by Piper Rayne
She wavers back and forth. “Okay.” It’s meek but she accepted.
“We can just hang out on the bench because of your ankle while Payne and Cooper burn off some energy.”
“Yay!” Payne jumps around, patting Cooper on the stomach.
Cooper picks up his head for a second and then flops back down. Teegan’s eyebrows crinkle as she observed his behavior.
“I swear he’s energetic,” I say, although I’m fairly sure we’ll be watching him bask in the sun after two throws, but I’m not about to pass an opportunity to spend a little extra time out of the shop with her.
7
Leo
I opted to pick up Teegan for the second morning for a reason I haven’t yet figured out. After we left the park with Payne yesterday, I asked and she accepted. Simple as that.
The only stipulation she had was that I wait downstairs for her. Which I wasn’t about to complain about. Not that her mom was horrible, but she wasn’t exactly Lumière from Beauty and the Beast singing Be Our Guest.
What? It was a great movie. Don’t judge.
Besides, Teegan was jumpy and anxious the entire time I was in her apartment.
She arrives outside exactly on time and dumps her bag in the back of the Bronco and then climbs in the passenger seat next to me. Her perfume, or maybe her natural scent—I haven’t figured it out yet—permeates the air once she’s seated.
I adjust myself in the seat. “Coffee.” I point to her coffee in the cup holder.
“You didn’t have to,” she says in a sheepish tone, though I can tell she’s grateful I did.
“I know.” I pick up my own coffee and glance at her from the corner of my eye. The V of her silk blouse lies slightly off to the side—enough for me to catch a glimpse of her bra. Between her love-potion perfume and her lacy bra, I’ll be sporting a hard-on before we even arrive at the interview place.
“Do you have someone to open the store?” she asks and I swallow down my usual sarcasm.
“John. He was on vacation for a few days, but he’s back now.” I pull out from the curb before I allow my wayward thoughts to take hold.
“Perfect, because I have no idea how long this interview will take.” She swipes around her phone, mindlessly grabbing the cup of coffee. “I meant to ask you yesterday, and if I’m prying tell me I am, but is Payne’s mom Layla Andrews?”
My head whips to her. “Why do you think that?”
“I saw Vance and Layla leave the apartment the other day when I was at your place. I thought she looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her at the time. Yesterday when your friend Jagger came by I put two and two together.”
I swallow down a sip of my coffee. “Yeah. My buddy Vance started dating her a few months ago.”
“And Carver is Carver Sterling?”
I grip the steering wheel tighter. “Yeah, but please keep it between us. The press is all over the story.”
“Yeah, they are. I thought Carver and Layla were getting back together?”
“Not true. Hollywood’s biggest couple are very separated and on their way to divorce.” I lean closer, the scent of her causing my cock to jump in my pants. “Please keep that between us.”
She takes her perfectly manicured purple painted finger and crosses her heart right over the open part of her blouse. “Promise.”
My foot presses harder on the gas petal. The faster I get her out of my car, the faster my dick deflates and I can remain the gentleman my mother raised me to be.
I should’ve asked for the name of the interviewer. My foot taps the tiled floor under a table filled with an assortment of donuts and pastries.
“Don’t be nervous.” Teegan places her hand on my forearm, but it does nothing to calm my nerves.
“Listen.” I lean on my elbows across the table.
Teegan does the same and I’m about to tell her that there’s a chance that the interviewer who’s going to walk through that door is best friends with my ex-girlfriend.
The door opens and, as always with Lisa Garfield, her timing is as accurate as the national atomic clock.
“Leo Vaughn.” She smiles the entire stretch of flooring until she hits the table.
Her high-heeled shoes, charcoal pencil skirt and pink blouse show how professional she is. Hopefully professional enough to act like she doesn’t know who the hell I am. I had no idea she even worked at the magazine until I looked it up last night, curious to see who’d agreed to do a piece on my business.
