by C. C. Wood
Ben laughed. "You look like you just smelled something nasty."
"I kinda did." I took another sip of Coke. "Seriously, when was the last time you got a new computer?"
"I've had that since I opened the business six years ago." He took another bite of pizza and smirked at me.
I would have clutched my chest but my fingers were a little oily from the cheese pizza. "Ouch. That's painful. Please tell me you at least have it backed up."
"Backed up?"
Oh. My. God. The man was killing me.
Then, he snorted.
"I'm just messing with you. I do have it backed up."
"When was the last time you did it?"
He froze.
Aha! It had been a while.
"You need to do it every week. Or every day. Depending on whether or not you think you can handle losing a week's worth of information if something happens. Better yet, set it up to happen automatically."
Ben shook his head. "You can't help yourself, can you?"
I didn't pretend ignorance. "Nope. I was born assertive and independent and I'll always be that way."
"I promise I'll do that tomorrow morning when I get in."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm not sure I can trust you."
"Will you punish me if I don't?" he asked before he ate the last of his crust.
"Yes. I'll crash your system."
"Vicious woman."
It wasn't the first time he called me that, but both times he said it as though it was a compliment. As though he liked that aspect of my personality. He was the first man I'd spent a lot of time with who truly seemed to enjoy my twisted sense of humor.
"I'll come by and set it all up for you tomorrow," I said.
Ben's brows rose. "How much will that set me back?"
"A steak dinner and a future favor to me. That's my friends and family discount."
"Include the translation of your tattoo and it's a done deal."
"Sorry, deal-breaker," I said, sipping my drink.
"Friends tell each other things," Ben said, giving me a faux wounded look.
"Not everything."
He finally let it drop and we went back to eating in silence for a few minutes.
I finished my second piece of pizza and my Coke around the same time that Ben finished his fourth. Normally, I could put away the rest but Cam had made me sample some new ice cream flavors that afternoon and I hadn't realized I was still full.
"You have plans for the rest of the night?" Ben asked.
"Not really," I answered. I leaned forward and said, "Cam's having dinner with Brody and Jacks at their new house. Did you know that?"
He shook his head. "Nope. My brother's dating life is his business." Then, he changed the subject. "Wanna hang out and watch a movie at my place?"
Somewhat disappointed that he wasn't as excited about Cam and Brody's family dinner, I collapsed back in my chair. "Sure."
"I have to go to bed early though," he stated.
"I'll have you home by nine," I teased.
He grinned at me and I felt a tug of attraction in my belly. Well, it was more like my hormones performed a barrel roll and were in danger of crashing and burning.
I nearly opened my mouth to say it was a bad idea, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The sex had been awesome, but he seemed to get me. He thought my jokes were funny and he never got intimidated when I started talking about something he didn't understand. He asked questions and actually listened to my answers.
I could be his friend. It would be easy to be his friend.
It was keeping my hands to myself that I was worried about.
I bit back a snicker as I watched him clean up his desk. He may have said that it wasn't messy because he was rarely in there, but he was careful to get every single crumb on his desk with a damp napkin.
He had just left the room to toss the paper plates and napkins when my cell rang. I glanced at the screen and sighed. It was my boss.
I was tempted to decline the call, but I was brand new in my position and I didn't want to start out by leaving him in the lurch.
"Hel—"
"Watkins, I have another project that needs your input."
"Okay, if you'll shoot me an email, I'll—"
"I already sent you an email."
I suppressed a growl. Once I was certain I wasn't going to snarl at him, I cleared my throat. "Great. I'll take a look at it first thing in the morning and get back to you then."
"I need it now."
I glanced at my watch. It was six-thirty p.m. on a Wednesday night. Even though I was on vacation, my assistant was keeping me abreast of any possible hot projects that would need my immediate attention and she hadn't messaged me.
"I'm afraid I have an engagement tonight and I won't be able to look at my email until the morning."
"Look, Watkins, I realize you're new at your job, but part of that is doing what needs to be done even if it's after business hours."
"Normally, I would agree with you, but I am on vacation and my availability is more limited than it would be during a typical work week."
Oh, he didn't like that. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth but since this was his second call to me while I was technically off work, I felt the need to set firm boundaries.
"Fine. I'll expect a response before noon tomorrow," he finally said.
"No problem. I'll do my best to have it to you before then."
Once again, without a good-bye, he disconnected the call.
I hit the red button on my screen and made sure the call was most definitely disconnected. Once I was sure, I stomped my foot and spewed every cuss word I knew between clenched teeth.
"Motherfucking, cocksucking sonuvabitch! Goddammit! Fuck! Shit! Company policy says that I get four weeks of fucking vacation a year, which I haven't used any of in two goddamn years, which means I have eight weeks saved up! What the fuck would you do if I was in a cabin in the woods with no cell reception or Wi-Fi? Huh? You wouldn't be bothering me, that's for damn sure."
"Um, should I come back later or call an ambulance now so it'll be here when your aneurysm explodes?" Ben asked.
