by Haley Travis
Rolling to the side, I held her for a moment, then murmured, “Back in a sec.” Racing to the washroom to get rid of the condom, I hurried back into the bed, pulling her into my arms.
“You’re incredible, beautiful,” I murmured, rocking her gently.
Her eyes closed as her fingertips trailed around my chest, then grew still.
“What do you want out of life, Jenna?” I asked gently.
“To be good at my job,” she whispered, smirking slightly.
“What else?” I couldn’t help prying when she finally seemed to have dropped her walls, hopefully letting me in.
“A sweet man who listens,” she murmured, her words drawling slowly. “Who takes care...of me when...I sometimes need...”
Her breathing became soft as she drifted off and her hold on me grew limp. Feeling her let loose completely as we made love was incredible, but as she lost consciousness, trusting me to hold her, every puzzle piece in my overworked brain snapped into place.
Jenna was mine. She was the one.
I could be better for her. There were dozens of ways I could ease up and make room in my life for this amazing woman. She’d help me, as she’d already helped me so much.
There were boundaries I could create between my work and my life, making time for her. I could take her to fancy restaurants, and be her date to any event where she needed to meet people for her work.
The thought of changing for a woman had never crossed my mind before, but she deserved more. I could be her perfect man.
My frantic mind spiralled for at least an hour, holding her gently while I tried to think of everything I wanted to do with my sweet girl. Eventually I matched my breathing to hers, drifting off while clutching her to my heart.
11
_____
Jenna
“Good morning, gorgeous,” a deep voice rumbled from what seemed a mile away. “I love the feel of you against me, baby, but I need my arm back so I can get up. Okay?”
Opening my eyes slowly, there was a close-up view of the chiseled chest I was resting my head on. Pushing myself up, I turned to catch Andrew’s gaze. The dreamy look in his eyes was absolutely touching. Romantic.
From across the room, I heard a phone beep. Quickly rolling me aside, he lunged to grab his pants from the floor. “Hello?”
I sat up, pulling the sheet around me as he spoke to someone that I guessed was probably Terry.
Grabbing my clothes, I snuck into the washroom to freshen up and get dressed. My mind was racing through the events of last night, unable to believe what had actually happened. I’d been trying so hard to get my career started, and I slept with my first solo client? Who was I?
By the time I came out, Andrew was down in the kitchen, looking obscenely sexy in just a pair of black shorts that clung to his tight ass perfectly.
“Did you want some coffee?” he asked.
“No, thanks. I have to drive home to change, then get to work. It’s officially your launch day now, so can I have my phone back?”
In a flash, he had me up against the wall. “Not until you kiss me enough that I can survive without you for a few hours.”
Oh god. I wanted to melt, to give in to him. But the heat between us was instantly chilled by my spine turning to ice. How was I supposed to act normal around him at the event tonight? Andrew seemed totally unable to keep his hands to himself. If he tied me up with ribbon in his office, and made out with me at Saturday’s party, what was he going to do this evening?
There were going to be media people everywhere, and I would have to treat him like a client while I schmoozed everyone. Although I’d been to a few events with Jeremy and other coworkers, and watched them closely, I was going to be on my own this time.
No matter how strong my feelings for Andrew were, I had to put them aside. He was unpredictable. There was no way that I could trust him to act appropriately if I encouraged this sort of behavior.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak as every dark thought crowded my mind.
Andrew leaned in to kiss me, then backed away. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I’m not your baby,” I choked. “I’m your PR person. You’re my client. This has been amazing, but I know that this is all just…circumstantial.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I was just in the right place at the right time. You’ve been stressed with all of these details about the launch. I was feeling unsteady about taking on my first big client.”
“Jenna, it’s not like that at all.” He reached for my hand, but I pulled away.
“Or maybe we were both lonely,” I babbled, backing toward the door. “Can I have my phone back, please? I’ve left you instructions on where to ship those boxes. I’ll meet you at the Lightspeed event tonight. Make sure that you drive that hot red car and pose for the photographers on the way in. Be sure to wave to Cliff.”
“At least let me pick you up,” he said quickly.
I shook my head firmly, taking my phone from him and dropping it into my purse. “That’s okay, thank you. I’ll meet you there half an hour after it starts.”
“Jenna, please...”
Spinning on my heel, I left, walking quickly down the street to his warehouse to get my car.
