by Sotia Lazu
“Honey, Ric isn’t the right cure for loneliness, and he’s definitely not the answer to my wishes. There is no connection between us. No emotion. Just great sexy times.” They were great, all right. And now they were over.
And she was done talking about the guy.
She asked Angie about Sarah, and then they talked about work and how Lexi still didn’t find it exciting. She grudgingly admitted that despite Ric’s selfish reasons for suggesting it, attending company meetings would be a step up. She felt bad getting paid full time, when she spent more than half of the working day online, reading Exotic Beast, but she’d tried talking to Edmund about it, and he’d told her to wait.
Mentioning the novel lead to speculation about who could be behind it, and then looped the discussion back to Ric.
“I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. What’s done is done, but there will be no more,” Lexi said.
“Why are you so adamant?”
“Because I am. Now drop it.” Lexi looked at her watch. “I need to do some shopping before I go home. You and Sarah wanna join us for dinner tonight?”
“Can’t. Promised Sarah to watch some zombie movie with her. Have fun, and say hi to Caitlin for me.”
“Sure.”
They both stood. “I’m sorry I was a pain, Angie, it’s just…”
“Hush.” Angie pulled her in for a hug. “I know. You’re always a pain, but you’re my pain.”
****
All in all, Friday was good, Ric told himself. Well, apart from how it all went belly up when he didn’t use a sodding rubber. He ran his fingers through his hair. He wished he could take those last few moments back, along with his stupid admittance he wouldn’t touch anyone but her. He wanted to stick with the memory of her coming, of her moans of release poured inside his own mouth, while her body shook with pleasure.
She’d called him Ric.
But even before her slip of tongue that made his heart lurch in his chest, she’d given him a glimmer of hope. Not just because she told her friend she’d had incredible sex with him, but because she followed him to the closet when he told her to. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, and she’d risk her job and her standing with Pedelty to have sex with him. With him.
She’d called him Ric, not Richie or Rex. She’d used his name, not that of a fictional character who looked like him. She’d known full well who fucked her, and this was the main reason she acted like a wench once they were done.
The thought that Lexi resented wanting him was a slap in the face. He lit a cigarette and pulled on it hard, to clear his mind of all doubt there could be a future between them.
She didn’t resent wanting him. She resented wanting a man she thought hated her. He had to do something to fix this, and soon.
But what?
He remembered her reaction when he’d asked if the translation was giving her trouble. She’d been too defensive, as if trying to prove she was worth something. She shouldn’t care what he thought.
Now what was wrong with that picture?
God, he was a moron. She’d told him, but he hadn’t listened.
She thought he wanted her out of the company.
The first time she ever raised the subject was when she accused him of telling Pedelty to fire her. Ric thought she’d gotten the matter cleared up since, but she obviously hadn’t. Just two days ago, there was that site debacle. She believed he was gathering proof to convince Pedelty to fire her.
Ric had to get Pedelty to explain. Get him to set things straight with Lexi, because she wasn’t going to believe Ric.
He put out his forgotten smoke and lit another in its wake. It took all of three drags to come up with a plan, and three more cigarettes to build up the courage to do what he decided.
****
Lexi had a fun night reminiscing and reconnecting. She should try to locate more of her old friends. It was good to feel like she belonged again.
She was in her flannel pajamas, brushing her hair, when she heard the ringtone that usually cheered her up. This time she found it silly. She should change it.
She considered letting the call go to voicemail, but it was almost one in the morning. Only Angie would be calling this late, and she’d just keep trying until Lexi picked up.
She pressed the little green button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
A tingly feeling ran down her spine at the sound of Ric’s voice, and her breath jammed in her lungs. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why is it you on my phone at this hour?” She didn’t want to know. Angie had helped her feel a bit better about what he said yesterday, and whatever the reason behind this phone call was, Lexi feared it would result to another kick at her self-esteem.
“Wanted to talk to you.” He sounded serious.
“Obviously, unless you have a habit of calling people to not talk to them. But I’m sure it can wait till Monday.”
“No, Lexi. It can’t.”
“Okay. Talk.” Her voice was harsh, but she felt about as tough as a marshmallow.
“What happened between us—”
“No.” He wouldn’t get to say how it was wrong. This was her line, damn it. No way would she be the dumpee.
“No, what? I didn’t even get to finish the sentence, you silly bint.”
Lexi lacked the strength to snap at him for calling her a bint again. “I don’t need to hear the rest, to know what you wanna say. What happened was a mistake. It won’t happen again. Feel all better, now we’re on the same page?” Her spine was stiff, her shoulders slumped. He couldn’t wait till Monday or act like nothing had happened. He had to spell things out for her. Eh, he got brownie points for honesty, at least.
“Oh, no. You’re not pulling the it-was-a-mistake speech on me. If it were a mistake, you wouldn’t have done it a second time. What happened was bloody spectacular.” He sounded angry, and Lexi was at a loss.
“Wasn’t that what you called to say? I don’t understand.”
“Of course it wasn’t, and if you heard me out instead of—” He took a deep breath. “Bollocks. I’m doing exactly what I want to stop doing,” he muttered.