Lisa slides into a chair at the head of the table, pushing the plate of donuts out of her reach. She should have taken one, she could use some sweetness. “You’re Teegan, I presume?”
Teegan nods, extending her hand. “I am. Thank you very much for doing this on such short notice.”
Lisa nods, ignoring Teegan’s hand. “You went above my head, so what choice did I have? I had to push the original article off until next month and now I’m stuck working late today to make deadline for this one.” She brushes her red hair over her shoulder. Teegan’s eyes shoot to me with an apologetic look.
My fists clench over the way she’s talking to Teegan. Lisa’s attitude has everything to do with me and all the drama that ensued when her friend Alex and I broke up and nothing to do with the sweet brunette sitting across from me.
“Let’s get this over with,” Lisa mumbles, straightening her papers. We both know she won’t be getting this over with. She has me in the hot seat she always wanted—let the interrogation begin.
“Lisa.” I lean forward, hoping we can come to an understanding and she’ll loosen up and not hold it against me that I was a workaholic and too self-involved when I dated her friend.
She starts her recorder. “So Leo, how did you first figure out you wanted to make dog clothes?”
I blow out a breath and lean back in my seat. “It was never planned.”
“Because you wanted to be an actor, correct?”
“I did.” I nod.
“But you were making no money, right?”
“Correct.”
“Do you think it was because you had no talent?” she asks.
I grit my teeth and don’t bother responding.
Teegan shoots me a wide-eyed look. “Excuse me, Lisa. May I speak to you outside for a moment?” she interjects.
“I’m sorry, Miss Lowery, I have a schedule to keep.”
“Then let’s keep the questions about what he’s doing now, not what he originally came to L.A. to do.”
Teegan’s feisty comeback spurs a smile out of me even if I’m feeling like I’m in the combat zone.
“Your wish is my command,” Lisa says, laced with sarcasm.
Teegan huffs, shooting me a look that makes it clear she has no idea what the hell is going on here.
Lisa stacks her papers again. “Onward and upward… moving past your failed dream of becoming an actor then.”
I roll my eyes.
“What got you started in the doggie clothing business?”
Jesus, she knows what got me started.
“A woman who lived next to me.”
“A girlfriend?” Lisa asks.
“No.” I stare at her blankly, wondering when she’ll stop being bitter. It wasn’t even like I was dating her, and Alex and I broke up over eight years ago.
“Boyfriend?” Her eyes challenge me, hammering against that stereotypical assumption people make about my profession.
“No.”
“So your partner was okay with you making clothes for someone else?” She taps her pen and leans back in her chair.
“Since it was for my neighbor’s dog, it wasn’t an issue.”
“And that’s all you made this friend of yours, clothes for her dog?” She crosses her long legs, her face pinched and lips pursed.
“This doesn’t seem much like an interview.” I stand.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Teegan follows suit and stands from her seat. “This is highly unprofessional and you can expect your boss to know
what you’ve done here. This was supposed to be a fluff piece about an undiscovered business. Not some personal exposé about my client’s past.”
I bite down on my bottom lip. The fact she’s sticking up for me puts a sold sign on her back. She’s my PR rep.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but this is how I conduct my interviews. I wanted to use the angle of struggle before success. I suppose you disagree?” Lisa raises up from the table, towering over Teegan even before you factor in the four-inch stilettos she’s wearing.
“I do. I guess I missed the memo that What’s Up L.A. morphed into Time magazine now? Maybe that article on the best ice cream spots last month should’ve been an exploration on where ice cream originated.” Teegan pulls up the strap of her bag on her shoulder, raising her eyebrows in question to Lisa.
Lisa does what Lisa was born to do, leaning close to Teegan in an attempt to be intimidating. “If you think you’re going to be the one to change him, you’re mistaken. He’s not what you think.”
I shake my head at her nerve.
“I’m a professional and I’m not sure what you’re even suggesting,” Teegan says.
