Just Me (You & Me 1)

Ben was fiercely private with his personal life, but Rachel was one of the few exceptions. He wanted to tell someone about his wonderful morning, and he needed advice on how to best pursue her. Rachel was much more than his assistant and oldest friend, she was also his only chance at understanding women. Since they were young children, she had always helped him understand the opposite sex, and after spending the morning with Katherine, he desperately needed a translation in the hopes of understanding her.

“So, she works out,” Rachel said, impressed. She knew that the key to compatibility with Ben was common activities. He needed someone who liked to do the same things he did, and his fitness regimen was one of the best ways to connect with him.

Once, he had met a woman he thought he really liked. After spending a night on the town, he told Rachel all about how much fun they’d had together and she thought there was hope for him not to die alone as a bored tycoon. Then, he invited her to his beach house and she wanted nothing to do with any physical activity. No jet skis, no swimming, no fishing. It was then that she learned how quickly Ben’s feelings could dissipate. So, learning that Katherine not only worked out, but chose to work out at the best gym in the city, meant she must be into physical fitness as much as Ben was.

“She was boxing, Rachel!” Ben all but yelled the response, still too excited at what he found to be a rare overlap of interests. It was nothing special for a woman to worry about her figure, joining a gym to stay trim, but boxing was another level and he knew it best.

Rachel watched intently, noticing how interested her boss was in Katherine. Boxing was one of his passions, and she scheduled sessions with his personal trainer at least three times a week so that he could work out his frustrations while staying fit. She knew how exciting it must have been for him to learn Katherine was more than a pretty face because he needed more than a shallow association if he had any chance of making a real connection.

“Did you approach her?” She asked the question, trying to conceal the hope in her tone. She didn’t want to discourage whatever happiness he had brewing. She could see from the gleam in his eyes that whatever interaction he had experienced was enough to change his attitude for the day and she didn’t want to damper that in any way.

“No.” He answered flatly with a look of defeat coating his face, and Rachel failed to disguise her disappointment. She knew how much Ben thought of Katherine, and wanted things to work out for him. While she thought that seeing her would be enough, she now knew that she wanted more for Ben.

“She approached me,” he said, allowing the smile to spread across his face again, this time even bigger than before.

Mirroring his excitement, Rachel leaned even further in her seat as she begged for more details. “What did she say?!”

“She wanted to apologize for how things went at Hendrick’s.” Ben raised his eyebrows as if he was curious about what Rachel would think.

“So, maybe it was just a bad day for her,” Rachel offered a reason to excuse Katherine’s behavior, but Ben didn’t seem to buy it.

“There’s definitely something she’s not telling me, but I don’t know what it is. I helped her work out in the ring, and then she invited me to breakfast,” Ben teased the next bit of information, deciding to slowly divulge the details as he watched Rachel’s face closely.

He could tell she was happy for him, but a look of concern coated her face as she processed what he had told her. After a brief pause, she finally revealed what was bothering her.

“What do you think she’s hiding?” Always protective of her closest friend, she voiced her concern.

“I don’t know for sure, but it’ bothering her. I can’t expect her to share her deepest secrets on the first date though,” Ben explained without thinking.

“Date?” Rachel questioned, her interest now really peaked.

Ben was known for downplaying his interactions with women, always arguing that dinner didn’t make it a date. Now, however, he was proudly proclaiming that he had been on a date with Katherine, and the small detail didn’t slip past Rachel.

“Yeah, a date,” he affirmed, after contemplating for a second.

“So, when are you going to see her again?” Rachel asked.

“I want to see her tonight,” Ben admitted, racking his brain for a way to ask Katherine out without looking desperate. He thought she needed space, but it was the only thing he didn’t want to give her.

“So, what’s stopping you then?” She asked the question, pushing him to what she knew he was trying to avoid. Ben didn’t like going out of his comfort zone with women, and would often abandon a relationship he deemed too difficult, so Rachel wanted to push him to pursue the woman who had left him with bright eyes and a wide smile.

“I don’t want to be too pushy. You see where that got me,” he joked, referencing his forceful approach at the grocery store.

A knock at the door disturbed their conversation, as both Rachel and Ben turned their attention to the thin blonde smiling nervously. She was Rachel’s assistant, and it was obvious she didn’t want to interrupt a conversation between her boss and the CEO of the company.

“I’m sorry. Rachel, you have a call,” the woman said with remorse.

“I’ll be right there,” Rachel smiled, dismissing the blonde as she stood from the loveseat. Always prompt when responding to clients, Rachel rushed to the door. Just before she left Ben’s office, she turned to give her friend one last bit of advice. “If she approached you at the gym, she’s interested. There’s nothing a man you’re interested in can do to be too pushy, especially not asking to see you.”

Ben nodded, silently digesting her advice as he contemplated just how he could convince Katherine to spend more time with him. Being around her was a boost of energy he doubted he could ever get sick of. Something about her just changed his mood for the entire day. He wanted more, but he knew it had to be subtle if Katherine was going to accept the invitation.

Fighting the urge to contact her, Ben threw himself into work for the rest of the day, moving from one meeting to the next, delegating tasks and approving new designs. He was busier than usual, trying to quiet his thoughts, but no matter what he did she was always there. Katherine’s eyes were imprinted in his memory forever, and the smile she gave when she blushed could get the blood pumping to the lower half of his body with ease.

Not a moment of the day passed without a thought of her, and Ben could only think of ways to show her how interested in her he was, because for the first time in his adult life, he wanted something money couldn’t buy. Katherine was at the forefront of his mind and he was determined to make sure she was thinking of him just as he was thinking of her.

Chapter Fifteen

Katherine