Page 8 of So Worth More
“Hmm, you taste so damn good. Addictive. I want to keep going, but not here.” His voice held a delicious raspy quality. Another kiss was pushed onto my lips before he stepped back to a more appropriate distance. And I knew right then that if we went home together it would be the hottest night I’d ever have. But it would only be one night because while I didn’t know much about him, I knew he was a one and done person, and that wasn’t me.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said, struggling to get the words out. His expression flashed with disappointment before it shuttered. There was nothing left in his expression to help me guess what he was feeling. It was just a beautiful, but blank, face. He went to ask something, but the sounds drew closer and we were interrupted before he could get the words out. I caught him looking at me as I greeted the cleaners I knew, then he just walked away.
Seven - Andy
Half the week had passed quickly, as I’d thrown myself into any project going and Will had a few things to wrap up with the project I’d assisted them on. Things had thawed marginally between us since Monday, but we were still far from our usual selves.
I tried to push away the hurt, especially since I’d been the one to end things, but I knew deep down that it’d been an excuse since I’d caught feelings for Will. He’d treated me poorly, sure, but it wasn’t the only reason for stopping the sex with Will. He’d been a bastard to me more than once and I’d continued to have sex with him after he had grovelled a bit.
A part of me wanted him to beg me not to end it, to show that he felt something for me in return. I guess that’s why I was hurting so badly, because after that initial storming out of the office where he had been “fine,” there was nothing coming from him that made me feel like I was anything more than a convenient hole when the need struck him, and that just stung like a motherfucker. I’d thrown myself a pity party in an attempt to get it out of my system, but knew it would take more than that.
So, I was still hung-up on the guy. He was different from most of the guys that I’d been with before. More intense in a lot of ways, but he seemed to respect me, and would check in to make sure I was okay with everything we did. While he may have been a dick to me on occasion, he never took it too far, always knew when to apologize, mostly without actually saying sorry, as was his way. Our chemistry was insane. Together we just sparked and made the other better.
He ticked all my boxes, gorgeous with those soulful dark eyes and Grecian features from his late father. Tall and well-built, favoring boxing and martial arts over weightlifting, and oh so smart. We could bounce ideas off of each other at work and it was effortless. We could be great together. I just couldn’t get why he couldn’t see it and didn’t want more than just a random stream of encounters. The danger of getting caught often took away from any pleasure and it wasn’t like there was a policy at work forbidding relationships. Suneya and Clara were married for heaven’s sake! To each other!
I blew out a breath and rolled my eyes at myself. “Idiot,” I scolded myself aloud and got back to cleaning up my kitchen from the mess of the cookies I’d made. Going all out, I’d made triple chocolate chip cookies for the support group I was a part of.
The older volunteers helped with snacks on a roster for the kids and teens that we saw weekly. With limited access the the space, we alternated between Wednesday’s and Thursday’s with another group. Frustrating, but a lack of funding didn’t give us much options. As I usually did when it was my turn to bring something, I made something home-made, believing that these kids deserved that extra bit of effort. They were grieving and needed to know they were worth that work.
I worked half the day at home in order to have the time, making calls while batches were in the oven. After the sessions, I would work out any lingering pain or sadness at the gym. I’d have to find another outlet today unless there was a late class. Brushing off that idea, I got myself ready to head out for the support group.
***
On Thursday, things had been pretty normal, until we were summoned to the conference room for a meeting and both teams had been asked to attend. Thankfully it wasn’t my week for snacks at the support group but I let the others know I wouldn’t be there in case the meeting ran over. I hated to miss out but it wasn’t often that we were called to mandatory meetings like this.
It was unusual to only have the two smaller teams, but Parker’s had undergone downsizing and restructuring together. They’d even moved buildings to get the right ambiance, trying a European style of working to see if that fit their new way of running the business. The whole project had added a level of prestige to the company that we’d never had before.
