Romance: Dedication - A Workplace Romance (Dedication Series, Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1)

by Adams, Nancy

  “Oh fuck, that’s tequila.” She nearly squealed at the familiar taste. “You don’t want to know what happens when I drink tequila.” Her glass was filled again, and Jane took that one too.

  “What happens?”

  “I start getting numbers wrong,” She said with a laugh. Picking a seat right next to Franklin. “2’s become 10’s, that kind of thing.” Curtis and the others laughed boisterously.

  “Does that mean I have a shot?” An older analyst asked.

  “Hmm, maybe after a few more.”

  Day drinking quickly became one of Jane’s favorite activities. The Yard was known for it’s fabulous food, and even better array of alcoholic beverages. The group was served from huge platters filled with delicious bar food: Fries smothered in rich curry sauce, buffalo wings, loaded potatoes, sliders, and three different kinds of pizza.

  To say that Jane devoured the food before her would be polite. She scarfed all she could down, not realizing exactly how hungry she’d been until her fourth slice of pizza.

  “Where in the hell did you put all of that.” Franklin said, looking at her empty plate.

  “I was hungry,” Jane replied as she took a swig of the craft beer she’d ordered, “Besides, I need something to absorb all this alcohol.”

  “It’s not a celebration until the new kids are drunk.” Someone said, presenting a pitcher of long island iced tea like it was an offering. “We are paying for all this, you two are obligated to enjoy it.”

  “Isn’t the company paying for this lunch.” Curtis said slyly.

  “They didn’t know that.”

  “Okay, okay,” Jane said, filling her glass with the drink, then handing one to Franklin. “I’m drinking,” The long Island was 99.9% alcohol if her taste buds could be trusted. The small dash of sour mix hardly enough to cut the taste. “My liver is going to hate me for it tomorrow but I’m drinking.”

  Franklin picked up his glass, threw the group a look, then drained it all in three gulps. Not a single drop spilled. He set the glass back down on the table, returning to his meal as if nothing happened.

  “Remind me to never bet against Frank when it comes to drinking.”

  Soon, a pleasant haze started to cloud Jane’s vision. Her earlier exhaustion melted away, leaving her feeling nothing but energized. She got to see the real Franklin too. Where she was reserved, he was talkative and animated. Always willing to share a story or two that had their group rolling with laughter.

  He was pleasant in a way that was both unexpected and refreshing. Outside of work, outside of business lunches and meetings, he was actually a nice guy. By the end of the day, their group had gone through a staggering amount of of food and alcohol. The bill was almost as much as Jane’s rent for the month. Someone threw down a company card, paying the bill without so much as a glance at it.

  If only her parents could see her now. Schmoozing with co-workers, drinking at midday, making the company millions of dollars richer in the matter of a week. Jane was content knowing her mother would be proud. Not so much about the drinking, but everything else was going right as she’d planned.

  “I’m going to need to call a cab. Is that okay?” Franklin said, his lips brushing against her ear as he moved close to speak to her. One hand was pressed lightly on the small of her back. Jane could swear that she felt the heat of it radiating through the silk of her blouse.

  “Yeah, sure. That’s fine.”

  The taxi ride through the city seemed impossibly long to Jane. With the noise of the bar gone, she could only just stop herself from falling in to sleep. It wasn’t until she found her head resting against his suited shoulder. She’d expected to see him to say something. Something unkind, to spit out a joke. Instead, Franklin wrapped an arm around her, tucking her more securely into his side. It was comfortable. He smelled like lemons and spice: A scent that didn’t match his personality at all. It was much too soft.

  When the cab pulled up to her apartment, Franklin followed her out.

  “Where do you think you’re going.”

  He shrugged, “I thought we could continue this getting to know each other thing.”

  Jane shook her head. “Fine, you can come in for a little while,” she said as she unlocked the door to her apartment and pushed inside. Under other circumstances, she might have told him no, but it was lonely in her empty apartment. Rebecca would still be at work and she hadn’t had the time to get to know anyone all that much.

