Work Like You Don't Need the Money (Summer Lake)

by SJ McCoy

  Emma didn't seem to notice her discomfort. “Jack only asked him this afternoon and knowing Pete he's probably still at the office yet. This way at least I get to you before he calls. Please say yes when he offers you a ride? Please? For me?”

  Holly shook her head. “Okay, just for you.”

  “And besides, I want to hear how the two of you got on this weekend. You looked quite cozy together every time I saw you.”

  For once, Holly didn't know what to say. She shared almost everything with Emma, but this? This was complicated. Pete was Emma's oldest and dearest friend. Emma had been hoping to get them together. She wasn't going to be fobbed off too easily.

  “I'm waiting...” teased Emma.

  “Oh, screw it,” declared Holly. “I don't know how to be anything but up front. We got on incredibly well. You were right, okay? He is gorgeous, a wonderful person, a great guy. He is smoking hot and the chemistry between us is overwhelming. We got on so well.... we got each other off even better! We stopped on the way back to the city, spent the night together and screwed each other senseless!” She laughed, “Does that answer your questions?”

  “Well! Err, I suppose so, but only because I'm stunned! Once my brain absorbs this I'm sure I will have a million questions.”

  “Whenever you're ready, ask away. In the meantime, I should warn you that we agreed it was a one off. While we were very, VERY attracted to one another, we both agree that we are not in a position to explore anything further. We wanted each other and we're consenting adults, so we took what we wanted. End of story, okay?”

  “Um, no,” said Emma. “Not okay. I mean, I want to know the whole story, and I want to know why you can't explore anything further. You two are PERFECT for each other. Why just a one nighter? It doesn't make sense. It's not even something either of you would do!”

  “Em, Sweetie, you're such a little romantic, that's why you don't see it. We're from different worlds. Pete is a big time Bigshot, I am not. He has a huge corporation, mega-bucks homes, cars and money. Dammit, Em, he even has a plane! I'm not from that world. I have to work. I work hard every day in my small business. He would never be interested in someone like me for anything more than sex. I understand that and I opted to go for the sex, because I wanted him. And, by the way? Yes! It was awesome!” she finished with a laugh.

  “Too much information, Holly. Remember Pete is like my big brother.”

  “I can vouch for the big part!”

  “Shut up!” laughed Emma. “And on the serious side, your reasons why there can't be anything more than sex between you are ridiculous!”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You are not from different worlds at all. Pete is just like us. He and I grew up together, remember? Same little school, same small town, hicksville, California. Yes, he's got lots of money and stuff now, and he has quite a name and some influence in the city, but that doesn't make him any different from you.”

  “Ha! Tell my accountant that, would you?”

  “Holly! You and Pete are really quite similar. You're both go-gettters. I think you would make a lovely couple.”

  “Like I said, Em, you, my friend, are a hopeless romantic. I live and work in the real world, where men like Pete don't want anything but sex from women like me. I'm fine with it. I'm glad we did it and we got it out of the way so there won't be any weirdness going on between the two of us in the build up to your wedding.”

  “Okay. Whatever you say. I am not going to argue with you at this point.”

  “No?” Holly had expected more of an inquisition.

  “No,” said Emma, in what Holly recognized as her sweetest voice.

  “Okay, so what does, 'at this point' mean then?”

  Emma laughed. “You know me too well. I'm simply going to wait until I see you together this weekend. Then I'll have a much better idea of what's really going on and will be able to bug you much more effectively because I'll be armed with facts and not just intuition!”

  “Whatever. Just because you're living your ‘Happily Ever After’ doesn't mean you need to go around trying to orchestrate one for me.”

  “We'll see.”

  “Yes we will, but for now I'm going. You caught me in a steaming bubble bath and now it's not steaming anymore.”

  “Okay, but we'll talk soon, yes? And you will come with Pete on Friday?”

  “Apparently,” sighed Holly.