Lisa lets out a bitter laugh. “Oh, Leo, rule number one in hiring a PR rep is that they know everything.” She turns her attention back to Teegan. “I’m his ex’s best friend so I know all about Leo. You should’ve seen the way he screwed over Alex. I wouldn’t trust him if I were you.”
Teegan’s mouth drops open, but she recovers quickly. “Then you should have denied the interview. I’d say you need some work on your professionalism. Please excuse us.” She holds her arm out in front of us for me to go first.
“Always a pleasure, Lisa.” I walk out of the room with Teegan’s heels clicking behind me.
We step outside of the What’s Up L.A. building and file into my truck without a word. By the time we’re shut inside, the anger of Lisa’s little theatrics builds inside of me and I’m gripping the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry. If I’d known…” Teegan begins.
I shake my head. “You couldn’t have. She’s really moved up from when I was dating Alex. Back then she was writing obituaries in the local paper.”
“I’ll be more upfront with who the interviewers are in the future. Give you a name.”
“I haven’t dated that many people in L.A.” I laugh, and her lips form into a small smile.
“I don’t want you in a situation like that again and I’m sorry that you probably won’t make that article.” She pulls out her laptop, booting it up.
“What are you doing now?” I ask, eyeing her fingers poised over the keyboard.
“I’m writing an email about what happened, so maybe I can get you assigned to another reporter.”
I shut the lid to her computer and she looks up at me with wide eyes.
“Let’s have a celebratory lunch.” I pull out of the lot and into the street.
“Hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing to celebrate. Even if she writes the article about you, you won’t fare well.” She lifts the top of her laptop again, her fingers moving at a crazy pace.
“Fuck the interview. We’re celebrating the fact that you just got hired by an amazing client.”
The typing stops and she slowly turns her head my way. “Why would you hire me after that?”
I shrug one shoulder. “You stood up for me and now you’re trying to find something else. I think you have my best interest in mind and you don’t give up, so the job is yours if you want it.”
She continues to stare at me, her mouth slightly ajar, her eyes wide in surprise.
I roll to a stop at the light and catch her still not moving. “Do you accept?”
She blinks and her mouth closes. “Of course.” She bends forward, her arms wrapped around my neck. “Thank you for the opportunity,” she gushes and her lips are millimeters from my cheek when she pulls back.
Finding refuge in her own seat, she clasps her hands together in her lap, her computer having slid to the floor in her excitement. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“I’m not a statue in a museum with an alarm that’ll sound if you do,” I comment and a tiny giggle rings out of her.
“No, now you’re like my boss and that’s crossing a line.”
I realize that despite our on-again off-again flirting, I just screwed myself because this girl plays by the rules and the oldest rule in the book is you don’t screw the boss.
8
Teegan
The cool sand squeezes between my toes as I walk down the beach, looking toward the pink and yellow sky. The tension from my alarm jarring me awake at an ungodly hour this morning leaves my body. I want to stretch my arms to my sides, close my eyes, and let my head fall between my shoulder blades while the sun warms my skin.
“Hey,” Leo says as he approaches wearing a tight-fitting wetsuit.
God, how can just the outline of a man’s body make my panties so wet? “Hi.”
He steps to the side and the strands of his honey-blond hair drip water onto his wetsuit. “Oh, shit. Hold up.” He jogs across the sand to where a pile of stuff sits, coming back with a cup in his hands. “Here. Thanks for coming early.”
The cup is warm and from the aroma wafting off it I’d say he got me another coffee. “I should be the one getting you coffee.” I take a sip, since I was running late because I had to clean up the living room after my mom and had no time to stop on the way.
“Nah, I dragged you out here.” He turns toward the ocean. “You surf?” he asks and I spot a few other bodies in the water. I thought early-morning surfing was a huge thing, but either he’s found a hidden spot, or the rumors were wrong.
“No. I’m originally from the Midwest.”
He laughs. “I’m from Chicago. Where are you from?”
