“Oh my gosh, did you seriously just trip me?” Lainey, one of Vanessa’s thirteen-year-olds, looked up from the dusty track, her eyes burning with a combination of humiliation and anger that Vanessa remembered all too well from her own sixth-grade experience.
Dammit. She rushed to Lainey’s side, breaking through the circle the rest of the team had formed on the track. This wouldn’t have happened if she was paying attention instead of brooding over Jeremy. Now she had a scraped knee and a bruised ego to tend to.
“It was an accident.” Cara sounded too sugar-sweet to be genuine.
Vanessa reached down to help Lainey to her feet. The girl looked like she might cry, and Vanessa was all too aware that she and Lainey were alike now—both needing help to get off the ground. She sighed. Why did it have to be Jeremy who could get her the job she wanted?
Vanessa brushed dirt from her leggings. “Cara, what happened?”
Cara said nothing.
“Okay. Lainey?”
Lainey scowled across the track. “She told me my idea was stupid. And it’s not.”
Vanessa eyed Cara. “Is that the kind of supportive dialogue we’ve talked about using with our friends?”
Cara glared at the ground. “No. But it is a stupid idea. No one’s going to spend money on admission to watch people make out when they can see it for free.”
“But they are spending money.” Lainey crossed her arms over her chest. “And they can’t watch unless they pay. That’s why I have bouncers.”
Holy shit, what are these girls into? Vanessa squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then opened them and forced a smile. She never expected volunteering to be easy, but man, thirteen was a tough year.
“Look, guys, I’m supposed to go by the lesson plan that Girls Run Our World gave me,” she said. “But I feel like we need something else this week.” She offered a conspiratorial smile. “I think we need to go off book. I won’t tell if you won’t.”
“What does ‘off book’ mean?” a girl named Olivia asked.
Cara shoved Lainey, and Vanessa gave them the stink eye.
“It’s like in theater when you stop reading from the script and just say your lines. Let’s all sit down in a circle.”
She plopped onto the grass in the middle of the track, and her girls followed suit. “How many of you have ever been told that something you believe isn’t right or that your idea is stupid?”
She raised up her own hand, watching as, one by one, they all raised their hands, too. She knew how many times she’d been told it was silly to want a social work career, even by well-intentioned people. She wasn’t stupid—she knew the pay was crap and the work was emotionally draining. But she also knew that helping other people gave her equilibrium in her life. It gave her a place to focus, and at the end of the day, she was able to say she’d shown love. Not that her mother would ever be able to understand.
During this week’s phone call, Annabelle seemed to take it as a personal attack that Vanessa had passed on the job offer from Mission Shelter.
“I can’t believe you’d do this to me. And after Bob went to all that trouble to arrange it for you.”
Vanessa had rolled her eyes on her end of the phone. It wasn’t like Bob was the one who’d been interviewed or had the experience to land the job. Anyway, her stepdad seemed to live for networking. She was sure he’d be able to find a way to expense the lunch he’d had with the Shelter’s directors.
She glanced around the circle of girls now, finding each hand raised. She nodded at her charges. “You can drop your hands.” So now what was she going to tell them?
Improvise, Vanessa.
“I want to tell you a little story about my boss.” She couldn’t believe those were the words that just came out of her mouth. Jeremy hadn’t shown up for the meeting—why was she even talking about him? He didn’t deserve to become some hero in this plot, but now that she’d started, she needed to figure out an actual point to her story. “Who can tell me what an entrepreneur is?”
Olivia raised her hand. “It’s a person who starts a business.”
“Right. So Jeremy, my boss, is an entrepreneur.” Oh jeez, here she went. “He started his business because he thought there was a problem to be solved and that no other company out there was really solving it.” She didn’t dare mention just what that problem was. Her job here was a coach, not a sex educator. Ack. “When he started his business, people probably thought he was stupid. But now his company has won a bunch of awards.” It sounded like Jeremy’s parents might not have been on board with this business, but had anyone else actually told Jeremy he was stupid? She couldn’t imagine someone looking at him, the picture of competence and control, and doubting him for a second. Granted, he was an ass. But he at least seemed like a knowledgeable ass.
