Big Ben

by Nana Malone

  I sulked, feeling petulant. I should be allowed to walk home at night. “I’m not an idiot. “

  “Prove it. Stay inside.”

  I don’t know what it was about him, but every time he opened his mouth, I felt the overwhelming urge to hit something. “How dare you—”

  He didn’t let me finish though. Instead, he turned around and was already walking toward his car. “Get in the house.”

  He left me very little choice but to unlock the door and step through. Tomorrow.  Tomorrow, I would give him a piece of my mind.

  11

  Ben

  I told my driver to go to Bridge’s after dropping off Olivia. I’d stayed to make sure she got inside okay. When he opened the door, he was in sweats and a T-shirt.

  His dark brows lifted. “Ben? What are you doing here, mate? Any idea what time it is?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. Somewhere around midnight, I guess.”

  Bridge might not say much, but he had an intuitive knowledge about people. He stepped aside and let me in. “What’s wrong?”

  How did I even fucking start to explain? “I need to run something by you.”

  I went straight for the study to the right, while he veered toward the kitchen. “Fancy a pint?”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t need anything even temporarily dampening my senses after the night I’ve had.”

  He preceded me to the study instead, the soft shuffling of his feet in contrast to the muffled squeak of my trainers on the wood. “Where were you tonight?”

  “With a friend. Let me ask you something. Do we have exposure on this Toby thing?”

  He frowned. “Does this have something to do with the same woman who was supposed to be easy to handle?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Fucking Christ, Ben.”

  “I know.” Quickly, I recounted what had happened.

  Bridge pinched his nose. “Mate? Any way you were seen?”

  I’d been racking my brain since it happened. “I have no idea. Maybe someone saw me leave then saw her leave. I don’t know what she was doing in that office that night. She said she was there just to be alone for few minutes then hid in the closet to keep from getting caught, but I don’t know.”

  He rolled his shoulders. “No such thing as a coincidence. So, the question now is what the hell are we going to do with her?”

  “Devil’s advocate. Maybe she was there for another reason. Trying to get information on the Van Linsteds. We need to look into her.” You know who she is. But what if I didn’t?

  He sighed. “We’re sitting on a powder keg. We need to know who she is. If we got it wrong and she made a copy of the file, or worse, if she was able to decrypt it, she’s going to have blackmail information on Elite members, men who would do anything to hold on to power. We need to find out what she knows, and in the meantime, get her some protection. If she’s innocent, we just put the target on her. If something about the pass wasn’t clean, we’re obligated to look after her, but there’s no way she won’t ask questions.”

  I swallowed hard. He was right. But it was my responsibility. “I got her into this.”

  He sighed as he crossed his arms. “We’re a team, mate. We’ll take care of this.” His silvery gaze bore into me. “Is she a problem for you? Can you stay detached? Unemotional?”

  I ground my teeth. I knew what he was asking. “She’s not Lila.”

  “That’s not what I asked. We’ll protect her. But if we find out she’s not who she claims to be, can you keep your shit together? The stakes are higher now.”

  “I’m tight.” Total bollocks. I was already fucked in the head over her.

  “I was giving you shit the other day, but if you’re spinning, you can tell me, mate. You know that.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to fight through the wall of emotion. Olivia wasn’t Lila. She wouldn’t shag me, pretend to love me, then try to upgrade to my bloody father. And I would not go off the rails like before. We couldn’t afford for me to.

  There was a shuffling near the door, and I lifted my gaze. Dark eyes met mine. “I should have known it was you, arsehole.”

  I inclined my head. “Mina, always nice to see you.” And by nice, I meant I had the inexplicable urge to do murder. Just kidding. It was explicable. She was a conniving bitch. I could see right through her.

  She pursed her lips. “It’s late, Bridge.”

  “I know, babe. We’re just having a quick drink and catching up.”

  She glowered at me but turned and sauntered off.

  “Nice to see she still adores me.”