  Chapter Five

  Holly sat staring at her screen. She was no more relaxed this morning than she had been last night. If anything, she was even more agitated. After talking to Emma, she'd given up on the tub and instead had tried to watch a movie. Trouble was, she'd spent more time looking at her phone than at the T.V. She'd been on edge, waiting for Pete to call to make arrangements for the weekend. What would he say? Would he be sticking to their agreement, or wanting more? She certainly wanted more. But she'd been clear. They'd had their one night, that was it, no more. After she'd taken her shower at the B&B, it had seemed he was good with the arrangement. He hadn't pushed or even asked for anything else. He'd even laughed when she'd left him with the stupid 'See you around, Bigshot,' which she'd blurted out in order to stop herself from asking when they could do it again.

  He hadn't called last night though. Of course, now she was convinced that he didn't want to. Jack had landed him in a difficult position. He'd had what he wanted, he didn't want to be stuck driving her up to the lake. That was why he hadn't called.

  She hadn't been able to face the customers this morning, or, for that matter, her cheery staff. Roberto had been in great form, relating gossip from a celebrity bash he and his partner, John, had been invited to the night before. Erin and Anna were hanging on his words, wanting descriptions of the stars, their clothes, and makeup. Usually she enjoyed the happy banter with her staff. This morning, she'd retreated to her office in the back of the store, claiming paperwork.

  She sipped her coffee and tried to concentrate on the stock spreadsheet before her, but the numbers stared back unsympathetically, refusing to make sense. The door to the office burst open and Roberto bounded through.

  “Flowers! Look, Holly. Beautiful, big, blooming flowers!”

  Behind him a delivery guy held a huge bouquet of oriental lilies. Holly simply stared.

  “Come on!” cried Roberto, snatching the flowers and handing them to her. “Sign for them and read us the card. We need to know already!”

  Erin and Anna peeped around the door behind him, eyes wide and big grins.

  “Sign for them?”

  “Please,” said the delivery man. “We don't normally need it, but the guy insisted. He held out a clipboard.

  Holly scribbled her name as she asked, “What guy?”

  “Oh, open the card and find out!” exclaimed Roberto.

  Holly took the little envelope and opened it.

  Come with me on Friday?

  Bigshot

  x

  She tried to suppress a huge smile, but failed.

  “Ooh, la la! Lookit that smile. Mona Lisa's got nothing on you, chica! PLEASE, we need all the details! My, how you've been keeping this one quiet!”

  The delivery guy smiled and backed out of the door, leaving them to it.

  “Berto, you are incorrigible,” she laughed.

  “No newsflash there darling,” he batted his eyelids at her as he rested his elbows on the desk and his chin on his hands. “Now. Details!”

  “Okay. Nothing exciting, I'm afraid. He's a friend of Emma's. He very kindly gave me a ride up to Summer Lake last weekend. As you know, Emma and Jack got engaged and now he's offering to let me ride up with him again on Friday, since we all need to be there.”

  Berto snatched the little card from her hand. He read it and then fanned himself with it as she tried to snatch it back.

  “Oh, Dios mio! He wants you to cum with him?!”

  “Berto!” she laughed.

  Erin and Anna giggled in the doorway.

  “And you say he gave you a rid
e last weekend?” Berto continued to fan himself. “Are the flowers enough to convince you to do it again? “ He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Was he a good ride? Does he have a large vehicle?”

  Erin and Anna collapsed in a fit of giggles. Holly herself threw her hands up in amused exasperation.

  “Give it up, Berto,” she laughed.

  “No way, darling. I need details. What's he like? How hot is he? What's his name? Do we know him? Will I need to steal him from you?”

  “His name is Pete. Yes he is hot. Hotter than hell, actually. And yes, Sweetie, you probably will want to steal him, but you don't have a shot. He's one of those powerful masculine men and he'd probably be scared of you!”

  “Oh, I have my powers of persuasion,” laughed Roberto.

  “Yes, you do, but for now can we get back to work? This place will fall apart if we all spend our time back here gossiping about hot men!”

