Business or Pleasure?: He's Too Hard To Resist!

by Raquel Belle

  Momentarily in a stupor—one, because he couldn’t stop staring at her and two, because he couldn’t believe he’d called her—her question didn’t register immediately.

  “Jared?”

  He snapped out of his haze. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she said.

  Her reply was cautious. Suspicious, even. Why did she always think he was up to something? He swallowed a smile. Maybe because he was.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Are you calling to fire me?”

  “What? Why would I do that?”

  Her shoulders lifted. “Because when you said we were ‘good,’ you didn’t really think things through, and hours later you have, and you’ve come to the conclusion that we’re not good after all, and you don’t want me on your team anymore,” she rushed out.

  He laughed. “Take a breath, will you? Why do you always assume the worst when it comes to me?”

  Her eyes widened behind her black plastic frames. “I don’t ... I just condition myself to expect anything with you.”

  “I see. Did you condition yourself to have sex with me tonight?”

  There was an aggravated huff and a stare that was capable of freezing his testicles right off, and he forced back another grin. He should feel terrible for always goading her, but seeing her get so fiery brought him sick pleasure. Evie could go from zero to one-hundred at the snap of his fingers, cool and collected to feisty, and he loved watching the transformation.

  “Did you Facetime me to annoy me, Jared? Because if so, I’m hanging up now.”

  “Wait …,” he said. “I called to talk.”

  “To talk?” She stared into the camera expectantly, probably waiting for more. When he gave no further explanation, she asked, “About work?”

  “Of course not … It’s eleven thirty.”

  “What’s your point? I was doing some work before you called.”

  “Working out? Is that why you were out of breath when you answered?”

  “No, not exercising. I was helping a friend with something pertaining to law, and my phone was in my bedroom. I sprinted from the living room to answer. Almost broke a leg in my mad dash.”

  “I’m sorry.” What friend was she talking about? Was it Karen? And why did he care so much? “You have someone over?”

  “Nope. We were going back and forth via e-mail.”

  “So … I interrupted?”

  “No, we wrapped things up right before you called.” She scratched her head and frowned. “So, are you going to tell me why you called?”

  “I told you, ‘to talk.’ I wanted to know if you were okay.”

  “This is weird, you know that right? You’ve never called to just talk or inquire about my well-being.” She paused, nibbled he lower lip, and he wished he was there to pull the flesh from between her teeth. “Is this because of what happened tonight? You don’t have to go out of your way to do anything like this, Jared. I told you I’m not going to suddenly develop the illusion that we’re ... more than what we are.”

  He was silent for a few seconds, simply staring at the screen, at her. Finally, he let out a breath and leaned against the headboard. “I haven’t developed any illusions either, Evie. I always try my best to be honest.” Except when he was hiding his growing feelings for a certain infuriating woman, then, he lied through his teeth. “I enjoyed making love to you tonight, just as I enjoyed it the night we met at that bar. I would like it to happen again because I like to repeat things that I enjoy.”

  Evie plucked her glasses off and snorted. “Whoa there, Shakespeare, don’t go melting my heart with all that romance and poetry.”

  “Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Evie. What, do you really want romance and poetry? I’m not good at either.”

  “Of course that’s not what I want because our situation would never require either.”

  “Because it was just sex.”

  She smiled sweetly. “Precisely.”

  Jared chose to ignore the hurt that laced through him once again. He was going through a phase—that had to be it. Maybe a midlife crisis. Did thirty-three-year-olds have midlife crises? He reverted to what he did best, attempt to get Evie riled up. “You pretend to be annoyed that I called yet, look at you, getting comfortable in bed to chat with me.” She froze as if just realizing that she was, indeed, pulling the covers down and climbing into bed. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Our late night chat/” He could see her cheeks coloring clearly on the screen, and he smirked.

  “I... I was on my way to bed anyway. And if I knew you were calling to waste my time, I wouldn’t have answered.”

  “Liar. I wish you’d put your glasses back on. You were giving me a naughty librarian vibe. I liked it.”

  She groaned and covered her face with one hand. “Jared, I’m not going to entertain this much longer. This entire call is ridiculous.”

  He folded a hand behind his head, getting more comfortable and completely ignoring her complaint. “Why didn’t I know you wore glasses? How come you never wear them to work?”

  Evie gave him an exasperated look and shook her head. With a sigh, she gave in to the conversation. “I feel like a nerd when I wear them, so I mostly wear contact lens.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “You? A nerd? No way. I can’t picture that.”

  “Because you didn’t know me in high school. I mean I always had my head buried in a book. I rocked the glasses, braces, and everything. I was the poster girl for nerds. A total loser.”

  He couldn’t stop smiling, picturing a young Evie. “Well, look at you now, huh? No way can anyone put loser and Evie in the same sentence now.”

  “You would think not …,” she said.

  “I sense a story here.”

  She looked away to stare at another point in the room. He wished he was right beside her, so he could pick up on every emotion she was clearly trying to hide. “I’m not going to share.”

  Because he craved to know more about her, he pressed. “Does it have anything to do with your father?”

