I gulp another unladylike sip from my wine glass. “His office was beautiful. Sleek, overlooking the city. It oozed power.”
“Nice. Bet he fucks like he owns you.”
The thought of what he’s like in bed is enough to make me lose my train of thought.
“Go on,” Sadie prods.
I don’t continue immediately.
“You forgot what you were up to because you were thinking of him fucking you like he owns you, didn’t you?” My best friend smirks knowingly.
“Shut up.” I pause. “Anyway, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Well, him. Obviously.”
“I wish it were that easy.”
“What was his take on the whole thing?”
“He said he didn’t care if I was breaking the rules. He wants to get to know me.”
“And by ‘get to know you,’ he means starting with the inside and working his way out. I saw the way that man looked at you. I almost had to come home and change my wet panties.” She pauses. “But I took them off instead. There’s something really empowering about walking around in a skirt and no panties at work, don’t you think?”
“Can we get back to my issue? Dealing with yours will take years.”
Sadie shrugs. “So, you both keep quiet, what’s the big deal?”
“Forgetting about the contract, and the fact that Miles can sue me for more than I will probably earn for the rest of my life, I just don’t think I can be involved with two guys at once. Even if I don’t win, I really need to get to the top four to win enough money to buy some time to come up with the rest my mom needs.”
“How long do you have left?”
“Seven weeks.”
“So tell Cooper you need a couple of months.”
I drain the rest of my wine glass. “Something tells me that won’t go over too well … asking Cooper to wait around while I date someone else.”
“What choice does he have?”
“I don’t know. But Cooper Montgomery is not the type of man you give an ultimatum.”
chapter seven
Cooper
“I thought that stupid meeting would never end,” I grumble, falling in step with Kate as she walks down the hall after her morning production meeting.
She smiles and keeps walking. “Were you standing out there long?”
“Long enough to have lost my patience. Meet me in my office in ten minutes.”
She stops mid stride. It takes me a few paces to realize I’m no longer next to her. “Bossy, much?”
“I’ll show you how bossy I am right here in the hall, if you’d prefer.” I arch an eyebrow.
“Coop,” Miles’s voice carries from down the hall. I wave and then return my attention to Kate.
“My office ten minutes or do you prefer the hall?” She looks back at Miles and then me, quickly making the right decision.
“Your office.”
I gloat my victory with a smile and turn just as my brother approaches. Kate walks a bit ahead, but Miles stops her. “Kate, have you met my brother?”
“Ummm … I don’t think so.” She turns cautiously.
“Nice to meet you.” I extend my hand and my fingers stroke the inside of her palm inconspicuously.
Her eyes widen and I take my time to release her from the shake.
“Kate here is one of the contestants on Throb.” Miles puts his hand on Kate’s shoulder. I fight the urge to remove it for him and simply nod.
“She’s one of Flynn’s favorites. A shoo-in for the final four overnight dates.”
Between his hand still on Kate’s shoulder and the thought of her anywhere near Flynn, I need to get the hell out of here. “Did you want something, Miles? I have a meeting.” I look at my watch and then to Kate pointedly. “In eight minutes.”
“Be a few minutes late. I need to talk shop.” Shop equals he needs something from me.
“I can’t. It’s an urgent deal I’m in the middle of. I need to tie it up this morning. Call Helen and get on my schedule.” I turn to Kate and nod before stalking to the elevator bank.
“Kate Monroe is here to see you,” Helen’s voice flows through the intercom.
“Send her in. And hold my calls.”
“I thought I was going to call you tonight so we could talk?” Kate says as she enters my office.
“Change of plans.” I shut the door behind her and deadbolt it. The loud clank of the lock clicking shut captures her attention. She turns to look back at the door and then to me.
“Are you locking people out, or me in?” She arches an eyebrow.
“Both. Come here.” I crook my finger.
“You really are bossy.”
“Does that bother you?” I close the safe distance she’s left between us.
“It depends.”
“On what?” I brush the hair from her face.
“On what you’re bossy about.”
I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “Just about you.”
“Just me?” The challenge in her voice softens as our eyes meet.
I nod. “Kiss me.”
“Bossy.”
“Difficult.”
“I’m not diff …” She doesn’t get the chance to finish her protest before my mouth is sealed over hers.
“Wow,” she says when I release her a full five minutes later, and it makes me smile. I noticed she’s said it after each time I kissed her. Almost as if the effect it has on her takes her by surprise. “You’re really good at that.”
“No. We’re just really good together,” I say. “I can tell already.”
I pull her to me and hold her tightly against my chest. Neither of us says a word for a few minutes.
“Cooper?” Her voice is quiet, but the simple two-syllable word tells me she’s about to bestow news I don’t want to hear. I tighten my hold on her.
“Hmmm?” I kiss the top of her forehead.
“We need to talk.”
chapter eight
Kate
“I really like you. I do … but …”
Cooper holds up his hand. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t give me the I really like you speech.”
Well, there goes what I spent half the night planning to say.
Cooper folds his arms across his chest. “Sit.”
“Bossy,” I mutter under my breath, but sit anyway.
“Is it the show?”
I nod.
Cooper paces while he speaks. “Is quitting an option?”
Regretfully, I shake my head.
“I’m not sure I want to hear the answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Do you have feelings for him?” He rakes his fingers through his hair and says the word him with harried disdain.
“Who? Dickhead?”
Cooper’s mouth twitches at the corners. “Yes, Dickhead.”
“He’s really nice.” His jaw clenches. “But that’s not it.”
“You’re locked into a contract?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll talk to Miles. He owes me one. Or a thousand and one. I’ve lost track.”
“No. You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to stay on the show.”
“Do you want the exposure? I’ll tell him you need to stay on the show, but that you aren’t living up to whatever the terms his warped mind has conjured up.”
“I don’t want the exposure.”
Cooper stops. “Then what is it?”
“I need to win.”
“Why? If you don’t want the prize?”
“It’s not the bachelor that I need.”
“There’s a financial incentive?”
I nod. Suddenly, I feel like a whore.
The clock ticks by, long seconds where the silence hangs thick in the air, neither of us saying a word. Finally, I speak. “I can’t see two men at once. I need to keep my focus, and I won’t be able to do that if we keep this up.”
When I see the disappointment in his face, my chest feels like someone stepped on it. “How long does the show have left?” he asks.
“Seven weeks, two days.” Not that I’m counting.
He blows out a thick stream of air, nods, holds me tight before we say goodbye. When his grip on me loosens, it takes everything I have to walk out his door.
chapter nine
Kate
The more I get to know Flynn, the more I find there is to like. So why is it that I resist elevating things to the next level? He’s a complete gentleman with me. Taking things slowly, not pushing, leaving it up to me to decide the next step. We’ve definitely connected, yet there’s something holding me back from moving from friends to more. Damn you, Cooper Montgomery. It’s been a week since I saw him, yet I still can’t get him out of my mind.
“Earth to Kate.” Flynn bumps shoulders with me.
“Sorry. I overslept and didn’t get to have coffee yet.”
“Well, we need to fix that. Al, can we pull over at the next Starbucks, please?” Flynn asks the bus driver.
I smile. “You don’t have to do that.”
“You’re going to need it for today’s challenge.” He winks at me.
“You know what today’s challenge is?”
“Yep. Not my favorite. You’ll understand why soon. But I need you to wake up so you can win.” The bus pulls into a strip mall parking lot. There’s a Starbucks at the end. “Al, you wanna see if anyone else wants anything?”