  When they stepped inside, Jane was instantly embarrassed. Her apartment had become a mess since she’d been working so much. She started to quickly scoop up clothing into her arms before depositing them into the hamper. Franklin’s eyes roamed over her apartment, a small smile on his lips.

  “I never thought that perfect Jane Parkett would secretly be messy,” he said with a chuckle.

  Jane groaned. “You know the week that we’ve had.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say it wasn’t cute.”

  Jane glanced over at him. He stood near the door, his hands slipped into the pockets of his pants. She swallowed thickly. As the alcohol coursed through her system, she tried to tell herself that under no circumstances could she have Franklin. Her imagination on the other hand was working over time, the thought of raking her nails across his chest was enough to make her bite her lip.

  As if he’d read her thoughts, Jane’s eyes followed his actions as he slipped off the suit jacket he was wearing. His fingers loosened the dark blue tie from around his neck, leaving it hanging around his shoulders. Jane imagined pulling him by that tie, leading him right into the bedroom and doing a plethora of unspeakable things to him.

  “Do you see something you like?” He asked as he rolled up the sleeves of his white button down.

  “I see something I like looking at.” Jane said as she slipped out of her heels.

  When she turned around, Franklin was standing closer to her than he had been before. She looked up at him as he reached out a hand, his fingers trailing through her hair. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “What are you doing?” She asked quietly.

  “I’ll stop, if you want me to.”

  She shook her head slowly. It had been a long time since someone had touched her or looked at her the way that he was doing now. As his fingers slipped from her hair to trail down the smooth skin of her cheeks, she felt herself blushing. Jane’s eyes slipped away from his, but his finger on her chin made her look back up at him. Her heart quickened at the firm touch. Jane vaguely wondered how long it had been since someone touched her the way he was now. The thought was quickly pushed out of her head.

  Franklin leaned down, brushed warm lips over hers. Parting her lips, she tasted the faint hint of liquor on his tongue. Her thin fingers traced up his arms, over the muscles that were beneath his shirt. Her hands pushed into his hair, scratched across his head. Franklin pressed against her harder as she did, his fingers slipping over her hips, pressing into her skin.

  As they caught their breath, Franklin pulled back a bit. His eyes traveled over her face, his eyes searching. She wanted to ask him what he was looking for, but she was easily distracted once more as his mouth found her neck. The voice that told her she shouldn’t do this was quickly drowned out by the one that assured her there was nothing to lose. Jane knew that wasn’t true, but she wanted Franklin, the consequences could wait until later.

  Jane’s hand wrapped around his when they separated again. She hadn’t made use of her bed in days, but now it was calling her name. After all of the pent up frustration and stress, she needed it more than ever. Franklin walked behind her as she sauntered down the hall, leading him into her bedroom.

  ***

  Sunlight streamed into her bedroom making Jane squint her eyes. There was a faint pounding in her head, a soreness in her legs. She groaned. As she opened her eyes, she noticed her legs were tangled up in the white sheet wrapped around her body. Lifting her head, she saw Franklin. His chest was rising and falling slowly, his hair dishevele
d.

  Jane’s first thought was to yelp. She replayed the events of the night before; the bar, too many drinks, his lips on hers. She buried her face in her hands before running her fingers through her hair. What could she possibly have been thinking? She began to unwind the sheets from around her legs. When she crawled over to the edge of the bed, an arm wrapped around her waist before pulling her back into the bed.

  “Where are you going?” Franklin mumbled with his eyes still closed, his arm firmly around her waist.

  Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her close to him again. The heat of him pressed up against her skin made her want to relax, go back to sleep. She fought through that urge. She opened her mouth, but closed it again when his fingers slipped through her hair, traced over her shoulder. There was no intent in his touch, just the comforting caress of his skin trailing along hers.

  “This is insane,” Jane mumbled against the pillow that her fingers had curled into

  “What is?”

