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“That’s exactly what I told Alice,” Chloe assured me. “But she’s relentless and insisted. A lot. Apparently, the bride got herself knocked up, and they want to get hitched before she outgrows her Vera Wang.”
“And?” I asked with anxiety in my voice.
Although Chloe had proven herself extremely competent over the past two weeks, I had my doubts if she’d be able to work this clusterfuck of a situation out in a way that didn’t hurt our image. As annoying as Alice was, the ranch made a lot of money with the events we hosted and pissing off someone as influential as her, wasn’t something we could afford.
“Well, things didn’t start off great,” Chloe began in a tired and weary tone that made me lock my jaw and take deep breaths to control my temper. Clearly flustered by my reaction, she quickly continued, “At first, I told her that their request was unacceptable. She yelled, bitched and whined for two exhausting hours until I told her I would see what I could do and call her back.”
With increased worry, I raised a brow and asked, “And you didn’t come look for me…why?”
As if my question was absurd, Chloe narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “Because you hired me to handle this stuff, Conner.”
The defiance in her tone and expression made my body come alive. My cock twitched, my hands itched, and my heart pounded. It took all my strength and concentration not to close the door and teach her what happens to sexy little smart assed girls like her.
“And, did you handle it?” I inquired with a raised a brow.
With an almost cocky grin, she said, “I’m still waiting on the confirmation from the butterfly guy and on our chef to stop whining about having to prepare an ice-cream cake in the middle of summer, but I have almost everything handled. I had to do some planning gymnastics and give some of the wedding guest more expensive rooms to be able to fit everybody and keep all the bookings we already have for that week, but it worked, and we’ll be at full capacity which is great. And, as an added bonus, I convinced Alice to pay us fifteen percent extra as a rush fee, and to handle all the rescheduling fees from the vendors.”
For a few seconds, I just stared at Chloe in complete awe and admiration. It had been a while since a woman had extracted those feelings from me while still wearing her clothes, and even longer since I felt like I had an actual partner running my business. It was refreshing, and a particular kind of sexy that added a whole new layer to the attraction I felt for Chloe.
My lengthy silence made the excitement in her face fall a bit. “I don’t see how I might have fucked things up, but if you don’t say something, I’m gonna start thinking I did.”
I brought my right hand to cover my lips so she wouldn’t see the smile there. Holding her gorgeous green eyes in mine, I said, “I was just wondering how in hell you ended up not okay and draped over the desk after dominating the day like that.”
An adorable smile formed on Chloe’s lips at my words and, unable to help myself, I added, “You’ve been here for just two weeks, and I’m already thinkin’ about how to keep you here forever.”
With a deep breath, Chloe looked at me from under her lashes and shrugged. “The desk thing was a combination of Alice-induced exhaustion, a desperate need for alcohol, and no booze in this office. As for how to keep me forever, a drink would be an excellent place to start.”
Even a blind person could see that we were flirting, which wasn’t something I did. Ever. I seduced, insinuated, and fucked, but I never flirted. The fact that I was doing it now—with Chloe Jones, nonetheless—should have been my clue to get up, go away and find the closest available pussy. One that did not belong to my best friend’s daughter.
That would have been the smart and safe choice to make. However, safe and smart had never really been my thing. I was a lot more interested in wild and fun, and after two weeks of cold showers and self-control, I was ready to let go.
I pressed my forearms over the table and leaned forward. The sweet scent of roses that emanated from her filled my lungs and made me wonder if she smelled like that all over. The mere thought made my cock pulse with desire and my lips curl in a sexy smirk.
“That can be arranged, but not here,” I told her plainly. “We’ve got strict rules about drinking on the job, after all,” I added as I watched her face fall to a disappointed frown.
“But if you still want that drink later tonight, I’ll be waiting at Rusty’s Bar with an open tab at eight.”
Before she had a chance to say anything that would bring my brain back to the head above my shoulders and make me regret this, I got up and left the office. Once again,
I started to think about how incredibly fucked I was, but this time I just didn’t care.
CHAPTER FIVE — CHLOE
The twilight zone. If anyone asked for my current location, that’s what I would tell them. After all, I was stuck in the backward world where I talked to Conner Wilkes without overthinking everything, and he invited me out for drinks like a normal woman.
Deep down, I knew his invitation had to be innocent. I worked hard and did the company a service. As a good boss, he wanted to thank me. That was it. It was the only logical explanation after all. However, the horny teenager in me couldn’t help but jump up and down with joy and obsess about what to wear and how to behave.
With my mind running a million miles per hour, I parked my Jeep in the driveway of my home just as the sun was starting to set and exited the car. I was so distracted by my thoughts I almost had a heart attack when a high pitched, perfectly tuned voice sounded from the far side of my front porch.
“Sup, Bella?”
My heart beat like a freight train as I turned my face to look at the caramel skin, honey eyes and wavy hair that belonged to the only person who ever called me that. “Oh, my God! Hayden?”
“No, Tooth Fairy,” my childhood best friend replied in her usual brand of sarcasm.
Laughing, I dropped my purse on the ground and hurried to hug her. Although we had talked on and off since I moved away, it had been way too long since we last saw each other and I missed her like crazy.
For the next several minutes, we embraced and shrieked gibberish even we could barely understand. It was fun and familiar and filled a hole in my chest that neither Italy nor New York had ever been able to fill.
