Turn Me On (Man of the Month 7)

By September, the Winston Boutiques project had stalled, which was frustrating, and both his father and the board seemed to be losing interest in it.

"I'm not giving up on it," he told his father on a Friday afternoon as he stood soldier-straight in front of the older man's office.

"Then don't. But you're going to have to pursue it on your own time."

Derek nodded, considering. He could do that. Fly down on weekends. Arrange more meetings. Show to the reluctant buyers that he was going to improve the property, not destroy it.

And then, if there was any spare time, he could see Amanda.

The thought made him pause. In July, he'd been having drinks at The Fix with his friend Landon, and Amanda had caught his eye. Since then, Amanda had gone from a silent extra in the movie of his life to having the female lead.

Since he'd met her, he never thought about pursuing another woman, and as he pondered that new attitude, he decided he was okay with it. As far as women went, he'd yet to meet one who aroused, amused, and challenged him as much as she did.

Maybe that was odd, considering he still knew so little about her outside of bed, but as far as Derek was concerned, all that meant was that there was a lot more juice to come.

He nodded. "Fair enough. My own time, then. Tomorrow's Saturday. I'll head down then." He started to turn away, but his father called him back.

"There's one more thing we need to talk about."

Derek paused by the door, his brows raised in question.

"As you know, Lawrence is moving to the European division. That leaves the position of Director of North American Operations open. I'd like you to take it."

"I see."

Inside, Derek's heart was pounding. The position was one of huge responsibility, but it was also a lot of work. And while his struggling Winston Boutiques project would fall under the umbrella of the new job, he'd have limited time to work on it.

On top of that, the job required extensive travel as it required in-person visits to all the Winston properties on a regular, rotating basis. That was one of the corporate policies his great-grandfather had instituted when the company had expanded past that first hotel, and as far as every Winston who'd run the company was concerned, it was sacrosanct.

A burdensome job. But an important one.

And it would take him to Austin at least once each month. Maybe more.

He blinked, then shook his head to erase the thought.

Neither Amanda Franklin nor his libido should play any part in this decision.

Even so...

"I'll take it," he said, and was rewarded by a flare of pride in his father's eyes.

* * *

"Thanks for dinner, Mom," Amanda said, as she started to clear the dishes. "Awesome as usual."

As far as Amanda was concerned, her mother made the world's best lasagna.

"You can wait on that, sweetie," her mom said, nodding at the dishes. "Come join us in the living room?"

"No, it's okay. I'll do this, then I may take a quick walk down to the water."

She tried to keep her voice normal, but the truth was that she was on edge. She'd arrived a few hours earlier for a Friday dinner with her parents and Nolan, her stepbrother. While her mother cooked, she'd been in the living room checking her emails while her dad and brother watched ESPN.

That's when she'd gotten Derek's text that he'd be in Austin on Saturday, and did she want to join him for breakfast in their room?

She'd quickly tapped out a yes, then hesitated before sending it. No need to look too eager, after all. Especially when they weren't really dating.

It was the not dating thing that was twisting her up now, and she was glad of the mindless task of clearing the table. She would have liked to have loaded the machine herself, too, but Nolan came in and offered to help, and that was such a rare thing that she agreed.