Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set

by Maddie James

  After throwing her things down at her desk, she unwrapped from her winter wear and slid into her desk chair. Her computer hummed to life when she wiggled the mouse. A family photo popped up as her wallpaper on her desktop. She touched the screen, running a light finger along the side of her mother’s face. Now that her brother had moved out, her parents were empty nesters. If she wanted to move back to St. Louis, would they allow her to stay with them for a while? Or did they have grand plans of turning her room into a sewing room or whatever parents of older children did. Worse yet. What if they sold her childhood home? Too many memories to box up and store away.

  Certain memories needed to remain safely in the past.

  She clicked their face away and opened her email. Fifty unopened messages popped up since she’d last checked. Allison ran her eyes down the length of names, scanning for anything about today’s visitor jumping out at her. Instead, emails from her mother and Adam glared at her.

  She opened the email from her mother. Her message started out by telling her that after several weeks of trips, her brother was officially moved out. She mentioned how quiet the house was and how her father wanted to get a dog. Well, she wasn’t interested. She’d put in her time raising kids and if he wanted a dog, he’d be the one to walk it, feed it, bathe it and pick up its poop. Allison’s mom said her father hadn’t mentioned a pet in days. She went on to ask if Allison planned on coming home for Thanksgiving. She knew it was a long shot since she’d just spent a week home but she was hopeful.

  Allison sat back in her black leather chair. She swiveled from side to side, keeping her feet planted to the floor. Her vision trained on her mother’s email. She couldn’t believe how she missed her family already. She also knew that was part of the reason for her funk. Instead of sending back a rushed reply, she flagged it for later and opened her brother’s.

  He’d started his message with an animated picture of a caveman knocking a cavewoman over the head with his club and dragging her off behind him.

  “He’s so lame,” she whispered, laughing at his way of making her smile.

  Allison, Do not show Sarah this cartoon. She’ll kick my ass!

  I haven’t heard from you since the wedding. I hope you’re okay. Sorry we didn’t get to chat before we left on our honeymoon, which was amazing by the way. I’ll save the details for later. Listen, I know you were just here and I can’t thank you enough but I hope you make it home for Thanksgiving. I have some awesome news to share and I can’t do it over the phone.

  Plus, I think you and I need to talk. Like really talk. I can’t get over what you told me. So when you get a chance give me a call or just come home for Turkey Day. You know you want me to woop up on you in flag football. And if you don’t come home, I’ll just call you a chicken!

  Love ya, Adam

  Allison slumped in her chair staring at her screen. Thankful her blinds were drawn as tears took turns running down her cheeks. Seeing her brother’s words formed a knot in her throat and churned her stomach. She missed her family and the way she and George left quickly the morning after the wedding didn’t help. It was a choice she’d made to avoid getting hurt when she ended up hurting herself anyway. Like ripping a Band-Aid off except she was still bleeding beneath hers.

  Plus, the guilt of not telling them that she and George were no longer an item weighed on her mind. Her mom continued to send her links from wedding websites with notes about how certain dresses would look on her or how this and that would match George’s eyes. George’s eyes? How did her mother know what his eyes looked like?

  She reached for her phone wanting to call her mom but pulled her hand back. What would she say? Hey mom, you know that guy I brought with me, well he’s gay and we’re not getting married. Thanks, love ya. And by the way, I’m thinking about moving home and mooching off you as I try to pull my life together. Okay?

  No. If she was going to move home, she’d need a plan. She’d need a job and a place of her own. The only roadblock was herself.

  Allison and Ryan hadn’t left things on good terms. There weren’t any terms at all. Knowing Adam and him were still friends made going home harder. Cutting Adam from her life would be like cutting off her own leg. Sure, she’d manage but she’d never feel whole. Complete.

  Allison clicked a few boxes, storing her mother’s and brother’s emails in a private folder. She ran through the rest of her messages, forgetting about the words hidden away. Once her fur-lined boots were stashed beneath her desk, she slid her chilled toes into black heels and set her mind to work. Forget about her life and bury herself in her job.

