First Impressions: The Fix Up Part 15

Because you're starting to fall for her. Because you wouldn't mind a relations.h.i.+p one bit, but that's the last thing she wants.

"You've gotta play the field, boy," Lyle said. "That Hayley-"

"Holly."

"That Holly girl has to be getting up there in years. What is she, thirty?"

"I have no idea. And since when is thirty considered up there?'"

"Women have a clock, boy. They can't d.i.c.k around for years building a career the way you and I can. They've gotta start squeezing out babies, making a home, all those things women want. And that's not what you want right now. You've gotta sow some oats."

Ben felt himself bristling at the notion that his father would have any idea what he wanted, much less what Holly wanted. Especially Holly. He opened his mouth to protest, but his dad was still talking.

"Holly's fine for now, but you've gotta think bigger picture."

"Bigger picture," Ben repeated, not entirely sure he and his father were speaking the same language.

"Now's not the time to be settling down. Now's the time for relations.h.i.+ps that'll further your career in the long run."

Ben put his drink down. Is that what Holly was to him? A stepping stone in his career path?

He stood up, suddenly overcome by a need to talk with her, to prove to himself that's not how things were. That Holly could be more to him than a surface relations.h.i.+p crafted to get him ahead in the business world.

"Where are you going, boy?"

Ben was already out of his seat with his phone gripped in his hand. "I think I need to call someone."

"Is this someone who can get us ahead with the Kleinberger guys?"

"I suppose so."

His dad beamed his approval. "Then get to it."

Chapter Ten.

"So let me get this straight," Miriam said, stretching her long legs out beside Holly's kitchen table and displaying an impressive pair of red leather Manolo Blahniks. "Ben went down on you at his place, then you sucked him off in our conference room, but you're totally not breaking your no-s.e.x-with-a-client rule because he hasn't actually penetrated your v.a.g.i.n.a with his p.e.n.i.s?"

Holly winced and gripped the stem of her winegla.s.s a little tighter. "I know it sounds terrible-"

"No, it sounds like some sort of weird afterschool special." Miriam took a sip of her own wine, then reached out and put a hand over Holly's. "Honey, you think maybe you're trying a little too hard to stick to these weird, arbitrary rules you've invented?"

"I don't know. h.e.l.l, I don't know anything anymore." Holly shook her head and grabbed a potato chip out of the bowl at the center of the table. "I thought I found commanding and take-charge men a turnoff, and then I dropped to my knees in front of one."

"Not all take-charge guys are pigs, you know."

"I don't even know if Ben is a take-charge guy. Maybe I'm bringing out the worst in him."

"A guy who can get you off with his tongue or get you on your knees with his science vocabulary doesn't sound like the worst to me."

Holly sighed and took another sip of wine. "The thing is, I pegged him as more of a beta guy, which I kinda liked after being with an alpha guy for all those years. So why the h.e.l.l am I turned on by the alpha version of him?"

"Old habits die hard?"

Holly shook her head. "I don't think so. He couldn't be more opposite of Chase if they were a different species."

"Thank G.o.d for that. Speaking of King a.s.shole, what's the latest from the bank?"

Holly sighed. "Not much. Obviously, I have to complete the job for Ben Langley before we're paid in full. The first check helped, but it's not the full amount I need to refinance the loan so it's solely in my name."

"And Chase isn't budging on his timeline?"

"I haven't been able to reach him. He's handling everything through his lawyers, just peppering me with legal doc.u.ments about how I have until the end of next month to either sell or get his name off the loan."

"Does he know refinancing a loan when it's underwater is about as likely as the possibility he'll spontaneously combust?" Miriam's eyes lit up. "Hey, there's an idea."

