Teela smoothed her hands down the skirt of the dress. It was a self-conscious move and Evie picked up on it. “That’s for later.”
“That’s pretty damn basic storyline if he dressed you.”
Evie could take a suspicion and make it an event people would pay to attend. Outside, Sophie was back at her desk and the flowers had been split into three vases. Teela closed her office door and sat in the visitors’ chair.
“After we talked, I was rear-ended.” She waved a hand at Evie’s expression of concern. I’m fine. Car had to be towed. It was pelting down, water running ankle deep, and I couldn’t find a taxi and none of the ride shares had cars available I wouldn’t have to sell a kidney to hire. I was this washed-out lump and somehow he sees me clumping up the street and pulls over in his big dry limo.”
“Big dry sexy limo.”
“Big sexy eye-contact voodoo happens in the back seat of the big sexy dry limo.”
Evie slapped the desk. “Get it, girl.”
Teela grinned. It wasn’t often that phrase could be slung at her in a raunchy context. “He offered me a dry towel.”
“That’s a,” Evie paused to recalibrate, “different line.”
“I really needed a towel. We had to go to his hotel room to get one.”
Evie waggled her eyebrows. “Come up and see my fluffy towels.”
It was certainly a unique pick-up line. “It worked. It was the way he said it. And once I got to his whopping big suite, I had a shower and then he bought me this dress and these shoes and then he fed me and then we did it.”
“Is whopping big suite a euphemism for cock?”
Teela shook her head. She didn’t need to be talking about Haydn Delany’s cock in her office. “Evie, can we do this tonight?
“Yes, for all the gory detail, but now we still have basics to cover. Who was on top?”
“Him.” The first time.
“Is that what you wanted?”
“I got what I wanted and then some.” And really, why was she letting the stupid card make her feel less like that was the case?
“How many orgasms?”
She made a keep-it-down gesture. “Lost count.”
Evie took no notice. “Get outta here. I need more.”
Whole office building might’ve heard that. “We slept. We went for a swim this morning.”
“He bought you a bikini?”
“Private pool.”
Evie put her arms on the desk, from fingertip to elbow. “Tell me he fucked you in the private pool.” She levered herself out of the chair and got in Teela’s face. “Tell me his dick is gorgeous, and he knows what to do with it.” What she didn’t do was keep her voice down.
“Heelloo.”
Teela groaned at the sound of Sophie’s voice though the wall.
“It’s not like I can’t hear you,” Sophie called. “No one is here. It’s too quiet. I can’t help it. And it has to be against HR rules to be hearing about my boss’s sex life. I’m guessing Lynda didn’t send the flowers.”
“Sorry Sophie,” Teela called. “Evie is sorry too.”
“I’m not that sorry, Soph. Our girl got some quality arse last night. It’s a victory for the lovelorn.”
Teela palmed her face when Sophie said, “I’m so jealous, you guys.”
“Okay enough, enough.” She stood. “I have work to do, so do you, Sophie, and you,” she pointed at Evie, “have to go and post to your adoring Insta fans from somewhere else.”
Evie stood too. “I feel like you don’t respect my work ethic, Tee. We’ll have to talk about that later, right after we talk about a certain person’s sex technique.”
Teela opened her office door. Fat lot of good it did as a sound barrier. She walked Evie out, avoiding eye contact with Sophie who was back at her desk wearing a dopey grin.
In the elevator foyer, Evie said, “I’ve got one last question. Why aren’t you happy?”
She frowned. “I’m—I can’t talk about this at work.”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean. You’re the boss, we could’ve gone to the conference room or out for coffee. You just ran a super high-profile event and it went off without a hitch. It’s all over today’s media. This morning you’re invincible. On top of that you, had a one-night stand in a million one-night stands and I know you were excited about it, but you’re not happy. Something went wrong and it’s basic data. Did he hurt you?”
“No, no.” It was such a long way from that.
“Okay.” Evie wasn’t buying. “Make you feel bad?
“No.” She was making herself feel bad for no smart reason.
“Oh, I know that face. That’s the special Teela Carpenter I don’t know how I feel. Let’s-not-talk-about-it face.”
Having a best friend who’d known you since high school was a right pain in the neck sometimes. “You’re making something out of nothing.”
“Am I? Tee, why aren’t you walking on sunshine?”
She leaned against the corridor wall. Change of shoes required pronto. “I am happy. The conference got great press coverage and I’ve built an excellent credential from it and he was wonderful. Really, it was surprising and amazing, but I got no sleep for weeks before this and I’m tired to my bones. Nothing bad happened except there was this card with the flowers and it . . . never mind. It’s dumb.”
“You know I love dumb. Bring me all the dumb, baby.”
“It said lovely to meet you. All the best.”
Evie made a monster face.
“That’s your something smells look.”
“Because that’s like asking how are you and then not waiting for the reply. It’s a giant nothing, no care, up yours.”
Teela tried out a laugh, but it fell flat even to her own ears. “What do I care? I had the experience of a lifetime. It’s not like I’m going to remember the card when I think about it.”
“Right, so why did it upset you even a little bit?”
