by Holley Trent
“Fuck.” Aaron pounded the steering wheel and looked up into the rearview mirror to see Mandy following close behind. He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t dressed at all for press coverage and he couldn’t exactly ignore them by not showing up. He’d have to throw them a bone of some sort if only to maintain the public’s goodwill. He rubbed his chin and looked into the rearview mirror again.
“Hmm.”
• • •
“My name is Miranda McCarthy. I’m the staff coordinator here at Cars to Work. Mr. Owen sends his apologies for being unable to be here in person, however I’m fully versed on the organization’s progress and can answer any questions in his stead. First, I’d like to thank you all for coming and for your continued interest in our charitable works.”
When she got her hands on Aaron Owen again, she’d … she’d … well, she didn’t know what she’d do to him. She just knew he was going to get it good. She sat up a little straighter on the table edge she was perched on and rested her hands daintily on her knees. He had driven home with parting gushing adoration and promises he’d make it up to her later. The way she saw it, he was racking up a Hell of a lot of favors. A little part of her couldn’t help but feel like she was being punished for her earlier independence.
She endured the barrage of questions, refusing any that seemed to be fishing for juicy gossip about the governor or his son’s marital status, and hustled the bevy of reporters out of the parking lot with the assistance of the small administrative staff. Afterward, she was in the front office pulling some files to take back to Aaron’s apartment when she heard the front door whoosh open behind her.
“I’m sorry, we’re closed for the afternoon,” she said in a tired voice without turning around.
The secretary Jasmine’s eyes widened at sight of the visitor.
“What?” Mandy asked, raising a brow.
“I’m going to get some coffee! Want some coffee? I’ll get you some.” She grabbed her mug by the handle and skedaddled.
Maybe the last thing she needs is more coffee.
Mandy nudged the file drawer closed with her knee and spun around to face a tall, handsome older man with salt and pepper hair. The suit he wore looked more valuable than her car.
“Aaron didn’t tell me how charming you are. Well played, my man, holding those cards close to his chest. Miss McCarthy, that was a stroke of genius the way you deflected that question about your employment history. You’ve got a knack for answering questions without vilifying the other party, even if they deserve it.”
She cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms over her breasts. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
He bared his teeth in a smile. It was nowhere near as dazzling as Aaron’s or Michael’s, but she could see how it could disarm someone. Just not her.
“Where are my manners? People usually recognize me because of the company I keep.” He put one elegant hand into his inner coat pocket and plucked out a business card.
She squinted down at it. Rick Bane - Political Strategist/Expert. She scoffed at the ‘Expert’ bit and shoved the card into her pants pocket. She didn’t understand the purpose of the job. Was he supposed to be an expert of people, of policy, or some combination of both? She didn’t like feeling like she was being gamed and being unable to tell what a candidate’s exact stance on an issue was.
Ah. So that’s what he does for a living. Muddles the issues. Didn’t realize that was an actual job.
“What can I do for you Mr. Bane?”
“I was expecting Aaron. When you showed up instead, I stuck around to see what kind of game he was playing, but it seems like he doesn’t need my help after all.”
“What sort of help do you provide?”
He just winked.
She rolled her eyes, and gave not one fuck if it was rude. He didn’t count in her book as far as customer service went.
“So, McCarthy? I bet that makes you Irish.”
She tapped the toe of her shoe against the floor and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m American, born right here in North Carolina. If you want to get technical, however, I have dual citizenship.”
“So, Irish and American?”
She shook her head. “What precisely are you fishing for? Sorry to be brusque, Mr. Bane, but I have a lot of paperwork to plow through tonight. Big staff meeting tomorrow. I’m sure you understand.”
“You sound mighty productive. Self-starter, are you? Bet you don’t need anyone telling you what to do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I like that. Ever given any thought to working in politics?”
“None. I’m basically apolitical. I can recite the Preamble from memory if you’d like to hear it, though. Learned it from Schoolhouse Rock.” She started to hum the melody.
“You’re funny. Quick on your feet.”
“Is that a euphemism for mouthy?”
“You’ve definitely got the spitfire trait.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
Aaron, showered and dressed in dark jeans and a green shirt that made his hazel eyes pop, pulled the door open behind Rick. He gave her a sorry about that expression while the older man turned around.
“I’m sorry to leave you on the lurch like that.” His voice was absolutely flat as though they hadn’t been conspiring only two hours before. “I know it’s not in your job description. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He turned to Rick. “You can’t just be springing this shit on me. I was way out on the coast this morning. What if I couldn’t have gotten Miss McCarthy here?”
Rick looked down at his gold watch and huffed. “Water under the bridge. We did what we set out to do. Now, lovely Mandy with the big gray eyes will be all over the five o’clock news, and not the shenanigans of one spoiled pretty little princess.”