Wiping away tears with the back of my hand, I didn’t know why I was so upset. Andrew had acted like a perfect gentleman, as if we could possibly be in a real relationship.
No. It was absolutely ridiculous. He was a CEO. A billionaire, probably. Actually, definitely, if my research into his company was correct. He owned at least half of it since he only had one sibling, and there was no mention of other investors. They’d been incredibly successful over the last few years.
Andrew needed a woman who could fit into his life. That just wasn’t me, and he knew it.
As I unlocked my car in the otherwise empty lot, I heard a shuffle behind me. Spinning around, Terry was standing there, studying me.
“Good morning,” I said. “How are you?”
“Good, thank you,” he said stiffly. “Did you have a good night?”
“Yes.”
“Are you mad at me for being paranoid and asking Andrew to hold you hostage?”
My shoulders dropped and I managed a smile. “No, I’m not angry.”
He took a step closer, the fingers of his left hand fluttering as if he were playing an imaginary piano.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. But I wasn’t sure whether Andrew realized how much he likes you. He’s a bit weird with people, sometimes.”
“How do you mean, weird?” I asked.
“He comes across as really cold, sometimes even stern, when he’s nervous or thinking too hard,” Terry said, with an adorable smile that softened his angular face. “He works really hard at keeping the world away from me, but sometimes that means he has to reschedule things, and go along with my odd reactions. It’s not always his fault.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” I said softly. “But Andrew and I don’t really belong together.”
Terry’s face fell. “But he likes you. A lot. Way more than any of the other girls he dated years ago. I can’t really read most people except my brother, and I can read Andrew better than anyone. I was watching him on the security camera in his office, and he actually cleaned before you came over.”
My eyebrow raised. “What else were you watching on the security cameras?”
He smirked, staring down at his bright green sneakers. “If I did accidentally see anything, I promise that I looked away immediately and deleted that section of the footage so that it didn’t get archived.”
“What makes you think that he really likes me?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, even as I was realizing that Terry was a good guy to have on your side.
Terry grinned. “He’s trained himself to be super controlled in meetings, but he always gets a bit jumpy before you arrive. He also uses a different tone when he says your name.”
A torrent of sparks swirle
d in my belly. “Well, that’s sweet, but Andrew belongs with a girl who is more his style.”
His wavy hair shook as his head tilted back and forth. “No way. He’s always liked sweet, pretty girls. Smart girls, that he can really talk to. He doesn’t always listen to people very well, but he’s focused on every single word you say.”
This was a lot to take in when I hadn’t even had coffee yet. I was touched that Andrew’s brother approved of me, but I didn’t have time to think about that.
“How about this, Terry,” I said, smiling at him. “We’ll get through tonight’s event, and make you guys look like superstars. Everything else can wait until tomorrow, deal?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Compartmentalizing. I get it. I do it all the time. Time blocking your phases of stress and focus.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m not going to tell Andrew that we talked,” Terry said quickly. “And I’m not going to tell him that I told you, but I’m pretty sure he’s already in love with you.”
My eyes fell closed as I took a breath. “That’s something else to think about tomorrow. Thanks.”
“Have a great day,” he said brightly, rushing to the door and blocking the keypad from my view with his body as he tapped in the code.
Jumping into my car, I raced home to change, then to the office to read up on everything I would need to do tonight to make sure that Andrew ended up looking like A-list material for all of the event’s media coverage, and the star of the VIP room.
Somehow, I had to do this without picturing those dark eyes, that sculpted jawline. Without thinking of his hands on me. Without thinking of his lips on mine, or his deep, raspy voice.
If he was really in love with me, and I was pushing him away because I was terrified and didn’t think I was good enough, did that make me the real asshole?
12
_____
Andrew
All my life, I’ve taken whatever I wanted, but now that I’ve taken Jenna, I feel that I’ve ruined everything. Sleeping with her hadn’t felt rushed. It felt perfect. It was obvious that she enjoyed herself.
So what did I do wrong? Should I have waited until we’d been on a few official dates?
I went to the office and sent the parcels exactly as Jenna had instructed. I appreciated how completely thorough she was, even instructing me to use a thick black pen to fill out the addresses with confident block printing.
It felt like every single thing she did for our company was methodical and carefully thought out. Maybe that was the problem – I wasn’t the guy she would have chosen for herself. Maybe us hooking up really was just circumstantial, with both of us blowing off some steam.
I didn’t think for a split second that was actually true. She felt things for me, I was sure of it. It might not quite be love yet, but there was a definite spark.