  Erin and Anna scurried back out into the store. Roberto lingered in the doorway, his face serious now.

  “Is this what's been bothering you?” he asked.

  “Yes, Sweetie, it is. He put me in a spin, but it's not going anywhere so I just need to get over it. I'm fine though, thank you.”

  “Okay, Holls, if you say so. But never forget, I'm here for you, me and John. Anything. Ever. You know you have us, right?”

  “I do, Berto, and I'm so grateful. I love you guys.”

  “We love you too, Holls. Now, I'm going to get back to work so you can get back to staring at your screen and trying to work it out, okay?”

  Holly smiled, “Okay, smart ass. I'll be out in a little while.”

  When Holly did step out onto the floor it was almost lunch time. She'd sat and smiled at the note and the flowers for a while. She still didn't know where this was headed, but she knew from the flowers and from Pete's choice of words, that it was going somewhere. The butterflies in her stomach had taken flight once more.

  She stood with Roberto, listening as he explained his arrangement of the new jewelry display. He had such a great eye. She was convinced that much of the store's success was owed to him. She was admiring a beautiful pair of emerald teardrop earrings when she heard him say, “Oh, sweet lord above, lookit this! Now that is what I call an M-A-N, man!”

  She laughed as he started to fan himself again and followed his gaze to where—Pete! He was striding through the store towards them! Holly felt her throat go dry. What was he doing here? She'd thought he was gorgeous over the weekend, in jeans and a T-shirt he had emanated power . Now, in a very expensively cut navy-blue suit, dazzling white shirt, and light blue tie, he was stunning. It seemed he commanded the attention of every person in the store as he made his way to where she stood.

  When he stopped in front of her, he held her eyes and a dozen questions passed between them, unspoken.

  Roberto broke the silence. “I promise I shall exit stage left in two shakes and let you continue this intense conversation, darling, but Holls, first you have to introduce me to this beautiful man so that I can hold, I mean shake, his hand.”

  Pete burst out laughing at that. Holly said, “Sorry Roberto, this is Pete Hemming. Pete, meet Roberto, my dear friend and visual merchandising manager.”

  Roberto made a big show of holding out his hand to shake. “Touch me if you dare, hottie!” he challenged.

  Pete shook his hand firmly and leaned in to slap Roberto's back in that half handshake, half hug thing that men do to show affection.

  Roberto hugged him back and said in a surprisingly serious tone, “Well played, sir.” He turned to Holly. “He has my approval, darling. Now, you two play nicely. I have work to do.” He left them both laughing as he sauntered away.

  “So?” Pete was pinning her down with his eyes. He was such an imposing presence, filling the space around them with his maleness. Was that even a word, she wondered? Either way, that's how she felt. The blue gaze demanded an answer.

  “Yes.” She saw the corner of his lips lift in that half smile.

  “Good,” he said, wrapping her in a hug. She felt herself melt against his hard chest, breathing in his spicy cologne and his warmth.

  “Have lunch with me?” he asked as she stepped back, suddenly aware that Erin and Anna were openly gawking at them.

  “Now?”

  “It is lunch time.”

  Holly tried to gather her wits. “Okay, just let me get my purse? I'll meet you out front.”

  He nodded. She could feel his eyes on her backside all the way to the office door. Once inside, she quickly applied fresh lipstick and eyeliner, cursing her trembling hands. She was grateful she'd worn this dress today, an empire line maxi that skimmed her feet, she felt good because she knew she looked good.

  She hurried back out, and found Pete waiting at the front of the store with Roberto. The two of them were deep in conversation, for all the world looking like old friends. She was pleased to have been so wrong about Pete's reaction to Roberto.

  “Run along and have fun now, children,” said Roberto, “And Holls, you know we can take care of the place if you want to call it a day.”

  Pete grinned at him, while Holly shot him a dark look. “I'm going for lunch, Berto. I'll be back in an hour.”

  “Yes, dear. Whatever you say, dear.” He smiled after them as Pete held the door for her.

