by K. F. Breene
Sean sighed, watching Emily and Krista cross to the bar arm-in-arm. “I know. I haven’t figured out what to do about it, yet.”
“I also think it is time to start hiring in. Promoting from within is a good practice, but we need knew blood.”
“We need less slackers,” Sean said.
Ron didn’t bother acknowledging. It was a common problem in any company, but more so with theirs.
~*~*~*~
“It’s been a long weekend,” Krista said casually, leaning against the bar.
“I’ve heard some stories.” Emily glanced around. She lowered her voice, “Tory’s been watching you closely.”
“Trying to make sure I didn’t sue for sexual harassment?”
Her smile was grim. “That was part of it, I’m sure. He didn’t mention it—it would’ve put me in a bad mood. But other than that, you were at odds, huh? I would not have wanted to be in your place!”
“Me neither. I didn’t have a choice, though.”
They paused to order drinks—it was the same peppy bartender that saw her embarrassing fall.
“Drinks on the house!” he said in a bob. “I know you won’t spill it!”
Emily looked at Krista in confusion.
“I did a dive and saved my empty drink. He’s of the age that still thinks that’s awesome.”
Emily nodded, and then shook her head. Changing gears, she asked, “What prompted the fabulous outfit?”
“Other than the fabulousness, you mean?”
“Of course.”
“I got a pep talk from a friend. She said to put it in their faces.”
“They being all the overbearing, egotistical men here?”
“Exactly.”
“What about Sean?”
Krista threw her a confused brow crease. “What about Sean?”
“What did he say about your outfit?”
“Hasn’t seen it yet.”
“You two aren’t an item?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Emily looked away casually.
It prompted Krista to elaborate.
“My choice. I just…He tends to do things for his career instead of for me. Don’t know if I want to spend a life being second.”
“Oh sweetie…I know. And I really do know. I spent a great many years alone. When men are young, they want to build an empire. It isn’t until they are older that they realize what is really important in life.”
“So the movies say. I guess I just don’t trust him anymore.”
“Well, that’s for you to decide, of course. I say, give him a chance. He’s been bending over backward to make you welcome here this weekend. He’s really put himself out on a limb.”
“I know,” Krista sighed. “And I miss him. A lot. I just…I don’t think I can go through that hurt again, you know?”
“I do know, Krista. I do. I was in your shoes once. Well, tonight just focus on what’s important—throwing it in their faces. But, I do wonder. Panties or no panties?”
“Ah. You heard about the ropes course, I see. Right. Yeah, I had another pair.” Krista flicked her hair in embarrassment. Apparently everyone would be wondering.
“Well—“ Emily stopped mid-sentence and her eyes lit up. “Sean! Long time no see.”
Sean walked up to them in his slow, graceful saunter. He was wearing a tux that fit like a dream. His fluid grace and muscular build lent him a 007 quality. Women and men alike watched him move through the room. Well, gay man, actually. There was only one. That they knew of.
“Ladies, how goes it?” Sean said smoothly, his gaze sliding past Krista and landing on Emily.
“Great, Sean, as usual. I heard your team did very well right out of the gate,” Emily said, leaning against the bar. Sean leaned closer to Krista to keep eye contact with Emily.
She was a tricky old gal.
“We gave our best effort. Everyone on the team really put their all into it. I was proud of everyone,” Sean replied eloquently.
“I see our politics are up to snuff. I heard one team member wasn’t so active in participation…” Emily had a glint in her eye.
Sean kept his voice neutral. “Everyone put in effort where they had the most potential. Our Krista here nearly gave out in the end, but we all talked her around.”
“Literally gave out, he means,” Krista said happily, even though she was a little tired of being the team scapegoat. She’d done enough. She wanted to relax and slip behind the scenes again.
To that effect, she looked out over the gathered people to keep her in the positive. Everyone was dressed in their best, including the admins. Some of the older ladies looked a little frumpy, and some of the younger ones looked brazen, but she certainly couldn’t talk about the latter. It was nice they all gave an effort.
“She’s had a lot to deal with this weekend,” Emily tempered.
Krista shrugged. She didn’t want to get into it.
“She’s born it like a trooper, though. Always has,” Sean put in.
“What is in store for dinner?” Krista asked to change the subject.
“They always do a great dinner, here,” Emily said. “Well, I had better see what Tory is up to. He tends to be an old bore when someone isn’t around to keep the topic off work.”
Krista smiled a goodbye and moved in closer to the bar. She was determined to keep her attitude positive tonight. She didn’t want to talk about work or the weekend at all.
“You are devastatingly beautiful, Pet,” Sean said close to her ear.
Krista sat on a barstool and turned her body toward Sean. She expected him to be looking at her breasts. Most men would have. Hell, she would have been. They were out there for the public eye, after all. Instead, when she looked up she met his soft gaze.
Krista’s heart warmed over and dribbled romantic goo all over her shoes. “Thank you, Sean.”
“There is a rumor that I sexually harassed you.”