  Evie fixed her eyes back on the screen. “What part of ‘I’m not going to share,’ don’t you understand?”

  “Fine,” he said. “Tell me about the night we met. Why were you on a blind date? Why did you seem so sad?”

  Her mouth fell open. “Seriously? What has gotten into you, Jared?”

  “You,” he said.

  The single word hung between them for an excruciating number of seconds. Evie gaped at him with disbelief, until he squirmed in his bed, feeling like a fool. He felt like a man possessed. He had been for months, since meeting Evelyn Davis. He was acting unlike himself, calling her at damn near midnight to just chat. What was he a teenage girl? As it turned out, sitting in bed, talking with Evie about things not pertaining to work was … nice. He felt relaxed, totally at ease with the situation. She, on the other hand, didn’t appear to be.

  “I don’t understand …,” Evie said.

  He wiped a hand over his face. “I had realized that I don’t really know much about you, and I wanted to change that. Hence, the interrogation.”

  Her brows puckered, and he thought she would end their conversation and hang up, but she chuckled. “That explanation doesn’t make this video call any less weird.”

  His laughter mingled with hers. “Come on, it can’t be that weird. Don’t you do this all the time? Engage in idle chatter with your significant other?” The thought of her doing anything with another man left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had no claim on her, so there was nothing he could do about it.

  Evie’s lips twisted with disapproval. “You think I would have slept with you if I had a significant other?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “We didn’t actually sleep together ... this time. And, I don’t know if you would because I don’t know you that well.”

  “I’m not that kind of girl, Jared. I’m the faithful type. It’s one at a time for me.”

  The satisfaction he felt was unbelievable. “That means I have you all
to myself,” he said.

  Her vehement reaction was unexpected. “No, because we’re not ... we’re nothing. We had sex. That’s it.”

  Gritting his teeth, trying painfully hard to keep the foreign emotions swirling inside him in check, he bit out, “We did so more than once. I believe that makes us lovers.”

  Evie didn’t deny or confirm. She simply stared at him with a tilt of her head and something akin to curiosity in her eyes. He was dying to know what she was thinking. “Were you being honest tonight when you said you’ve never been with a woman ‘unprotected?’”

  Jared let out a laugh. He didn’t know why he’d blurted that out in his office. “I knew that would come up again sooner or later. Why are you still so interested, Evie?”

  “It’s not a matter of being interested. I’m just curious as to why.”

  “Curiosity equals interest.” He smiled when she rolled her eyes and huffed.

  “Alright. I am interested. You’ve been with so many women. Surely, you’ve slipped up once or twice.”

  He didn’t know if he should be offended that she basically called him a man-whore in the nicest possible way. Then again, why should he take offense? She spoke no untruth. “I don’t slip-up when it comes to certain matters. Except for tonight,” he said. Evie was too much of a distraction. She made him think and do things that were out of character for him. “I’ve always been very cautious with the women I’ve been with. And there hasn’t been that many,” he scowled. “Why do you assume there’ve been many?”

  “It’s called ‘social media.’ If you don’t want your business out there, you should go about things more privately ...”

  He muttered a curse. She had him there. “In my defense, I haven’t slept with every woman I’ve been seen with.”

  “No need to get defensive. You’re the one who called me.”

  “To talk about you,” he said. How did they move from talking about her to talking about him?

  “Hate it when I turn the tables, Mr. Hawthorne?”

  Evie’s sly smile made his loins stir. He wanted to kiss the smirk off her face right before spreading her legs and taking her again and again. His mind had shifted completely, and he was having a hard time looking at her lying in bed without being able to touch her.

  “Yes,” he said. “I don’t like talking about myself.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “Then how will I ever get to know you, Evie Davis?”

  “The same way I won’t get to know you, Jared Hawthorne.”

  He glowered and sulked like a boy who didn’t get his own way. “You are the most difficult female I’ve ever encountered. ”

  “Good. It’s not healthy to have every woman on the planet bowing at your feet, your highness. Get used to at least one giving you a hard time.” With that, she smiled sweetly. “I’m going to get some sleep. I did kind of enjoy our little chat. I’ll see you tomorrow. Hopefully, we won’t revert to our initial awkwardness around each other. Have a good night, Jared.”

  Evie’s image disappeared, before he could say a word to prolong their conversation. He stared at the blank screen slack-jawed. His brother was right. He had met his match, and she was driving him to the brink of insanity.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Evie

  “Ms. Davis, do you have a minute?”

  Evie froze outside her father’s door and gritted her teeth. Every time he referred to her by her surname, she felt a pang of anger, and she was tempted to ask him if he remembered that she was his daughter. There was no one else around. Surely, he could call her by the name he’d given her. And he had been the one to name her Evelyn, after his grandmother.

  “Sure, dad.” Gray brows elevated, and she forced back a grin. Evie stepped into his office. “Should I close the door?”

  “No, there’s nothing private to discuss.” Garrison set aside a stack of documents and clasped his hands on his desk. She was tense and a bit worried about why Garrison called her into his office. She jiggled an ankle nervously, until he nodded to a chair. “Have a seat.”