“Huh?”
“Listen, the reason I called was to offer a ceasefire.”
“Ceasefire?” She felt stupid for echoing him, but she was confused.
“We can’t change what’s been done. I can’t un-be a wanker, and you can’t un-be a bitch.”
“Hey.”
“I’m sorry, but both are true. And if we’re to keep doing what we did, it’ll be better if neither of us goes for the other’s throat within seconds of the cum-shot.”
She scrunched her nose at his vulgarity but stifled a surprised giggle. This was the last thing she’d expected to hear, and she wasn’t sure how to react. “No strings attached?”
“None whatsoever.”
“I’ll have to think about it.”
“About the truce?”
“No, whether we keep doing it.” She bit her lower lip and waited for his response. She and Ric weren’t arguing. Their exchange was almost… friendly. Was the world about to implode? And was her tone teasing? What was next? Flirting? She had to get a grip.
“Not much to think about, love. You either want this hot, tight body, or you don’t.”
“Yeah… I’ll get back to you on that.” She couldn’t believe how easy this conversation turned out, after everything that happened between them. She still wasn’t sure that deal came without a catch, but he sounded sincere.
“Truce is on, though?” he asked.
“The truce is on.”
“Right. Goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight.”
She returned to brushing her hair, trying hard to convince herself the call didn’t mean much. Her grinning face in the mirror indicated she wasn’t exactly succeeding. Whichever way she analyzed Ric’s suggestion, the only explanation was the obvious—he really offered truce, no strings a
ttached, because he wanted to keep having sex with her. She was giddy at the prospect of amazing, drama-less sex, but couldn’t avoid thinking there was one more guy who didn’t view her as relationship material.
Despite her usual, self-deprecatory nature, she didn’t linger on that. It didn’t matter, because this time there was no room for falling. She knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t like she’d ever want more with Ric.
All in all, the deal proposed sounded perfect.
Which was the main thing that worried her.
She wanted to call Angie, but it was late. Sharing the news would have to wait a day. Or two—there might even be more news to share by Monday afternoon. She let out a small laugh and got under the covers. She just got an offer for incredible sex, by a guy who would at least act like he didn’t hate her. That was a definite go-Lexi situation.
Sleep claimed her almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chapter Sixteen
When Lexi said she’d get back to him, Ric assumed it meant she’d sleep on it and call him in the morning. As the day went by and the phone didn’t ring, his good mood from last night evaporated, leaving behind self doubt and worry.
But she’d sounded teasing on the phone and agreed to the truce almost instantly. It had to be a matter of time before she told him she wanted him again. When she did, all sorts of possibilities would be open for the two of them.
He groaned. He didn’t care about all sorts. The single thing he was interested in was being with her. As in, hand-holding, spending nights watching silly movies, with her. As in, whispering… well, whatever cutesy couples whispered.
That kind of thinking kept him twisting and turning in bed on Sunday night. He chanced a glance at his bedside clock, to see how many more hours of fruitless efforts to sleep were ahead of him. He finally managed to drift off less than an hour before the annoying buzz of the alarm clock reverberated through his bedroom and inside his head.
He kicked off the covers and jumped out of bed, fully awake at the thought of seeing Lexi and gauging how she felt about continuing what they had.
He was a pillock. They had nothing, and he’d better get to fixing that.
****
Lexi put on her best, brightest smile and entered the office prepared to honor the truce. That smile cracked around the edges when she saw Ric by John’s desk, barking at Melody to get her sorry arse out of his way and make herself useful.
What if being a jerk was his idea of foreplay?
Lexi hated the idea of there being—or ever having been—anything between Ric and Melody.
Her good mood returned full force, when Ric beamed at her. “Morning, pet. Bit late today, are we?” His tone was light, not chastising.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Will I be punished for it?”
She felt his gaze like a caress, gliding down the sleeveless white turtleneck she wore, and following each curve of her body down to the hem of her knee-length grey skirt. He took in her calves and cocked an eyebrow at her stiletto heels, and she smirked.
“What’s that?” he asked, his gaze back to her face.
“I said I’m sorry. Will I have to be punished for my tardiness?” She gave him an innocent look and twirled a lock of hair gone astray from her ponytail. God. She had to get a grip. Openly flirting with him at work was one step too far.
Then again, she’d had sex with him at work…
She took her seat, without waiting for Ric’s reply. She was already wet for him, but not to the point of losing control. “Um, I have work to do, so…” Her smile was more restrained this time, but not forced. For some reason, the same face she wanted to punch on Friday made her grin on Monday. It had to be her hormones. Yup. Hormones. She congratulated the voice of reason in her head.
Ric stared at her.
“Guess I’ll talk to you later?” She hoped he didn’t think she brushed him off.
He nodded once, and then caught her gaze. “Later it is. Better catch up with all that work now.”
Lexi tried. She did. But she was bored with a capital B before noon. Scratch that—with a capital everything.
“Lexi. Just the girl I was looking for.” Edmund stopped in front of her desk and aligned her pen holder with her post-it notes and her stapler.