“Is Jeremy rich?” Lainey asked.
She laughed. “Probably.” He does drive a ridiculously expensive car. “But that’s not the point. Just because something is new or different doesn’t mean it has to be scary or wrong or stupid.” She looked around the circle at each girl. “We need to trust that all our ideas are valid and that we’ll be able to support each other.”
In her own life, she was lucky to have people who did that for her—her dad, and Bea, and a handful of friends from college. But she also knew having a real sense of security with someone wasn’t as easy as doing a few trust falls like she was going to have her girls do now. She had learned that the hard way when her mom bailed on their family. When you gave away your heart for someone else to keep, you could never be sure they’d handle it just right. You had to protect yourself. Maybe if you never gave away your heart, it was the safest you could get.
Chapter 18
When Jeremy had chosen the glass walls inside the offices of X Enterprises, he did it just because they looked cool, but the design had its merit. With his office blinds open he could see anyone coming, which gave him the power position when he needed it. And with Vanessa headed right at him, he was glad for the head start.
He had just enough time to end the call with the Merrimack account and kick his impotent running shoes under his desk before she swept through the door. Vanessa didn’t need to see another reminder of his broken promise—she already looked mad enough to steamroll the building.
“What the hell is this about?”
Vanessa slammed down a copy of the City Life web page of Seattle Metropolitan on his desk. It didn’t have quite the same effect as hurling the actual magazine at him, but he had to give her credit—the printer had reproduced his face in surprising detail. Even in black and white, there was no denying it was him. Especially with the handy little caption under his photo: “Jeremy Glass, Seattle’s infamous sex toy king, at The Sky Room.”
He frowned. “Infamous, huh? That’s really a bit much.”
Vanessa glared at him. “It would have been one thing if you had just bailed on me. Which, by the way, is against the terms of our agreement. But to bail on my kids, too?” She shook her head, too angry to speak.
He did feel bad about it, really. Last night he’d watched Vanessa head out to catch the bus to the middle school where the meet-up was held. She’d changed into her running gear, slipping on a smile with her Spandex. He’d wanted to watch her run again, and he had a feeling he’d relive some Baywatch-esque moments alone later that night. But, also, he’d wanted to give her another reason to smile.
Instead, Piers had called him from the tarmac at SEATAC, his private jet howling in the background.
“I’m in town for the next twenty-four hours,” Piers had said. “Why don’t you take me someplace nice?” Jeremy needed to keep Piers happy, but keeping Vanessa on board for Amy was also critical. He had to please them both, but when it came down to it, he would put Piers first. At the end of the day, the man held the purse strings.
Jump, Piers had said, and Jeremy had pretty much asked, How high?
Judging from Vanessa’s scowl right now, it was high enough for him to almost los
e the keys to the kingdom.
Jeremy drew his gaze from Vanessa’s lips to her blue eyes. “I had a last-minute client request.”
“That’s what you call doing business?”
He glanced down at the picture and suppressed a cringe. On the positive side, he had his hands clutched around a glass of Johnny Walker and not around the ass of a half-naked waitress the way Piers did. On the negative side…well, all of it was negative. The club throbbed with a dark, sensual aura. The scattered lights of the dance floor reached Jeremy’s face, even back in the VIP booth. But it was all bullshit. The only VIP in his life was the woman on the other side of the desk. Ever since Vanessa had stormed into his life, everyone else seemed boring by comparison. Rather than admit how terrified that made him, he nodded up at her interrogation.
“Actually, yes. This was what the client requested at the moment. X Enterprises has an entertainment budget for a reason.”
“Are you kidding me?” Spots of color appeared on her cheeks.
