Giving In To Love: A Friends with Benefits Office Romance (Strong Brothers Book 2)

by Ajme Williams

  "I have my car here. I can drive home."

  "I’ll walk you to your car then."

  Of course part of me wanted to fight him on that. I didn’t need an escort. But that was just the contrarian he brought out of me. I’d accused him earlier in the day of fighting with me just to fight with me. I realized I had that same instinct with him as well.

  "Sure. I'm up the street."

  As we walked out, he said a few words to people and to others he nodded or waved, and I realized that all the signs that he was the owner of the bar and restaurant were there the other night when he brought me here for dinner.

  "So, along with working for Strong Incorporated, you have your own restaurant and club?" I asked when we finally got out the door and away from the noise.

  "I started these before I really came into the company business. It's my grandmother's wish that all her grandsons get involved in the business. You know how Gran is. None of us would ever say no to her."

  "Except Noah," I said.

  "Well Noah pretends that he's not coming in, but it's only a matter of time."

  I suspected that he was right. Not that I knew Noah well at all, but I knew what Kellie and Andi had said about him. And of course, I was aware of the influence their grandmother had on the family. Despite Hunter's difficult personality, one thing I could respect about him and the rest of the Strong family was how loyal and dedicated he was to the family and his grandmother.

  13

  Hunter

  It felt very strange to leave Natalie at her car last night. How many women had I fucked and then walked them to their car, said goodbye, and hadn't ever really thought about them again? But as I helped Natalie into her car, I had the strange desire to ask her to stay and have another drink with me now that we were in a place where now that every word out of her mouth wasn’t something snarky, I was interested in sitting and talking with her. I didn't understand what that meant, but I did know that it scared the hell out of me. So instead of asking her to stay or a drink, or to go home with me, I helped her into her car and watched as she drove off.

  The next day was a meeting with the marketing team where they would review with me everything that they come up with, as well as our data on the marketing that we were currently running. It was the first meeting Natalie would sit in on and when she came in, I had a desire to make her feel comfortable, while at the same time, I worried that any special attention would give away the fact that I had fucked her, twice. Not that it was anybody's business, but the corporation did have a rule about people in superior positions fraternizing with the staff. Then again, Ryan seemed to shoot that rule all to hell by hooking up with Kellie. Course maybe it was considered okay now as they were married and expecting a child.

  Dammit! Why was this getting so complicated?

  She came in wearing a classic dark pencil skirt, but her shirt was the brightest color yellow that I'd ever seen. I almost made a joke about covering my eyes from being blinded by it, but I decided that our banter, which, as it turned out, seemed to be a type of foreplay, was better saved for private.

  She glanced at me, giving me her signature smirk but then turned to the other members of the team. I wondered if she was feeling a little bit awkward like I was.

  I called the meeting to order, taking a seat at the head of the conference table. Gavin sat to my right, and next to him sat Natalie.

  We went through all the current plans that were running looking at the data and deciding on any changes we felt we might need to make to improve our ROI. Then we went on to the launch of the European line.

  For some reason Gavin took the lead, perhaps because he'd been here for a while and Natalie was new. I sat and listened as he reviewed the sketches and the copy. For the most part it looked like what we'd been working on before, which made me wonder if Natalie had changed her mind and decided to do things my way, or maybe Gavin talked her out of her ideas.

  Natalie didn't seem like the type of person that me and especially not Gavin, could sway in her ideas, but then I realized he was probably just softening me up. Or maybe he wanted the contrast to what we’d been doing versus what Natalie was doing because he pulled out her sketches and lay them in front of me.

  "And these are some new ideas that Ms. Nichols came up with that we think are pretty good and you should consider."

  I looked at Gavin and considered making a comment to him about the fact that Natalie was his boss, and it wasn't up to him to decide whether I should see something or not. At the same time, I’d been pretty negative about Natalie's work, and she was brand-new here, so maybe he was just trying to be supportive of her.

  "You’ll see that it has some of the same classic vibe that the original idea had, but it shifts more away from the Audrey Hepburn classic to the Princess Grace of Monaco class and sophistication. At the same time there's a melding of a California 60s beach vibe.”

  It sounded atrocious, but I looked over the sketches. They were similar to what Natalie had shown me yesterday, but it appeared that she had redone them as there were a few more details and she’d colored it in.

  I looked around the table and could see all members of the team except one holding their breath as they waited for my reply. The one holdout, Natalie, stared at me, her expression daring me to say that the work wasn't good. Course the problem with that was that the work was good. Still, I didn't like that my team had essentially gone against me.

  "Where's the copy for this?" I asked.

  Gavin handed over some papers with copy on it, but then he began to go through each of the sketches, indicating which parts of the copy would be where. I studied the sketches and the copy and then set them down taking a deep breath. I suppose it was sadistic of me to enjoy the tension and fear in the room. Power was a heady experience. But I tried not to be a total jerk with my staff so I sat back and asked, "So of these two options, which do the rest of you think is best?"

  Members of the team looked at each other and it appeared that they all were too afraid to speak out. I decided I would call them out one-on-one starting with Gavin

  "What about you, Gavin?"

