Chapter 10 Boundaries and Desire
BOUNDARIES AND DESIRE
Archer
My marketing team loved to chant the same mantra at every check-in: Be present. Be visible. So I showed up at the after-hours industry mixer tonight because that was what you did when your name was on the company letterhead.
I stepped inside; the music pulsed low under the chatter, the clink of glass against glass. Unfortunately, I ran straight into Jill two steps into the VIP room.
“Archer.” Her smile skimmed over me like a gloss coat, her perfume heavy. “You made it. Good to see you.”
“Jill.” I gave her a semi-warm nod.
“How’s your poor aunt doing?” Her hand went to her heart, head tilted sympathetically.
I blinked, then remembered telling Matt to let her down easy. “On the mend.” I’d have to inform him that white lies about sick relatives weren’t cool. I don’t even have an aunt.
“Good to hear. You know, I still want to corner you one night, have a meeting of the minds about how our businesses could intersect.”
“If it’s business, we should discuss it in my office. I’ll tell Matt to set something up with your assistant.” Hoping she’d take the hint, I drew in another colleague and introduced them. I kept up the conversation, polite but detached—until one woman entering the room stole every ounce of focus.
Penny arrived, a vision of poise in a red power suit. With the pearls at her neck, a provocative choice, and her hair swept into a tidy chignon, her posture was straight as a plumb line, confidence glowing off her. Heads turned as she passed, and she was either uninterested or without a clue.
To think she could have been mine.
I’d brought all of this on myself. Thought I could shelve any potential feelings, hire her, give her a fresh start, and move on. Keep my heart safe from any connection to my ex.
Brilliant move, Bellamy. Hire Penny, the woman you can’t stop thinking about, and then act surprised when it backfires.
Camille in HR should probably draft a new policy after me: “The Don’t Hire Your Crush Clause.”
Penny found Caleb’s group near the bar, which was for the best. If she’d come to me first, I wouldn’t have let her network with anyone, keeping her all to myself.
A few more people joined the conversation with Jill and me about zoning and development. I tried to listen but was less than invested, watching Penny instead as Caleb paraded her around, puffing out his chest as if introducing his new protégé.
Our gazes collided the moment Jill laughed and set her hand on my bicep, fingers curving around and staying there too long.
Penny’s head snapped back to Caleb. She laughed loudly at something he said.
Over the next several minutes, we eyed each other across the space like chess players calculating our next moves.
If I smiled too much at something Jill said, Penny followed suit with Caleb.
All the while, we stayed away from each other despite the magnetic pull between us.
If she wanted to ignore me to talk to him, fine. I could stand here and talk about riverfront projects all night long and pretend it didn’t bother me.
I was terrible at games, though.
“Archer.” Relief hit when someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned to see Sophie Kingston, warm grin, hair up, glasses halfway down her nose.
“Hey, stranger.” I broke into my first genuine smile of the night.
We hugged, and I hoped Penny saw the whole thing. As Keaton’s wife, and Griffin and Hudson’s stepsister, Sophie split her time between the city and Holly Creek. She ran a marketing consultancy and we often crossed paths at various events.
“Who are you here with tonight?” I asked.
“A few people from Architectural Abode Digital. I’m working on their rebrand and product launch. It looks like I’ll be in your territory for a while. Might have some questions for you about the profession.”
“Perfect. Let me introduce you around.” The offer came out smoother than I felt. Anything to escape Jill, who really was a lovely woman, but not my type, always tossing her hair back. And anything to get me out of the head games about Penny.
Several handshakes, discussions, and business card exchanges later, Sophie and I paused by the bar with a glass of wine each.
“Keaton says you’ve been quiet on the group chat. Even missed a hockey game with the guys. What gives?” Of course she’d ask. My friends never missed a chance to meddle.
At that exact moment, Penny glided past, catching my eye with a twerk of her smile.
“Ah.” Sophie’s gaze followed mine, voice low. “Is that the woman Keaton told me about? Penny, Brianne’s stepsister?”
“How did you know?” My jaw flexed—caught.
“I can see it in your eyes. I have instincts about these things. And I also read her name tag.”
I exhaled. “She’s working for me now. That’s all.”
Her brow lifted, teasing. “In that case, you can hold a boundary or you can hold her gaze. You can’t do both.”
“Now that she’s in my employ, I’m holding the boundary.” I’d rather be holding her, but…
“Your eyes say otherwise.”