“Minnesota. A small town on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. About as far away from an ocean as you can get.”
He makes a design in the sand with his foot. “I learned when I first came out here and became addicted pretty quick.”
“Leo?”
His head turns my way, his eyes with filled with curiosity.
“Why am I here?”
He nods like he forgot he was the one who texted me last night. “Well, I figure if you’re my PR person you should know what I’m about, but…” He looks back to the ocean and then to me again. “You want to surf? I have an extra wetsuit in the truck.”
I glance down at my yoga pants and t-shirt. “I’m not sure I’m ready for it.”
Just then two other people jog out of the water with their surfboards, planting them in the sand next to where Leo got my coffee. They pick up their own drinks and razz one another by pushing each other in the arm about who grabbed the better wave.
“You know Jagger and that’s my other buddy Vance.” Leo nods in the direction my eyes are currently glued to.
Seriously, these three might as well do a calendar for men who surf and their wetsuits are still zipped up.
“Nice. Well, I’ll just sit down and watch you guys then. Maybe snap a few pictures with my phone for social media?”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in, wetting my t-shirt. “See? That’s why I hired you. You’re brilliant.”
I follow him over to his friends, who are now seated on the sand drinking their coffees. Jagger is busy checking his phone, but the other friend, who must be Vance, glances over his shoulder with raised eyebrows.
“Who’s your friend?” the guy asks, quickly hopping to his feet with his hand already extended.
“Vance, this is Teegan, the PR rep I told you about.”
“Hi, Teegan, I saw you on the staircase at our building, right?” Vance asks.
“Yes, nice to meet you.” I shake his hand.
“Glad to see he made the right decision.” He releases my hand and then hits Jagger with his knee. “Jackass, a lady is present.”
Jagger looks up from being lost in his phone. “Sorry.”
He stands, holding out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Teegan. You surf?”
I shake his hand and I may have only met him one time before, but his cockiness isn’t the first thing I’m noticing today. Well, half that word is true because the bulge in his wetsuit is definitely hard not to stare at.
“No.”
“You should try it,” Vance says. “I have Layla’s wetsuit in the car.”
“Barely used, I’m sure.” Jagger laughs and Vance joins him.
“She’s just starting.” Vance glances over to me. “She may be struggling to stand, but hey, sex on a surfboard in the middle of the ocean—like I give a shit if she ever stands up.”
Jagger shakes his head. “Lucky bastard,” he mumbles.
“Is that jealousy I hear?” Vance leans in close to his friend.
“On the sex part, maybe. On having a ball and chain tethered to your ankle? Hell, no.” Jagger grabs his board. “Let’s go, I have another hour and then unlike you two assholes I have a boss to report to.” He runs off toward the ocean.
Vance tosses his keys to Leo. “It’s in the trunk. Teegan, you’re welcome to it.” He holds his board under his arm and runs off to join his friend.
Leo faces me. “So?”
“I think I’ll watch for a while.”
He smiles like he assumed that’s how this morning would turn out. Maybe he can already tell I’m not much of a risk-taker.
“Understandable.” He lays his towel out on the ground. “Sit down and watch me blow these guys away.” He shoots me his orgasm-inducing wink and then heads to the ocean, his strides easy and steady right into the water until he jumps on his board and paddles out to join his friends.
When the three of them sit on their boards in the ocean, it’s hard to notice who is who until they ride the wave closer to the shore.
They laugh with one another as Jagger loses his footing on one wave, but rides another one all the way in. Vance gets pummelled by a wave, but then beats Jagger to another one, leaving him to swallow a mouthful of water. My eyes won’t veer away from their dynamic and just when my body actually itches to be out there with them, Leo races the two of them to a wave and wins out. I click a couple of pictures with my phone, secretly happy to have a reason to do so. I know I’ll be pulling these up even when it’s not work-related because when it comes to Leo and his looks, I’m a glutton for punishment. Once he’s done riding the wave, he comes back to the shore.
