by M. Malone
But I still feel like I’m sleepwalking as James bids the members of the Lavin team goodnight and they promise to be in touch. Wallace is the first to scamper off, probably to go post the selfie he took with Mr. Lavin to Instagram. The thought makes me chuckle but my throat instantly turns to sandpaper when James approaches.
This entire time, Milo and I have been sitting in silence. I couldn’t take the chance of asking any questions where the Lavin team might overhear. But now I wish I’d thought to text him or something so I know how we’re handling this.
But James doesn’t look upset at all. He’s practically glowing. It could be all the scotch but either way he looks thrilled.
“You two, ah, I should have known. You’ve done an amazing job keeping your relationship out of the office. Good work. Knew I could count on you.” He claps Milo on the shoulder and gifts me with a wide, loopy grin.
Even if I knew what to say to him right now, I don’t think I’d have the heart to wipe that smile off his face. Tomorrow is soon enough for him to realize that we’ve screwed up this deal. Maybe a good night’s sleep will make him more lenient when he’s deciding whether to fire us.
Milo pulls out my chair for me as I stand and I follow wordlessly as we leave the restaurant. It’s a Thursday night but as we walk back through the casino to reach the elevators to the rooms, there are so many people out you’d never think it was a weekday. Time seems to move differently here. I notice an older lady with a purple fanny pack methodically feeding coins into a slot machine. She looks like she’s been at it for awhile. Maybe I should just stay down here, living off the free drinks and the adrenaline of gambling. It would probably be better than what’s waiting for me when we get back to D.C.
I’ve been so deep in my thoughts that I wasn’t paying attention when we got on the elevator. Its only when it stops on the twelfth floor that I realize we didn’t push the button for my floor. But Milo loops his arm around my waist and guides me out of the elevator anyway.
“But my room–”
“Not here,” he murmurs in my ear. The deep rumble of his voice so close sends a shiver down my spine. “Some of the Lavin team are on this floor. Wait until we get inside.”
“Inside what?” Belatedly I realize he means inside his room. He has his key card out and the door open before I can say no way in hell.
The door slams shut behind us and all the things I was getting ready to say get stuck in my throat.
Trying to gather my thoughts, I look around the room. The layout is the same as the one I was given, TV, big window directly across except he has a King sized bed instead of two doubles. Behind him, there are several dress shirts scattered on the bed and the covers are all tangled, like he took a nap before coming down to dinner. Just like that I have a mental image of Milo naked in those sheets and being alone with him in this room seems like a very bad idea.
Completely at ease with the idea of the two of us being alone, he shrugs out of his suit jacket and loosens his tie. I’m instantly distracted by the small patch of skin revealed at the top of his shirt where it’s unbuttoned. “I know you must have a million questions,” he says finally.
But I don’t. Truthfully, I only have one.
“What the hell just happened?”
8
“What just happened is I secured a multimillion dollar ad account for our agency. I just saved both our jobs.”
She snorts delicately. “You just lied to a potential client and to our boss! Besides since when have you ever cared about my career?”
There it is again, the veiled accusation that I’ve hurt her somehow. I move closer, noticing how her eyes focus on my lips.
“Why would you think I don’t care about your career? Tell me, I can see you’re dying to since you keep bringing it up. What did I do that was so bad?”
That seems to take the cork out of whatever was holding her back. Arms flying, she gets all up in my face and damn if it isn’t the sexiest thing watching her march around while that clingy dress drapes around her.
“You stole the Adler account after I told you how much I wanted it! Six months. That’s how long I spent researching them and planning for how we would approach them. And then James just gives it to you.”
By the time she’s finished, my mouth is hanging open and I’m experiencing something that I don’t feel often. Remorse.
“Mya, I’m going to tell you something. And you probably won’t believe it. But I need you to understand that I’m being 100% genuine.” I pause. “I’m a clueless jerk sometimes.”
She crosses her arms. “I won’t have trouble believing that.”
“But you might have trouble believing that I didn’t realize you wanted the Adler account for yourself.”
Her eyes fire up again but I hold up a hand before she can respond. “Just let me explain. When you first told me about the Adler account, I was already handling two other jewelers, remember?”
She nods reluctantly.
“We used to do that all the time, right? I’d see an account that I thought would be perfect for you, so I’d mention it. You’d do the same for me. We were friends once. Or at least, I thought we were.”
The anger on her face has softened somewhat. “We were friends. That’s why it hurt so much. I thought you knew how much I wanted that account.”
“I truly didn’t but that’s on me. Because that means I wasn’t listening well enough and I’m sorry.” Then because I know it will make her laugh I add, “but if it makes you feel any better Owen Adler has a serious flatulence problem. So you can take over those update meetings if you really want to.”
Mya covers her eyes with her hands. “No, thank you. I got a little preview of that the last time he was in the office. Maybe the universe was doing me a favor in this particular case.”
“Probably. So many things make sense now. I had no idea you wanted that account. No wonder you hate me.”
