Page 72 of The Fix Up

“Way to keep an open mind.”

Holly dropped into an empty chair and kicked off the stupid stilettos that had been pinching her toes all afternoon. Belatedly, she realized she was seated in the exact chair she’d been in when Ben’s presentation prompted her to strip naked in the conference room. She stood up again, feeling twitchy and annoyed.

“Look, it was never going to work,” she said. “Things were doomed the second we crossed that line between business and pleasure. I should have known better than to let those two things get all mixed up together.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Miriam argued. “Just because Chase screwed you over at the intersection of love and money doesn’t mean every guy is destined to do that.”

“But he was becoming his father,” she said. “Ben, I mean. The sports car, the golf game, the assertive personality?—”

“Hon, guys can have those things without being raging dickheads like your ex or like Lyle Langley. That’s like concluding that because Ben has testicles and Chase has testicles and Lyle has testicles?—”

“Stop. I don’t need this many mental pictures of testicles.”

“Well you need something to slap you out of this stupid belief that there’s a correlation between businessmen with a commanding presence and guys who want you to trade in your career for six inches of man meat and two feet of cable chaining you to the stove.”

“It was more than six inches,” Holly muttered, then shook her head. “That’s beside the point.”

“What is the point then?”

“I was starting to fall for him,” she said softly. “The real Ben. The geeky Ben, not the schmoozy, in-charge CEO, but therealhim. At least the him Ithoughtwas the real him. The one who thinks aStar WarsDVD is a romantic gift.”

“Itwasa romantic gift.”

“I know!” Holly smacked the table in frustration at her own inability to form a coherent argument. She was usually so good at this.

“You weren’t just falling for the geek, though,” Miriam said. “You were falling for the sexy gym rat with the commanding presence in the boardroom and the G-spot locator in his middle finger.”

Holly buried her head in her hands. “Why did I tell you that?”

“And you’re petrified that all these different versions of the guy can’t peacefully coexist in one body.”

Holly kept her head down, considering. Did Miriam have a point? She looked up to see her friend watching her with a disturbing mix of sympathy and clever calculation.

“You think he can be both,” Holly said. “The geek and the powerful businessman.”

“I’ve never met him, remember? But I do think it’s possible.”

Holly took a shaky breath and looked down at her hands. Had she completely blown it with Ben? Was it too late to find out?

When she looked up at Miriam, her friend wore a sympathetic expression. Holly licked her lips. “I think it’s possible I love him,” she said softly.

“I know it is.”

Holly shook her head. “So what do I do?”

Miriam reached out and patted her hand, her lacquered red nails bright against Holly’s pale skin. “I have a plan.”

CHAPTER14

“Nice one!” Ben clapped Joe Kleinberger on the shoulder, beaming as the old man did a fist pump and turned away from the vintage Pac Man game in the corner of Ben’s office.

“I can’t believe I beat my high score from thirty years ago!” Kleinberger grinned. “I also can’t believe you knew about my secret passion for old school arcade games.”

“I saw it on your Facebook page,” Ben said. “I just got these babies a few days ago, so when I heard you were coming out for the event tonight, I knew I had to get you up here to play a few rounds.”

Kleinberger laughed. “If we get bored with all the stiffs in suits downstairs, maybe we can sneak back up here and try out the Frogger game next.”

“Deal.” Ben cleared his throat. “Speaking of deals?—”

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