I whirled around and glared at him, my hands clenched into fists at my sides.
He lifted both hands. "Whoa, put the evil eye away."
I inhaled deeply and blew it out, trying to calm my heart rate. My cheeks burned, not from embarrassment but from fury.
"What happened in the two minutes I was gone?" he asked.
"My boss called," I answered, my voice low and rough.
"And that leads to whatever I just walked in on?"
"Only when he keeps calling me during my vacation, which just started less than two weeks ago, and he expects me to drop everything to answer his emails. Oh, and he never says hello, good-bye, or thank you. He's the rudest jackass I've ever worked with. Or for."
"He's been calling you while you're on vacation?"
"Yep. And he got pissed when I told him I would look at the email he sent me first thing in the morning rather than right this very minute."
Ben frowned. "Do y'all handle government contracts or something?"
"Sometimes but we don't have any right now. My assistant would have told me about any hot ticket items that needed my attention."
"Then your boss sounds like he's kind of a dick."
I huffed out a laugh. "Oh, I definitely agree with you."
"You still good to watch a movie or do you want to go home?" he asked.
Shit, why did he have to be sweet and hot?
"I'm not working until tomorrow morning because if I don't set a boundary on this now, I'll end up working sixty-hour weeks even on my vacations."
Ben smiled. "I have a punching bag in my home gym. I'll let you take some of your frustration out on it."
You know what's a great stress reliever? Sex. But that wasn't an option. Because Ben and I were just friends now. I tried to remind my body of that fact, but it ignored me. So I settled
for second best.
"How about a shot of tequila and chocolate instead?" I asked.
"I can do that, too."
"Then why are we still here?"
Ben laughed, put his arm around my neck, and guided me out of his office.
I got home at ten that night. A nice, respectable hour.
And I didn't have sex with my new friend.
That wasn't my main concern when I got out of my car though. No, instead I was worried about rabid raccoons. One raccoon in particular.
As I walked from the car to the side door of the house, I could swear I felt Gary the Evil Raccoon's beady little eyes following my every move. Maybe I was paranoid, but I'd rather be paranoid than wearing a live fur that was trying to eat my face.
That's why I nearly peed my pants when I closed and locked the door behind me and turned to find Cam, my best friend, standing less than a foot away.
"Holy mother of a cheeseburger!" I clapped a hand to my chest and panted.
Cam crossed her arms over her chest. "Where have you been?"
I decided the best way to distract her from her question was to ask a few of my own. "Out. How was dinner with Brody and Jacks? Is he a good cook? Were there shenanigans?"
"Great. He's an excellent cook. No shenanigans, there was a child present. Now, where have you been?"
This was the thing about Cam. She was a smart cookie. She knew exactly how to throw me off balance so that I didn't have a chance to fib. It was something she did when she caught me partying during midterms in college. It was also something she did when she figured out that I was thinking about giving in to my ex-boyfriend senior year and getting back together after he cheated on me.
"I was hanging out with Ben."
Cam blinked in surprise at my honestly. "Is that a euphemism for something sexual?"
"What? No." I made a face at her. "Why would you think it would be sexual?"
That wasn't exactly a lie. Technically. Ugh. Being a good friend sucked and being a bad friend sucked, too. I just couldn't win in this situation.
"I thought since you said you liked him that maybe—"
I shrugged. "He is pretty and I do like him, but..."
I. Would. Not. Blush.
For once in my life, my face cooperated and my cheeks didn't heat up in my impersonation of a boiled lobster.
"But we decided to be friends," I finally said.
Somehow, she saw it. She knew that I wanted more than friendship, but she immediately misunderstood it. Just like I'd been afraid of. "Sierra, if you like him as more..." She trailed off, her gaze both concerned and gentle.
"I do like him," I admitted. "Enough to make sure he stays a friend because I don't want to make things weird."
"It doesn't have to be weird," she replied.
"He's the brother of the guy you were making out with on Sunday, remember? How could it not get weird?"
"Sierra—"
"Cam, I've told you before that I don't want to do the relationship thing. If I get involved with him, even if it's just casually, and it goes bad, you know that you'll feel torn between loyalty to me and all the years you've known him. I'm not putting you in that position," I stated, my voice firm.
She sighed. "I understand." Her eyes were still searching as she looked at me. "But I am glad that y'all get along."
"Me, too."
"Okay, well, now that I've established you're not dead in a ditch somewhere, I'm going to bed."
"Night," I called after her as she disappeared down the hall to her room.
I considered going to bed but I was wired. And sexually frustrated.
There was no way I'd be able to sleep.
Guess I'd go ahead and look at that email Mr. Barnes sent me.
Maybe after I read the quarterly update emails that Cam had been sending me. I'd been meaning to since the day we'd decided to hire an assistant manager, but that woman worked me down to a nub. I wanted Cam to succeed but she'd made it clear that she wasn't going to take financial risks without my approval. I needed to bone up on her newest business plans so she wouldn't refuse out of hand when I tried to invest more money.