She looked at her shoes. They really were fuck-me hot. You had to suffer to be glamorous. But that wasn’t her. She was two-inch block heels that you could walk in. And even those hurt her feet when she’d been running about in them all day. “I don’t know.” It wasn’t sensible on any scale to feel let down by Haydn. “I need sleep.”
Evie pressed against the wall beside her. If anyone came into the corridor they’d guess a deep and meaningful was in progress. “I know.” Evie said. “Because you liked him. You saw something real and really liked him, beyond the towels and the shoes and the fucking in a private pool. You thought you had a genuine connection and then lovely to meet you all the best happened.”
That made Teela laugh for real. She stepped away from the wall. “You’re exceptionally annoying when you’re right. Give me a couple of hours to try to feel normal around Sophie again and wallow in my inbox and I’ll have forgotten all about the silly card.”
Evie clapped her hands in that rapid-fire excited soundless way. “And then we’ll do all the excruciating detail, like packs left or right, cut or uncut, thrust technique, tongue proficiency. I’ll bring the food.”
There were worse ways to spend a Friday night after a week of triumph than recounting the highlights of one night with the Sexiest Man Alive. “It’s a deal.”
SIX
Haydn eyed the mussed-up bed. He probably should crawl back into it and get some more sleep. It would smell of sex. And that would remind him that he put Teela in a limo and sent her away. There were two other unused beds in the apartment and he could crash on either of them. He could have his concierge here in two minutes and clean sheets in five. Wouldn’t make him feel better.
Not that he had any reason to feel bad. The overnight fun had been fantastic. The morning delight more than delightful. But something was off.
Had to be jet lag. Too much melatonin? Not enough?
A workout would fix him.
In the private gym, Rick put him through his paces. Cardio to work up a sweat then weight training. Hassan came
in as Rick was spotting for him on the bench press.
“No issues?” Rick asked. It was more a matter of form, neither of them expected Hassan, who’d been hired for their stay in Australia because he’d come highly recommended, to report any problems.
Haydn lifted but Hassan’s silence spooked him and with a nod to Rick, he hooked the barbell back on the bar and swung his legs around to sit.
“What aren’t you saying?” Rick asked.
“I don’t know if it’s anything, but Miss. Carpenter was fine until she opened the card.”
“The one that goes with the flowers?” Haydn said. Oh shit. Hello, bad feeling.
Hassan nodded.
“Sounds like nothing,” said Rick. “That card, it’s not specific. Not personalized. It’s the standard order.”
“Oh fuck,” Haydn said, wiping his sweaty head with a hand towel.
“What’s the problem?” Rick asked?
Haydn focused on Hassan. “What happened?”
“It’s not that anything happened. It was just the expression on her face,” Hassan said. “She went from smiling at the whole world to looking like she’d lost something.”
“Maybe she did lose something.” Rick said. “Housekeeping will find it and you can get it back to her.”
Hassan shook his head. “I don’t think that’s it.”
“She would’ve mentioned it,” Haydn added. Teela knew how to ask for what she wanted.
Rick slapped his thighs. “What are we talking about here?”
“That card. It wasn’t good enough,” Haydn said, noting Hassan’s nod of agreement. And the guy wouldn’t have known what it said any more than Haydn did. It was something the florist they used was told to write, decided on years ago.
“It’s never been a problem before,” Rick said.
“That we know,” he responded. And he hadn’t cared enough to find out. “It’s a problem now. Teela is different.”
“Not American. Not in the business. Not someone you’re likely to run into again. She was a perfect pick. What are you saying?” Rick asked.
“I don’t know.” It would never not feel odd that he had to talk about his love life with his team. “I liked her. We had fun.” Even when he was seeing someone long-term, it was usually more perfunctory than this, about logistics, like transport and food, not the state of his heart. Not that this was about his heart. It just felt wrong and that’s where the wrongness was geographically located.
“I don’t want to think about Teela being upset. What does that card say?”
Rick went for his phone and looked it up. “Lovely to meet you. All the best.”
“Oh shit, that’s cold.” He looked at Hassan’s face, his lips drawn away from his teeth in a grimace and made the same expression in agreement.
“It’s never caused a problem before.” Rick said. “You never wanted anyone to feel like there was going to be any further contact. A clean cut. It does the trick.”
Haydn was firmly on the record as a committed bachelor who loved women but not enough to spend forever with one. So that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Sex was sex, and as long as it was fully consensual and not likely to lead him anywhere tangled, he was all for having as much of it as possible.
The not getting tangled part was the real trick. One-night stands and super-short affairs were the perfect remedy. His last true relationship had been with an Italian model. After three months, she’d wanted forever. They’d compromised on nothing.
“I know. I know.” Those words would’ve been workshopped by everyone on his team who worried about his private needs and public image. “But I feel bad now.”
“And?” Rick said.
“I’m going to do something about it.”
“Boss, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
He stood from the weight bench. Now he had a mission that was more interesting than waiting for a phone call. “I know exactly how bad an idea this is. It’s perfect.”
It was lunchtime when he called Carpenter Conference Management. His damn voice was so famous the woman who answered got giggly, but she agreed to put him through to Teela without announcing him.
“Teela Carpenter.”