  Hours later Allison looked up from her pile of paper work and noticed she’d missed lunch. Not feeling hungry, she opted to take a break when dinner came around. The commotion her boss created with his visitor seemed to die down within the past half-hour. She remembered mention of a big wig in their industry named R.J, but she wasn’t sure if it was the same guy. Besides, what could he want with them? And if it were the same guy, knowing he was from St. Louis, she wondered if she could sneak a few minutes with him to see if he had any openings. Allison doubted as much. She’d never get up enough nerve to track down the elusive R.J. to ask.

  Allison shook the cramp from her hand, stretching her fingers and rolling her wrists. Her head fell back, pulling at her neck. Her back screamed when she stood and took a liberal stretch. What she needed was a spa day. Full on body rubbed down, hair, nails and face. The only thing holding her back was the work staring at her from her desk.

  After taking her seat, she set back to work. Her hands flew across her keyboard creating a new proposal for a potential client. In college, she hated doing research but as an adult she found the search and retrieval process rewarding. Especially when all her work had paid off with a new client signing a contract.

  She tapped her pen against a white sheet of paper she’d drawn swirly hearts upon. The design wasn’t going to make much sense to the gaming company she was pitching to next week. She needed her brother’s help. Allison hadn’t played a video game in years and didn’t know the first thing about what appealed to that targeted market. She wiggled her mouse again and punched in a few keywords in a search engine. Images of clothing, game covers and pictures of guys playing games appeared.

  Her mind absorbed as she clicked through the links bouncing from one sight to the next. Colors and images flashed before her eyes like a movie in fast forward.

  A quick knock sounded before her door eased open and George stepped inside.

  “Hey hun. Didn’t see you in the lunchroom today. Busy?”

  His easy smile filled her heart. She didn’t deserve his friendship especially when he didn’t know her mom and dad thought they were still engaged. A minor detail she hadn’t found the guts to make right. “A little. There’s a new client I’m trying to land.”

  “Really? Hmm.” He sat in a chair in front of her desk, mindlessly touching items on top.

  “What?” She asked.

  “Nothing but I think you need a break. Have you had coffee? Lunch? Soda?”

  “No, I’m good but I really should get back to work.” Her hands poised above her keyboard. “Oh, hey. What was going on this morning? And why didn’t you tell me?” She peered over her monitor at George’s blue eyes. Her eyebrows rose, tempting him to spill what he knew.

  “Well, it seems our boss had a visitor.”

  “Duh. I heard it was that R.J. guy?”

  Avoiding her stare, he picked a piece of lint from his sweater. “So, that coffee.”

  The squeak from her desk chair rolling back caused George’s head to pop up. Keeping her eyes trained on his face, she rose and came around to the front of her desk. Her arms crossed in front of her blouse, tugging the material tight along her arms. “What’s going on here? Do you know something?”

  He nodded.

  “Is it about me?” Heat ran the length of her neck.

  Again, he nodded.

  “Am I getting fired?” Her arms dropp
ed to her side, preparing herself to run from her office and plead to keep her job. Now was not the time to be unemployed. All she needed was to crawl home jobless and broke.

  George rose from his chair and stepped to Allison. “Calm down. Man, what a drama queen.” Tension in her body eased. “You’re not getting fired. But there was someone here today and they’re still here.”

  “What do they want?”

  Another knock sounded at her door except this time, her visitor waited to be let in.

  “You should get that,” George said releasing her arms.

  Confused and slightly annoyed with the way George avoided giving her a straight answer, Allison moved to the door, pulled it open and gasped.

  Staring back at her were deep brown eyes. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth setting off a storm of butterflies in her stomach, making her feel light-headed. She was second guessing skipping lunch.

  “Ryan.” His name drifted from her lips.

  “Hey.” Ryan’s frame filled the doorway. All six feet of him.

