Page 51 of Executive Benefits

She didn’t wait for me to say anything. “Listen, I don’t know what you guys have going on, but just fucking figure it out. You battled worse things and came out swinging afterward. I don’t like it. It’s weird that he’s in his forties, it’s uncomfortable thathe’s a client, and you are both getting over bad relationships or are both on the end of recovering from bad relationships, and I don’t know what that means for you or him. But if he fucking hurts you, I’ll rip every one of his nose hairs out with a tweezer.”

I sat in silence, in shock.

Her words absorbed into my brain and flowed into my heart. I didn’t know what I had been waiting for before, but Mia was right about one thing—I did survive the debacle with Jared. I was thriving because of it. The experience made me smarter and more impervious to fuckery than I was before.

I knew my worth now. I knew I was good at my job, but the last few months proved just how good I was. Not only did I pick up and relocate, but I had more clients than I knew what to do with, and I was able to promote Mia to partner.

Plus, we were able to hire another employee.

I didn’t know if I would have been brave enough to do any of the things I’d done if it wasn’t for the mess Jared poured over my previous life.

“Hey! Did you have a stroke?” Mia snapped me out of my thoughts and I smiled.

“No. I’m here. I just was thinking about what you said and how much I agree with it,” I said.

“I’m glad you enjoy the idea of my pulling nose hairs out of someone. I’d use tweezers.” She laughed.

I laughed. “I don’t even know where he’s at, Mia. He might not want anything, but I’ll be okay if he doesn’t want to go down that road with me. So put your tweezers away, but keep them close,” I said. I snatched up my keys. “I’m going into The Bridge, andI’m going to take some pictures of the work. I’ll be sending them to Kerri (our new assistant) for us to post via social media soon. I’d like to get some live feed also, but we’ll probably have to get permission first.”

“Go get 'em, Lady!” Mia said, and now I could hear her doing something else and knew she’d gotten distracted. Probably with something shiny.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but be careful, please,” I said, moving to get out of the car. “Talk to you soon. Bye.”

“Bye!” Mia said. I cringed, knowing she was making some kind of weird face and waving in the air at nothing. I only hoped Kerri enjoyed Mia’s sense of humor and wasn’t freaked out by it.

I closed my car door and placed my phone in my skirt pocket and walked into the possibility of uncertainty.

“Wow,” I said, looking around at all the space. Chad, the foreman, and the crew accomplished it in a few hours. “This looks great.” I smiled at him as he touched the brim of his hard hat.

“Thanks, Julia,” he said and waved me over to the table of hard hats.

“Um, actually, I needed to speak with Nick about what he wants me to take pictures of for social media marketing first. But I’d love to come back and get a live feed if you’re alright with it?” I asked.

“You’ll need different shoes and you have to sign a waiver, but I can make that happen for you,” he said, pointing to my heels. “Nick went back into his office. I think he’s boxing things up.”

“Thanks so much. I’ll be back. Let me know where the waiver is, and I’ll make sure to bring steel-toed shoes next time.” I smiled at him.

He looked at me with an impressed expression and tipped the brim of his hat again. “We have them onsite so when you bring your shoes, you let me know and we’ll get you all official and you can run around as long as you’re not in anyone’s way,” he said.

“I appreciate it, Chad. Thanks,” I said, waving as I walked back into the entryway and down the hall to Nick’s office.

I gave a gentle knock and opened the door without waiting for him. When I opened the door, he looked in my direction and tipped the tumbler at me. I cocked my head and bit my lip, feeling my brows knit together. “Hi.” I took a tentative step into the office and closed the door. “What’s wrong?” I asked, walking closer to him.

“Nothing.” He knocked back the rest of the alcohol and stood. “I’m celebrating a move into a new life.” His eyes roamed my legs and landed on my heels, then carved their way back up my eyes. My body warmed the longer he looked at me.

I took a step forward, the ache between my thighs already throbbing with want. It's just what he did to me. Being alone with him made this happen, and it wasn't an unwelcome feeling. “That’s good to celebrate,” I said. “You don’t look happy, though.” I took another step forward, closing the gap between us. I wanted to kiss away whatever was making him sad.

“I…” He stopped himself. “The restaurant has lost a lot of business to the bar.” He pointed to the door indicating the one across the street. “Last month, Kendra pumped people in likeshe was trying to save them from a comet getting ready to strike the planet.”

Laughter flipped over my lips. “That’s a very specific reason for people to go to a bar,” I said, stepping a little closer now, feeling his body heat against mine. “But it isn’t going to last,” I said. “You’re upgrading, making things the way you want them to be, remember?”

“Yeah.” His eyes bounced over my face. “But what if it’s too late? What if I can’t save it?”

“You can.” A soft smile spread over my lips as his hands met my waist and he pulled me into his body. I let out a quiet gasp as my body lined up with his, as his hard shaft pressed into my thigh. Was it the alcohol or did our chemistry just spark this hard? “The upgrade is going to be amazing,” I said as his arms wrapped around my back and his hands pressed me into him. “Everything is salvageable,” I whispered.

“Why do you have to wear those damn heels and skirts all the damn time?” he dropped his head. His lips hovered over mine.

I brought my lips up to his, giving him a light kiss. I pulled back to say, “I thought you liked them?” A charge burst through my body when his gaze connected with mine.

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