He caught her completely off-guard. She hadn’t expected to have fun. To toe that line of flirting so closely that they almost obliterated it. She’d been reluctant to wrap things up, but she didn’t have any illusions about the entire thing.
Zach was like so many executives she’d worked with over the years. Cocky, kind when it suited him, and he obviously had zero qualms about hitting on the waitress and Rae within a few minutes of each other.
Men like that could be dangerous. She’d had to ask a few to back off while she was on contract. When she first started doing this, the attention was flattering and the hookups that didn’t violate ethical boundaries were fun. It didn’t take long for her to figure out the sex was bad far more often than it was good. Most guys didn’t care if she got off.
Even fewer were interested in anything that came after the wham bam.
None of them were boyfriend material. That included Zach.
Monday had rolled around, and Chloe needed to go back to work this morning.
Rae couldn’t put off looking for a new contract for much longer. She had savings, but she’d rather not dip into it if she could avoid it. She could job hunt and network from here since that all happened online and over the phone. Spend some more time with everyone. So she and Chloe were having lunch, to break up having to dive back headfirst into their Mondays.
“It’s not a big deal,” Rae said.
Chloe picked through the potato chips on her plate before plucking one from the pile. She was grilling Rae about whether or not she and Zach were on speaking terms. “Then you shouldn’t have made it one.”
“I didn’t.” In fact, she’d gone out of her way to avoid the topic this weekend. When Chloe asked how brunch went, Rae’s answer was fine. It was simpler than trying to put words to her jumbled thoughts.
She thought she’d gotten away with it. Apparently Chloe’s being back in the office revived the topic.
“Whatever.” Chloe mumbled between bites of sandwich. She washed it down with a swallow of sweet tea. “So if you fuck him, will you ask him if I can have a raise?”
Rae laughed. “No.”
“So you’re thinking about fucking him.”
Far more than she should be. For the last two nights Zach had teased her dreams. “No.”
“Right.” Chloe waved at someone behind Rae.
Rae followed Chloe’s gaze. What were the odds? Zach was there with Jordan, waving back from the counter.
Rae glared at Chloe. “Did you tell them we were going to be here?”
Chloe shrugged and grabbed another chip. “You mean did I say to my boyfriend Meet us for lunch if you have a chance? Besides, it’s not a big deal. Right?”
“You’re not as clever as you think you are.” Rae kept the statement soft. She wasn’t going to let this get to her.
“You love me, and you know it.” Chloe’s smirk spread into a friendly grin seconds later.
Jordan took the spot next to her, kissing her as he sat.
A hand rested on the back of Rae’s chair, and a spark danced over her skin from the brief contact.
“Ladies.” Zach’s greeting was warm. “I was looking for one of you.”
One of them?
“Oh?” Chloe sat up straighter.
Jordan stole one if her chips. “We’re brainstorming commercial ideas.”
“I didn’t realize you were here with company. We can catch up later,” Zach said.
It’s all right. You can stay.
Stupid thoughts, betraying her desire for a drama free lunch.
Chloe nudged a chair out with her foot. “Eat with us. We’re not the only ones who need to catch up, and we’ve got time.”
“If you’re offering...” Zach moved into sight.
I can put up with some drama for that view.
Yeah, she could. Besides, there didn’t need to be drama. As long as she remembered this wasn’t the Zach she’d been infatuated with. He was a good-looking guy with money and attitude. He knew it as well as she did.
Simple enough. “I’d love to hear the three of you talk shop.”
“How was your Sunday?” Zach asked instead.
Chloe let out a heavy sigh. “Someone insisted I’d been working too hard, and forced me to eat ice cream and pizza while we binge-watched anime.”
Rae smiled at the antics. “Guilty as charged.”
“You’d better not have watched anything new.” Jordan traced a finger along Chloe’s exaggerated pout.