The corners of Mandy’s mouth twitched and she balled her free hand into a fist at her side. How dare he? Who was he to insult that young woman? It was one thing for her or Aaron to give Elly a hard time to her face because they had the best intentions. But this guy? She didn’t like him one bit. Still, she held her tongue. Elly was Aaron’s sister. It was his fight.
“If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I’m going to go treat myself to a working dinner.”
Rick opened his mouth to say something in response, but before he could spit it out Aaron said, “I’ll see you at the meeting in the morning. Can you forward the staffing projections to me beforehand?”
“Certainly.”
Before the door swung closed behind her, she heard Rick say, “Well. She’s a spunky little thing. Where’d you get her? Thought you liked your help a little more passive.”
Asshole.
CHAPTER 14
Mandy squirmed out from under Aaron’s heavy arm and reached for the cell phone ringing on the bedside table. She read the time display before answering. One A.M. Damn it.
“Hello?”
“That you Mandy?”
“Who the Hell is this?”
The low tenor on the other end chuckled. “Aw, honey, you forgot my voice already? I’m crushed.”
“Bo?”
“That’s the one, baby. How the Hell are ya? I just got off work or else I wouldn’t have called so late.”
“Um … hi, Bo. Not to be rude, but why are you calling me?”
Aaron stirred. She held very still and hoped she’d end the call before he fully woke. Her ex on the phone at dark o’clock would just be far too awkward a thing to explain, even if she hadn’t been the one to initiate the call.
“I heard you moved back to the Triangle.”
“Yeah, I did. What of it?”
“It may just make my life a little easier now that … well! Anyhow, I swung by the car lot today with a pan of spanikopita my mom made for you. Yo
u know, she asks about you all the time still? Mike said you quit a couple weeks ago, which was a surprise to me, but then I saw you on the news tonight. Working for Aaron Owen, huh? Damn, girl, you looked good.”
“Wait — your mom made me spanikopita? Where is it?”
He laughed. “You always did have a one-track mind. Adriana was in the sales office so I handed it off to her with my regards.”
Aaron grabbed the phone with ninja-like stealth. “Good morning, who is this?”
Oh shit.
She couldn’t tell what Bo’s response was, but Aaron’s was pretty telling.
“Yeah, she’s in my bed right now. No, don’t sweat it, man. Just call when the sun’s out next time, okay? Goodbye.” He stabbed the end button, held the phone out to her, and flipped his pillow over to the cool side.
“You don’t get to do that,” she mumbled, slapping his back.
His only response was “mm hmm” before serenading her with his deep, even breaths.
“I’m serious! You can’t just go scaring off my friends when they call at inopportune times.”
He pushed himself up onto his elbows and gave a tired expression. “Friend, did you say?”
She shrugged. “More or less.”
“Right. When’s the last time you saw or spoke to this friend?” He sat up completely and let the sheet that’d been covering his chest fall to his waist.
Her gaze trailed down to the bulge it just barely covered.
Get it together, girlie.
She closed her eyes to think about it. Had it been that long ago? She and Bo had started dating just before she got fired and had to move back to Edenton. They dated for about three months before things fell apart on his end. He’d given her some lame-ass excuse about not being able to give her the time she needed because of his long hours at the restaurant. She had thought it seemed like a cop-out because they were seeing each other at least two or three days a week, even when she was in Raleigh and he was in Edenton. The excuse was a bad one and she knew it.
She opened her eyes and found Aaron’s expression exactly as perturbed as it had been before. “It’s been a little while.”
“Your friends always call you at one in the morning?” The dim light in the room made his expression seem unusually dark. “In my circle of friends, the only time we call a woman after midnight is when we’re in the mood for a bang.”
She gritted her teeth. She and Bo had done their fair share of early morning banging, but she wasn’t about to tell Aaron that. “He’s a chef. He works weird hours.”
“And you work normal ones. Maybe you should turn your phone off after ten.”
Her blood felt like it was about to damn near about to boil over. “Or how about if I just change my phone number? That way you won’t have to worry about any of my old friends calling me at all. Would that suit you, master?”
He pulled her close to him by the waist and put his lips against her ear. “How would you like it if women were calling me late at night looking for a booty call?”
She shrugged in his arms. “Maybe they do.”
“You really think that? We’ve spent every night together the past few weeks and you still think I’m sniffing around someone else’s front door? Un-fucking-believable.” He let go of her and crawled to the edge of the king-sized bed where he quickly swung his legs over. He strode in his boxer briefs across the bedroom and snatched his phones up off the dresser. He tossed both onto the bed.
“Here. You can scroll through the history on both. Read my texts. Read my emails, if you want.”
She shoved the phones back at him. “I don’t need to see that. Besides, you can easily delete conversations and histories with a few easy commands. If you had something to hide, and I’m not saying you do, it’d be the first thing you’d do.”