  “He's quite a character,” said Pete as they emerged onto the street.

  “You can say that again,” laughed Holly. “You handled him well, I'm impressed. A lot of folk don't know how to take him and get quite uncomfortable.”

  “He's a sweetheart and he obviously adores you. Sexual orientation doesn't change the underlying need we men feel to look out for the people we care about. He's a good guy. I get where he's coming from, and I respect him for it.”

  Holly smiled, “Aren't you the perceptive one?”

  “I make it my business, Holls.”

  She laughed. “Only Berto gets away with calling me that!”

  He took her hand as they walked down the crowded street. “I'll have to see if I can earn the right to join him, then. Now, where do you want to go for lunch?”

  They settled into a corner booth in La Hacienda, a Mexican place where Holly often lunched with Emma.

  “Hola, Holly!” The owner brought them menus and poured water. “Usual for you?”

  “Yes please, Miguel.”

  “What's the usual?” asked Pete.

  “Arroz con pollo,” replied Miguel.

  Holly started to explain, “It's chicken..”

  “With rice,” finished Pete. “Could I get that, too?

  “So,” said Pete once they were alone. “You're okay with coming with me on Friday?”

  She loved the way that smile hovered on his lips. “As long as you don't mind giving me a ride again…” She couldn't help it, the word play was so obvious, she had to.

  “Mind?” There went that smile again. “I can't wait, Sweetheart. But I have to ask, what happened to our one-off deal? Not that I'm complaining, you understand.”

  Holly had been asking herself the same question since she'd read his note earlier that morning. How could she backtrack so quickly when all her reasons for not getting entangled with him were still just as valid as they had been on Sunday.

  “Well, we're going to be seeing quite a bit of each other these next few months. Since we are obviously so good at it, I don't see why we can't keep having sex.”

  Pete looked at her, brows drawn together, that pulse working in his jaw as he waited for her to say more. He didn't look impressed.

  She laughed nervously, “Oh, come on. The way it looked over the weekend, if we continued sleeping together it was going to complicate things. The way it looks now, our trying to avoid sleeping with each other would be even more complicated.”

  Pete glowered a moment longer then rolled his eyes and smiled. “Do you really only want to use me for sex?”

  Holly swallowed, hard. “Of course I do,” she laughed.
<
br />   He was glowering again. “Why?”

  “Pete, just be real about it. I told you before, we're from different worlds. There's no room for me in yours, is there?”

  Pete hesitated. That was all she needed to confirm it. “Don't worry, Sweetie. You don't need to come up with an explanation. I get it. I'm a realist. We're attracted to each other. We have great sex. As long as we're both clear about it, I think we can safely keep doing it for the next few months, until our paths are no longer likely to cross again.”

  She took a big swig of her water. That was how she could rationalize this to herself. She knew nothing more than sex would ever happen between them. But the sex was great and they wanted each other. There would be abundant opportunities over the next few months, so why not make the most of it? After the wedding there would be no reason for them to bump into each other again. That would be a natural end point. Knowing that from the beginning would make it easy to deal with at the end, right?

  “Now, if you'll excuse me?”

  Pete stood as she left the table and headed for the ladies' room.

  **********

  Pete stared at the space where Holly had been sitting. What was it about her that got to him so badly? Any man, himself included, under normal circumstances, would be all over what she was offering; great sex, no strings and a predetermined end point. No commitments, no demands, nothing messy, just straight up honesty and lots of great sex. And it was really was great. So why was he so uncomfortable with her proposition? Because he wanted more of her, or more from her? Maybe he did. But that was selfish of him. She'd been right, there was no room for her in his life. But not for her weird reasons about different world stuff. He'd have to get her to open up on what she really meant by that, because it didn't make sense to him. But still, there was no room for her in his life because it wasn't part of the plan. Not yet. He had a few more years yet, four to be precise, before he'd be prepared to take time away from Phoenix and invest it in a woman and a family.