Chloe nipped his fingertip. “I did, but it’s not my fault.” Her attention was only on Jordan. “But it was epic, so I’ll watch it with you again, and pretend I’m seeing it for the first time.”
It was always sweet seeing them together. Chloe swore Jordan was the best thing to happen to her, even better than her job.
Rae agreed, the were good for and to each other. And now they were also lost in each other. Jordan was feeding Chloe potato chips.
“So it was a pretty good day?” Zach’s question drew her attention.
Rae didn’t mind the excuse to focus on him, while Chloe made googly eyes at her boyfriend. “It was fantastic. Do they ever get any work done?” She kept her tone playful as she nodded at her sister.
“We put them in separate parts of the office for a reason,” he joked. “But seriously, she’s one of those people who makes this whole endeavor possible.” A frown whispered across his face, but vanished a heartbeat later.
Was the shift in mood to do with the DM takeover? Probably. “One of us had to inherit Dad’s creativity.” Rae wasn’t being self-effacing—it was the truth. Their father was a novelist. Not the kind of name that made best seller lists, but he did well enough, consistently enough, to keep his family comfortable.
“You’re kidding, right?” Zach looked at her in disbelief.
She frowned, despite his light tone.
“Rather, of course Chloe’s brilliant.” He drummed his fingers on the table near her arm, close enough she felt the whispers of heat. “But I’m talking about you. How far do you have to step outside the box, to bail out some of the places you save?”
Rae flushed at the implication. “It’s not the same.”
“It’s not.” Zach shook his head. “But it’s still fucking creative.”
“Plus, she writes some scorching fanfics,” Chloe said.
Rae blushed. It would be nice if she could hide that. It gave her away every time, and it was running full-heat with Zach. She glanced across the table.. “I thought you two were off in your own world.”
Jordan smirked. “Frequently. But never completely.”
“Are there vampires in it?” Apparently Zach was stuck on the fanfic comment.
Rae couldn’t ignore the tickle of satisfaction that he remembered their conversation Saturday. “No. It’s um...” She shouldn’t be embarrassed about it, but the writing wasn’t something she did to be good. It was to keep her mind clear. Chloe only knew because Rae had asked her for feedback.
“It’s Fruits Basket. And it’s ninety-nine percent porn.” Chloe offered.
Rae did a mental face-palm. “It’s not.” Like anyone would believe her now.
“No, it’s not.” Chloe relented. “But it is good.”
Zach shifted in his seat enough to rest his knee against the outside of her thigh. Nothing obvious—it was a small table—but the contact sent desire racing along Rae’s skin.
“Is that the one... where they turn into animals when someone of the opposite gender hugs them?” he asked.
Rae braced herself for teasing. “That’s the one.”
“How’s that work then?” Zach sounded serious and looked captivated.
Maybe it was an act, but Rae was buying it. She wanted to revel in the attention.
“Very carefully,” Chloe said.
Fuck, that made it sound bad. “It’s not a bestiality thing. Cross my heart. The stories aren’t about sex. And there’s a lot of wickedness that can happen without two people ever touch
ing.”
Zach dipped his head near her ear and whispered, “I’d like to see that sometime.” The heat of his breath raced over her skin. He straightened again. “The stories, I mean.” His voice returned to normal.
Rea’s response caught in her throat, stalled by her racing thoughts. How did he have this effect on her? Saturday. Now. He was just a guy. Flirty. Attractive. But like any other exec she ran into. None of that was enough to calm an imagination that wanted his attention to mean something more.
“Did you ask the cashier for her phone number today?” Oh, God. Why did she just say that? How bitchy was she? Could she take it back or laugh it off?
Zach raised an eyebrow. “No. That trick only works once, and it wasn’t worth it last time.”
What did that mean? Had he already gone out with the girl working the register? If this was anyone else, would Rae care? If he were any of these other men she compared his behavior to?
She wouldn’t flinch. So why was Zach different? If this wasn’t the same sweetheart of a boyfriend she had in high school, if he’d changed, did it matter how he acted?