“Hi, it’s Haydn. I was wondered if you’d like to join me for lunch?”
He heard a weary sigh and his eyebrows shot towards his hairline. “Who are you?” she said. “Did Evie put you up to this? I’m going to kill her.”
“I don’t know who Evie is, but I think you should spare her life.”
“You’re good. You sound just like him. You could probably get work doing impersonations. Maybe you already do. This was fun.” she said flatly. “I’m hanging up now.”
And she did.
He laughed into his handset. Last person who done that to him was Mom when he made her angry about not coming home for Thanksgiving one year. Who knew he’d miss people being so annoyed they hung up on him?
He took the bag Hassan held out to him. “I don’t know what to tell you. Hang around. She might kick me out.” That’d be another first. Made him square his shoulders before he got out of the car as if he was riding into battle. “If I’m not back in five, take a break. Rick will call.”
When Rick opened the door to Carpenter Conference Management, a woman looked up from behind a desk and gasped.
“Are you okay?” Haydn asked.
“Did you? You’re. You just. You were. Called. You called and OH MY GOD. You’re His Sexiness,” she spluttered.
“Hi, yes I’m Haydn Delany and this is Rick and you are,” he paused for the obvious filler.
“I’m so. I’m so. So, so. Sophie, my name is so-Sophie. I’m, hello, wow. Sophie.”
He grinned at her, but kept the wattage down, didn’t want to break anything. “So-Sophie, is there any way I could see Teela?”
“Holy shit! Teeelaa!” she yelled.
“That might work.” It did. Teela appeared from a doorway behind so-so-Sophie’s desk. She was barefoot and frowning. Not a great start. He did the shoulder-squaring thing again. When did he become so ridiculous over a one-night stand? “Hi. I called.”
Teela’s eyes got big. “You did?”
“I knew it,” Sophie said.
“You hung up on me,” he said. Damn if he didn’t sound delighted by that.
“I thought it was a prank.”
“I know what that feels like. I wondered if I could take you to lunch.”
“You,” Sophie said. “Her. Oh God, you’re responsible for the flowers.” She turned to Teela. “Why did he give you flowers, Teela? Teela? Oh my God. You and him and sexy stuff I shouldn’t know about. I can’t believe it. And you lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie,” Teela said.
“You omitted big time,” Sophie said, and behind him Rick muffled a laugh, badly.
“Haydn, I don’t think I,” Teela began and then faltered.
“That’s fine, he held up the bag. I bought lunch in case you were busy.”
“You want to have lunch with me?”
“I do.”
“I thought after—” she looked away.
“Yeah, about that.”
“This is fantastic,” Sophie said. She sat between him and Teela and her head might pop off if this back and forth kept up.
“Rick, take Sophie to lunch,” he said.
“I’m fine here. I’ve eaten,” Sophie said.
That was enough for Teela. “Sophie. For goodness sake, go with Rick, get an ice cream. Haydn, come with me.”
He grinned at Rick, who had done a lot in the game of distraction during their time together but had never been sent out for ice cream, and went after Teela. He found her in a little kitchen overlooking a gritty back alley that never saw sunlight.
“This is cute.”
“It’s cheap rent is what it is. We’re moving to something better soon.”
He should’ve kept quiet, she was defensive enough. “You and so-so-Sophie.”
“And everyone else I
gave the day off to.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed.”
“I’m not.” Though she glanced out at that alley. “I’m growing a business from scratch. That means not spending too much on rent and watching my cash-burn rate. What are you doing here?”
“You hung up on me.”
“You must’ve made that call from right outside the office.”
He grinned. “Preparation is everything.”
From the other room they heard Sophie. “Rick and I are leaving now. We’re leaving. You’re all alone. We’ll be gone ages. Haydn, is it okay if I get a selfie with you later?”
Teela rolled her eyes. “No worries,” Haydn called in his best Aussie and got a shriek of laughter back before they heard the main door open and close. “Rick is a good guy. I’ll have to remember that at his annual review.”
“Did the phone call you were waiting on come?” Teela said, with a swift conversational turn.
“Not yet.” He really needed it to.
He couldn’t fund the anti-piracy program alone over the long haul. It had to be financially sustainable and satellite time wasn’t cheap. If he failed, millions of dollars of aid would continue to benefit the wrong people and he couldn’t let the warlords win.
The wildcard invitation to headline the leadership forum was a gift. Sydney was where a few key potential donors he’d wanted to tap lived. It was also a city he could afford to practice his statesmanship skills on, where people might be a little more forgiving of an actor not sticking to his knitting and still learning to flex is activist wings.
Teela likely knew more about how to make the numbers work than he did. He put the bag down and started taking wrapped parcels from it. He had gourmet sandwiches, juices, and coffee that was still warm. Preparation and a hotel kitchen at his command.
“Sit, eat and let me explain.”
She stayed standing. “About what?”
“That awful card.”
She considered denying it had affected her. He saw it in the way she focused on the sandwiches, and when she sat, it was with an air of being trapped.
“It was needlessly cavalier. You deserved better from me.”
One Night with the Sexiest Man Alive (The One Book 1) Page 6