  He looked at me and then at Nat and then back at me again. "Well sir, I like Nat’s. It has all that we wanted in the original campaign, but infuses more of Strong Incorporated and its roots."

  "The rest of you agree?”

  Several heads around the room nodded.

  I looked over the sketches and the copy again, and there was nothing I could do but admit that Natalie had been right. Of course, I didn't want to tell her that. Still, it was a job well done and I had to at least acknowledge that.

  "We'll go with these new ones." I looked over at her and I saw surprise in her pretty gray eyes. And, if I wasn't mistaken, a blush of pink on her cheeks that made me wish we were in this room alone and I could kiss those delectable lips. A reward for acquiescing to her ideas.

  But since I couldn't do that, I stood and buttoned my coat, giving everyone a cue that it was time for them to go back to work.

  Around the table, people stood and hurried out of the room giving me the impression they wanted to leave before I changed my mind. Natalie and Gavin rose from their chairs next to me. Natalie reached out and put her hand on Gavin's upper arm, sending a crazy desire to throttle Gavin through my entire body.

  "Thank you for your support on this, Gavin," she said to him.

  Gavin glanced over at me. He shivered and then stepped away from Natalie making me wonder if the murderous intent in my heart was visible on my face.

  "No problem. They’re great ideas Nat. I've got to get back to work now." Gavin gathered up all the papers and rushed out of the room.

  Finally, I was alone with Natalie, and I figured now was a good time to try and talk about the details of our friends with benefits arrangement that we’d entered in since we hadn't last night. But before I could open my mouth to speak to her, my brother Ryan came rushing into the room.

  "Dad’s been in a car accident, we’ve
got to go."

  My brain was slow to process what he was saying.

  "Oh my God, is he okay?" Natalie asked.

  Yes that was what I wanted to ask. Was he okay? What actually came out of my mouth was, "What happened?"

  "I don’t know. There was a car accident. We need to go to the hospital now."

  "I'm right behind you," I said as I followed him out the door. As an afterthought, I looked behind me. "You’re okay to be in charge?" I asked.

  She waved her hands at me, shooing me off. "Yes, yes, go be with your dad. We'll be alright here."

  Ryan and I rode down to the hospital together. Carter had been out doing something else, and would meet us there. I didn't know where Noah had been, but I was told he'd been contacted and was on his way.

  When we entered the hospital, my grandmother was already there. We were escorted to a private area where my father looked like he'd been beaten up by a rowdy bunch of bikers.

  "Dad, what happened?" Ryan asked. He went to one side of my father's bed as I followed my grandmother to the other side. My father took my grandmother's hand and Ryan's giving them a slight squeeze.

  "I was stopped at a light and someone apparently didn't see me or the light and just ran right into me."

  "But you're going to be okay. There's no serious damage?" I asked.

  "I’m told I’ll be fine. My back hurts like hell and I'm told that it may be a while before I'm surfing again, but I'm strong and healthy, so it’s not too bad I think." At least he was positive, I thought.

  My grandmother was one of the strongest people I knew, but as she looked down at my father, I realized that the iron woman that I normally saw my grandmother as, now looked like a mother who nearly lost her child. It reminded me of when my mother died. All of us were devastated. But my grandmother had been strong for all of us where my father hadn't been able to be. Not that we blamed him for it. My mother was the love of his life. That realization was made clear, year after year, when he had never allowed another woman into his heart.

  For a long time, we weren't sure he'd ever fully recover from her loss. After her death, he dedicated his life to raising us, which with four boys, took a lot of time. Now that we were grown, he spent his days enjoying surfing and a leisurely life, not having any interest in the business.

  I knew Ryan had felt duty-bound to take our dad's place in the business, but our grandmother had been adamant that all us boys would have a place in Strong Incorporated. We had the option to do something else, as I had already started to do by buying other businesses, but if there was one thing I learned after my mother's death was the importance of family. Since I would never have one of my own like Ryan was setting out to do, this was it. I had my grandmother, my father, my brothers, and now Kellie, and I suppose, by extension, Natalie, although I tried not to think of her as a relative since I was fucking her.

  Carter and Noah came charging in, and dad reassured them that he’d be fine.

  "I have to tell you, boys. I've had some moments since the crash to think about life. Of course, I know how precious it is and how fleeting it can be after losing your mom. But as my proverbial life flashed before my eyes, I realized I didn't have any regrets. I'm so proud of the men you boys have become. How hard you work, how much you care for this family and for your grandmother. I couldn't be prouder. If it was my time to go, I would go in peace knowing that you are all good solid men."

  "It would be nice if they were married," my grandmother quipped, shoring up her strength again.

  “I’m married," Ryan said. "I'm even about to give you a grandbaby. It's all these other slackers that you need to talk to."

  Ryan grinned at me, Carter and Noah.

  "Why are we talking about marriage and babies?" Noah asked.

  "Seems to me, Ryan, that you've taken one for the team. Your wife and your baby are all that is needed. The rest of us Strong men can go out and do what we do best," I said.