As long as everything was consensual and no one misunderstood the relationship—or lack thereof—it didn’t matter at all.
What if you’re wrong? What if he is the same guy you love...d?
Wistful thinking got people hurt. She needed to ignore the bit of her stuck in that past. It wasn’t fair to hold him to a higher bar because of what they’d had, if there was no future for them. He was free to live his life.
Why did it hurt to force herself to accept that?
“So, commercials.” Chloe leaned in and shoved her plate aside. “TV, right? Since we need artwork?”
“Webisodes.” Jordan’s grin was just as big. “Five minutes long. Epic, right?”
Zach looked at Rae, the apology in his blue eyes masking something she couldn’t interpret. “You sure you don’t mind us talking shop?” he asked.
“She’s fine,” Chloe answered first.
“It’s all good.” Rae also wasn’t complaining about the reprieve from her awkward question.
Besides, whether or not Zach was there, she loved listening to Chloe—or really anyone from their office—talk about what they were working on. Their jobs were so creative compared to the contracts she had.
The same if-only that had nagged her since Friday, about working for a gaming company long term, surged back. It wasn’t an option, and she needed to let it go.
She focused on the conversation, which mostly consisted of Chloe and Jordan tossing story ideas back and forth, trying to make content work with visuals. Occasionally Zach would guide them in a direction. All three of their lunches went untouched.
“You can’t do that.” Zach interrupted as Chloe and Jordan reached an animated consensus on something. “It’s too easy. She needs to work harder to solve the problem.”
Chloe stopped, eyebrows reaching toward the top of her head. “Who’s the writer here?”
Rae rested her arms on the table. “Of course they can do that. The idea is perfect for your target market. Layla has to rely on the hero at least a little.” Layla was the main character for Cord’s top-selling title.
Zach shook his head. “Part of the point of this is to draw in new audiences. We have to step away from the sexist assumptions. Like that Layla can’t defend herself.”
Rae bit back her first response. It probably wasn’t the right time to tell him he needed to start closer to the core of their company image—like its playboy executives—if he wanted to get rid of their sexist image. “She’s already wearing skin-tight leather. It’s not about toning her down or hiding her weaknesses; it’s about making her confident and competent in spite of—and sometimes because of—those flaws. Self-reliance doesn’t mean she has to do everything alone.”
Zach studied her, eyebrow raised.
What was that supposed to mean?
“Besides.” Jordan glanced at Chloe. “Self-confidence is sexy.”
Zach exhaled loudly. “I’m not arguing that, but she’s the one who has to save the day. She’s the hero.”
Rae was willing to concede that people didn’t go to a Wonder Woman movie to see Superman save the day.
But The Avengers didn’t protect the universe alone.
The Zach she knew back then understood that. Each person had to play to their strengths. The thought tugged threads of memory loose. Of late nights studying. Her coaxing him through math. Him walking her through vivid, vocal recreations of history, to help cement the details in her mind.
The cuddling, kissing, and unwinding after...
This wasn’t the same man, any more than she was the same girl.
She considered her words before responding. “It’s true, but she doesn’t have to do it alone. Even Superman needs help sometimes, and you want her to appear human.”
Chloe tapped her knife on the edge of her plate. “You’re ruining my character. Layla is full-on control, even off screen.”
Jordan smirked. “That’s hot too.”
Zach pinched the bridge of his nose, but the gesture didn’t hide his faint smile.
“See?” Chloe looked smug. “He’s our target market; he knows.”
Zach leveled his gaze at her. “So are most of our developers.”
Also know as a walking collective of dick and fart jokes wrapped in some hard-core testosterone. Rae shook her head. “If you’re going to target it specifically to them, throw away any conversations about not being sexist, and just have her bounce around naked for five minutes. Besides,” she said, looking at Chloe, “you’re not unveiling her entire back story. You can leave things like what she does and doesn’t dominate, outside of killing Legion, to the imagination.”