  “This. We can’t do this.”

  Franklin laughed. “Haven’t you learned by now that I pretty much do whatever I want?”

  Jane couldn’t help but to grin at this. Still, she wondered what this meant for them now. Franklin almost seemed the type to disappear in the morning, but he was still there. Not only that, but he was affectionate,. She felt his lips against her shoulder blade. Jane never would have guessed that he could be so sweet, but when he was wrapped around her so easily it was hard to deny.

  Contrary to everything her brain was worrying her about, she stayed put. His breath slipped across her ear, his deep breathing making her sleepy again. Her eyes began to close when she heard his voice.

  “I’m starving.”

  “You have to let me up if you want to eat,” she whispered back. “Or I’m going to fall asleep again.”

  Almost reluctantly, Franklin let go of her waist. She slipped out of bed slowly as he sat up, stretched. She watched the muscles ripple beneath his skin. Shaking her head, she wandered around her bedroom searching for clothes. Carrying them into the bathroom, she sat them on the counter carefully before she started the shower. The bathroom quickly steamed up. Jane stepped into the tub, let the water wash over her sore muscles. The shower curtain moved back as Franklin climbed in after her.

  By the time they stepped out of the shower, Jane had to quickly wrap herself up in a towel. Franklin seemed to have the self-restraint of a teenager. She dried herself off before she slipped into her clothes, a pair of cotton shorts and a pale blue tank top. Her fingers moved fast to wrap her hair up into a bun. When Franklin stepped out of the shower, she left out of the bathroom.

  He walked into the kitchen, his pants from the day before hanging low on his hips. Jane tried to keep her eyes off his his bare chest, still wet from the shower. Leaning into the refrigerator, she grabbed bacon and eggs before sitting them out on the counter.

  “When was the last time you had a three-day weekend?”

  “I think senior year of undergrad.” She took a pan from the cabinet, “I don’t even know what to do with myself.”

  “I know what to do with you.” He stepped close to her, taking the pan from her at the same time as he placed a kiss against her lips. Jane sighed into his lips, smiling against them. “Let me cook. I bet I can make you an omelet that will knock your pants off.”

  “Leave my pants out of this,” Jane said with a smirk as Franklin slipped the spatula out of her hand as well.

  He turned his attention to the refrigerator as Jane hopped up onto the counter to watch him work. She’d never had a boyfriend cook for her, not successfully. The word boyfriend glared at her. She shoved it away. No one had said anything about a boyfriend. As she watched him crack eggs into a bowl, she knew that whatever they were, it didn’t need a name. Not yet anyway. It was nice to enjoy someone else’s company for the time being.

  As Jane’s eyes followed Franklin’s movements, she realized that he was a lot better at cooking than she thought he’d be. He handled the knife like a pro, whisked and seasoned with a flare that she didn’t know he possessed. Jane watched from the side, her stomach grumbling, leaning over she reached for a piece of bell pepper hanging from the bowl. Franklin tapped her hand as she went for another piece.

  “You can wait,” he said with a grin.

  “Where did you learn to cook like this?” She asked from her perch on the counter.

  Franklin shrugged. “I picked it up from my mom when I was little. There’s nothing like being in a kitchen. There’s so many possibilities and if you’re creative enough, you can make anything work.”

  Jane smiled at his words. They were so innocent compared to his harder, competitive nature. On his face was the same deep look of concentration he wore when he worked. But he was at ease, calm, controlled, happy. She liked this look on him.

  “What are you over there thinking about?” He said as he poured the egg mixture into the hot pan.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re tapping your foot.” He pointed to the appendage with the spatula. “You always do that when you’re really deep in thought.”

  Jane looked at him in surprise. Did she do that? She had no idea and yet Franklin knew. How long had he been glancing at her, noticing the small things about her personality that she noticed about his?

  “Earth to Jane,” he said as he walked over to her, pulling her legs up around his waist. “What’s going on up here?” He asked tapping the side of her head.