  “Okay.” She had no idea what to do say, which was ridiculous, considering that he was her father. He should be the one person she was at ease around. Sharp eyes bore into her, nearly causing panic. Had he heard something about her and his beloved client, Jared? Maybe she was about to be reprimanded and more than likely, fired. She pulled in a breath, and braced herself for his harsh words. She was woman enough to be able to take a lashing when she messed up. Falling back into Jared’s bed—well, they hadn’t quite made it passed his office desk and couch—was a risk, she knew that. But, she’d chanced it because he was like a drug that she couldn’t ween herself from. Two weeks after their first encounter in his office, she’d found herself back there multiple times, usually bare-assed and spread across his desk.

  “How are you doing?”

  She blinked, surprised. Her father was interested in how she was doing? “P … Personally?” Her mouth hung wide open until she remembered to close it.

  Garrison glanced at his watch, his impatience evident. Evie felt anger move through her, but she hoped it didn’t show on her face. He was the one who asked for her time, not the other way around. “I mean with work, Evelyn. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t gotten a chance to speak with you about how you’re getting along at the firm. I haven’t gotten any complaints from you, or any client, so I’d assumed you were just fine.”

  It was nothing strange to feel left out of Garrison’s life, emotionally, but her sorrow didn’t fail to surface. Annoyance overrode her disappointment, however. She’d hid behind the wall she’d erected since she was a child to lessen the blow of her father’s indifference. “You assumed right. Everything has been going smoothly. I enjoy working here, and I must thank you again for the opportunity.”

  She wanted to laugh at the entire scenario. When would she and her father ever interact like a normal family? A thought of her mother surfaced, a memory of her smiling lovingly at Garrison and him smiling back. Evie must have been around six or seven at the time, but she remembered clearly. Garrison was capable of human emotion. Maybe she should start making the effort to melt his icy heart.

  “Good to hear. I trust you’re keeping Mr. Hawthorne happy. He’s …”

  “An important client. I know …” Evie wanted to be anywhere but in front of her father at that moment. Was she keeping Jared happy? She sure was. In more ways than one. Her leg started to jiggle again, and she willed it to stop. But Garrison wouldn’t know about her involuntary, nervous gesture because he didn’t know his daughter at all. “I’m sure he’s been very satisfied so far.” Her mouth clamped shut. Oh, my God. Do. Not. Blush. In a desperate need to change the subject, she blurted, “Would you like to have dinner? With me? If … if you have the time?”

  If Garrison was surprised, he didn’t show it. He gave away absolutely nothing, and Evie started to feel uneasy. Out of anxiety, she blubbered on, “I was just thinking I’ve been back in Seattle for a few months now, and we haven’t really had any time to ... catch up. We could have dinner at my place. You can see my new apartment.” His lack of response was slowly killing her.

  Finally, he lifted a shoulder. “Alright. My schedule is clear tomorrow evening.”

  His acceptance shocked her so much. She was speechless for too long. “Tomorrow is perfect. Do you need directions to my place?”

  His mouth twisted wryly. “I know where my daughter lives, Evelyn.”

  Dare she let her hope blossom? It did. Her heart inflated the second he called her his daughter. Red-faced, she nodded. “Of course, you do. Tomorrow it is then. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

  “You can get back to work, Evelyn.”

  She stood up and gave him a smile before walking out. Her smile stayed plastered to her face, as she made her way to her office. Closing her door, she grabbed her phone and dialed the one person she shared all of her good news with.

  “Hey, chica,” Karen said. “You cal
ling this early means you have good news or horrible news.”

  “It’s good!”

  Karen’s relieved exhale was audible. “Nobody is dying? Awesome. What’s up? Make it quick because I’m on my way to do rounds.”

  “I’m having dinner with dad tomorrow. I invited him to my place and he said ‘yes.’”

  “You mean Garrison Davis made time for his only child? Get out! Are you sure he isn’t dying?”

  Evie rolled her eyes. “Just be happy for me, Karen.”

  “I am happy for you, girl. This is good. Maybe he’s finally realized what a cold bastard he’s been almost your entire life. One dinner isn’t going to make him okay in my book, though. He has to work harder.”

  “I agree, but this is progress.”

  “It’s something. Hey, I’ll call you later, and you can tell me more. I have to skedaddle.”

  “Okay. Later. Thanks for always entertaining me even when I call about nonsense.”

  Karen’s laugh was loud and contagious. “Your relationship with your dad isn’t nonsense. And I’m positive I call you about way more nonsensical things.”

  Evie laughed. “You do!”

  “Bitch. You weren’t supposed to agree.”

  Snickering, Evie said, “Bye, doc.”

  ***

  Flitting around her apartment like a nervous butterfly, Evie set the dining table and rushed back to the kitchen to check on the slab of beef in the oven. Garrison was a serious carnivore—she knew that much. She’d splurged on the best wines both white and red because she had no idea what he preferred, and she was too embarrassed to ask. Everything was in order. If only she could get herself to relax. Not even on her first real date in college had she been so nervous. All kinds of negative thoughts went through her mind. What if he didn’t show? What if he found her cooking horrible? What if the entire dinner was spent in awkward silence?