A Bet with Benefits

by Karen Booth

  “Judging by the number of suitcases I brought, it looks like you are.”

  Seven

  It took less than twenty-four hours for Mindy to feel at home with Sam. They’d spent their Sunday afternoon and evening in and out of bed, enjoying each other’s company in ways that left Mindy so relaxed, she’d never felt more prepared to tackle her Monday and the rest of the workweek. They’d had dinner in, which Mindy had prepared, while Sam was in charge of pouring wine and distracting her with his hands on her hips and his lips on the crook of her neck. They’d stayed up late, bodies twined under the covers, watching old movies. Mindy learned that Sam not only had a penchant for books, but he knew quite a lot about film, as well. She cherished the chance to learn these new things about him, little details that helped to color in her sense of who he was.

  Things were certainly different being at Sam’s place as opposed to her apartment, and Mindy couldn’t help but wonder if it was about more than a change of location. They were still keeping things secretive as they’d had to do many times before, but there was a sense of freedom that hadn’t been there before. Sophie and Emma were far away. There were no prying eyes watching over her, questioning her time with Sam and making her second-guess herself at every turn.

  Now that it was Monday morning, and this would be Mindy’s first time running Eden’s on her own, it was time to see if this newfound freedom extended to her work life, as well. Mindy’s driver, Clay, was waiting for her outside Sam’s apartment right on time, and Sam walked her out to the curb to say goodbye. It was another gorgeous fall day. The sun was strong, the sky clear, and the air crackled with autumn crispness. “I guess it’s time for me to head in,” Mindy said, peering up into Sam’s face.

  His arms circled her waist, pulling her closer. She loved the way he always sought this physical closeness. It was more than hot—it made her feel wanted. Needed. “Before you go, do you think you can get away for a few hours at lunchtime?”

  Mindy smoothed her hand over the lapel of Sam’s jacket. “What did you have in mind? Meet back here?” She and Sam had just spent a good half hour in the shower together. The memory of his soapy hands all over her body sent a zip of excitement along her spine. Still, she was amazed that his mind was already back on sex. Apparently he was just as determined as she was for them to squeeze as much into their week together as possible.

  “Actually, it’s a surprise. I’ll pick you up at Eden’s? One o’clock?”

  This put Mindy in a bit of an awkward situation. If he was at the store, people would see him. But she also knew that the employees were not prone to gossip, and with Sophie and Emma in far-flung corners of the globe, she decided it was a chance she could live with. “Sounds great. I can’t wait.” She kissed him on the lips and he stole the chance to squeeze her backside with one of his massive hands. She mentally pinched herself, feeling incredibly lucky.

  Clay got her to the store much faster than she ever arrived from her place on the Upper East Side—another unexpected bonus of staying with Sam. The morning went smoothly—a meeting with the department heads, a conference call about a new exclusive designer the store was courting and a preliminary chat with Reginald about the store’s Christmas displays, especially the world-famous windows. Sophie, the self-appointed duchess of all things Christmas at Eden’s, would be brought in later. Reginald merely wanted to run a few ideas by Mindy. She was “far less picky,” as he put it.

  With about a half hour before Sam was to arrive, Mindy switched to some BMO emails, and that was where her day became decidedly complicated. There had been endless internal strife lately, and it seemed to be getting worse rather than better. There were arguments over creative directions, battles over production schedules and dismal reports from the finance department about supply costs. The company had been firing on all cylinders a year ago and now they were barely keeping their collective head above water.

  She shot off an email to acting CEO Matthew, offering suggestions as to how to fix their problems, and asking him to give her an update on everything. She didn’t want to micromanage him, but she did want him to take some ownership of the situation and stop letting her employees argue with each other forever. She was tempted to call a staff meeting and give everyone a pep talk about cooperation and teamwork, but she didn’t want to undermine Matthew. If this was going to work, he had to appear to be in charge. Still, it made her that much more eager to get out of Eden’s and back to running BMO. Fourteen months was all she had left. Of course, there was the bet to worry about, but right now, that was a fleeting thought. It was easy to ignore without Sophie and Emma exerting their sisterly pressure.