“Sometimes big buyers like Yessir Unlimited come into town, and a trip to a fancy restaurant or an exclusive club helps grease the wheels. It helps them buy into the lifestyle we’re was selling.”
“But we’re selling sex.”
“Exactly. Sex is a lifestyle.” Sex was an attitude you slipped on from the moment you dropped into your hundred-thousand-dollar car in the morning to the time you dropped your clothes on the floor at night and took a woman to bed. Jeremy knew that life—he lived it. And he could sell the fantasy. If only he could explain that to Vanessa. She didn’t seem impressed by his money, and that, in itself, made him respect her more. It also made her more of a challenge.
A flash of movement caught his eye, and Jeremy looked over Vanessa’s shoulder. Yeah, people were staring. He reached for a button on his desk to draw the privacy blinds in the room. They closed with a small hum, and when the world was officially a distant blur, the room filled with the sound of their breathing. Uneven. Erratic.
He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry for missing the meeting.” The words surprised him almost as much as Vanessa. Her eyes widened, and whatever snappy comment she’d been about to make died on her lips. “And I’m going to make it up to you.”
Her gaze softened. “To the kids,” she corrected.
“To them.”
What was he going to do with this woman? Between her social work dream job and her passion for volunteering, she only ever talked about other people.
“You clearly take care of everyone else in your life,” he said. “What do you ever do for yourself?”
Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. He wanted to seal her juicy pink lips with a kiss. But he wanted to know the answer more.
She lowered her gaze to the floor and struggled to come up with an answer that wasn’t generic. “I read books. I listen to music. I run.”
Uh-huh. He thought so. “What do you ever do for yourself?” he asked again.
Finally, she met his eyes and blushed. “I dance,” she whispered.
Thank god he didn’t have a mouthful of coffee at the moment because he would have choked. The thought of her legs, moving gracefully, made the pulse kick in his chest. He’d have to see that one day.
“There you go,” he said. He leaned back in his chair, keeping his eyes on hers.
He knew he should stay free of distractions. It was the reason he’d fired Vanessa in the first place. But fuck that. Now that she was back in his life, forcing him to acknowledge her with this whole volunteering thing, it was a hell of a lot more distracting to try to ignore her.
He believed in equal-opportunity pleasure, and here she was denying herself the very thing he’d built his whole life around. Screw the consequences—this was going to be his new mission. He was going to show her just how much pleasure she deserved, make her feel the spark she’d already lit inside him. As a bonus, keeping Vanessa happy on multiple levels meant she wouldn’t bail on their agreement. He couldn’t see the downside.
“Dancing is great,” he amended. “Just ask yourself if that’s enough.”
He could see Vanessa wrestling with the idea, and he wanted to offer her a few choice suggestions for exactly how she could get more pleasure in her life, but this had to come from her. Even though he ran a sex toy company and the implication was obvious, this was a line he wouldn’t cross.
Vanessa’s mouth twisted ever so slightly, but instead of looking upset, all she looked was prettier. “Well, say I do want to do more things for myself. How do I start?”
“Start by asking for them.”
“Sure.” Vanessa let out a puff of air and turned for the door. She made it three steps before she spun back. “About product testing…”
She had no idea what those words meant to him. His mind flashed to the naked women who’d filled his bed these past few months and then couldn’t help conjuring up the image of Vanessa between the sheets. Jeremy swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. “What about it?”
“Well, um. Tell me how it works.” He liked the way she didn’t falter.
A rush of warmth flowed through his chest and to his cock. “Part of the way X Enterprises stays on top is through a collaborative product review process. We know individual tastes may vary, but we consider everyone’s ideas for how to improve our toys. Reviewers are able to submit anonymous comments through our product design portal or share thoughts in the morning meeting.”
“So how do I start?”
Good god, this woman. She was really going to do this, wasn’t she?
He fought a smile. “Usually there’s a signup list when we get new products in from Vegas. But I do have an exclusive new toy that I carried in the other week. If you want it, it’s yours.” He reached for a drawer of his desk and drew out one of the prototypes he’d brought from his last visit.
