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‘Please tell me you’ve at least thought about it?’ Tori says.
‘I’ve thought about it.’
Tori laughs and salutes her with a slice of pizza. ‘Atta woman.’
Jules flushes, but the overly enthusiastic support is exactly what she needs. It’s been ages since she’s done anything about her lack of romantic relationship. Not since her last grand romantic gesture ended with a break-up and a wounded heart and zero dates for three years.
‘How did you react when you realised who he was?’ Cat asks.
‘My knees legitimately went weak, and I had about a dozen inappropriate thoughts at once.’
Tori laughs.
Cat gasps. ‘Do you think he could tell?’
Jules chokes down a bite of pizza. ‘I hope not. I tried not to act sleazy, but he’s super attractive, and I’d been reading that rival CEOs office erotica, so my thoughts kept sliding into the gutter.’
‘Are you sure it was the erotica and not, I don’t know, the massive sexual crush you’ve had on this dude’s voice for months?’ Tori teases.
‘That may have played into it,’ Jules concedes, body heating. ‘The voice is even better in person.’
‘I wish I’d been a fly on the wall during that meeting,’ Cat sighs.
‘You don’t think it’s a little weird though?’ Jules asks. ‘Going after someone I work with?’
‘So?’ Tori shrugs. ‘How do you think people meet these days?’
‘Uh, Tinder. Hinge. Bumble,’ Jules lists the dating apps off on her fingers. ‘I think speed dating is back in fashion, too.’
‘Felicity and Bianca met at work and they’ve been married almost three years,’ Cat points out. ‘Besides, you’re in completely different divisions and have different bosses and you’ve been crushing on him for months.’
‘Urgh. I know. I do not need the reminder.’ There’s only so many times you can fantasise about a disembodied voice before it becomes weird. Though oddly, no less sexy, even though it’s started to feel a little … lacking. Empty.
‘What’s there to lose by trying?’
Cat doesn’t ask it like a challenge so Jules answers honestly. ‘My comfort. And our chats on the phone. He’ll call me up for IT help and it’ll be super awkward because he knows I want him and he shut me down.’
‘Lady, that’s assuming he shuts you down,’ Tori says. ‘But look at you! You’re gorgeous and intelligent and single. And even if you weren’t that last one, what happens on conference stays on conference.’ Tori winks exaggeratedly.
Ignoring Tori apparently condoning infidelity because she knows it’s only in jest, Jules asks, ‘What if I don’t want it to stay on conference, though?’
‘Wait. Seriously?’ Tori spins to lean against the couch arm and face Jules. ‘I’ve been assuming this was just a sexual fantasy crush.’
‘It is! It is, but it’s also …’ Jules plays with her pizza crusts. It’s different now they’ve met in person. There’s a little ache in her chest that wants to know him. ‘I mean, we connect so well over the phone—half our conversation aren’t even about IT—and you know I care about having that connection before having sex.’
‘View it as a trial run,’ Cat suggests, topping up everyone’s wine glasses. ‘You know, like that bit where you’re going out before you make it official.’
Jules cocks her head. ‘Like when we soft-launched the e-commerce site at work?’
‘Exactly,’ Cat says. ‘I mean, I know you get on well on the phone, but what if in person it’s awkward, or there’s no physical chemistry?’
‘The chemistry is there. On my side, at least.’ Jules sips some wine to try and cool the sudden heat in her body.
‘In which case,’ Tori says, ‘a conference fling is definitely still an option. Climb that man and get him to whisper sexy things into your ear with his beautiful voice. Then you can cherish the hot, sweaty memory for years to come.’
An appealing idea, at least on a physical level, if it weren’t for three hurdles. One, the foreboding ants-on-her-skin feeling when she thinks about putting herself out there with Cameron for real. Two, that ache inside her that craves more than sex. And three.
She levels Tori with a look. ‘And how would I initiate that kind of relationship at a work conference, huh? That’s textbook inappropriate behaviour.’