  “I don’t know what it is with you two.” He shook his head.

  I knew what it was, but I wasn’t telling him. Mina was a class-A viper. She’d gotten her hooks into him early, and there was nothing about her I trusted. She didn’t love him, at least not that way he really should be loved. Bridge needed someone that would warm up his life. Mina wasn’t it. But it wasn’t my choice, so I kept my mouth shut. “Not sure. But hey, she’s not mine to shag. She’s all yours.”

  Bridge snorted. “One day, I’ll find out why you two don’t get on.”

  If it was left to me, he would never find out. I wouldn’t be the one to break my best mate’s heart.

  I shoved my hands in my pocket to ask my next question. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about all of this. But you okay after seeing Emma?”

  Bridge was usually so good at masking his emotions, but his eyes narrowed imperceptibly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  I lifted a brow. “C’mon mate. I remember your face the first time you ever saw her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look like that since.”

  He shook his head. “That was kid’s stuff. Been a long time since we were kids.”

  I searched his gaze, but he was too hard to read. Running my hand through my hair, I muttered, “Right. A long fucking time.” He wouldn’t say shit until he was damn well good and ready.

  He frowned down at my hand. “Mate, your ring?”

  I knew what he meant right away. I’d taken it off before my Olivia outing. “Would you believe it itched?” I rubbed the tattoo on my thumb, the one that was usually covered by my signet ring.

  He pressed his lips together. “Mate, however much you hate them, it’s your job to play the part.”

  He was right. I knew he was right. “Yeah, fine. I hear you.”

  “Put it on, Ben. Appearances are everything.”

  He wasn’t wrong about that.

  Livy

  After our adventures with Jack the Ripper, I’d expected Ben to act different in some way, but he was mostly normal. He’d been out of the office on Friday but had emailed to let me know the police would be by to take a statement.

  And that had been all he’d said on the matter. He mostly let me get on with it as if nothing had happened.

  Which was handy because there was a lot to learn about the running of the business. I had my work cut out for me.

  As annoying as Ben was sometimes, with his deep voice and strutting around here like he owned the place, which he did, I really, really liked the job. It was challenging. I had to bring up all my organizational skills and put them to good use.

  But however the hell they’d organized things before didn’t make any sense. The folders were difficult to find, I could not locate our clients, and half of the department didn’t really communicate very well, requiring everyone’s bosses to get involved to make any sort of decision.

  Things would be so much better if they just organized cross-functionally. So I put together a report outlining a better way to work. If there were project teams and everyone had a stake in it, then resources would be sorted across teams as well. And for every project, it would be a renegotiation of what team it would end on. Why didn’t they know this?

  I also learned that everything was pretty much siloed under each of the CEOs, which was ridiculous, considering they managed one company. And as resources went, that mean
t if someone was being underused on one side, it was almost impossible to reallocate them.

  I’d already started implementing some of those changes. I was pretty sure Ben hadn’t even noticed. Which was fine. I got to do my job and be left alone. I really didn’t want his input anyway, nor did I need his ire. It wasn’t my fault I’d been mugged twice in one week.

  After a series of three meetings back to back, I was relieved to finally reach my office again. All I needed was a good couple of hours of uninterrupted work. I’d been digging in so hard in my new role, that I’d been getting home later and later each night.

  Granted, Dexter hadn’t exactly been home to notice. Most of the time he texted me to say he was working late. And to be fair, I didn’t even notice that he had texted until I got home and he wasn’t there. Which probably said something.

  Like how long are you going to put up with this? It had been going on too long. We needed to have a sit down because really, we were just glorified roommates. My mother hadn’t wanted me to be alone, but I was certain she didn’t want me to be unhappy either.

  We would talk at dinner next week. It would be fine. We’d either work this out or realize that we couldn’t. It made my heart squeeze a little. This was Dexter. He’d been there for the toughest parts of my life. I didn’t want to just give up.