  Five minutes before Sam was due to arrive, Mindy shut down her laptop, grabbed her Birkin bag and ducked into the ladies’ room to freshen up. Her hand trembled a bit as she reapplied her lipstick. She couldn’t help but be excited by the notion of Sam surprising her. What did he have up his sleeve? A fancy lunch? Shopping trip? With the city at their feet, the possibilities were endless.

  Mindy emerged from the bathroom and Lizzie flagged her down from reception. “Ms. Eden, there’s a man on the phone named Benjamin Summers. He asked to speak to either you, Sophie or Emma. He said he’s calling about a promissory note. Something about a loan your grandmother took out?”

  “I have no idea who that is. Is he from a bank?” Mindy hooked her bag on her arm and walked over to Lizzie’s desk.

  Lizzie shook her head. “He wouldn’t tell me where he was calling from. He only gave his name.”

  “Sounds like a scam to me.” Ever since Gram had passed away, there had been countless people attempting to get their hands on Eden’s in any number of ways.

  “That’s what I was thinking. What would you like me to do?”

  “I guess you should take a message, but between you and me, I’m not going to call him back.”

  Behind Mindy, the elevator dinged. Mindy’s heart did a flip in her chest and she whipped around only to see Sam step through the doors. There was something about that moment when he walked into the room—everything around her became fuzzy, and he was the only thing in focus.

  “Lizzie, I’m headed out to lunch.” Mindy turned for a second, catching that “good for you” look in Lizzie’s eye. “I might be gone a few hours.”

  “No worries, Ms. Eden. We’ll hold down the fort.”

  “Ready?” Sam asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  Mindy’s escape was perfect. Everyone else in the executive offices was at lunch and Lizzie would never breathe a word of this to anyone. Mindy was the one who’d gotten her the biggest raise she’d ever received. Not that she didn’t deserve it—she absolutely did. She put up with the three sisters and their constant drama, and never let it faze her.

  As soon as they were alone in the elevator, Mindy took Sam’s hand. “Where are we going?”

  “I told you. It’s a surprise.”

  She couldn’t have hidden her smile if she’d wanted to. This made her happy. Normal relationship stuff. Could she and Sam have that? Could she talk Sophie and Emma out of the silly bet? If her week with Sam continued like this, Mindy was going to have to sit her sisters down and explain to them that they were going to have to put her happiness before the things that they wanted.

  Mindy and Sam were soon in the back of Sam’s black stretch SUV with his driver at the helm. They’d traveled only a few blocks west from Eden’s Thirty-Sixth Street entrance before it became apparent where they were headed—the Lincoln Tunnel. “We’re going to New Jersey?” she asked.

  “I should have blindfolded you,” Sam quipped.

  Mindy was momentarily distracted by the idea. “Wait. Are we going to see the Mercer?”

  Sam reached down for his black leather messenger bag and produced a thick envelope, which he handed to her. “Here you go. The purchase agreement.”

  “Seriously? You got it done already?
” Mindy took the packet from him, hearing the excitement in her own voice. So many of the problems with BMO could be solved with the purchase of this building. Every issue she’d had to grapple with that morning would improve simply by having her entire operation in one place.

  “Of course I got it done already. A promise is a promise.” He gestured at the envelope with a nod. “Go ahead. Read it.”

  “Right.” She unhooked the metal clasp and pulled out the sheaf of papers. “Of course, I’ll have to wait to sign it until I have my lawyer look at it.” Everything between Sam and her was going so well, but surely he understood that this was business. “You get it, right? I have to make sure everything is in order.”

  “Absolutely I understand.”

