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)
“I mean it, Bennett. You can’t act like a jealous boyfriend in the office.”
“I wasn’t jealous.”
He seemed genuinely confused by my comment. Did he really think what had just transpired was anything other than good old alpha-male, jealous behavior?
“You weren’t jealous? So what were you all pissed off about then?”
He tossed the napkins he’d used to wipe down his pants into his wastepaper basket. “It was about work. The playing field should be level for us.”
I studied his face. God, he really had no idea. “Uh-huh.”
His desk drawer was still open from when he’d taken out the napkins. I reached in and helped myself.
“New superhero?” I arched a brow.
“Give me that.” Bennett tried to swipe the notepad full of doodles from my hand, but I pulled it from his reach.
“Looks sort of familiar.” His latest artwork featured a caricature with big hair and giant breasts. She looked exactly like me—with a cape, of course.
He stepped closer and removed the pad from my hand. “You know what superpower this one has?”
“What?”
“The power to drive people fucking nuts.”
I flaunted a goofy smile. “You think I’m a superhero?”
“Don’t let it go to your head, Texas. I draw plenty of cartoons.”
I pointed to the doodle with the superhero leaning against a desk, her legs spread wide in a power stance. The only thing missing was Bennett’s head between them.
“Yes. But not all of your fantasies get to become reality.”
***
I’d debated inviting Bennett to join me all day.
What if my competition had been a sixty-year-old, happily married man instead of a thirty-one-year-old, insanely sexy single guy who’d just happened to give me three orgasms this morning—two in his shower and the other on his desk?
Would I play fair? Or was I giving away more than I should because I had a soft spot for Bennett Fox? (And maybe liked his hard spot, too?) Did I care how I won the battle, as long as I won?
Unfortunately, I did care. And I knew I was the minority. In a cutthroat competition like this, most people would use every advantage to win the war. But it was important to me to win fair and square. It’s just who I am.
So at five minutes to four, I walked over to Bennett’s office. He was nose-deep in artwork, which he’d spread all over the table in the corner of his office.
I knocked on the open door. “Do you have a minute?”
He wiggled his brows. “That depends on what you have in mind.”
“Just come to my office in five minutes.”
I turned and walked back down the hall, but he appeared at the doorway of my office right on time.
I motioned to the door. “Shut the door. I need to make a call on speaker.”
Bennett smirked. “Sure you do.”
The dumbass thought I’d invited him for a booty call. Rather than explain, I hit the speakerphone button and dialed.
The assistant answered on the first ring. “Lauren Becker’s office.”
I looked at Bennett. His eyebrows rose.
“Hi. This is Annalise O’Neil calling for Lauren. We spoke earlier today, and I scheduled a call for four.”
“Yes. She’s waiting for your call, Annalise. I’ll put you right through.”
“Thank you.”
She put the call on hold, and my gaze locked with Bennett’s. “I’m going to beat you because I’m good at my job. Not because of anything else.”
Bennett stared at me, his face unreadable.
Lauren came on the phone two seconds later. “Anna?”
I picked up the receiver. “Yes. Hi, Lauren.”
“How are you? God, it’s been too long.”
“It has. I don’t know if you’re aware or not, but I work at Foster, Burnett and Wren now. The two companies merged.”
I looked up at Bennett while I listened to her answer.
“Oh.” I said. “Okay. Yeah. I wasn’t sure Andrew had told you. Thank you. I appreciate you including us on the RFP.”
Bennett’s jaw flexed, and I stifled a sigh. I had no control over how the business had come our way, but I did have control over how I managed it. Lauren and I caught up for a minute, and then I cleared my throat.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited a colleague to join me on this call. He just walked in. His name is Bennett Fox.”
After she said she didn’t object, I put the phone back on speaker. The three of us then talked for a half hour about the RFP and what she was looking for. Toward the end of our call, I suggested we get together for dinner to discuss things further next week.
“That would be great. I know Trent would love to see you, too.” She paused. “What about Andrew? Should I see if he’d like to join us? He mentioned things had been tough since the merger and thought it might be a good time for us to finally work together.”
Bennett looked as uncomfortable as I felt. “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer if you didn’t. We aren’t… I wasn’t even aware he’d spoken to you about my change at work or asked you to include me in the RFP.”