"I don't think he cares." Holly bit her lip. "Miriam, I'm so sorry. I know it seemed like a good idea when we started out to buy the building. Real estate prices were so low, and having my husband co-sign the loan didn't seem like such a dumb move at the time. If I'd had any idea-"

"Don't," Miriam said. "You can't blame yourself. h.e.l.l, I wasn't in a position to get any sort of loan at all. My credit was in shambles back then or I would have helped. This isn't anyone's fault." She c.o.c.ked her head to one side. "Well, it might be Chase's fault a little."

"G.o.d, I can't believe I married a guy who thought my career was his rival."

"I wouldn't have let you marry him if he'd acted like that at the start. It wasn't until he started climbing the corporate ladder at his firm that it all seemed to go to his head."

Holly nodded as her thoughts strayed to Ben. How would the CEO position change him? Polis.h.i.+ng his social skills and confidence was one thing, but were there other things about him that might change?

"So back to Ben," Miriam said, reading her thoughts. "You said he's showing signs of being a more take-charge guy?"

"Yes." Holly pressed her lips together and tried to keep her thoughts professional instead of letting them stray to the other ways Ben could take charge. "I've been working with him on it, of course, but honestly, I think just being in a position of power is bringing it out in him."

"That's probably not the only position that's bringing out his inner alpha male." Miriam grinned. "Who knew hooking up with your client was exactly what you needed to bring out his inner beast?"

"Right," Holly said, grabbing another chip. "So whatever's been happening between us is just a technique to take his career to the next level. There's nothing more to it."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"Come on, Miriam. My job is to further this guy's career. I'm being paid well to do that right now, but there's sure as h.e.l.l no future in a relations.h.i.+p with that dynamic. Been there, done that, divorced that. End of story."

"I don't think that's it, hon. Maybe there could be more if you wanted it."

"I don't want it," Holly insisted, pretty sure that was true. "I should probably stop falling into bed with the guy, though."

"Technically, you haven't fallen into bed with anyone. There's been a living room floor, a conference room floor-"

"I can't believe I keep falling onto the floor for this guy."

Miriam sipped her wine, considering. "That doesn't have the same ring to it."

Holly buried her head in her hands, knowing she should probably feel guiltier than she did. She'd get to the guilt in a minute, but right now she couldn't stop thinking about the feel of him in her mouth, the way he gripped her hair and groaned her name as he came.

"I have to stop this," she said. "With Chase and the bank breathing down my neck, it's completely stupid for me to go risking the most lucrative client I have right now."

"Are you sure Ben's not becoming more than a client?"

"What do you mean?"

"I see the look in your eye. You're smitten with the guy."

"I can't be."

"Whatever you say." Miriam gave her a knowing look, then picked up her winegla.s.s and drained the last of it before glancing at her watch. "Look, sweetie, I have to get home and feed Phuzeei. Not that my cat is more important than your needs right now, but-"

"No, it's fine. I've been whining to you long enough."

"It's not whining. It's never whining when there are o.r.g.a.s.ms involved." Miriam stood up and Holly followed suit. "You'll be fine, hon. Besides, he's obviously happy with your professional services. b.l.o.w.j.o.bs aside, he likes what you're doing for him."

"I'm glad his presentation went well."

"And the rest of this rebrand will go well, too. As for the loan-" Miriam trailed off, looking a bit less confident. "Well, if worse comes to worst, we can run the business out of a cardboard box and brand the whole concept as the hot new minimalist trend."

"Ugh. I'm going to be fretting about it all weekend, you know. Like what if the money doesn't come through for some reason?"

"Try not to think about it. There's nothing else you can do right now anyway, and worrying will just make you sick." Miriam strode toward the door, Prada handbag looped over one arm as Holly followed behind her. "Are you in for the night?"

"I think so. I'm exhausted from all the stress about money. I'm just going to put on some pajamas and crawl into bed."

Miriam grinned. "Put on the cashmere ones he bought you. Besides being luxurious, they're probably dripping with his pheromones."

"There's a nice mental picture."

"Good night." Miriam bent down and gave her a hug. "Have a good weekend."