After I shipped the parcels, I checked in with Terry to make sure he was keeping busy, and not stressing about tonight. The green light was on outside his workroom door, which was open for once.
“Hi,” he said cheerfully as he saw my head peer in the doorway. “Come on in.”
I sat down beside him, breathing in the fragrance of the Earl Grey tea that steamed on his desk.
“Did the press releases go out this morning?” he asked.
“Yes. The gaming and tech world will know what we’re up to now. How do you feel about that?”
He shook his head. “No feelings. Just random thoughts.”
“Like what?”
He was quiet for a moment, drumming his fingers on his knee.
“If you’re still worried about someone leaking the information early, don’t,” I said. “ Everyone will receive their parcels and press releases at noon, just like we scheduled.”
He just looked at me, cocking his head.
“You don’t really think that Jenna is a spy or something?” I asked.
He actually laughed out loud. “No. I made that up so that you two would spend more time together.”
I sputtered in shock, “Are you serious?”
I couldn’t believe it. Terry had never done anything devious in his life. It didn’t even occur to me that he was able to lie.
“Yeah. You were staring at her with stars in your eyes, and she kept trying to do her job. Which is admirable, of course, and I totally respect her for it. But you two belong together.”
“She doesn’t seem to think so,” I said, unable to keep the sadness from my voice.
Terry nodded. “Yeah, I know. I saw her in the parking lot this morning. She’s going to do her job at the event tonight, and think about anything else tomorrow. Compartmentalizing. Always smart.”
“Did she say anything else?”
He smirked, looking at me strangely. “She wasn’t mad at me, so that’s good.” He stared into space for a second, then snapped his fingers. “Darn. I wasn’t going to tell you that Jenna and I had talked.”
“That’s okay,” I said slowly. “What else?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to get in the middle of things, especially when her thoughts are all tangled up and she thinks that you need a girl who is more your style. I must have misunderstood that, because style doesn’t have anything to do with love, does it?”
“Do you think she loves me?” My breath stalled completely.
Terry shrugged. “I’m the last person who knows anything about love.”
“I think you might surprise yourself someday,” I said, trying to muster up a reassuring smile. “Although I’m likely a lousy example, since I can’t convince the girl of my dreams that I need her.”
“Force a reboot.”
“Huh?”
“When a system is being glitchy, remove all power, then start it up again.”
I felt my mouth fall open, then choked a laugh. “You’re a genius.”
“It’s fun when you say that about my engineering, but I think you’re exaggerating about my relationship advice,” he grinned.
“No, you’re absolutely right. I’ll just have to figure it out on the way there.”
To my absolute surprise, Terry reached out and clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of the business and everything that involves socializing,” he said. “You’re a good big brother.”
I reached up to grab his hand, giving it a squeeze. “I do try. And you’re an excellent little brother. Can I suggest that you knock off work early and go do something relaxing?”
He stared at the two laptops in front of him, then nodded. “One more hour, then I’ll go watch movies for the rest of the day.”
“Excellent.”
I went back home to grab some food and get ready, standing in the shower for a solid twenty minutes until the magic of the hot water told me exactly how I could force a reboot with Jenna.
13
_____
Jenna
I took a cab to the event since I’d likely have a drink or two. It was extremely impolite to turn down a drink at corporate events if anyone offered, although I usually ended up carrying it around for ages.
The ride gave me time to skim the early photo posts from people entering the event. Flipping through my phone, I smiled to myself. These gamer people certainly loved putting on an extravagant show. The silver carpet at the entrance was a nice touch, and neon lightning-bolt photo booths were set up in the foyer.
According to the live feed, two gamers had been wearing HarperTech shirts on the way in, and thankfully they arrived before Andrew.
There was a short clip of him getting out of his flashy red car, walking straight to Cliff for a photo op, and dropping the news about their revolutionary technology that was going to be the talk of the week.
Watching Andrew’s gorgeous profile as he smiled and waved to the crowd created a heavy rock in the center of my stomach, weighing me down.
He was older, worldly, and brilliant. Being with me might drag him out of the direction he should be going. I knew that I was being overdramat
ic, but I couldn’t help feeling that I wasn’t the right fit for him.
When PR campaigns weren’t hitting the right target demographic, it was time to cut everything and start again.
Putting my phone away, I stared up at the city’s bright lights. Andrew was on time, and did everything I asked him. That was a good start.
