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Because you’ve been dodging his calls since Saturday.
I’d managed to deny it to myself with the help of the fact that I’d at least responded to his every text. But the truth of the matter was that I’d been avoiding talking on the phone with Adam since running into Holland last week, and I couldn’t exactly delude myself about it any longer.
Especially considering he was on hold right now, and I still hadn’t picked up the phone.
“Adam.”
There was a hint of tension in my jaw when I finally picked up, but it eased as soon as I heard Adam exhale with his signature laugh.
“Asshole,” he greeted me with an audible grin in his voice. “I take it the trade deadline’s been killing you this week.”
“As usual,” I replied, grateful for the more-than-valid excuse. “Not everyone’s lucky enough to have clients as perfectly content and well-behaved as yours,” I said wryly, making Adam snort because he was in fact known for the opposite: representing the more wild, hotheaded personalities in the Major Leagues. They gravitated naturally to him because while he wore the suit and talked the numbers, he was still a reckless party animal at heart. In essence, he spoke their language.
“Yeah, yeah, well, I may not have any trades to deal with, but I’ve still been fuckin’ swamped over here, man,” Adam said, heaving a sigh and sounding almost audibly stressed—which said something considering his general devil-may-care attitude. “It’s nonstop. I got A.J taking meetings for me, for Christ’s sake.”
I smiled at the mention of the assistant we both knew he didn’t deserve. “Well, I hope you know how lucky you are to have that girl. She could use a raise, by the way. Or a promotion.”
“I agree on both counts, but we’ll stick with the raise.”
“Yeah, let’s just forever cockblock her dream of being an agent because you can’t live without her managing every aspect of your batshit crazy life.”
“Jesus. Why’d I call you again?”
“No idea, but you better remember soon, because I have a flight to D.C at two-thirty.”
“Christ. At least I can take comfort in the fact that I’ll never be as busy as you,” Adam snorted as he snapped his fingers. “Oh. I remember why I called. On the topic of how busy you are, I need to ask a favor of you.”
“I’m not telling you how many Cs there are in ‘accommodate’ again. You have spell check for that.”
“One, shut up about that,” Adam said with a laugh. “And two, it isn’t about work this time. It’s about Holland.”
I stilled at the mention of her name, and when Adam didn’t immediately offer details, tension stiffened my shoulders. Sitting forward at my desk, I adjusted my tie, and though I wanted nothing more than to avoid this conversation, I asked, “What about her?”
I could hear him sinking into the leather couch in his office as he let go of another sigh.
“I don’t know, man. I guess I feel bad that I had to cancel my trip to visit her. My mom still won’t speak to her since she surprised everyone with the whole moving out thing,” he muttered, much to my surprise. “And my dad’s been giving me shit about getting some face time with her to make sure she’s actually doing alright. I mean for all we know, she goes to work and then holes up in her apartment for the rest of the night without any friends or social life.”
I cleared my throat to suppress my bitter amusement. “I highly doubt that’s the case, Adam.”
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t surprise me. She’s been living under my mom’s crazy-ass rule for so long. She doesn’t know how to just let loose and come out of her shell.”
Trust me. She’s come out of more than just her shell.
“Hell, I don’t even know if it’s good or bad that she dumped that quiet kid she was dating. I mean she might not be as socially awkward and weird as him, but it’s not like she knows the first thing about talking to the opposite sex either.”
I exhaled sharply with half-suppressed laughter.
“Yeah, I don’t think Holland’s as completely lost as you think she is, Adam.”
“Shit, I hope not. But you remember how rough a time she had in high school,” he said, forcing me to revisit those particular memories—of Holland blushing profusely in my presence. Getting up to leave during the mildest love scenes on TV. Needing to be picked up from a sleepover when the girls found out she’d never kissed a boy in her life.
“I remember,” I said tersely, preferring not to think about when I knew Holland before she was legal.
“So you know what I mean. And none of that really changed in college, so… you know. Kind of feel like she might just be doing a lot of the same these days. Sticking to her comfort zone. Being too scared to try new things.”
Yeah, I promise she’s tried a few new things, I thought, hit with a sordid mix of both guilt and arousal as I thought about all the new things I’d had Holland try last night. God, not now, I implored myself as the images flooded back into my mind. Her lifted skirt. Her wide open mouth.
The way her full tits nearly sprang out of her dress as she bounced on my hand.