Mya blushes. “I don’t hate you. Not really.”
The tension in the room goes down several notches but I can sense that I’m still on thin ice with her. Not surprising since she’s spent the last two years thinking I fucked her over on purpose. And she just saw me lie to our boss, a potential client and several of our colleagues.
“Look, this thing with the Lavin team is a win- win situation. He likes us and that’s half the battle. Now that we’re in, he’ll schedule another meeting for us to present how we’d handle marketing for the new line.”
“This is never going to work! James and everyone else know that we’re not actually together.”
It’s amazing to me that she has this much faith in people after working in advertising for so long.
“Mya, have you forgotten what we do for a living? We make people see what we want them to see. People will believe whatever we tell them if we put on a show. Reality is what we say it is. If we say we’re together, then we’re together.”
She shakes her head and sits on the edge of the bed. “It’s that simple for you, huh?”
I reach down and adjust the bulge in my pants which has been stuck at an uncomfortable angle ever since I kissed her downstairs.
“Believe me, nothing about this is simple. This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” I add putting extra emphasis on the hard.
She laughs but her cheeks darken slightly again. Damn messing with her is fun. It’s so easy to get her flustered. Mya is such an interesting personality, equal parts ball buster and blushing schoolgirl.
“Don’t think you’re distracting me from the most important thing here. Who gets lead on the account?”
I grin, knowing that she wasn’t going to forget that. That’s my girl, all flash and fire and tough as nails. She might blush when I tease her but she’s not going to let anything slip by her. Mya loves to win just as much as I do, something that I never would have thought would turn me on in a woman. But competing with her is almost as sexy as the thought of…
She narrows her eyes at me as if s
he can hear my thoughts.
“We’ll each come up with a full campaign to present to the Lavin team. That’s usually what we do anyway, right? Well in this case, no one will know except for us who created each campaign. Mr. Lavin will choose whichever one he likes better and that’s who will lead the account.”
She appears to be thinking about it. “We let the work speak for itself. James is happy. The client is happy. I like it.”
“It’s the best way. Lavin Fashions deserves the best that Mirage has to offer and obviously that’s going to come from either me or you.” I sit on the bed next to her, noticing how she goes still.
“You really believe that?”
I nod. “Yes. We may not always agree on our methods but your work is exceptional, Mya. What you did for Fallen Angel Cosmetics was brilliant.”
She smiles. “I liked your campaign for Murray’s Tires, too. Who would have thought tires could be sexy.”
I laugh at that. “This is what I miss the most from when we were friends. When you love what you do, that’s a reward in and of itself. But there’s nothing like being able to share it with someone else. To explain the methodology behind why you made a certain design choice or went in a certain direction and then know that they understand, it’s thrilling.”
Mya looks shocked and I’m suddenly self-conscious about being so open. But it’s true, everything I said. That kind of synergy is definitely not something I’ll find with the Brittany’s or the Jessica’s of the world.
That’s something I’ve only ever had with Mya, actually.
“I like talking to you, too. Well, not when you’re trying to drive me up the wall. But those other times, before everything. It meant a lot to me, too.” Mya’s eyes soften, like she’s remembering and I like that look on her.
While we’ve been talking we’ve subconsciously moved closer to each other and when she peeks up at me, she’s so close I can feel her soft breath on my chin. All at once, she seems to realize how close we are and stands suddenly.
“I should go!”
“Not yet. Some of the Lavin team are staying on this floor, remember? We want them to believe we’re really in l’amore.”
Mya throws up her hands. “Well, how are we supposed to convince them of that?”
“For starters they would expect us to share a room. They would expect us to want to share a room.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her. “Maybe we should rock the bed and scream a lot.”
I’m expecting her to laugh with me, maybe make a joke about screaming my name. But instead she just looks skeptical. Uncomfortable.
She shakes her head. “Like that’s believable. That only happens in the movies.”
“Are you saying you’ve never screamed during sex before?”
Now I don’t want to overstate my case here but I don’t think it’s a secret by now that I know my way around a woman’s body. There are few things more satisfying than watching a woman lose hold of her inhibitions, melt against you and yes, scream your name. So when I see that look on Mya’s face, the truth of the situation hits me in the face with all the subtlety of a two by four.
Prim, prissy Mya Taylor has never had that kind of sex in real life.
And every part of me is dying to know how that is possible.
Fuck me.
9
Considering how many things have gone wrong tonight, you’d think it couldn’t get much worse. But apparently we haven’t reached our quota on weirdness for the night. Standing in a hotel room alone with Milo while he talks about screaming during sex takes it to a whole different level.
Especially since the way he’s watching me makes me feel he’s not going to just let this go.
“Have you?” He presses again, his eyes locked on mine.
Which is not happening. I’m not talking about orgasms while he stares at me like that. Just not doing it.
“I’m hardly a virgin, Milo.”
His face twists into a grimace. “Jesus, don’t say that.”
“What? I just said-“
“What you said was a bullshit attempt to deflect and not answer. Which tells me everything I need to know.” He runs his hands through his hair looking pissed off. Which makes no sense to me.