“I’ve been right here all day.” She hoped he hadn’t seen her yawning.
“Yes. Quite. Well, if you’re not too busy, I would like you to attend a meeting at two.”
This was new. She smiled. “Sure.”
“Good. Two o’clock, conference room.”
“I’ll be there.” She kept smiling while he walked away. Edmund was including her. This could be the change she needed.
She just had to finish some paperwork before that. Easy-peasy.
An hour later, she wasn’t singing the same tune. Entering numbers in an Excel table, was no fun.
Although, while one did such menial work on the PC, one could also have a fun chat.
She signed in and grinned when she saw Rex_is_back was online.
*
Ric was trying to get one of the company’s foreign associates to see there was nothing wrong with the software of the new CD-player the firm was launching. The darned thing just needed batteries. Unfortunately, the language barrier and stubbornness made communication via written speech difficult. He was about to take things from the top, when his messenger program let him know he had a new message. He clicked on the blinking icon, and a new window popped open.
Blondes_Rule: so… what does this truce entail?
Ric threw a glance Lexi’s way and bit back a chuckle at how absorbed by her work she seemed to be. She was a natural-born actress. What else had she been faking? In his initial conversation window, he typed, “Sorry mate. You’re right. I’ll talk to the boss and get back to you.” He didn’t wait for a reply, before signing out of his company account and making himself invisible to all but Lexi.
Rex_is_back: thought that was clear, luv. No yelling or verbally abusing the other party
Blondes_Rule: so I can’t call you an evil bloodsucker when you’re all Rexed up? *bats eyelashes*
Lexi’s question meant she wanted to keep things as they were, and that was all he needed to move them forward. At least he hoped so. He kept from hooting aloud because he tried to play it cool. He didn’t give a damn about anyone else at the office. They all seemed to expect him to act like a loon, and he didn’t mind it one bit. It wasn’t a coincidence that nobody on the floor commented on the sudden changes to his appearance. He knew his poor socializing skills kept people at bay, but he couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t the sharing type and hadn’t been in a while, so he was polite but in a studiously cold way. After all, he wasn’t there to make friends. He was there to work.
Mostly.
Rex_is_back: you can call me anything you want, as long as you’re screaming it underneath me
Blondes_Rule: someone has a big ego :-P
Rex_is_back: not the only thing I got that’s big, kitten…
Blondes_Rule: oh really?
Rex_is_back: if you don’ remember, I’ll be more than happy to remind you
Ric sucked in his lower lip and waited to see if she’d rise to his challenge.
Blondes_Rule: when?
He barely had time to see her reply, when Pedelty’s voice sounded way too close. “Two o’clock, Richard. Shall we?” Edmund gestured toward his office. The door to the conference room was at the far end of it.
Ric kept his calm, although his heart raced. Edmund could have seen his screen. “Be right with you.” Remaining expressionless, he closed the conversation window and locked his computer.
Pedelty called out to Lexi to join them. She locked her PC too and then rushed to follow the two men through Edmund’s office.
Ric took a step forward, to get the door to the meeting room. “After you, Eddie.”
“I’ve told you not to call me that.” Edmund walked briskly through the opening.
“You called me Richard f
irst.” Ric winked and gestured for Lexi to enter.
As she followed her stepdad, Ric leaned in and whispered, “Stay after work”.
The only indication she heard him was a slight lifting of one corner of her mouth, but it was enough. The truce would be tested in just a few hours.
****
The meeting stretched interminably. Lexi felt stuck in the Twilight Zone, where time stood still, as she looked at the clock to find mere minutes had passed between one tedious topic and the next.
The heads of Marketing and Research had joined them—a jolly giant of a guy and a brilliant woman Lexi’s age—and much as Lexi liked them both, she thought their suggestions were useless for the company. Not that anyone had asked her.
“Lexi, what do you think about all this?” Honest curiosity shone in Ric’s his eyes.
Shit. He had to choose the one instance she wasn’t paying attention? For a moment there, she believed his question was meant to show Edmund how useless she was.
“This is Alexandra’s first time attending a meeting, Richard. She isn’t required to actively participate. This is so she can be better informed, with respect to company matters,” Edmund said.
“Girl has an opinion about everything, Ed. Listen to her. You may gain something.”
To say Lexi was shocked would be an understatement. She must have done something right—thought not necessarily something work-related—if he was eager to hear her ideas. The problem was she had none of those for the time being. “I can’t offer much of an opinion before I know what the rest of the departments think of the matter. Maybe after the follow-up meeting—”
Ric narrowed his eyes. “That one will take place after the results of this one are in effect.” He sounded pissed off, and Lexi couldn’t fathom why.
“Well it doesn’t need to.” She tried not to be intimidated by the four sets of eyes watching her. “It doesn’t,” she said again, in a more subdued voice. “We can have the second meeting the day after tomorrow and come up with more comprehensive results, so the changes can be better applicable. No use making half-informed decisions based on trial and error. Having the second meeting later on will mean we’ll have to make a second round of adjustments to the processes. Why not make them all at once instead?” She was pleasantly surprised by herself.