I just hated that it had taken me so long to do it. Cam would probably say, "Better late than never."
But I still felt guilty because I'd not only fallen down on my professional responsibility as her partner, I'd fallen down on my responsibilities as her friend and those were a hell of a lot more important.
13
It was the tapping that woke me. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew what I would see.
An evil, fat raccoon with a metal bowl in his hands.
"Stop that, Gary. You'll wake up Sierra."
I heard the back door open and the sound of food hitting the inside of the bowl.
"Try to quit torturing her. She's not so bad, I promise."
I wasn't so bad? I couldn't believe my best friend said that about me. That raccoon was the menace. Or the Devil in disguise.
I opened my eyes in time to see Cam leaned over, talking to the raccoon, who was staring up at her with an adoring expression on its furry face.
Okay, so maybe he looked cute right at that moment, but I would never, ever admit it.
"I'll see you later tonight, okay?" she said.
I swear to God, Gary nodded before he dug into his bowl.
I blinked several times as Cam came back inside and shut the back door behind her.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said.
"What time is it?" I asked, my voice raspy.
"Eight-thirty. You were out cold when I left for my run earlier."
I cleared my throat and sat up. My laptop sat open on the coffee table, the screen blank. Two empty Coke cans were next to it, along with an empty paper plate smeared with the remains of my midnight peanut butter and honey sandwich. Cam stopped by the coffee table and leaned over to pick them up.
"Please don't," I said. "I'll get the mess."
She frowned at me.
"You shouldn't have to clean up after me while I'm here," I said.
She laughed. "That's definitely a change from college."
It was my turn to frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Cam grinned. "I was constantly picking up after you, especially if I wanted to have friends over. Otherwise, the place looked like the midway point of a cleanup on an episode of Hoarders."
I gasped. "It did not."
"I think time has messed with your memory. Or sleep deprivation."
"Ha, ha. You're so funny."
I sat up, wincing as my upper back and neck twinged. Damn, I was getting too old to sleep on the couch like that. I rubbed at my sore neck and shoulder.
"Want some coffee?" Cam asked. "Or extra strength ibuprofen?"
I couldn't tell her how funny she was because I'd done that already, so I settled on glaring at her.
"Okay, then, I'll get you both." She disappeared into the kitchen before I could tell her not to bother.
I yawned and kept massaging my muscles. I guess if she was willing to bring me caffeine and medicine, I would take it.
A couple of minutes later, Cam reappeared with a steaming mug of coffee and two orange tablets.
"Thank you," I said. "You don't have to wait on me while I'm here."
"Oh, I know. But you look like you didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm taking care of my friend. What time did you finally shut it down?"
"Around two a.m." I sipped the coffee and sighed in utter bliss. Cam made a damn good cup of coffee. She got the sugar and creamer ratio just right. I tossed the ibuprofen into my mouth and washed it down with more delicious caffeine. "In good news, I'm all caught up with the last two years of quarterly updates from the store."
"Seriously?"
"Yep."
Cam shook her head. "I didn't think you read those emails."
"I didn't. And I'm sorry about that. I've been kind of a shitty friend the past couple of years. But that's going to change, starting today. I figure that if
you're going to hold off on doing things you want to do with the business because of me, then I need to make sure I'm abreast of the situation so I can encourage you to do it."
"You're not a shitty friend," Cam stated before she cocked her head to the side and asked, "Encourage me?"
"Strongly," I said.
Cam laughed. "You are the—"
"Most awesome friend ever!" I exclaimed.
She rolled her eyes at my interruption. "One minute you're shitty and now you're awesome? I think you need more sleep."
I made a face at her and drank more coffee. My brain was beginning to work again.
"Is that what kept you up so late?" she asked.
"Nope. My boss called yesterday, adamant that I handle some stuff for him. I thought it would just be a quick thing, but it wasn't."
"Again?"
"Yep."
"And he knows you're on vacation for the first time in two years?"
I nodded and drank more coffee. Damn, she'd made a huge mug of it for me. Maybe she deserved the title of "Most Awesome Friend Ever."
"How rude."
"It is what it is," I said with a shrug.
"I hate that saying."
I laughed because I knew that. Which was exactly why I'd used it.
"Why don't you rest today?" she offered. "I can manage at the shop by myself."
"I'm coming to the shop. I'll take a nap then bring lunch to you and stay to help out."
She didn't argue but I could tell she wanted to. Then, it occurred to me that maybe she didn't want me messing with the business but didn't want to say anything because she was my best friend. Earth to Sierra, pay attention to social cues.
"Does it bother you that I'm there all the time now?" I asked. "I mean, am I stepping on your toes? Because I don't want to do that. You're the one who's actually built this business."
"No! I'm glad you come to help because it gives me a chance to see you more than just a few hours in the evening while you're here."
"And you're not upset that I horned in on hiring Lee? You can be honest with me. I won't be mad." I might cry inside, but I wouldn't be mad.