  “Come in,” she said stepping aside.

  He was dressed in a navy three-piece suit. A pressed faint pink shirt hid beneath the vest. Pulling his look together, he knotted a mix of pink, white and navy tie around his neck. One hand tucked into a pant pocket leaving the other rested at his side. His hair appeared longer than it had three weeks prior; thick and dark. His brown eyes were almost black from the shadow the late afternoon sun casting low rays across her office window. Even with the darkness, she read his eyes, and what they told her made her stomach jump. The slight raise of his lips at the side of his mouth caused his dimple to show itself on his cheek. Faint dark stubble kissed his strong jaw line.

  He didn’t appear mad. Instead he seemed to be in a playful mood.

  George traded places with Ryan, passing in front of Allison’s stunned face. “Hey, thanks for giving me a call,” Ryan said, shaking George’s hand.

  “It was my pleasure. Although, I was surprised to learn that we were still engaged.” George’s baby blues pointed at Allison giving her “are you serious with me” look.

  She winced at his comment. She hated admitting she was scared. She hoped by Christmas when she was for sure going home next that her parents wouldn’t notice his absence. She knew it wasn’t likely to avoid any sort of explanation.

  “Well, all is fixed now.” Ryan added, ushering George to the door.

  “Wait, if you knew, does my family know?”

  “You mean besides Adam.” Ryan’s words challenged her. “Yes, they know.”

  “How come my mother hasn’t said anything to me about it? I just read an email from her today.”

  The door closed with a click. Ryan inched closer to Allison causing her to take a step back. He filled the space around her with his scent of cologne. A woodsy, ocean smell.

  “Because she knew I was coming here…today.” He moved closer.

  The glow from the fluorescent light above casted a halo around his head. He smiled down at Allison. His eyes drew her in, softening along the edges and his smile grew, tugging the corners of his mouth up. Ryan looked good. His gaze smoldered the longer they took in every inch of her face. Her heart beat in her chest and she knew the silence in the room gave her away, flushing her cheeks with warmth.

  Several minutes passed in silence. Allison found her courage and shook away the steamy thoughts his eyes placed into her head. Now that he knew she wasn’t really engaged, if given the opportunity, she wanted to kiss him again.

  “In town for business,” she asked moving to her desk. She picked at papers and pens scattered across the top, trying to keep her hands busy. If she didn’t look directly at him, maybe the likelihood of caring on a normal conversation was possible.

  “You could say that.” His voice rumbled in his chest, almost as if he purred to her. Allison wondered how he ever got any work done and why he didn’t have a trail of women falling behind him.

  A thin line of sweat formed between her breasts. She fought the urge to grab a piece of paper to fan herself. Questions swirled in her head. Why wasn’t he asking the obvious one? Why did she pretend to be engaged? Was she desperate? Why was he here? In her office? And what did it have to do with her business?

  Ryan turned from her desk and walked toward a poster framed on her wall. He stared at the picture before he glanced over his shoulder. “Did you work on this campaign?”

  Allison remembered the account well. She’d been employed for six months, doing grunt work for another account executive. The popular cereal company mostly relied on television and print ads. But with the tech savvy generation they targeted they wanted a new way to reach their market. Allison’s firm offered all facets of marketing and advertising but the executive she worked beneath focused on event marketing. Big, attention getting displays or productions established to catch the consumer’s eyes and drive sales. Event marketing wasn’t what she’d gone to college for but found she enjoyed the area of work; providing her with something new every day.

  “Yes I did.”

  “We went after that same proposal.”

  Ryan’s back still faced Allison. She smiled at her accomplishment, enjoying the fact he didn’t see her gloat. Plus, his backside offered a nice view. “Really?” She asked. “In fact, that’s how I went from a grunt to a step above a grunt.”

  He spun around with an easy smile on his lips. He looked proud but Allison knew that emotion wasn’t right. “Impressive,” he offered with a nod. “And I hardly consider you a grunt if you can land something this big.”

