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“Oh yeah, I’ll have me some of that!”
There were howling with laughter, and I shook my head, even though I was smiling. They were having a good time, letting their hair down after a long week. I liked them and wanted to be a part of the group. My eye caught someone standing at the bar, with his back to me. He was tall and well-built, wearing designer jeans and a simple, but smart shirt. His stance was casual, but I could tell he was in good shape, that he looked after himself. He had one hand in his pocket, and he seemed to be in conversation with the guy next to him. I liked the shape of his head, and his hair, which was a bit longer, and wavy.
“You found someone?” Tash asked me, giggling.
“Maybe,” I smiled.
“Go on, do it!” The rest of the table started egging me on, chanting “do it, do it” but fortunately it was so noisy in the bar that no one else heard. I got up and made my way across to the bar, looking over my shoulder at the girls sitting at the table nodding encouragement at me.
I didn’t mind doing it, to be honest. I had always been a good sport and liked getting up to high jinks in college too. I didn’t think about it too much, walking up until I was close behind him, then checking that the girls were watching. Then I slid my hand over his backside, cupping one of his butt cheeks and gently caressing it with my hand. I pulled my hand away as I heard the girls explode with laughter. The man turned around to face me.
“That’s one way to grab my …uhm…attention,” he said, and I looked up into his face, laughing already as I had my apology ready.
That was when I recognized him.
Oh, my God. I couldn’t believe it. It was Matthew, the guy who’d dumped me in college four years ago. I saw recognition flash through his eyes too. The smile was wiped from his face.
“Matthew?”
“Lauren?”
We stared at each other, stunned speechless for a moment.
“I didn’t … didn’t know it was you,” I finally managed to explain, rather badly. “The girls dared me to do it,” I said, pointing to my co-workers who were giggling like teenagers at the table.
“Hi Tash, Petra,” he called out to them. They waved back, a bit sheepishly.
“Wait, you know them?”
“They work for me, at Egal?” He turned back to the bar to get his beer.
It took a moment for his words to sink in.
“For you? They work for you?”
Did it mean I worked for him too?
“I’m the CEO of Egal Incorporated. Didn’t you know?”
“Then… I’m your new Community Manager,” I stammered.
“Really?”
“You didn’t know?”
“HR does all of the hiring, usually.”
He looked at me for a moment, holding my gaze. I felt a shiver of something down my back. Anticipation? Could it be desire? Matthew had always been so good-looking, so bloody sexy. I had always found him devilishly attractive, and he had aged well, too. But, as I didn’t have to remind myself, he had dumped me at the end of his senior year. Broken my heart, to be honest. I had not told anyone, certainly never let him know how badly he’d hurt me. I’d been devastated. Even though I was always trying to play it cool and keep it light between us, I’d fallen for him. Hard. I thought he had felt the same way. The connection between us had been so powerful and intense. But the way it had ended, that had been brutal. I would never forgive him for that.
“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I’d known you were the boss,” I admitted.
“Really?” There was a twinkle in his eye, which annoyed me. He seemed to think he could still do as he pleased with me. He was the same arrogant, selfish bastard he’d been in college. I never wanted to see it, always making excuses for him. My friends had called me out on it, but I always defended him. I learned the hard way. You couldn’t trust him. Matthew Waterstone cared only about himself. It was all about him.
“Of course,” I said, rather stiffly.
“But then we wouldn’t be able to have any fun,” he said, his voice low and flirty, his eyes glittering as he leaned forward to grab my wrist, caressing my arm with his thumb.
“No!” I said, a bit more firmly than I’d intended to, ripping my arm away. It had nothing to do with Dax though. Even if I was single, I would never hook up with Matthew again. Not after the way he’d treated me.