Sean sat on the bar stool next to her, and then scooted it closer. Their knees were lightly touching and the contact thrilled her. She needed to pick a direction with him. He was right—they were all or nothing. Krista had never been a half-ways type of girl, anyway.
“Really? When?”
“Up in the tree. I’ll bet Dean saw us.”
“Saw you, you mean.”
Hurt flashed across Sean’s face. “Me, yes.”
“Is that why you’re over here? To dispel the rumors?”
Krista didn’t mean it to sound disgruntled, and though her tone was light, he still looked like a puppy that just got swatted with a rolled up newspaper.
“No,” he said quietly, looking at his drink. “I’m over here because I couldn’t tear my eyes away from you and wanted to be closer.”
“Oh.” She felt like an ass.
“Krista…” Sean sighed and turned back to her. There was such vulnerability in his eyes, she got a lump in her throat. He didn’t expose this side of himself much, so she knew whatever he was going to say was important to him. She waited patiently for him to continue. He, in turn, was waiting for Perry, who stepped in next to him to get a drink, to grab it and go. It looked like Perry wanted to chat, but realized something was going on. Krista would have invited him into the conversation, but she wanted to hear what Sean had to say.
“Krista, when you left San Francisco,” Sean continued, looking down at this hands, “I thought my heart was ripping out of my chest. I cried, I’ll admit it. Men aren’t supposed to cry, but there you go. A big part of me was hurt. That part turned angry. I didn’t think you’d actually leave. I logically knew you had to, but it felt like you were leaving me. I think that was mostly why I wanted to sever communication. I figured you would realize how I felt and change your mind.”
Sean paused. Krista knew this was a monologue, and that he had to get this stuff out. She didn’t want to make him lose his nerve, so she stayed silent even though it was an odd place to be spilling the past. But then, they never saw each other outside of a
work setting, except when Krista slapped him, so Sean probably thought it was now or never.
“I am ashamed to say that lasted about six months. I made myself be angry to forget the hurt. It was how I always dealt with my parents constantly leaving my sister and I—anger is easier to bear. It’s an easier pain to tolerate. I put my past on you. Again.
“After about six months the anger ebbed a little. I came out of my shell a tiny bit. Enough to hear that Jim was by your house looking for you. They had to call the cops on him. I knew then what a jerk I was. That you leaving had nothing to do with me. That my attitude was shallow.
“By then it had been a long time. I wanted to call, but I was so remorseful of my behavior, I chickened out. I drafted an email, but every time I read it back, it sounded stupid. Instead, I threw myself into my work. Truth was, I could have transferred with you into a manager position. A position you have now. But Tory was talking about restructuring and I convinced myself I wanted VP. That I deserved it. That I would need it to deserve you. Tory set the bar extremely high for that position—not that I blame him. There was a large list of interviewees. Blake being one of them, of course.
“So I started working and winning. I’ve actually never worked so hard in my life. By the time I got Junior VP, I was ready to give up and take the manager position. Life seemed dull. Running was just to work myself into oblivion. Surfing was to forget you. But by then…you had moved on.”
“I moved on to try to forget you. I didn’t think there was any other choice,” Krista said quietly, desperately trying not to cry .
“I know that now. I didn’t then. I worked even harder after I found out. To forget. To punish myself, maybe. I’d heard about you from Tory. About your accomplishments. I think he was trying to use you as a carrot to the donkey—me being the donkey, obviously. He’s a shrewd businessman. He knows how to push people. And I was blowing it up at Dexico. Sale after sale. I made that company money hand over fist.
“You were still with that guy, though. Chet. I didn’t much care about a job with Tory anymore because I didn’t have a hope of getting you back. But by then I’d proven to Tory what I could do. Immodestly I impressed him. That’s when Tory had you come to San Francisco. I don’t think he intended to use us for anything, but he had us pitch an idea anyway. My God, when I saw you…”
Sean leaned forward on the bar, resting on his arms. He still wasn’t looking at her when he went on. “I can’t describe—it was like I got punched in the gut, Krista.” He turned to her with haunted eyes. “I didn’t remember how beautiful you were. Are. I mean, I remembered that you were beautiful, but I didn’t remember. It’s hard to explain…”
“Your memories didn’t do it justice. I felt that way when I saw you. My memories were a shadow of you.”
“Exactly, yes. A pale shadow at that. And you were so on top of everything. Your poise, your elegance. I had forgotten about all that. Your confidence and the way you hold yourself—like nothing in the world can bring you down. Like you are the rock that people break against. Surfing with you. Running with you. Helping you with your wetsuit. I tried to stay neutral —you had a boyfriend after all. But I touched you when I didn’t need to. Got so worked up I had to walk away. I had to cut off a connection with you again. I wanted to cut off the pain.” Sean looked at Krista like he was willing her to understand. “But when you said you thought about me still... All I wanted was for you to be happy—with whomever you finally chose. I just…”
Sean broke off and looked at his beer again. He didn’t look like he was going to continue.
“I broke up with Chet because you told me to be happy. It wasn’t Chet I wanted.”
“That was my hope. I had been turning Tory down repeatedly. I didn’t want to be in a place where I would be reminded of losing you. He was the one who told me about your relationship status. I finally accepted the job offer, the same day I heard.”