  She was glad that it didn’t feel as though there was any subtext in his answer, one of her not trusting him. She began to look through the pages, skimming the key points and clauses, until she reached the section with the purchase price. She nearly passed out when she saw the number. “A dollar?” Mindy had no idea her own voice could reach such a ridiculously high pitch. “You’re selling me the building for a dollar? Seriously? Is this a joke?”

  Sam frowned, which made Mindy feel horrible. “I wanted to do something nice for you. Something sort of romantic.” His response was adorably tentative. Sam was always so self-assured, it was humbling to see this hint of vulnerability.

  “Flowers are romantic. A building that could save my entire mess of a business? I don’t even know what to say, Sam. This is beyond romantic. It’s so generous of you. I don’t know if I can accept this. It’s such a huge gift.” She set the papers down on the seat between them and took his hand. “It’s seriously the nicest thing I think anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.” She leaned over and gave him a soft and sensuous kiss. She wanted him to know that she truly appreciated the sweet gesture.

  “You’re welcome. I’m just happy that you’re happy. Seeing that look on your face is all the reward I need.”

  “I’m curious why you did this, though. Is there something you want or need?”

  “I don’t need anything more than you right now, Mindy.”

  Mindy’s heart fluttered so fast it made it feel as though she might float away. She was seriously starting to feel light-headed from Sam’s brand of romanticism, but the driver turned into the drive for the Mercer and this was no time for letting her head stay in the clouds. She peered out the window to look at the building she hadn’t seen in over a month. An old sugar processing plant, the Mercer had character for days—five floors clad in red brick with sky-high factory windows and a hint of art deco architecture. It was going to be a real showstopper once she turned it into everything they needed it to be. “I can’t believe this is going to be mine. Everything under one roof. It’s amazing.”

  Sam’s driver parked the car and they climbed out. That was when Sam unveiled his second surprise of the day. His driver had a blanket and picnic basket in the front seat with him. “We shouldn’t be much more than an hour,” Sam said, taking the items from him and closing the door.

  “A picnic? You are full of surprises.”

  “I want us to enjoy our week, and this is part of that. Plus, a businesswoman’s got to eat, right?”

  “I am slightly starving. So yes.”

  He took Mindy’s hand and led her around back to the door next to the loading dock bays. He unlocked it and presented the key to her. “You should probably be in charge of this. It’s your building.”

  “I haven’t even signed the contract yet. How do you know I’m good for that dollar?”

  He bounced his eyebrows up and down and they stepped inside. “Something tells me I’ll get it out of you one way or another.”

  The main floor was a cavernous, empty space with the building’s highest ceilings—twenty-two feet. “This is where all of the shipping and fulfillment will go,” Mindy said. In her mind, she could see her employees packing boxes with wedding invitations, birth announcements or Christmas cards. The idea filled her with hope, something she hadn’t been feeling about BMO in recent weeks.

  “Sounds perfect,” Sam said as they walked over to the back stairs. “I guess we’ll have to hoof it.”

  “No electricity, no elevator.”

  They carefully ascended the five flights, which were dimly lit right now, narrow beams of sunlight filtering through windows that needed a good wash. Still, Mindy was struck with the feeling that things were turning around. She hadn’t worried that Sam would go back on his promise to sell her the building, but she’d certainly never expected him to sell it to her for a song. More than anything, she’d never imagined he would take something so important, yet decidedly not romantic—an old factory—and turn it into such a sweet and sentimental outing. He knew exactly how much this meant to her and he’d gone the extra mile to make it special.

  “I scouted out the perfect location for our picnic. Up here, fifth floor.” Sam pulled open the heavy metal door at the top of the final landing, which creaked loudly on its hinges. “Ladies first.”

  Mindy blinked several times while her eyes adjusted to all of the light. The sun positively poured through the windows lining the straight shot of what would eventually be the executive floor. “It looks like somebody cleaned up here.” Mindy turned and took it all in. This was not what it had looked like when she and Matthew had walked the space before making an offer. The windowpanes were crystal clear. The original wide-plank hardwood floors weren’t covered in dust and dirt like they had been downstairs.