“How did we go from discussing your bad behavior at dinner to talking about my love life?” My non-existent love life, I think ruefully.
A guy like Milo probably goes through women like underwear. What would he say if he knew it’s been six months since I’ve been laid.
Or kissed. Or hugged. Or touched.
Great, now he’s got me thinking about how pathetic I am.
“I’m just trying to understand what the fuck is happening in the world that a woman like you is having bad sex. Any man lucky enough to see you naked should be putting in the work to take you to O-town every time.”
Something in my expression must have tipped him off because suddenly he stops pacing and stares at me. “Mya, you’ve had an orgasm before, haven’t you?”
Now we’ve crossed the line from inappropriate to just straight up embarrassing.
“Of course, I have. Not that it’s any of your business.”
He still looks disturbed but at least he’s no longer looking at me like some kind of space alien. Which is why I have no idea what possesses me to say what I do next.
“Just not while anyone else is there,” I mumble softly.
“Fuck me!” He explodes before whirling around to blink at me in disbelief. His mouth opens and closes several times before he makes a strangled growling sound that has me going instantly wet. “Fucking hell.”
“Fucking isn’t the problem,” I snap, mortification at what I’ve admitted starting to sink in.
Of all the people I could have confided in, why would I tell Milo? For years it’s been my secret shame and the real reason my ex didn’t want to “settle” with me. I’ve read every Cosmo article, tried yoga and hypnosis and even those weird ass positions in the illustrated Kama Sutra I ordered online. William was so offended when I suggested using a vibrator in bed and he didn’t even seem to like when I touched myself.
Maybe that was the problem. It all felt like work instead of fun. And right now it just feels like one more way I don’t measure up. Especially with the way Milo is looking at me.
“You know what? I’m done talking about this. This has been a long night and we’re probably both going to be out of a job tomorrow once James sobers up and comes to his senses. So for now, I’m going to my room to get comfortable.”
He springs forward and grabs my arm. “Wait, Mya. I’m serious about not leaving yet. I’m pretty sure Christiane is staying on this floor. And she seems predisposed to hate us anyway.”
Fed up with being told what to do, I reach behind me and unzip my dress. “I need to get out of this bra before it cuts off my circulation.” I raise my eyebrows, waiting to see what he’ll do.
But he shocks the hell out of me when he calls my bluff. Milo grabs one of the discarded dress shirts from the bed and hands it to me. “Change into this. You can order room service and relax just as easily here as you can in your room.”
Clearly, like most men, Milo has no idea what relaxation means for a woman. But I’m just embarrassed and exhausted enough not to care anymore. So I take the shirt and escape into the safe haven of the bathroom. Once the door is closed and locked behind me, I meet my own eyes in the mirror. That was the most ridiculous conversation but in a strange way cathartic, too. Maybe I just needed to tell someone and Milo happened to be the unlucky bystander when it all came bursting forth.
Not that he should have acted like it was such a bother to him. I’m the one who’s been sexually frustrated for years, after all. If anyone has cause to be annoyed by this situation, it’s me.
The bathrooms in this hotel come stocked with all manner of toiletries so I use the mini facial bar to wash my makeup off. There’s a small hook on the back of the door so I use that to hang my dress by the straps and put on the shirt Milo gave m
e. It’s a good thing he’s so tall or there would be no way this thing would fit over my chest but it’s just big enough. Although I have to unbutton quite a bit at the top so I don’t feel like my boobs are being strangled.
After pulling the pins out of my bun, I finger comb my hair down around my face. It’s super thick so it’s easier to keep it braided or in a bun but when I’m relaxing, I just let it go wild. Milo will just have to deal. He’s the one who wouldn’t let me leave so if he doesn’t like it, he can bite me.
The man looked like he wanted to bite you anyway.
With that thought, I yank open the bathroom door and march back out into the room. Milo looks up from the mini bar where he’s selected a small bottle. His mouth falls open slightly before he clears his throat and looks away, guiltily.
“Want a drink?”
“Uh, sure.”
“We have scotch, some dubious looking wine and vodka.”
I shrug. “Alcohol. Anything that can make me forget the past three hours.”
He’s about to respond when my phone rings. To my surprise, Milo picks it up as if he has every right to know who’s calling me. He tilts the screen so I can see the face. A picture of me and William taken our last New Year’s Eve flashes on the screen. I take the phone and hit the button to silence the call.
“I never got around to changing the picture on his profile,” I blurt. Then I’m instantly mad at myself for explaining. I don’t have to justify why I have a picture of my ex on my phone.
“He’s called twice already. Some men really don’t know the meaning of no, do they?”
I climb back on the bed, satisfied when Milo’s eyes follow the movement of my legs. He hasn’t invited me to take over his bed but oh well. This is what you get when you stand in between a girl and her chill time. I settle back against the pillows and snuggle into the cozy sheets.
“William wasn’t too good at listening in general,” I admit.