  "And what is that?" my grandmother asked, her sharp eyes staring at me.

  If it was just me and my brothers, I might've said something about womanizing, but since it was my grandmother, I went with "Being good, pious, single gentleman, of course."

  Everyone laughed, although clearly my father was in pain from the effort. Still, it was nice to know that we were still together. We were still a family.

  14

  Natalie

  Alex Strong, Hunter’s father, didn't work in the company, but that didn't mean his presence wasn't felt around the office. It was clear his sons were devoted to him, as was Margaret Strong. I didn’t know Alex well, having only met him at Kellie and Ryan's wedding in Thailand. What I could tell in our short meeting was that he was very different from his sons. He was still tall, handsome and broad, but there was a softness and gentleness to him that the other boys didn't have. Particularly Hunter.

  The word of Alex’s accident spread quickly through the building, and the worry from everyone could be felt. I was among those that worried. It made it difficult to work. Eventually I gave up and pulled out my phone to text Hunter to see what was going on.

  Everyone here is thinking about you and your dad, I hope everything is alright. Let us know.

  The response was quicker than I'd anticipated.

  Everything's fine. He'll be out soon.

  I studied the text feeling relieved that it appeared Mr. Strong was going to be okay, but wondering what it meant that Hunter was very short in his responses. Was it because they were still in the middle of dealing with his father, or was he annoyed that I was reaching out to him? Did he think I was overstepping my bounds as his employee, or as his friend with benefits?

  It was a reminder about why agreeing to have this no-strings attached affair with him was such a bad idea. Sex always complicated things, even when one tried to do it in a way that didn't involve strings. But there was really nothing I could do about it now except to accept what he said and go back to work.

  At the end of the day Kellie came into my office.

  "You're still here," I said. "I thought you'd be with Ryan."

  "This seems like something that should just be the immediate family, so I stayed behind. But since I am here, I was thinking you and I could go get some dinner together before it's time for me to pick up Ryan at the hospital. I guess he rode down with Hunter."

  We went to a local restaurant not because it had great dinners, but because it had a peanut butter chocolate sundae that Kellie was craving these days. Fortunately for the baby, she ordered a healthy meal with lots of vegetables before she ordered her peanut butter chocolate Sundae.

  "So what's going on with Ryan's dad?" I asked, as we ate our meals.

  "He said that his dad was at a stoplight and some guy just ran into him. I guess it's done something to his back, although I don't know what. It's going to take some rehabilitation, apparently."

  I sat back taking all that in. It sounded like he was going to be okay.

  "I think it was good for all of them to be there together with him," she finished.

  "They seem to be a pretty close-knit family," I said, cutting my chicken doused in a creamy white wine sauce.

  Kelly nodded. "Very close. You know their mom died when they were young."

  I remembered hearing something about that, but I didn't know the details. "How come their Dad doesn't work for the company?"

  "I guess losing his wife really knocked him for a loop, although Ryan says that his father was never really corporate material. When his wife died, he decided he was going to be a dad and raise his boys. So that's what he did. And while they all have their quirks and issues; they are good men," Kelly said, finishing up her vegetables.

  Hunter wasn't bad, but there was something about him that he didn't have the lightness that the other brothers had. "Was Hunter particularly close to his mom? He seems to be a little broodier than the other boys.” I hoped my questions about Hunter didn’t give away my clandestine relationship with him.

  "I don't reall
y know Hunter well, but I don't think it goes back to his mom or the family. I do know that he seems to be a commitment-phobe, but I'm not sure where that comes from."

  "You could say that about all the Strong men, really. I mean, Ryan wasn't out looking for the wife."

  Kelly shrugged. "Yeah, well, there's a difference between sowing your oats and being adamant that you’ll never love anyone, which is kind of the vibe I get from Hunter. For a long time, I thought maybe he just got bored easily, but Noah says things sometimes that make me wonder if there's something else going on. It's not really my business so I haven't asked."

  It seemed to me now that she was married into the family, she could ask. But Kellie was always respectful of people and their feelings. So, if I wanted to know what was up with Hunter, I’d have to find answers somewhere else. I could talk to Noah. He was a friendly enough sort, and seemed to be the closest to Hunter.

  We had our dinner and then after giving Kellie's belly a pat and getting a responding kick from the baby, I headed home. I changed into my painting outfit of my oversized overalls and a tank top, and was just about to get started on a new project when I got a text

  Meet me at Cesare’s as soon as you can.

  Initially I was annoyed at Hunter’s demand that I should drop everything I was doing and go see him. But then I remembered his father had been in a car accident, and he wasn't the best at social graces at the best of times, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  I texted back, I have to change first.

  I was in my bedroom grabbing a pair of jeans when my phone beeped.

  Don't bother. Come to the restaurant.

  I looked down at my get up and laughed. Okay, I thought. I wondered if the moment he got a load of me and my painting outfit if he’d send me packing and end our friends with benefits situation. There was a part of me that wanted to go and change to make sure that didn't happen. On the other hand, if it did happen, maybe that was a good thing.