Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Of course. The fact that you’re going to win is a given. You can’t leave me.”
I sighed. “Bennett is not the kind of guy I would date.”
“Did I say anything about dating? I said you should sleep with him, not court him as prospective husband material. Fuck his brains out, not go shopping to pick out china patterns together.”
“That’s…” I trailed off. My gut reaction was to say crazy. But I had to admit…the thought was pretty damn appealing.
Madison grinned like a Cheshire cat. She knew me well.
“You’re thinking about fucking him, aren’t you?”
“No.” I felt my skin start to heat. “And before you say anything…it’s warm in here.”
“Uh-huh.” She grinned. “Sure it is.”
***
The next day, I was working on printing a logo using the 3D printer when the damn thing jammed up. I couldn’t seem to unclog the nozzle. Bennett walked over when he saw me taking it apart.
“Need some help?”
“It was in the middle of printing something, and then it started to make a clicking sound. I think the nozzle is jammed up with filament.”
“Is this the first thing you printed?”
“No. I did two other projects before this, and they printed fine.”
Bennett rolled up his shirtsleeves. “Sometimes a heat creep happens. The hot end needs to cool before it heats up each time, or the filament liquifies too much and causes a jam.”
I stared down at his forearms. They were corded and tanned, but that wasn’t what had my rapt attention—it was the ink peeking out where he’d folded his shirt up.
Bennett noticed where I was focused. “You have any ink?”
“No. Is that your only one?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “You’d have to do a full-body check to find that out.”
I rolled my eyes.
He turned some nobs on the printer, then pulled out a silver tray and reached one arm inside the machine. When his arm came back out, I could see a little more of his tattoo. It looked like Roman numerals with something wrapped around them.
“Is that a vine?”
He nodded. “It’s from a poem that’s special to me.”
Huh. Not what I expected.
Bennett opened and closed a few trays and then inserted the silver one he’d removed back into the printer.
“It’s what I thought. You’ve got a heat creep. The hot end probably didn’t have the proper time to cool down. I used it for a few hours this morning, too. Cancel the job and give it an hour. When the filament cools down, it will unclog on its own.”
“Oh. Okay, great. Thanks.”
“No problem.” He began to unfold his shirtsleeve. “If you need it faster, I have a small fan in the bottom drawer of my desk. If you set it up on top of the printer and angle the air blowing down, it will speed up the cool off.”
“It’s okay. I can wait.”
I felt a tad bit guilty that I was printing stuff to take with me to Star Studios in a couple of days, and here he was helping me.
“Did…Tobias ever call you back?” I asked.
The muscle in Bennett’s jaw flexed. “Nope. Left three messages.” Our eyes met briefly before he looked away. “Let me know if you have any other problems.”
I nodded, feeling guilty. He made it three steps away before I caved. “Bennett?”
He turned back. “The lunch is Thursday at one. Marina made my reservation. Come with me. We’re one company. We should go together.”
It was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t the smartest thing.
Bennett squinted. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I plan to kick your ass based on my work, not because some client might be attracted to me so he isn’t calling you back.”
“So you’re finally admitting that jerk’s attracted to you?”
I took a play from Bennett’s book. “Isn’t everyone?”
***
I zipped the carry-on bag on the floor shut.
“I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours?”
I looked up to find Bennett sporting a dirty grin.
“I meant the presentation you got in that bag. Get your mind out of the gutter, Texas.”
I smiled. “I was beginning to think you were standing me up. The flight just began to board.”
Bennett set a box down on the seat next to me in the waiting area and held up his hands. They were covered in black dirt and grease. “Got a flat. I had to change a tire on the way to the airport.”
“A tire? You drove and parked? Why didn’t you just grab an Uber?”
“I did. But we got a blowout halfway here. And the driver was, like, seventy with a bad back. He called AAA to change the tire for him, and they said it would be a forty-five-minute wait. With rush hour traffic, I didn’t have time for that. So I changed it myself.”
“Oh, wow. That’s dedication.”
“I would’ve run here, if push came to shove.” He looked over at the line for boarding. “Looks like we have a few minutes. I’m going find a bathroom and try to get my hands clean. Can I leave my presentation with you?”