Page 47 of Ruined Promises

“Hey, Sarah,” I interrupt the administrative assistant, who is currently chatting with two of the art department interns and Amy. “I’m awaiting a delivery from Quarter Moon. It’s the printed invitations for Best Of. When Dana Gallie arrives, can you send her back to my office?” Things are starting to feel more real about the party with the invitations arriving today. Of course, then I have the fun task of stuffing all the envelopes, but when I throw on some Pentatonix and get a system going, it usually goes pretty quickly. Maybe, I can even convince Ben to help.

“Sure thing.” She notes it down on the notepad in front of her.

One of the interns, Josie I think her name is, leans over the counter. “Why don’t you ask her.” She nods her head very obviously, meaning me. I rest my elbow on the countertop.

“Lexi, you seem to be around Ben a lot. What can you tell us about him? Is he seeing anyone?” Sarah props her head on her fists.

I am caught off guard by their questioning. What the hell do they want to know about Ben’s love life for?

“I spend time with Ben at the office, discussing work.” My tone is harsh. “I don’t believe it’s anyone’s business how or with whom Mr. Harrington spends his time with.” These women want nothing more than to gossip, and I refuse to give in to their demands. They can drool over Ben all they want, but he is mine.

A small chuckle draws our attention behind us to find Ben walking toward us with his hands in his pockets. A smug smile tips his lips upward. I swear, I am pretty sure cartoon hearts float above each of the ladies’ heads in front of me. I mean, Ben is swoony as hell.

“I’m sorry, ladies, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” he begins, leaning into the small space between Amy and myself. “To answer your question, yes I have a girlfriend, who I care about very much. Sorry to burst your bubble.”

Ben turns to me. “Lex, do you have a moment?” he asks and nods toward his office.

“Of course, sir.” I turn back around to Sarah. “Don’t forget.”

“Yep, send Dana back to your office,” she repeats.

Once my back is to her, I can’t help but roll my eyes at the snarkiness of her tone. I am sure once I’m out of range, she will go back to her gossiping. Maybe she would be more than just an admin assistant, if she focused more on her work instead of office gossip.

Ben bumps my shoulder with his, bringing my attention to his. “You know, Miss Baker, I have to admit that was rather sexy back there.”

“What was?” I narrow my eyes at him.

“You getting all territorial.”

Ben shuts the door of his office, and I spin around to face him. “What? I wasn’t getting territorial. I just didn’t like hearing them talk about you like that—like you’re a piece of meat or something.”

He takes a seat in his chair and pulls me into his lap. Ben begins playing with the ends of my hair, something I’ve noticed he likes to do when I’m in his arms. I relax into his touch. “I’m sorry, I just—”

Ben pinches my chin between his fingers and brings my gaze to his. “I know, baby. I would have loved to mess with them and see the shock on their faces when I tell them that you are the girl I was referring to.”

I love that he gets me. Nothing more would bring me more joy than telling the world that we’re together, but I remember how things got when Dominic and I were together—the looks, the whispers, the rumors, and that was only with the boss’s son. What would they think about me and Ben? Would they accept that love is love, or would they tear us apart?

* * *

“Is anyone else as excited as I am for this?” Hadley asks, leaning forward between the driver and passenger seat of Brynn’s car. In our latest fashion issue of the magazine, we had used photos from a photographer, Aubrey Daniels, who lives a few towns over in River Falls. There was something in her photographs that spoke to me and had me browsing her website. I found images from a few boudoir shots that she had done, and an idea struck. I immediately reached out to her and booked a session. It was a long shot for her having any openings, but luck was on my side since she had a last-minute cancellation. Of course, when I mentioned it to Hadley and Brynn, they decided to make a field trip out of it.

“To see me naked?” I have some of the weirdest friends. I just keep telling myself that I love them.

“No, it’s just you spent three years of your life with Dominic, and never once did you mention something like hey, I’m going to have sexy photos done to give to him for Valentine’s Day.”

“Ben is…” I search for the correct word I’m looking for. “Different. He makes me feel different. I never felt like this with Dominic.” Maybe it was because Dominic and I were both workaholics—not that Ben isn’t, it’s just that Ben convinces me that I need to take time for me as well before I lose my sanity, whereas Dominic was the opposite. He would convince me I needed to work longer hours and harder. Now, I understand it was most likely a reason to keep me occupied and not questioning his “working late hours” with his secretary or whoever else he saw on the side.

“Is it cheesy to say that we see a difference in you?”

“Well, one, it’s nice to have my roommate back—well, sort of,” Hadley jokes. It’s true—while I have been taking time off, not during work hours, but with my overtime, I’ve been splitting my time between Ben’s place and ours. When Hadley sees my smile fade, she places her arm over mine. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s great to see you smile again.”

On instinct, I smile more prominently, and she gives me a look that saystold you sobefore she sits back in the back seat with her arms crossed.

It only took us just under an hour to get to River Falls once we got out of the city. We park in an open spot in front of the building. When we knock on the door, it abruptly opens, revealing a tall man a little shorter than Ben, with dark blond hair cropped around his ears. He is wearing a formfitting T-shirt with RFPD on it.

He continues to stare at us, and I glance down at my phone. Umm, maybe we have the wrong address?

“I’m sorry, I’m looking for Aubrey Daniels.”

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