of the thigh high and smiles. “And definitely some of these.”
“We’re not going to be able to have sex. At least not like we’re used to.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because if I remember correctly, the first leg of your tour is in the states which means we’ll be on a bus. With a lot of other people.”
He inches his body closer to mine, his hands now all the way under my skirt. Mere centimeters from my face, he whispers, “Lark Williams, have you been keeping tabs on me?”
I lick my lips before saying, “Maybe.”
“Well, don’t worry, we’ll have hotels when we can, and you’d be surprised how creative you can get on a bus.”
There’s nothing wrong with what he says, but it reminds me of the groupies. The random one night stands and all the hook-ups that came before me. All the girls I’ve worried about being in competition with. My worry stops dead in its tracks when he brushes his knuckles against me before sliding his fingers under the lace of my panties, and pulling them down my legs.
“Maybe you need a reminder, Lark.”
“What kind of reminder?”
“The one where I show you what it’s like to be my girlfriend. The one that redefines our relationship because not for one single day have I imagined starting this tour without you by my side. I’ll respect you when you’re working and I’ll respect you even more as my girl, but there will be sex. You’ll know where I’ve been and you’ll want me there—every single day.”
“What about me? Don’t I get to remind you?”
“Baby, you can remind me any hour of the day. Nothing is off limits.”
As I’m listening to his promises, he pulls my panties off, stuffing them in his back pocket with a smile on his face. Grabbing me by my three inch heels, he tosses my legs over his shoulders, opening my hips even farther. “The door’s not locked.”
In between peppering kisses up my thigh, he says, “Don’t care. You’re mine now. Consider this our first business venture.” He repeats the same pattern on the other side before he blows ever so lightly on my clit. It’s not enough to set me off, but just enough to make me beg for more.
I get just that when he licks me, his tongue sending the most erotic sensations from the base of my spine to the tips of my toes. How have I gone an entire month without this? I’m completely at his mercy and there’s no place else I’d rather be. “Easton,” I moan as I rub myself back and forth against his face. He works me so close
to the edge, before he pulls back. “What’s wrong?”
Without saying a word, he removes my legs from his shoulders one at a time. I can’t figure out what’s going on, especially when he smooths my skirt back into place and covers me up entirely. Frustrated and slightly disappointed, I sit up straight in my chair, waiting for him to tell me this meeting wasn’t all a joke. “What’s wrong, Easton?”
He pushes away from my chair, rising to his feet. “I told you, I’ll respect you while you’re working.”
“You just licked me, Easton. I’m okay with you not respecting me today.”
He tips his head back, a deep laugh escaping him. “Baby, I’ll disrespect you all night long—once you’re off the clock.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a card. I hold out my hand, but he lays it on my keyboard instead.
“What’s this?”
“Your new condo.”
I pick up the folder Mr. Cooper laid on my desk and page through it until I come to Easton’s information. Sure enough, the address on the card matches his. “I’m moving in with you?”
“Now I know why Mr. Cooper recommended you so highly. You’re quick, Lark.”
Rolling my eyes, I stand up while Easton walks toward the door. “Not happening, Mr. Beck. I think I’ve been more than accommodating today. I’ve gone as far as I’m willing to go.”
With his hand on the door knob, he turns and says, “I plan on taking you so much farther. I’ll see you in a couple hours, gorgeous.”
Before I even have a chance to ask for my underwear back, Mr. Cooper’s standing in front of me with a glass of champagne in each hand. He’ll have his new client plastered all over the Internet in no time, no doubt hoping other big names follow suit. He hands me a glass and hoists his in the air. “Here’s to new beginnings, Lark. Congratulations.”
I’m moving.
I tried like hell to hang onto my apartment, but financially, it doesn’t make sense to hold onto a place I won’t be living in for at least a year. Since I don’t own, I can’t rent it out and hang onto it. There’s no way the landlord would keep it unoccupied when he could up the rent and have new tenants in here in a week.