Freddie was running the meeting, not something that he often did, and he had a different energy than normal. Freddie was laid back and charming, but today he was buzzed and seemed a little frantic. I caught myself looking for Will to see if he knew what was going on and watched as he pulled Freddie into the corner of the room as things were set up. The two of them talked in low voices with Will laying a hand on Freddie’s shoulder as if to reassure the older man.
Both Suneya and Clara were out of office today with their ill son having kept them awake most of the night before. Clara had managed a video call so I set up the tablet facing where Freddie would be sitting at an empty seat next to me with Jenny on my other side.
There was tension buzzing around the large room; everyone was picking up on the weird vibe. The AC was on the fritz so everyone was restless as the temperature climbed with us all stuffed in the overly warm room. At one point, I feared that Jen was going to pass out, so I got up to open some of the windows. I’d struggled with the latches before Will had come to assist me. Giving him a quick “thanks,” I’d received a genuine smile in return. That little smile had eased something in me that I hadn’t known needed to be soothed.
It took a while for the meeting to get going and more than once, Will jumped in to clarify a point. The long and short of it being that now that we had both managed to wrap up our respective projects for the most part, we were going to have to work together for a really big client.
There was a moment of silence as the room looked to me and then to Will. He’d obviously had a little bit longer to get used to the idea because he was calm as he said, “That won’t be a problem.”
I needed to wrap my head around it a little bit longer before I could get any words out and I just managed to keep an even expression on my face as I assured Freddie that Will and I could work together with no issues. Inside I wasn’t as convinced, especially with being given the lead on it over Will. This could make or break us. Our first collaboration had set us on this path after all. If we couldn’t do this, then one of us would have to leave.
When I got Will’s text, I was nervous, and a whole swarm of butterflies took off in my stomach. Of course it was just my luck that everyone wanted to speak to me after the meeting broke up. Clara and Suneya gave apologies for not being here in person, or on the call in Suneya’s case. I even got a glimpse of Akio, who was absolutely covered in chicken pox and looked utterly miserable. I did not envy them. At all.
Freddie came next with assurances that I was ready to take the lead on something of this size. Jenny had questions and I just felt unprepared and ready to burst from the stress of trying to pretend everything was fine.
What was Will going to say? Would he suggest that one of us leave? I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else, as sad as that sounded. Parker’s was family to me. Hell, Parker Senior had been in my life nearly as long as my dad had been. I certainly knew him better. Kinda tragic, really.
The selfish part of me didn’t want to part with what had become a rather cushy job. I knew how others had it in the same industry and compared to them, I was pampered. The first couple of years here had been hard with long hours, few benefits, and a whole lot of stress. Straight out of school into the realities of a cut-throat industry had been an eye opener for sure. There had been a time when I thought I’d burn out.
I’d interned here during the summer before graduation and Parker Senior had taken a liking to me for whatever reason. The feeling had been mutual. He’d sat in on my interview as I was getting ready to graduate and I’m sure he was the reason that I got the job. I’d never had such great luck before and had fully expected to wait tables or work in a bar until I could get somewhere to take me on.
The thing was, I didn’t want Will to leave either. He’d brought out something in my work that I hadn’t expected. He had a different style that the company needed. He made us better. Made me work smarter. I felt more creative with him around.
Eight - Will
Iowed Freddie one for giving me a heads up about this new project. Honestly, the guy could have anything he wanted, as it helped me save face in the meeting and in front of my team as I outlined what was expected of us.
Just two weeks ago, I would’ve been furious that Andy had been given seniority over me. I was older than him, but because I had worked for my father in finance for a couple of years, our experience in advertising was about the same. However, Andy had stayed through the restructuring and had been with Parker’s for a long time, around seven years, so he knew how they operated better than anyone.
Deep down, I knew he deserved it. This last week had clearly given me a chance to be more objective about where we stood at work, if nothing else. Andy was also more of a people person than I was. I found it harder than he seemed to when trying to convince a client that a particular strategy was the way to go. He had this charm about him, and as corny as it sounded, a sort of inner light that drew people to him like moths to a flame or whatever.