“I suppose you’re going to tell Keaton about this?”
“I learned some time ago not to keep secrets from him.” We were all shocked to learn she’d been hiding from her past, that she was the West brothers’ stepsister and one of the heirs to the West Games legacy.
With the truth out now, she and famous brewmaster Keaton had a small fortune at their disposal.
“Look, I have it under control.” I finished my drink, setting the glass on the bar. “Tell Keaton I’m fine—managing the situation. Not letting this become Brianne all over again.”
“Will do.” She downed the last sip of her wine, then leaned in for another quick hug. “Don’t forget Friendsgiving in a couple of weeks. At Richard’s place. And bring Penny, if you dare.”
“I don’t.”
She sighed and shook her head. “Good luck, Archer. I hope you get what you’re after.”
Once she left, I knew it was only a matter of time before my friends lit up our group chat about the whole Penny situation.
As the event wound down, when Caleb got snagged by Jill in a lengthy conversation, I finally caught Penny alone.
“You’ve been baptized now—first industry mixer under your belt. How’d it go?” I asked.
“I handed out every card I brought. I still want to pinch myself that I even have a business card now.” She paused, glowing with a smile meant only for me. “Thanks again for this opportunity, Mr. Bellamy.”
She fluttered her lashes and said my name in a teasing, mocking, bratty way that hit like static under my skin. How I wanted to kiss those words right off her lips. I leaned closer, catching the faint scent of her vanilla perfume, impossible to forget.
“You’re making this very hard,” I started.
Her chin rose, eyes flashing. “Maybe I want it to be much, much harder.”
The air thickened between us, heavy with things unsaid.
Every muscle in my body locked and loaded.
I wanted to crowd her against the wall, erase the space between us, and claim her mouth.
Or bend her over my desk and spank her for being so goddamn cheeky.
Most of all, I wanted to take her home and finish what we’d started Halloween night.
Instead, I stared at the line of her mouth and counted backward from ten.
“This is almost over. Do you need a ride home?” I asked, voice tight. “No motorcycle. I’ve got the Jag tonight.”
She laughed once, wrecking me. “I think we both know what would happen if you took me home. I’ll call a car service.”
I accepted the truth and pulled myself together, because the alternative was burning it all down, HR rules be damned.
She summoned a ride from her phone. I followed her to retrieve her coat. In the hallway, only our breaths filled the space, echoing softly off marble and glass.
“Here, let me.” I surprised her by taking the coat and holding it out for her arms. “Text me when you’re in the car, and when you get home so I know you’re safe.”
She cocked her head as she buttoned up. “Do all your employees text you when they’re home safely?”
“Only the special ones.” I pulled her scarf from the pocket and looped it gently around her neck, fingers brushing the warm skin just above her collar.
The faint scent of her lemony shampoo hit me, mixed with vanilla perfume and she became everything sweet that could drive me crazy.
“And right now, that list only has one name.”
We stood there for a heartbeat, one foot of space between us, but a mile of tension.
Her phone buzzed. “My ride’s here. I’ll see you at work.” She brushed past, her shoulder grazing mine, leaving sparks in her wake.
Outside, I lingered under the awning in the shadows, cold air biting me, waiting to make sure her car showed. A black town car rolled up, but suddenly Caleb launched out of the club doors. She laughed at something he said as he opened the door for her, smooth as ever.
She paused, glancing back as if she could feel the heat of me watching, then slipped inside. The car pulled away, and a few seconds later my phone buzzed.
Penny: Safe and sound, on my way home.
Caleb waited at valet, collar turned up against the cold. I stepped out of the shadows.
“How’s Penny coming along?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
“Sharp woman.” He nodded. “Thanks for putting her on my team. She’ll move fast if she doesn’t let the pressure get to her.”
“I expect great things from her.”
“So do I.” The fuck is that sly smile doing on his face? I read too much into it.
A valet swung his charcoal coupe to the curb before I could remind him of our new HR policy and to keep his hands off. He slid inside, one palm loose on the wheel, and offered me a brief salute through the glass.
His taillights blinked away down the block. I muttered, “You don’t deserve her.”
Sophie’s words echoed in my head, You can hold a boundary or you can hold her gaze. I’d built a respectable empire of wealth and monuments of steel and glass around the world. Yet one woman from Steele Valley dismantled my control brick by brick.