  “Thanks. This really isn’t a good day for visitors. Apparently my boss is on fire and we have somebody coming by.” George never completely answered her questions about who was coming to visit. But he did say she wasn’t going to lose her job.

  Ryan ignored her implied request to leave and pulled a chair to the front of her desk. He unbuttoned his suit jacket, letting the sides fall open. He eased himself into the seat, relaxing against mauve fabric. Ryan rested his ankle against the top of his knee, stretching his arms along the rests of the chair.

  “Did I ever mention that I know your boss?”

  “No. But if you do know him, you’ll know how he hates surprises. And if you know him, he’ll know you and that you work in the industry, too. As a competitor.”

  “Oh yeah, he dislikes surprises. And not getting his way. That really gets his panties in a wad.”

  “So, as you can see…”

  Ryan interrupted her again. “In fact, I’m surprised that you’ve worked here as long as you have knowing how he is.”

  “He’s okay.”

  Ryan smirked, allowing a chuckle to shake his body. “Sure.”

  Noticing Ryan didn’t seem to have plans vacating her office anytime soon, Allison thought she’d be hospitable. “Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Water?” A butt kick out the door so her boss didn’t ride her about having Ryan Johnson sitting in her office trying to steal advertising plans.

  Allison’s hand hovered above her phone when Ryan shook his head, still with a smirk planted on his face. “No thank you. I don’t plan on being here much longer.”

  “Okay. Then what brings you here today?”

  “You brought me here. Or actually, George did after I spoke with him on the phone on Monday.”

  Monday, she yelled in her head. She’d dragged herself around all week, trying to figure out some way to tell her family about George and he’d already done the deed. She needed to have a conversation with him about communication. Allison saw the irony in her own thought process.

  “Me? I don’t understand.” Her butt rested against her desk. She was thankful for the support.

  “First, why weren’t you honest with me about George, especially after what I told you?”

  His words to her about attending her brother’s wedding alone plagued her for weeks. Three to be specific. If she’d spoken up while at home, she’d be forced to admit she’d lied to everyone. The e
mbarrassment was too much. But now that everybody knew and hadn’t said anything to her all week, she wondered if her previous decision was correct. Maybe they would have laughed along with her. Enjoyed the joke.

  “Um, well. I was scared to. I didn’t want to risk hurting George and embarrassing him. He really liked you guys, and after you all took him out drinking that first day, he felt connected. He doesn’t have a lot of friends here.”

  “We would have still liked him. Adam a little more since now the guy wasn’t marrying his sister.”

  An idea she hadn’t realized popped into her head. “Wait. You said Adam knows you know. And my mother knows you’re coming up here. So I’m guessing Adam also knows you’re coming up here. Does he know what you said to…me?” She swallowed the lump stuck in her throat.

  “Adam and Sarah came back from their honeymoon and asked me to help him move to her place. I agreed, of course, but he got me over to your parents’ house under false pretenses.”

  “You didn’t help him move?”

  “No. I helped but that wasn’t the real reason he wanted me to come over.”

  “Why did he?” Allison asked.

  “He wanted to talk about you.” Her brother mentioned how Ryan always seemed to ask about her. Bees filled her belly in anticipation of Ryan’s next words. “He told me about you and George and then he said I was a big ass for not going after you.”

  Allison always feared Adam would be an obstacle Ryan wouldn’t want to tackle. “Oh,” she whispered.

  Ryan stood bringing his body close to hers. “And you know what? He was right, about me being an ass. I stood there on that patio beneath that beautiful sky with the prettiest girl and I didn’t fight for you. I’d like to think I was doing the admirable thing. You were with someone else and it wasn’t my place to dredge up the past. I mean I had a chance, right? All those years ago and what did I do at the first sign of trouble? I left.” He ran his hand through his thick brown hair. “You must have thought I was the biggest puss.”