  And the guilt still ate at me. Everything had changed because of me. And that was a hard pill to swallow.

  Looking forward to getting off my feet, I gasped when I saw the bright bouquet of pink roses, complete with baby’s breath. What in the world? They were beautiful. They looked velvety soft, and their aroma already filled my office. But I wasn’t really a roses girl. I was more into interesting flowers like orchids or lilies. But there was no denying how gorgeous they were.

  I placed my laptop on my desk and then I hunted for a card. I found one nestled deep in the nest of thorns. All it said was I’m so proud of you.

  The instant welling of tears was unexpected.

  Dexter.

  God, just when I was on the verge of giving up, he came through. I didn’t even stop to think when I grabbed my jacket. It was close enough to lunch that I could leave early and go say a surprise thank you.

  It was a straight shot to South Bank from Soho on the tube, so within fifteen minutes I was walking into the sleek glass and chrome of Mills and Crawford Investments. I knew where Fenton’s office was and managed to deftly avoid it. It was 11:45, so the office was nearly a ghost town with everyone off to lunch.

  Good old Dexter, though, was at his desk. “Hey there handsome, are you accepting blow jobs as recompense?”

  His head snapped up and his eyes went wide before he shoved up out of his chair. “Olivia. Wh-what are you doing here?”

  I smiled up at him as he came around his desk. “Silly, I’m here to say thank you.”

  He frowned then looked around me to his door, which I’d closed behind me. “Thank you for what?”

  Laughing, I looped my arms around his neck. “For my flowers, silly. They’re beautiful. I was so surprised. I love them though. I know we’ve been disconnected for a while, but—”

  He pulled back from me, unlooping my arms and holding them between us, effectively forming a barrier. “What are you talking about? I didn’t send you flowers, Olivia.”

  I blinked, my arms going lax as he released me. “Are you sure?”

  “Seriously? I would know if I sent you flowers.” A frown creased his brow. “Who the hell is sending you flowers?” His voice rose.

  “Well, clearly I thought it was you.”

  “What did the card say?”

  “Just that you, or I guess someone, was proud of me.”

  “You’re serious. Someone sent you flowers masquerading as me?”

  I sighed, then shifted on my feet, not really sure of what to do with myself now. This was hardly how I’d pictured my surprise visit. “I’m not sure they were masquerading as you. I assumed it was you. I mean who else would send me flowers?”

  He pursed his lips and crossed his arms. “Have you checked with your boss? From what I’ve been reading, he does like the ladies.”

  Clearly, coming here had been a bad idea. “Dex, c’mon. You can support me getting promoted.” I cleared my throat. “Well, since I’m here, do you want to go to lunch? You know that offer for a blow—”

  His office door opened, cutting me off. “Hey Dex, you ready—” The beautiful red head in leggings, booties, and a fitted top froze when she saw us. “Oh, sorry. I thought we had an appointment.”

  Dexter shoved his hands in his pockets, then quickly dragged them out. He always did that when he was nervous. But why was he nervous? I watched him closely as his gaze just darted back and forth between us.

  What the hell was wrong with him? When he didn’t introduce us, I stepped forward and extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Olivia.”

  She stared at my hand for a long moment, then shook it. “I’m Andrea. I’m Dexter’s—”

  “Physical therapist,” he quickly finished for her.

  He’s into her.

  I wasn’t proud of my first thought. I wasn’t the kind of woman who felt threatened at every new beautiful woman my boyfriend encountered. After all, I’d end up angry a lot then. Dex was always entertaining for work. I also wasn’t the kind of woman who thought I could keep tabs on him or wanted to control who he was. He was a grown man.

  You’re better than this.

  I was better than this. Dexter was with me. Had been for years. We might have been working some things out, but we were committed to that.

  I dragged in a deep breath to force my calm then ran through what he’d said. Physical Therapist. The subject of his hand was a red-hot button with us.