Chloe’s brow furrowed for a moment, before a small smile replaced it. “I suppose. That is what fan fiction is for.”
The conversation moved in deeper, with everyone taking notes. Things finally wound down and everyone noticed their lunches again.
“Since when do you enjoy a good debate?” Zach asked Rae, when Chloe and Jordan were absorbed with each other again.
Rae couldn’t place it exactly, but she had an idea where it started. “I learned it from watching you.”
“At least you had a better teacher than money can buy.” He winked.
What came next? Another suggestion about watching? Because each time that came up, her imagination jumped to overdrive. One thing that made Rae’s blood race was being watched. There was a thrill to running her hands over her own body, touching all the right places, while a love looked on.
And the way Zach kept looking at her clothed, she wondered what it would be like to give him a private show.
She needed to talk to Zach, not stare at him and fantasize. “At least you’re modest about it,” she said with teasing sarcasm.
“No reason to hide when you’re the best.” The way Zach studied her, she almost swore he was talking about her. “But you already know that.”
Rae did. She didn’t land contracts by hiding what she was best at. In any interview, or even casual conversation, she could reel off a list of accomplishments. Hell, she could do it in her sleep. Right now the only thing she could think of was I give a decent blow job. “I try to save my boasting for the boardroom.”
“What are you saving for the bedroom?” Chloe asked.
Rae could almost guarantee that her sister heard her just fine. “Nothing I’m going to discuss here.” Though if the company were more private, if it was just Zach, would she?
She needed to decide right now if he was her ex-boyfriend, or just another sexy, playful twenty-something in an expensive suit. She was going with the latter.
Something inside withered and whimpered at the thought.
ZACH KNEW WHY HE’D been invited to lunch. He’d seen Chloe do this more than a dozen times since they hired her. She liked real life ‘shipping, and apparently he and Rae were her latest matchmaking effort.
He wasn’t compla
ining. He could have come up with a handful of ways to approach Rae outside of this, but Chloe’s efforts made things go more smoothly.
Rae was more removed today than she had been Saturday, as though she was measuring her words more carefully. Was that because of him, or their other company?
He planned to remove the variables and find out.
“You know...” Chloe locked her attention on Rae, one corner of her mouth twitching up. “Friday night could have been a disaster if you hadn’t been able to get a hold of me.”
Zach was seizing this for all it was worth. A silly game. But until he had a chance to explain asking for the waitress’s number didn’t mean anything, Rae probably wouldn’t hand hers over easily. “Maybe you should have called her and warned her,” he said to Chloe.
Chloe made a half-snort, half-laugh noise. “Okay, whatever. My point is what if she needs to find me again and can’t get a hold of me? Give her your number, so it won’t happen again.”
He’d bet money Rae had the numbers of about a quarter of the people in the office, including those Chloe actually hung out with after hours.
Rae looked at her sister in disbelief. “That doesn’t even make any sen—”
“Good point. Give me your number.” Zach unlocked his phone and handed it to her. Instinct twitched at giving the unprotected device to anyone, but even if he wasn’t watching her, he’d trust her with it. How odd was that?
Rae worked her jaw up and down, then shook her head. She grabbed his phone, tapped the screen several times, then handed it back.
He glanced at the display. She’d entered her number under Blonde with the Big Brain. He looked back at her, to find that deceptively shy smile playing on her lips.
“Perfect.” Zach grinned.
Chloe slid back into more random conversation with Jordan.
Zach wanted more time with Rae, but not here. Fortunately, now he had a way to change that. He typed out a quick message to Rae. Had to check. Make sure it was really her number. Not that he actually doubted, but it was a good ice breaker.
She grabbed her phone a second later, read the note, then looked at him. Her smile grew.
He typed Can we talk? and nodded at her hand as he hit send. This was childish. Passing-notes-in-class levels of immature. But it was fun and simple.
His Long Shot Page 4