“Jesus, woman!” He raked his hands through his hair and gave it a frustrated tug. “I don’t know what to do with you! I never know what’s going through that head of yours. I can’t get a reading on anything. It’s like you’re completely passive when it comes to me. You’re there, oh boy are you there, when I’m pounding into you. The rest of the time? You’re a complete mystery.”
That revelation knocked the wind out of her. She leaned against the headboard and stared at her shaking hands. It was obvious to her then that he felt something for her. What wasn’t so obvious is what that meant. They pretty much lived together. Even if it had been out of necessity, at least early on, there wasn’t anyone she wanted to live with more. She’d never lived with any other man and actually liked being a fixture in his home.
What she must certainly did not like was the indefinable something they had between them. Was she just a valued employee? A lover? A girlfriend? She didn’t like that air of vagueness any more than she liked being hidden away and only trotted out for Cars to Work business. It was all starting to seem so wrong, even though it felt so right. Nothing about her time with Bo, while it lasted, ever felt that way. Although Bo hadn’t been nearly as passionate or ambitious as Aaron, when they were out together he liked for everyone to know they were a package deal — an item.
She missed that; that public sense of belonging to someone in the same way they belonged to her. She wanted to stake her public claim on Aaron Owen, and not because she was some golddigging twat scratching for her fifteen seconds of fame, but because she just liked him that much. More than liked him. Damn it.
“I don’t mean to be a mystery,” she said, wrapping her arms around her knees and rocking.
“Right.” He blew out a deep breath and stalked forward to pick up his phones. He replaced them on the dresser top then pulled the bedroom door open. “I’m sure there’s a crime drama marathon on. I doubt I’ll be able to get back to sleep, so I’ll just let the screen lull me.”
She didn’t hope for an invitation, and he didn’t give her one. He just walked through the door and pulled it shut behind him without another word.
• • •
Mandy had made a point of taking the furthest seat away from Aaron as she could at the conference table. He figured it was for the best. He was angry and it was probably a good thing there were six staff members between him and her. Especially since she’d worn some kind of gauzy blouse in which every time she leaned over a bit he could see right down into her cleavage. If she’d been any closer, he’d probably try to take her into his office and bend her over the edge of his desk.
He nearly creamed his pants at the thought of pulling her panties down and giving her a well-placed smack on the ass. Hell, the way he saw it, she needed a bit of reining in. Maybe she’d forgotten whose cock filled her so perfectly or whose tongue turned her to jelly when thrust between her legs.
Jesus Christ, pull yourself together.
He took a deep cleansing breath and dismissed the meeting right as Jasmine poked her head into the conference room door.
“Mr. Owen, there’s a Michael Leonard here to see you. I sent him to your office to wait.”
He saw one of Mandy’s eyebrows fly up through her bang, and assumed she was as out of the loop as he about the visit.
“Thanks, Jas.”
When he entered his office to find Mike perched on the arm of one of his guest chairs with his cane draped over his lap, he pushed the door shut and strode over to shake his free hand.
“How are you, man?”
“Fine. How’s Mandy? It’s still weird not talking to her every day.” A look Aaron didn’t like flitted across Mike’s face but quickly dissipated.
“She’s good. Adjusting really well. Now, how do I deserve the honor of this impromptu meeting?”
Mike lowered himself carefully into the chair and put his cane on the floor. “Well. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to your job offer in the past few days — comparing it to the other one I was offered.”
“There are a lot of things about the other job I like. I actually started last week in the evenings. Zipped around from one job to the other while finishing out my two weeks at AA1A.”
“Mm hmm.”
“It’s great. Everything an expert on sports could want in a job.”
“But?”
Mike wrung his hands and stared up at the ceiling. “Let’s just say I’m young enough to still want to be participating in the sports and not just commentating on them.”
“Ah. I see.”
And to a degree, Aaron did understand what it must have been like to be on the fringes of something. He felt that way every time Mandy walk outside a door and he wasn’t on her arm — an onlooker.
“Do you think you can buy cars with the same éclat with which you sell them?”
Mike shrugged. “Buying, selling. Doesn’t matter. It’s just two sides of the same coin. Both sides are trying to get their way. I’m just really good at being the one who wins.”
Well, fuckin’-A.
Aaron held out his hand. “Welcome to the team.”
They shook. If Mike noticed Aaron squeezed his hand harder than necessary in the process, he didn’t show it.
• • •
“Can I help you, Miss McCarthy?”
Mandy had never felt so desperate for shopping therapy as she did right then. And actually having money in her bank account for a change, she figured a nice little trip to the Sweet Louisa outlet would do wonders for her mood. It was at damn near cesspool levels. Even if she did have exes coming out the woodwork trying to mack at her for some odd reason, not a single one of them had that special combination Aaron possessed — the charm, the looks, the sex appeal. She was so sad she’d have to dump him.