  “I knew we were going to have lunch. I didn’t want you to get whatever you were wearing all dirty,” Sam said.

  “When did you have time to plan all of this? Or even have it done? It must have taken days.”

  One corner of Sam’s mouth turned up and Mindy saw something she’d never seen on his face—a blush in his cheeks. “It took about a week.”

  She had been staying at Sam’s apartment for only a day. It had only been yesterday morning that they’d decided to try at all. “You planned this before the wedding? Back when we were keeping things platonic and focused on being friends?”

  “Well, yeah. I like doing nice things for you, but I know I haven’t done a great job of it in the past. Plus, I know how much this means to you. I hear it in your voice. I see it in the way your eyes blaze when you talk about it. Not many people have a vision. Not many people are capable of being passionate about what they do. I wanted to reward that. It’s not something you see every day.”

  Mindy gazed up at Sam, overwhelmed with a feeling she never flirted with—love. Did she love him? Was that what this was? She was certain she was at least falling under Sam’s spell again, this time harder than all of the others put together. Could she have the happy ending her sisters had managed to get for themselves? Or was she once again allowing herself to be swept away by the handsome man with the inexplicable pull on her?

  * * *

  Sam hoped he hadn’t overstepped. The look on Mindy’s face was hard to decipher—he’d expected smiles, not sadness, and certainly not a tear rolling down her cheek. Before he could ask if she was okay, she flung her arms around him.

  “Thank you so much. I don’t even know how to express how much this means to me.”

  He set the picnic basket down on the ground and took his chance to wrap his arms around her. “Any idiot could figure that out, Min. All I had to do was pay attention.”

  She eased her head back, arms still circling his waist. Her gaze met his, her eyes bright and crystal clear. “I feel like I spend my entire day trying to justify my dream to my sisters. They don’t understand it. But you do.”

  Sam pulled her a little closer and kissed her on the forehead. His heart was unfortunately heavy, despite her happy reaction. There was information about BMO he had to share with her today. But for right now, he would enjoy every minute of her gratitude. He rarely felt so rewa
rded for his efforts.

  “Of course I understand it. In fact, I probably get it more than the average person. There are plenty of days when you’re leading the charge on everything on your own. I’m in that same boat with my company. The rewards are great when it works out, but it’s incredibly stressful when it isn’t quite what you want it to be.”

  “Yes. You are so right. Today feels like one of those days when everything is working out exactly like I want it to.”

  Sam cringed inwardly, knowing what he had to tell her about Matthew and the way the original sale of the Mercer had happened. But he would let himself savor this beautiful moment for a little longer.

  “This corner of the building has an incredible view,” Sam said, nodding toward the windows. “Is this where you planned to put your office?”

  Mindy trailed over to the corner, glancing outside. “You know, it’s funny, but I’ve envisioned everything else about BMO moving into this space. Except for my office. That part hasn’t really registered. Maybe because I’ve been stuck at Eden’s this whole time.”

  “So you’re having a hard time remembering what it used to be like to run BMO.” Sam took the checkered blanket he brought and spread it out on the hardwood floor. He took a seat and offered his hand to Mindy.

  She settled in right next to him, tucking her legs under her skirt. “Sort of. I mean, I still get to deal with the headaches. Some things are not going well.”

  Sam had worried that might be the case. He opened the basket and handed Mindy a sandwich from the gourmet shop down the street from his office. He got out a bottle of wine, one that came with a screw cap, and poured some for both of them in small plastic cups. “Cheers.”

  “To the Mercer,” Mindy said.

  Sam knew that was his opening. “Min, I need to tell you something about the building. I got the building for a steal. Way under its current value. And I know you said that you were trying to buy it, but I talked to the head of my acquisitions team and he told me that there were no other offers on the property.”