Vanessa smiled as her eyes swept over the vibrator. “I don’t know if purple is really your color.”
He nodded in acknowledgment. “Perhaps not.” He held her gaze. “Are you sure you want this? There is zero expectation here. Participation is strictly voluntary.”
Vanessa bit her lip, considering. She looked so pretty when she concentrated, her eyebrows framing her heart-shaped face, her nose wrinkled in a way he could only describe as cute. At last, she huffed a sigh and held out her hand.
“Just give me the damn vibrator.”
He tried and failed to keep his face neutral. It was impossible not to smile.
Chapter 19
Cupcakes. He brought cupcakes.
For the last week, Vanessa had doubted that Jeremy would even show up to this Wednesday’s GROW meeting and now here he was, balancing a tray of tiny, pink-frosted desserts as he stepped out of the car. It was actually kind of endearing to see the six-foot-something muscled CEO hold the cupcakes in his large hands like they were precious. If this is what he’d meant by making it up to her girls, well then, he had them all spoiled.
Vanessa clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, unsure whether to roll her eyes or laugh. Instead, she sent reinforcements. “Mallory, can you help Mr. Glass carry those?”
The tiny African-American girl scampered across the track to the side of Jeremy’s Jaguar. The car gleamed in the parking lot, equally as conspicuous as the other times she’d seen it. Equally as sexy.
When Mallory reached the car, Jeremy leaned down, tilting his head to catch whatever she said to him. He laughed and handed her the cupcakes before straightening to his full height. His long stride could have dominated the girl’s, but instead he matched her pace, and they crossed the track side by side.
At last, they reached the track’s grassy center, where Vanessa and the team waited. Up close, Vanessa could make out the ripple of his muscles, the way his eyes today seemed the same bright, clear blue as the sky.
Jeremy caught her eye and grinned.
“I see you brought treats,” she said. How had the day gotten so warm?
Mallory held up the tray of cupcakes. “They’re
pink, like the GROW logo.” She eyed the icing and then smiled at Vanessa. “Can we eat them now?”
The other girls shouted their agreement, and Vanessa shrugged. “I’ll lay it out for you. If you eat those now, you might not feel great when you run. But if you eat them now, you can burn off the sugar before your parents pick you up.” She looked around the circle. “Let’s take a vote.”
The answer was unanimous. She knew it would be, but her job was to guide the kids, so at least there was a lesson in there somewhere.
“Pass ’em here,” Lainey crowed, and they all settled into the grass to eat.
Jeremy had brought extra cupcakes, and as Vanessa sank her teeth into the sweet cake, she had to admit it was a good ploy. The sugar danced on her tongue, stretching her smile. She hadn’t told him about her sweet tooth, but it was almost like he knew she couldn’t resist the temptation. Still, one cupcake wasn’t going to change her mind about him.
She licked stray frosting from the corner of her lips, looking up just in time to catch Jeremy staring at her mouth. She still couldn’t believe she’d been bold enough to ask for a vibrator, but wasn’t that one way of doing something good for herself? She blushed and tore her eyes away from him. She needed to focus on the girls. “Does anyone have questions for Mr. Glass while we eat?”
Lainey crossed her arms and stared at Jeremy. “Vanessa told us you own a company.”
Oh god. It had been completely innocent, but Jeremy was going to think he was way more important than he was.
Jeremy looked surprised and entirely too pleased. “Is that so?”
“Yup.”
Vanessa needed to redirect before the teen said too much more. “Okay, that wasn’t an actual question.”
Lainey regrouped, leveling a gaze at Jeremy. “So what’s your business?”
Jeremy stumbled for a minute before he answered, and Vanessa choked back a laugh. She was pretty sure if the mothers caught wind of what he did, he wouldn’t be running anywhere but out of here.
His Distraction Page 9