Chapter 6
Liam
“This is fun,” Becca said a few days later. “Just wish we’d met like three hours later.”
David, Becca, and I were having breakfast on the rooftop of the brownstone.
My intern Dexter was also here, but none of the other interns showed up on time.
Yesterday, we went to dinner with the last bunch of applicants.
After they left the restaurant, we exchanged impressions.
Then we ordered some wine, and the evening got away from us.
“It’s going to be a long day,” I said.
Last night, we decided who we were going to sign on: Soho Lingerie.
“We need to let Soho Lingerie know. The lawyers already sent the contract. We should all double-check it,” I said.
David grimaced. “That’s something you usually do, Liam. The lawyers will just do their thing.”
I stared down at him until he held up his hands. “Fine, fine. I’ll look over the contract too.”
The lawyers were great at their jobs, of course. We had a standard contract, but they adapted it to every applicant’s business, personalizing it. I liked to double-check everything. It was a courtesy to everyone involved, and I insisted on it every time.
“God, can you imagine what life would look like with a more relaxed Liam?” David asked.
Becca narrowed her eyes as if considering it. “Honestly, no. He’s been like this since day one on Wall Street. Always tense and a stickler for rules. I don’t think he’s ever even wanted to break any.”
That statement had been 100 percent true until I met Tess. Something about her just made me want to disregard every rule. But Becca and David didn’t need to know about that.
“Are we already deciding who will be Soho Lingerie’s mentor?” Becca asked.
I shook my head. “Let’s wait until after the contract is signed.”
Sometimes deals fell through, and if that happened, we would need to approach our second most promising candidate. I didn’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of who would mentor them until everything was signed.
“True,” David said. “Well, since you’re a stickler for rules and are going to make me stay here until midnight if needed, I’ll get started on reviewing what’s been done on the contract.”
“Perfect.”
Becca groaned. “Why are you indulging him? He’s only going to get more insufferable.”
“That’s impossible.”
I threw my stress ball right at David. It bounced off him and smacked into Becca’s ear.
I fist-pumped the air. “Two in one shot.”
Becca laughed. “Fine, I’ll get started on the contract as well. But I’m claiming the rooftop for myself today.”
“Good for me. Dexter, come on. Let’s go downstairs.”
“Sure thing.” On the way to my office, he added, “I sure hope you get to mentor Soho Lingerie. That Tess is something else. I’m gonna ask her out as soon as the papers are signed.”
I froze midstep. Drawing a deep breath, I turned around slowly. “No, you’re not.”
“What?”
“Tess Winchester is off-limits.”
“There’s no ring on her finger.”
I stared at him, jamming my hands in my pockets. “She’s going to be a business partner.”
“There’s no clause that says we’re not allowed to ask applicants out.”
My jaw ticked. I just stared him down.
“Okay, boss. Got the message. I’m backing off.”
“Good.”
I stalked off to my office, fully aware that I was a hypocrite.
It had been five days since I’d seen her at that dinner, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I couldn’t take my eyes off that woman the whole evening.
She was a sexy goddess and an awkward goofball rolled into one, and while I never thought I’d find the latter charming, I did.
She was so refreshing, so different from any woman I’d gone out with.
It was also not a coincidence that I hadn’t gone on a date since the day I met Tess.
I could chalk it up to my workload, but the truth was I only wanted to go out with her.
And yet I couldn’t, especially now that we decided to take on Soho Lingerie.
I sat down in my chair, but instead of reading the contract, I searched for Tess’s number in their application and punched it in my phone. Our interns were always tasked with contacting the applicants we selected, but this time, I wanted to do it myself.
I sent Dexter a short email, informing him that I’d break the good news to Soho Lingerie. He’d probably think I was doing it because of his earlier comment. I was pissed at Dexter, yeah, but I wanted to be the one to tell Tess the good news. I wanted to be the first one who heard her reaction.
Tess didn’t answer right away, and when she did, she sounded breathless.
“Hi!”