  Was that why he was so cagey? He hated it when I asked about him doing his PT exercises. “Oh. It’s nice to finally meet you. Dexter has gone on and on about how he loves PT with you.” I frowned at her lack of equipment. “You guys going to work out here? In those shoes?”

  Again, it was Dexter who answered. “She’s just going to walk me through a few things for my hand. I’ve been having those flare ups of pain.”

  He had? Why didn’t I know he was in more pain than usual? “Oh, right. I guess I’ll get going and leave you to it.” I forced a smile. “The video games you suggested have really helped with his dexterity.” That sounded encouraging right? Not at all jealous girlfriendy? If you need to believe that.

  I reached for Dexter to kiss him, and what I got was an air kiss on the cheek. Oh yeah, we were bringing all the sexy back.

  His voice was firm and cool when he said, “Call the florist. Find out who sent the flowers. I’m curious.”

  “I guess I will. Sorry I bothered you at work.”

  His response was a terse nod. “It’s fine.”

  “I’ll see you at home, yeah?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” His attention was already on the redhead.

  I forced myself to swallow the sting of jealousy. I would not let someone else eat at me. Dexter and I were in a relationship. He wouldn’t betray that.

  You sure of that?

  When I returned to the office, I rearranged the flowers to the corner of my desk so I could have an unfettered view of my door in case someone came in.

  It was only after I moved the vase that I saw, next to it was a small black box. I frowned as I picked it up. This was beyond weird now. I tugged on the ribbon and tried to calm my breathing. I just prayed I didn’t find something like a finger inside.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, but then exhaled and peered one eye open as I lifted the lid.

  Nestled in the black velvet was a batman pin with the Ghana flag on it. Just like the one Ben had broken the night of the fundraiser.

  Ben. He was responsible for the flowers and he’d replaced my pin. My eyes suddenly stung, and I blinked away the mist forming in my eyes. Someone must have brought onions for lunch. Or, your boss isn’t a complete dick. Just when I’d started to solidify my opinion
on him, he did something so thoughtful.

  There was a knock behind me, and I widened my eyes, willing the mist of tears to evaporate. I turned slowly with an impassive gaze. “Yes?”

  Ben was in my doorway. Just seeing him made everything inside go all warm and fluttery. “I’m sorry it took so long to replace it. I guess you can’t just buy the pin anywhere, so I custom ordered it.”

  My stupid tears were so close to the surface. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to become a blubbery mess. “You didn’t have to do this.”

  He stepped inside. “Yes, I did. I felt bad the night of the fundraiser, and I was a bit of a wanker. I’m sorry. After I learned how much it meant to you, I knew I had to replace it.”

  I blinked rapidly. “Thank you. Getting the pin back is a big deal, and it’s much appreciated.” I chewed my lip and gathered courage for this next part. “Mr. Covington, I just wanted to say that—”

  He shook his head. “Ben. Or Bennet if you must. Mr. Covington is the former Prime Minister. I’m not him.”

  I sighed. “Okay, fine, Ben, while I appreciate the pin, the flowers are going just a bit too far.”

  His brow lifted. “What?”

  Be firm. Be direct. It was the only way I was going to be able to contain the runaway butterflies in my lower belly. I couldn’t indulge any kind of crush or whatever this was. I approached him as I spoke. “Obviously, you are very, uh, attractive, and kind as well, but you are my boss. And while I do need someone to accompany me on the things for my mother, I was not propositioning you.”

  He frowned and nodded slowly. “Propositioning?”

  Why was he repeating the words I was using? “Exactly. I wasn’t in any way saying that I was going to shag you or anything like that.” Though I’d maybe, just maybe, fantasized about it. But that was not something I needed to clue him in on.

  “Shag me?”

  “Yes. I mean, I don’t exactly know you, but I’d hoped maybe we’d started to be friends, except for the part where you yelled at me last night when we almost got mugged.”

  “There you go again, saying I yelled. I spoke firmly to get your attention.”