Holly hugged back, then closed the door behind Miriam, not feeling a whole lot better than she had when her friend had stopped by an hour ago after the event. Then again, she didn't feel worse.

She glanced at her phone, wondering if she'd hear from him again. After he'd texted to let her know the presentation had gone well, she'd texted back a brief message congratulating him. She hadn't heard from him since.

Holly trudged to the bedroom to put on her pajamas. Okay, fine-she put on the ones she'd gotten from Ben. Was that so wrong? They were comfortable, and they were new.

The s.h.i.+rt still smelled like his aftershave, and Holly resisted the urge to hold it up to her nose and breathe in his scent before pulling it over her head. Her whole body did a happy little swoon at the memory of what she'd been doing the last time she'd worn this top.

Outfitted in her comfy attire, she wandered into the kitchen, her mind still drifting to Ben's presentation. Had her speech coaching tips made a difference for him in the presentation? She hoped she'd managed to impart at least a few helpful hints before getting derailed by chemistry or l.u.s.t or whatever the h.e.l.l kept seizing control of her brain and making her do crazy things.

G.o.d, why was she taking so many risks lately? Langley Enterprises was a huge client-the biggest First Impressions had ever landed. Between Ben's rebranding work and the potential for more Langley business, this was her best shot at earning enough to refinance the loan. She was chancing a lot by fooling around with Ben. Jeopardizing her whole career for what?

For a man. You swore you'd never do that.

Holly sighed and yanked open her freezer door, determined to drown her sorrows in something sinfully sweet. She spotted a gallon of vanilla ice cream and thought about the ice cream floats Ben had made the other night.

"Bingo!" she said aloud as she pulled open the fridge to find a liter of strawberry seltzer Miriam had left behind. It wasn't root beer, but it would do.

She set about making herself a float, wondering what Ben was up to. Was he celebrating? The thought of a celebration that included scantily clad women throwing themselves at a powerful man was enough to deepen her glum mood, so she put an extra big scoop of ice cream in her float.

She'd just shoved the ice cream back in the freezer when her phone rang. She picked it up with the ice cream scoop still clutched in her other hand. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Hey, Holly. It's Ben. Open your front door."

A shudder of excitement ran through her, followed by a shudder of dread. She probably looked like she was having a seizure, which was hardly the condition she wanted to be in for having company. Besides, she was wearing the loungewear he'd bought her. The last thing she needed was Ben thinking she'd been pining away for him in her pajamas.

Then she imagined him standing there on her front porch, and her brain started to cloud with the thrill of spending an evening with him. "You want to come in?"

Her body was already moving toward the front of the house in defiance of her brain's warning that it wasn't a good idea. She had the ice cream scoop clutched in one hand and a stupid grin on her face, which she spotted in the mirror on her way to the door.

"I'm not at the door but something else is," Ben said.

Holly stopped at the door, her hand on the k.n.o.b. "Okay, this is starting to sound slightly creepy stalkery."

"I thought you liked creepy stalkery. At least you did when I bought you pajamas."

"That's true." She hesitated, her hand still on the door. "Apparently I'm turned on by creepy stalkers and dirty-talking science geeks. How did I never know this about myself until I hit thirty?"

"You're thirty?"

"Yes, why?"

"That's what my dad thought."

"Why was your dad guessing my age? Never mind, how old are you?"

"Thirty-one. Did you open your door yet?"

"Hang on." Holly set the ice cream scoop on the entry table and cracked open her front door. Sitting on the front stoop in the beam of her porch light was the biggest arrangement of wildflowers she'd ever seen.

"Ben, they're beautiful!" Cradling the phone against her ear, she bent down to scoop up the basket. "Oh my G.o.d, did you bring these?"

"I had them delivered."

"They're gorgeous." She carried the basket into the house, kicking the door shut behind her. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. Without your coaching, I never could have nailed that presentation today."

"I was just doing what you hired me to do."

"You did a little more than that."