Reception

Page 14

“What's creepy?”
As if they'd summoned him, the devil himself walked into the backyard.
“Sandy,” she answered as Jameson came to stand on her other side.
“You're being creepy?” he asked, looking over her head at Sanders.
“Apparently. I was unaware of it. I shall go and load my luggage into the car,” he said, and went to pull his arm free from Tate. She turned and held onto him.
“Wait, one more going away present,” she said. His lips twitched down for a second and she could feel the tension in his body. She smiled big at him.
“Please, no, your 'presents' tend to give me anxiety. If I could just -”
She yanked on his arm, pulling him down to her height. Then she kissed him fast and hard, putting a hand on the back of his neck to hold him in place. He stood like a stone for a moment, then she felt him relax. Felt his lips go soft. She smiled against him and let him go.
“See? That was a great present,” she laughed. He frowned and wiped at his mouth, then looked down at his fingertips. She had put on a deep red lipstick that morning.
“Pardon me, but my idea of a good present and yours are two very different things,” he informed her. But just before he turned away, she was positive she saw a smile hiding in the corner of his mouth.
“Why do you torture him?” Jameson sighed, watching while Sanders disappeared into the house.
“Oh, deep down, he likes it,” she informed him.
“It makes him uncomfortable. You're going to tease him so much he won't want to come back,” he warned her.
“Pfffft, not possible. We're joined at the soul.”
“You're both strange, that's the problem,” he snorted. She gasped and turned to face him.
“Did you just call Sanders strange?” she demanded.
“Enough about him. Did you have a fun time last night?” Jameson asked, rolling up his shirt sleeves. He'd left his jacket somewhere in the house, but was still in the rest of his suit.
“Yeah, I actually did. We should do stuff like that more often, only maybe with people we actually like,” she suggested. He shrugged.
“Seemed to work out okay for the people we did invite. I walked in on your little friend with one of my employees in the shower,” he informed her. Her jaw dropped.
“Rusty? Oh god, tell me it was that Steele guy!”
“How did you know?”
She clapped her hands together.
“They were eye fucking each other all last night! This is so awesome! She hasn't been with anyone in forever, and if they were showering together, that definitely means they must have had sex,” she pointed out. He snorted again.
“Tate, they were fucking the shower. She nearly had a heart attack when I came in to get towels.”
“Oh jesus,” she groaned. “She's going to be even more awkward around you than she was before.”
“Probably. I don't think it helped that I stayed and talked with Steele for a couple minutes.”
“You didn't!”
“He's one of our best junior brokers, I wanted to offer him a permanent position.”
“Okay, but did you have to do it while he was inside Rusty?” she demanded. Jameson shrugged.
“I didn't really care. He was there, so I mentioned it. Then I took the towels and left. By the time I went back downstairs, she was moaning his name again. I think it's safe to say I didn't do too much damage.”
Tate was daydreaming, not really paying attention. Rusty and Howard Steele. Wow! She'd been hoping for an end to her friend's dry spell, but now she prayed that it would be more than just a one night stand. Maybe they really had a connection. Maybe they would go on to date, and then who knew what else.
Summer barbecues are magical ...
“Can you imagine if they got married?” she laughed. “Rusty Steele. I would pay to make that happen.”
“Tate, they just met. It's just sex, it doesn't mean anything,” he warned her.
“Pfffft, I had sex with you after we first met,” she pointed out. He rolled his eyes.
“Yes, but you're a slut.”
“Hey!”
“And it was just sex – it didn't mean anything at the time.”
She gasped, then without even thinking about it, she charged at him. He was still looking out over the yard and didn't notice her until it was too late. She'd planted her hands on his side and pushed him, hard. He lost his balance, swung his arms, then tipped over the edge of the pool. She put her hands on her hips as he let out a shout and splashed into the water.
“Didn't mean anything, huh?” she said when he resurfaced. He glared at her and raked his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back from his face.
“Do you have any idea how much this suit cost?” he asked in a voice that could cut glass.
“A lot.”
“Or this watch?”
“No, how much?”
“A lot more than you're worth,” he replied as he looked down at his wrist.
“Oh, just wait until you get this month's credit card statement. I'll show you how much I'm fucking worth, you stupid – AH!”
He snapped his hand out faster than she could follow, and next thing she knew her foot was yanked out from underneath her. She pitched forward and fell face first into the pool. When she came up, she was hacking and coughing, pawing at her face and wiping at her eyes.
“What were you saying?” Jameson's voice was dangerously close to her ear, then his arms were around her waist, turning her to face him.
“I was saying you're a jerk,” she growled as she shoved her hair out of her eyes.
“Yes, but I'm your jerk, so that must count for something,” he pointed out, holding her close. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him carry her.
“I think it just means I have bad taste,” she replied, and he barked out a laugh.
“Can't be worse than mine – I married a slut who puts out on the first date.”
“Hey, you love sluts who put out on the first date.”
“I love this one,” he replied, leaning back against the edge of the pool.
“And it always meant something to you, every time,” she added, staring up at him.
“Always, baby girl. Always.”