  “I was just thinking about the first time we had to work together. How mean you were,” she said as a grin spread across her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, “So fucking rude.”

  Franklin shook his head. “I wasn’t mean, I was focused. Ambitious.”

  “Mean,” Jane reiterated as she narrowed her eyes at him.

  He chuckled. “Okay, I was a little bit of a jerk. I’ll admit that. You made it very clear that you didn’t care for me from the beginning,” he said as he moved back over to the pan.

  Jane’s eyebrow shot up in surprise. “How?”

  “You told Rebecca that I was a lazy, privileged, asshole.”

  Jane’s mouth fell open. “You heard that?”

  “Every word.”

  Jane buried her face into her hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. She asked if I had a thing for you, I got defensive. I’ve always had a talent for sticking my foot directly into my mouth.”

  Franklin laughed. “So, you had a thing for me?”

  Jane went red. “I-I was...that is…Shut up,” she said as he began to grin.

  He moved his fingers over his lips, twisted them then went back to cooking. Her leg started to tap again, making him glance over at her. Jane stopped quickly.

  “Stay out of my head,” she said as she glared at him.

  Franklin threw up his hands. “I’m just good at making observations.”

  Jane shook her head as he began to look through the cabinets for plates. She hopped down, grabbed two of her red plates before sitting them on the counter for him. Franklin served up the omelets with a side of bacon as Jane poured both of them a big glass of orange juice. They arranged everything on the table before sitting down. Jane sighed.

  “What?” Franklin asked as he cut a piece of egg with his fork.

  “I think you can cook better than I can.”

  Franklin laughed. “Finally, she admits that I can do something better than her.”

  “Hold on, I said I think,” she said as she popped a piece of egg into her mouth. She moaned.

  “That’s what I thought,” Franklin said with a smirk.

  When their plates were cleared, Franklin insisted on doing the dishes. He stood at the sink, suds halfway up his arms as he worked. Jane couldn’t believe it. Not only did he cook, but he cleaned too. She grabbed a towel, began to dry the dishes that he rinsed off and placed in the dish drain.

  “What are you going to do with the rest of your weekend,” Jane asked as she slipped a
plate into the cabinet above her head, standing on the tips of her toes to do so.

  “Is this your way of asking if I’ll stay the weekend?” Franklin asked without missing a beat.

  “I never said that!”

  Franklin laughed before he flicked water at her. “Ask nicely and I’ll stay. I’m enjoying your company.”

  Jane narrowed her eyes at him. She pressed her lips together as she continued to dry off the dishes. She felt him leaning closer, but she ignored him. Franklin’s lips brushed against her ear.

  “Just say it,” he said sending a shiver down her spine.

  “Never.”

  “I bet I can make you say it.”

  “Go ahead and try.”

  The thought of dishes were forgotten as Franklin pulled her into his strong arms. The way his muscles moved against her body made her melt. It was an interesting experience to feel both protected and unnerved. His mouth captured hers.

  “We didn’t finish the dishes,” Jane whispered.

  “I think they can wait.”

  ***

  Jane ran a brush through her hair. Every time it seemed like they were ready to leave, Franklin would do something to start the process all over again. It was after her third time getting dressed again that she forced him out of the house and into a taxi. They traveled back to the bar that they’d celebrated at the night before. As Jane stepped out of the taxi, Franklin paid for the ride. Jane had just woven her hair into a ponytail when she heard a familiar voice.

  “Jane?”

  Rebecca was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Her purse was slung over her shoulder, a raised hand blocking the sun from her eyes. When Franklin moved beside her, wearing clothes from the day before, Rebecca glanced back and forth between them. Jane bit her lip as the reality of the situation hit her friend.

  “You two? You two! What...how...why? Jane?”

  Jane steered Rebecca away from Franklin calling over her shoulder to him. “Pull the car around!” When they were out of earshot of Franklin the brunette opened her mouth. Jane could see the gears working in Rebecca’s head, trying to piece things together.