Hopefully the guy you’re with won’t be someone that can’t come to the front door. Wait—still?
I didn’t get a chance to grill my sister about what she said—and truthfully, I was too exhausted. It wasn’t my place anyway. I remembered how I was at sixteen, and while I was a fairly good kid, I made a few mistakes that turned into great memories. I was just surprised to hear that she had possibly done something in the evening hours except stay up late reading whatever book she had her nose buried in—I didn’t think she even had a social life. She was smart enough not to do anything stupid—smarter than I was at her age.
She’s probably smarter than I am right now. I don’t regret what I did with Bryant, but if this continues, we’re not going to be able to hide it forever…
Chapter Ten
Bryant
The next day
The scent of passion and desire still lingered in my bedroom and on the sheets when I woke up the next morning. I wished I had awakened to the sight of Taylor’s beautiful body beside me, but I understood why she couldn’t stay. I was so exhausted from what we shared that I didn’t even bothering working out before I went to work. I showered, got dressed like a zombie going through the motions, and fixed a cup of coffee before I walked out the door. I normally waited until I got to the office to have my first dose of caffeine, but I didn’t think I would be able to make it there without having some to get my blood pumping.
It’s going to be a busy day too, because I put off some of my meetings yesterday to see if I could figure out what is going on with Alexis Devereaux.
Cassie was as chipper as ever, but I needed more coffee before I was ready for it, so I tried to just shut her out as I walked to my office. I did take a moment to compliment her new haircut, because she would have been in a foul mood if I didn’t—that was a mistake I only made once. My morning was consumed with meetings that took way too long. They were pointless for the most part—the economy was in good shape which made my job easier. It was the downturn that usually required attention—or an emergency like we had the previous weekend. By lunch, I was feeling ragged—it was the first time I had felt my age in a long time—and I didn’t like it. I silently swore to put in a little more cardio at the gym—I was going to need it if I intended to keep up with the voracious appetite I awakened in Taylor.
“Hey, Mr. Benson.” Cassie pushed my door open. “I’m about to take my lunch break. Do you want me to pick something up for you?”
“No—wait.” I held up my hand. “Actually, yes. I need to work through lunch.”
“Yep, I’m going to the sandwich shop—BLT, right?” She raised an eyebrow. “Heavy on the mayo.”
“That’s right.” I nodded.
Bacon and extra mayonnaise aren’t the best way to kick off my new dedication to extra cardio but fuck it.
“Oh, and you got a call from Moretti’s. They said you had a reservation last night, but you didn’t show up?” She titled her head inquisitively.
“Right…” I sighed. “Please apologize—actually, you know what—order lunch from them for the entire office on Friday. That should smooth things over.”
“And make everyone here very happy.” Cassie beamed. “Myself, included!”
“Perfect.” I reached for my coffee and nodded.
I found myself spacing out as I tried to do work, but it wasn’t aimless. I was thinking about Taylor—and wishing that I didn’t have to wait until the weekend to see her again. I tried everything except tying her to the bed to convince her that she needed to be back in my arms when the sun went down, but she had a few assignments for school that required her attention. She promised to make it up to me once we were together again—so I reluctantly agreed to wait—but that didn’t mean I couldn’t daydream about her between meetings, even if I did have emails that required my attention. I barely got anything done during the time I reserved for lunch, despite staying in the office for that very reason.
Damn it; Cassie rescheduled one of the meetings I canceled yesterday for four-thirty, and it’s with Jon Alcott—I already know that’s going to take a while because he needs to talk through some post-divorce options for his investments…
I drank coffee with my lunch, drank another cup as soon as I was done, and by the afternoon, I was starting to feel somewhat normal again. The crash was going to be a bad one, so it was probably best that I wasn’t spending the night with Taylor. I would have pushed myself past my limits just to savor the passion, but I would have really been feeling it the next day. There was a time when I could go for several days without needing much sleep, but I think the sleepless nights I experienced after Shain
a was born changed my constitution—or maybe I just needed to accept the fact I was forty-five.
I didn’t feel forty-five last night—fuck, Taylor made me feel like a teenager again.
“Mr. Benson?” Cassie pushed my door open. “Mr. Alcott is early…”
“That’s okay.” I looked up at her and nodded. “Send him in.”
Maybe I’ll get home earlier than I hoped…
“Ah, there’s the busiest man in Carson Cove.” Jon walked into my office and waved his hands towards me.
“Most days,” I chuckled under my breath and stood. “Would you like a drink?”
“Yes, please—you might as well make it a double.” The smile quickly faded from his face—it probably took a lot for him to wear it into my office.
“Absolutely.” I walked to the small bar I kept in my office for clients and poured him a glass of whiskey—double, just like he requested. “I had a few of my guys run some figures for you. I think you’ll be okay—your company is doing great.”