Chapter 8
Raph
Irolled over, and the glowing 3:29 taunted my scratchy, sleepless eyes. Dinner with Lia had me twisted in knots. The loose curls, that dress, those heels… Something they did made her irresistible. And I kissed her. Like a greenhorn idiot. She tasted like Chardonnay and her own sweetness, a flavor much more potent than wine.
Never had I behaved so carelessly at an onboarding meeting. I didn’t plan to start with her even if she was already under my skin. This had to stop. I had to get her taste, that light floral scent, and the curiosity of what she would look like naked beneath me out of my brain.
No more thinking about her long hair splayed out on crisp white linens. Thoughts like those were driving me insane. Or at least to sleeplessness.
If I wanted to make Geoff proud, I couldn’t stray from professionalism again. I knew how to go above and beyond, and he deserved it.
But Amelia…
I hadn’t felt attraction to a woman since… I couldn’t remember when. Never? There was something about Lia; mystique, petite figure, prominent memory from my past, just little things about her. I rolled my eyes and flopped onto my back, unable to find peace. This bed was too damn hot.
Lia wouldn’t leave my mind. Irritated with the insatiable beckoning, I fisted myself, putting my high-strung wants to bed. The frustration beat on as I reached release thinking of her mouth working me over. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I was in for a torturous six weeks sick with Lia on the brain.
At 6:50, I gave up on getting any more sleep. I had some breakfast and coffee, went for a run, and cleaned up the dishes before my patience ran dry. I had to talk to someone and get this off my chest. No one better than Kendall.
“Mmm, hullo?” He cleared his throat. “Hello?”
“Hey, man. It’s Raph. You asleep?”
“Uhh… Hell yeah, man, it’s… Jesus. It’s only seven-thirty! Why’re you calling me for?” Sleep-deprived irritation coated his confused accusation.
“I met with this design firm to do Experience down here in Jersey. I hired someone for the job.”
An exasperated sigh came down the line. “Okay… And? I know you didn’t call me at the ass-crack of dawn to talk shop. Get to the point, captain.”
“The girl, I think I used to know her. Before I moved to New York.”
“She hot?”
“Yeah.”
“Gonna do something about it? Bump them uglies?”
“I hired her to do interior design, not to do me.” I sighed.
“So?”
“So I can’t sleep with her if I’m employing her.”
“Why not both? It’s your show to run however you want. You make the rules. And she isn’t even your employee. Just a contractor, right? You’ll be working with her for, what? A month?”
“Six weeks.”
“See? That’s nothing. Hop on. Why waste the opportunity? Do what you want for a change and have fun. This isn’t your MO for chrissakes. Don’t label yourself a bad guy just ‘cause you’re attracted to some chick for once in your fucking life, damn.”
Kendall’s view of morality as a malleable field gave me pause. I wanted to believe him and give in, but hesitated, considering the consequences. But Lia was pretty far down the list for causing disasters…
No. Still no. I couldn’t.
“I don’t know… It’s not me.”
I paced the kitchen. I wanted to go for it, but held myself back. My nature wasn’t to go casual. I was a commitment guy, even if the relationships I had been in fit on one hand.
The six weeks it would take to get Experience up and running hardly afforded time for a relationship with Lia.
“What’s not you? Being happy?” Kendall snickered. “Seems like it.”
I was a commitment guy, and didn’t have time to commit to Lia. These days, my only commitments were to my business. Most of my adult life revolved around Experience. My commitment to my career was iron clad. Although, in that commitment, I met Ms. Amelia Hall.
Lia was hot, and I was hungry; craving more than the taste I’d stumbled into.
I could imagine being inside her, and the notion drove me out of my mind. The more I tried to erase the niggling images, the more persistent they became. The big question on center stage was what I should do about it. I breathed out a resigned sigh.
“I’m going to keep this professional. I have to. A short-term relationship would just lead her on. I can’t afford the distraction. The stakes are too high for this project.”
“Oh, come on! It isn’t a relationship, it’s convenience. A business deal. Ya never know, she could be into it, too. If she isn’t seeing someone, maybe she’s looking for some fun, too. A little friends with benefits action? It’s like I always say: you have to take the lady’s feelings into consideration, Raph.”
Kendall laughed at himself, the notorious bachelor. Bastard.
“I’ll see you in a couple days, Ken.”
Kendall ended the call with a chuckle and mumbled agreement.
I decided what I’d do going forward, but didn’t feel any better about it.
Kendall’s official stance opposed mine, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. What had I expected of him? A sudden change in his opinions on social decency? But he made some good points, too.
Being direct was not an issue for me. I put my desires out on the table. I learned from the best, after all. Maybe I needed to take a page from Kendall’s book instead of Geoff’s. Someone with a mastery of their social life rather than their professional life. He was never short on company or on laughs. And I could stand to be a little less serious.
But that seriousness got things done. Getting Experience Shoreview off the ground was only one responsibility I shouldered. I still had to check in on Aire and Experience in New York. I couldn’t afford to fall behind now that we were expanding again.
Getting some distance from Lia would tamp down my sex-starved decision making. If I removed myself, all the tension would fizzle, like it hadn’t been there at all. The connection I felt was probably all in my head. It had been too long since I was with anyone, and the first attraction I felt threw me. With distance, it would subside.
I just had to get through the afternoon with her at the property and I was home free. I could manage that. Piece of cake.
If not, God help me.