“Because we are good team?”
“Yes. And because I love you. If he had changed his mind, I would have found my way to you with or without the job. Cassie, too.”
“Why are you telling me all this now, Sean? Why didn’t you tell me before? Or in a more private setting?”
“I wanted to, but you slapped me.”
“Oh yeah. But you had that coming.”
“I know. And you nailed it; I was a coward.”
“Well, I guess I was, too. I could have called you, too. I don’t usually let someone get in the way of what I want.”
“Why didn’t you? Call, I mean? Not saying you should have. Just…if you thought about me that much…”
“I was scared you didn’t really want me. You always have everything planned out; always have a concrete reason for everything you do. I guess I didn’t want to push the envelope and be wrong. It was easier thinking it was because of Jim. Otherwise the rejection would have been personal.”
“I find planning life around you is impossible. You always throw a wrench in everything.”
“I’m just trying to keep it interesting.” Krista noticed people were making a move toward the restaurant. Someone must have sounded the cattle call.
“Like tonight…I was going to avoid you again. Let you mingle on your own. It’s good for people to see you without me attached. But…how can I keep away when you draw me to you like a bear to honey?”
“It’s my fault, then, is it?” Krista asked with a smile.
He smiled back. “Didn’t you know? Men being helpless in the throes of lust always blame it on the women.”
“Just put a sheet over my head for your protection.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said as he leaned closer. He kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Let’s go to dinner, shall we?”
“Sexual harassment,” Krista muttered as they got up slowly, their bodies only an inch apart.
“But my god, Krista, you do look beautiful. I’ve seldom seen you look prettier.”
They walked slowly, Krista’s arm resting in his like the old days. “You’ve seen me prettier, have you? I haven’t outdone myself?”
“I have seen you prettier, yes. When you first wake up and your hair is all tussled and you turn over and look at me with a sleepy grin, usually asking for breakfast in bed, my heart melts.”
“Yeah but, you never did make me breakfast in bed those times,” Krista said half-sullenly to hide the lead in her chest. That was the best thing a man ever said to her. That Sean thought she was beautiful because of her, as a person, not because her boobs, ass, or other parts. That was real. And it felt real good.
“That’s because while my heart was melting, another part of me was… uh…hardening.”
“Pig.”
Sean shrugged, his lips curling at the corners.
Chapter Twenty-Four
They walked into the restaurant, arm in arm. They got the customary stares as they made their way to their region’s table. Everyone was there, including Bob. He was eyeing Krista with disdain, probably thinking the closeness was proof he was right.
There were two seats left, of course, and they were side by side. Sean held Krista’s seat out for her and waited until she settled in before he sat down himself. They were the last to sit. The presentation, or whatever was going to happen, started immediately. The lights dimmed as a small stage at the front of the restaurant was lit up. Tory was up there smiling.
“Good evening everyone. I hope you had a great and productive weekend. Now, as you all know, we had a small competition with our team building, as we do every year. This year is the first since our implementation of Senior VPs over all the regions, and so far I must say, it is going well. It is still early, but we are already seeing results in the field from more detailed leadership, and I have been able to back off and focus more on the larger scope. Thank you Senior VPs for making the program a success!”
Everyone clapped. The Senior VPs had large grins and their egos were growing even larger. Except for Sean. He smiled for the crowd, and clappe
d along with the rest, but felt the pressure to perform. There was work to be done, and Sean didn’t quite have a handle on it yet. Unlike the Big Cat from New York, Sean’s ego wasn’t built on long years being in charge.
“I would also like to extend a thank you to the managers who have helped the VPs settle in and get to work. And of course, the support team that makes it all possible. Give the managers and administrative support a hand!”
Everyone clapped again. Krista barely smiled. Yay for us. Now let’s move on.
“This year we have a few trophies to give out for various achievements. Let’s not think of these as winners, but more as those who rose above the norm. These are people and regions that proved themselves shining stars. Everyone did a great job, and I thank you for making this year’s team building a success!”
Krista turned and looked at her table. Georgie and Dean were facing her and met her gaze. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her champagne. Georgie laughed. Apparently he thought this was a lot of hullaballoo as well.
“The first trophy is for good sportsmanship. This person always had a positive spin to any of the weekend’s events, from tug-of-war to dinner. He made those around him laugh and he befriended people from every region. Our first award goes to Marcus, from L.A.!”
Krista looked at Marcus in shock. He had his winning smile and his easy manner well in hand as he rose and winked at her. That guy was so good at being liked, he got awards for it. Incredible!
He went up and got his trophy. Tory stepped out of the way so he could say a few words.
“Wow,” he began, “this is unexpected. I’d like to thank all the little people—“ he waved his hand and laughed, letting everyone know it was a joke. “No, thanks to all the career professionals that welcomed me in and showed me the ropes. I made some great friends here this weekend. They deserve to share the award with me! We’ll keep in touch!” Marcus bowed and stepped off the stage, but it was obvious he wasn’t in a hurry to leave the lime light behind him.
