Page 41 of Resisting Fate
Chapter Nine
Tensions were running high at Checkin. For Ben, anyway. Bad enough he couldn’t stop thinking about Missy with her sexy-as-fuck mouth talking business with him, her sexy body in those form-fitting button-down shirts and skirts, even her dress pants were making his pants tight. He wanted to bend her over his desk every time she stepped into his office. Wanted to take her home for more wild sex in his bed, in the kitchen, wherever and whenever he wanted it. He felt like a beast straining at professional constraints. Of course, Logan made it worse, getting his jollies razzing Ben in his backhanded way about Missy. Payback would be a bitch.
Missy was the height of professionalism, which only made him feel more depraved. Not that he let any of that show. He stuck to the plan, trying to get to know her. Women loved talking, especially if you asked them questions about themselves. Not Missy.
Monday: coffee and one Ben question unanswered. Not willing to share she was married before.
Tuesday: coffee and two Ben questions unanswered. Not willing to share her longest relationship. Also not willing to share what she liked to do when she wasn’t working.
Wednesday: coffee and one Ben question deflected. Not willing to share where she grew up.
Thursday: coffee and a new strategy. Yeah, he learned. No questions. He’d share and then she’d share. Today he’d crack through those defenses or die trying. To say she was a closed book was an understatement. While he admired her strength, she was so cagey about her past it was starting to worry him, like she was hiding something important. Something he needed to know to understand her. The fact that he couldn’t just let it go should’ve been a red flag. He was getting in much deeper than she was, too invested in connecting with her, for reasons that were frighteningly clear to him—he liked her way too much to be explained away by lust. Halfway to the slippery slope of relationship land given the smallest return of feeling in his direction.
Yup, he had it bad. He was sure it was the chase that had hooked him. For sure if she’d been chasing him, he’d already have moved on. So he had no one to blame butherand her cagey ways.
He knocked on her open door, not bothering to wait for a reply, simply moving in with coffee for their afternoon coffee break. Her eyes were glued to the computer screen, biting her plump lower lip in concentration in a move that went straight to his groin.
“Coffee break,” he said, setting the take-out coffees on her desk and taking a seat across from her. He always got Logan a coffee too, so it wasn’t like he was singling her out. He was just being friendly, which was perfectly fine with a coworker.
She clicked a few more times and looked up, smiling. “Thank you. I could get used to this. Usually I’m the one fetching coffee.” She took the coffee and sipped. “I thought you were the numbers guy.”
“I am.”
“So how come I’ve only been working on numbers with the tech guy all week?”
He clenched his jaw, not willing to share why Logan was taking the lead on the investor meetings. Missy would never look at Ben the same way again if she knew he’d been accused of sexual harassment, even if he was innocent. Finally, he said simply, “Logan’s taking the lead on the investor meetings, so he needs to be familiar with the nitty-gritty.”
“I guess I thought it would be both of you. All I’ve been doing is dropping off copies of everything to you.”
He sipped his coffee before saying, “Exciting news for Charlotte and Ty.” Their mutual friends were neutral territory. Ty was the honorary brother he’d grown up with, and Charlotte was one of Missy’s friends from book club. Charlotte had gone into labor a short while ago. Ty had texted everyone with the news, promising regular updates. Ty was understandably freaked about his first child coming a month early, especially given Charlotte’s high-risk pregnancy. She’d been on bed rest the last few months.
Missy beamed. “It is exciting. Charlotte’s in good spirits. The doctor says the baby’s a good weight and everything should go smoothly. Hopefully by tonight we’ll hear the good news.”
“That’s great.” He studied her for a moment, all lit up with talk of the upcoming birth. “Baby’s a lot of work,” he said casually. He knew this to be true, he’d witnessed firsthand his honorary brother, Alex Campbell, struggle as a single dad with his baby daughter. But he really wanted to know Missy’s take on it.
Missy got a soft smile that he’d never seen on her before. It warmed him seeing that crack in her tough shell. “They are a lot of work, but so worth it. I’ve helped out with my niece, Chloe, since she was born and now Leo. He’s six weeks and already smiling.” Her eyes got a faraway look. “He smells delicious, all sweet and new.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. He’d never smelled a baby.
“It’s why I moved to Clover Park,” Missy said, surprising him by continuing to share openly. “My sister, Lily, wanted me to be part of her family. I adore those kids, probably the closest I’ll ever get to being a mom.” Her voice had gone soft with longing.
“Is there a reason you can’t be a mom?” he asked gently. Maybe she physically couldn’t have them, but they both knew adoption could be a great option.
She straightened and, in an unprecedented flow of words, denied her own longing. “Not that I even want to be a mom. I love being an aunt. Just shower them with attention and get out before you have to change a diaper or deal with crying and all that. You’re right, babies are a lot of work.” She took a swig of coffee and promptly choked, her eyes watering as she coughed.
“You okay?” In that moment he glimpsed her vulnerability, and everything in him wanted to gather her close.
“Yeah,” she choked out. “Must’ve went down the wrong pipe.”
“Most things worth having in life are work,” he said.
“Do you want kids?”
“Never really thought about it.” He thought about it then, imagining coming home to Missy with that soft smile, a couple of cute redheaded kids excited to see him. “I can see the appeal. And now that I know they start out smelling delicious…” He trailed off with a smile.
She laughed. “Yeah.”
“I’d love to meet Chloe and Leo.” He wanted to see Missy with the kids she loved so much. He wanted to see that soft look in her eyes, that soft smile.