“Tess, this is Liam.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t find my phone. Searched the whole back room for it only to find it under a pile of panties.”
I barely stifled a groan. An image popped in my mind of Tess trying on panties. Damn, I couldn’t start our conversation like this. I had to pull myself together.
“Not my panties. They were…doesn’t matter.”
“Tess. Good morning to you too.”
“Sorry, I’ve only had one coffee, so I’m rambling even more than usual.”
She was adorable. I could picture her blush as she spoke, the way she’d try to avoid looking at me if I were in front of her.
“No problem. It was an interesting conversation starter.”
She made a weird sound, as if she just swallowed her tongue.
“Good morning,” she said after a beat. “Can we have a do-over?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“You like teasing me, don’t you?”
“Love it.”
I liked to make her blush too, but it was too early in the day for that confession.
“I have great news for you, Tess.”
“Oh my God, no. Can you wait for it until I’m with Skye? I had this whole thing planned where I shared this moment with her if it was good news.”
“And if it was bad news?”
“Umm…I’d process it and then find the gentlest way possible to break it to her.”
I was speechless, and that rarely happened.
“You can always message me when you’re with Skye, and I can call you again.”
I couldn’t believe I was entertaining this, but I didn’t like that she labeled me as stiff. I had this inexplicable urge to please her.
“No, that wouldn’t work. She’d be able to tell that I already know. I thought the calls were coming in the evening. I’m meeting Skye at six.” She sounded almost accusatory.
I laughed, leaning back in my chair. “Thought we’d switch things up, shorten the waiting time.”
“So we’re really in, huh?”
“Yes. We’re sorting out the contract, and we’ll send it to you this evening. You can take as long as you want to review it, and of course certain points are negotiable. If you’d rather not take the deal, we understand. But we hope you do.”
“Wow. Skye will be so happy.”
Something about that sentence bothered me. Wasn’t she happy? Didn’t she want this?
“I’m going to think about a cool way to break the news.”
“Are you going to celebrate?”
“Of course. In style.”
“What does that include?” I was going off record again, asking personal questions, things we usually didn’t discuss with our mentees.
“Champagne, of course, and a lot of food. I’m thinking a platter of French and Swiss cheeses.”
“So you like your cheese.”
“Oh yeah. I like even the lowly mac and cheese. As long as it’s creamy and chock-full of calories, I’m in.”
“And champagne? Any special kind?”
“Actually, yes. I like Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel. It’s only produced in small batches, so I have to head over to Dumont Gourmet. Fingers crossed that I find it. I didn’t want to buy it before I knew if we’d be accepted. I didn’t want to jinx anything.”
“I see you take celebrations very seriously.”
“Oh yeah. I even—” She stopped abruptly.
“You what?”
“Never mind.”
“Tess…”
“It was too outrageous to say out loud, even for me.”
“I’m even more intrigued. Tell me. I think you and I have been past outrageous since the first time we met.”
“I can’t believe you’re bringing that up,” she whispered.
I chuckled, imagining her all flustered and blushing. “I have a confession to make. I like teasing you, Tess. Making you blush. Even if I’m not there to see it. I can picture it in vivid detail.”
“You’re cruel.”
“No, just weak for you.”
“Oh, so you don’t flirt the panties off every woman you meet?”
“Only you. I promise you that.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, we’re going to collaborate, so we really should behave. Why don’t you tell me what the next steps are?”
She was right. I needed to rein myself in.
“We’ll be emailing you the contract today. We need to know within fourteen days if you want to move forward with the collaboration.”
“Okay. Thank you for calling to let me know. Have a great day.”
“You too. And Tess? Next time I see you, I’ll get you to tell me all about your outrageous celebrating habits. No matter what it takes.”
I heard her sharp intake of breath just before the call disconnected.
Instead of focusing on the contract, I opened Dumont Gourmet’s website on my browser, checking where the nearest one was and then ordering a bottle of Tess’s favorite champagne. I wanted to make her smile.
I had no idea how I was going to work with this woman and not make her mine.