Shit, is she flirting back?
"Oh, I can be very good," I reassure her.
She laughs. "Then I'll save the gold stickers for you, big boy."
Okay, not flirting, but pulling my chain.
"But I really like the silver ones," I tease like an adolescent, then change topics. "Anyway, I'll be headed that way in about an hour. What do you feel like eating for dinner? I can pick it up on my way."
It was time to change gears.
"You mean I get to pick something, and you'll get what I ask for?"
Picking up my pen, I sign the contract. "Yes, Tess. That is what I said."
"Oh, it's just that at Fiona and Ethan's engagement party when you asked me if I wanted a drink and I said yes, I'd have a glass of champagne, you brought me a bottle of beer."
I slip the contract in the envelope. "Tess, what do you want for dinner?"
She ignores my question. "Nick, do you remember that?" she taunts, not leaving well enough alone.
"I do, Tess, and just so you know, the beer was for me, the bartender was uncorking a new bottle of champagne just for you. But before I could tell you that, Andy showed up to whisk you onto the dance floor, and well, let's just say I drank the entire bottle of 2006 Dom Perignon all by myself."
She's silent for a few moments and doesn't even correct me about her Frenchman's name. "You bought a $200 bottle of champagne for me?"
"Yes, I did."
"But we'd just met."
"And you were my best friend's fiancé's best friend. What can I say, I wanted to make a good impression."
"That was really sweet."
Sweet?
Sweet!
Is that pity I hear?
Fuck that.
I'll give it to her straight. "No, trust me, sweet wasn't my intention. The truth is you looked hotter than fuck in that little black dress and I really wanted to get into your panties, before I knew you were attached that is. Obviously, Ethan tends to leave pertinent information off the table."
She's quiet for a beat. "You know, Nick, can you ever leave well enough alone? Do you always have to assure that you come out looking like a total asshole?"
I flinch. "That's what I do best, baby."
"You're such a jerk. Thanks for reminding me of that. I'd be happy with any pasta dish, no meat, if you can manage it without having to stop and get your dick wet."
"Classy Tess, don't kiss Max with that mouth."
"Ugggghhhhh," she sighs and then the line goes dead.
Shit, if that was me trying to show her there's more to me than what she sees, I think I need to stop trying so hard.
Or maybe all together.
Nick
THERE ARE MANY perks to running your own company. Making your own hours, being your own boss, and not being accountable to anyone. Yet right now the fact that I have my own personal gym beside my office is the only one that matters.
I'm sweating and biting back grunts as I run like hell, trying to escape my own destructive self. She's not wrong. Why didn't I just leave well enough alone?
When I first met her, I was trying to impress her, and not only because I wanted in her pants. But also because I was attracted to her personality and for some strange reason wanted to get to know her.
I run faster.
Faster still.
Really, what the hell was wrong with me back then?
What was I thinking?
She's a little too uptight.
Bitchy even.
Judgmental.
Complicated.
Not at all the type of woman I like to fuck.
Out of breath, I start to slow my pace.
Why am I still thinking about her?
The treadmill beeps three point five miles in twenty-four minutes, my fastest time in years. Lifting my shirt, I pat my face and then gulp my water.
I know why-there's something about her.
A reason I've gone out of my way to get her attention every time we've been in the same room.
What that reason is, I don't even want to spend the time considering. It can't end well for her, or me. Especially me, because even after hitting the punching bag and then running my ass off, trying to figure this out has only left me rock hard.
On the plus side, by the time I hit my private shower, the only thing on my mind is why the fuck am I so horny? It's like I'm a teenage boy.
My brain might not be functioning properly but one thing is clear-I can't show up at Fiona and Ethan's place with a raging hard-on. And I certainly can't be in Tess's presence with one, especially not all evening.
What if she noticed?
What if she didn't?
Fuck me.
Feeling . . .
Eager.
Bold.
Hot-blooded.
That is just a disaster waiting to happen.
I need to take care of this situation right now.