Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2) (2 page)

“
When I met them, I was convinced that this was different.  They seemed loving and caring and my ideal family.  Over the next year I was so happy.  I made a ton of friends at school and I could have sleepovers and parties and they didn't care.  They gave me the best life anybody could ask for.   One day my foster mom was at the grocery store and I was home alone with him.  It was no big deal, because we had been alone lots of times.  Yet, something was different.  He seemed distant and sad and I didn't know what had changed.  I asked him what was wrong and he informed me that they were getting a divorce.  He said that she was cheating on him and he figured that that was where she was.”

“I tried telling him that I was sure she was at the grocery store and they could work it out.  That's when it happened.”  She could feel a tear fall down her cheek and quickly brushed it away.  “He told me that he was attracted to someone else too.  I didn't know what was happening, but then he pushed me to the couch and I kept hitting him, but he wouldn't stop.” 

“Tiffany, I...”

She looked away and covered her face with her hands.  “I don't know why I told you, maybe because...”

“You needed someone to confide with.”  He spoke softly as he moved closer to her and she laid her head down on his shoulder.  “You don't have to run from me.  I'm not the enemy.  I can protect you.  You just have to trust me.”

She quickly pulled away and stood up.  Facing herself in the mirror, she wiped her eyes free of the tears.  “I can't do that.”

“Why not?”  He asked, his voice rising.

“I was told once that I could trust someone and you see how that turned out.  That's why I lean on men with no strings attached.  It's easier that way.”

“Easier for whom?  It's no way to lead a life.  What kind of happiness can that bring?”

She stared at him, her arms crossed in front of her.  “Maybe it's my life and you should let me worry about that.”

He stood up and crossed the room, leaving no space between them.  “Is that a way to treat someone that's only trying to help?”

Tiffany chuckled and then took off his jacket and threw it at him.  “Trying to help?  You're judging me.  You're no different from any other guy.  Forget I said anything.”  She turned away and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.  She felt the tears running down her face before the sobbing became uncontrollable.

__________________________

             
“Tiffany, open up the door.”  Matt yelled as he pounded on the door to get her attention.

“No, go away.”  She cried out.  He could hear the sobbing through the door and it was breaking him up inside.

“This is crazy.  I have nowhere to go.  We're stuck here tonight and I didn't mean to make you upset.  I'm sorry; I didn't mean to judge you.  I want to talk, please open the door.”

“Talk, I'm not stopping you.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the door.  He hated not seeing her face to face, but he figured that if she was listening it didn't matter.  “When we danced tonight, I thought I felt a connection.  I was sure you felt it too.”  There was no answer, so he continued.  “I get that you don't want to have pity.  That's not what I'm doing.  I don't feel sorry for you; no one should have to go through that.  It's nothing you did and I feel that you have been beating yourself up about it, when it's not your fault.”

“You don't know anything about me.”

“You're right, but that's not by choice.  You are the one that is shutting me out, all because of some stupid idea you have.”

“It's not stupid, just because I don't want to get hurt...”

“Ugh...you infuriate me.  You say that I don't know you, you apparently don't know me.  I'm not going to hurt you Tiffany, but you'll never give me the chance to prove that.”  The silence was killing him.  “Are you still there, or are you back to ignoring me?”

“I'm your boss; nothing good can come of that.”

He nodded, finally he was getting somewhere.  “Now you're starting to make sense.  You're worried that people will talk?  They'll say that it isn't right you're hanging out with a co-worker.  I get that and if that's what it is...we'll deal with it.  You don't have to tell anyone, I won't tell anyone.”  When the bathroom door opened, he had to force himself not to run to her.  The tears had made her eyes bloodshot. 

“
Its company policy...we can't date co-workers.”

“You're the
boss; you can do whatever you want to do.”

Tiffany smiled, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.  “All the more reason I should be kicking myself for even considering it.  I have to set a good example.  Besides, now is not the time to start a fling.  I haven't worked
in this position even a year yet, it just wouldn't work out.”

“Yet, you were considering it?
”

“For a split second maybe, but
its crazy.  We barely know each other and when I find the guy that I am going to spend the rest of my life with...we have to at least be friends.”

“We're not friends?  That's a little harsh, then why did you invite me to this wedding?”

“My initial date backed out.”

He looked
away; he hoped she didn't see the pain cross his eyes.  “Wow.”

“Matt, I'm sorry.  It's just that...”

“He stood up from the bed and grabbed his jacket.  “Don't worry about it.  I get it; of course I wouldn't be the first guy you would think of.  I mean, after all, you have mentioned over and over and over again...we don't know each other.”

“Where are you going?”  Tiffany asked as he reached the door and opened it to leave.

“Frankly, I don't think it's the best idea if I stay.  I wouldn't want to inconvenience you.”

“You can't just
leave; you have nowhere else to go.”

“I'll figure out something.”  With that he was gone.  He didn't want to stay somewhere he clearly wasn't welcomed.  He just had to figure out where he could go.

Tiffany cried herself to sleep, she didn't know where Matt had gone and even after searching for hours, she could not find him.  When she got to the airport, she spotted him sitting on a chair waiting for them to announce boarding and breathed a sigh of relief.  She was thankful he was there and she could at least talk to him.  As she approached him he glanced up at her and stood.  Before he could walk away she grabbed his arm.  She instantly felt the surge of heat rush through her, so she quickly pulled away.  He looked at her and raised his eyebrow.  “Matt, I am so sorry about last night.  I shouldn't have said MOST of what I said.  I didn't invite you only because my date backed out.  Truth is I felt a connection with you the moment you walked into my office.  I love spending time with you, I do.”

“But?”  He asked, clearly impatient.

“It's just that, I don't want anything to disrupt our work life.  If we were to date and find out it wouldn't work out, where would that leave us?  You would be miserable, I would be miserable, and we wouldn't be able to continue a working relationship.”

“Okay, I get what you're saying.  What I want to know is...could you see yourself falling in love with someone like me?”

She could feel herself getting red and she shrugged.  “You're a great guy; any girl would be crazy not to fall for you.  I just need something different in my life.  Can you understand that?”

“Yes, you need someone who is okay with no strings attached.”

Tiffany shrugged, “Something like that.”

“I could be that person.  If you needed me to be.”

Tiffany laughed, “I highly doubt that.  Didn't you say you were once engaged to be married?  Someone that was that close, could never have a life like mine.  You'll find someone and you'll fall in love with that person.  They'll be lucky and you'll get married and maybe someday quit the advertising agency.  You'll forget about ever thinking that we could be more than boss and employee.”

“We'll be more than that Tiffany.  Can't we at least be friends?”

Tiffany smiled, “Okay, we can be friends.  I just want to make sure we have an understanding.  I don't want any hard feelings.”

“I get what you're saying and I will try to get past our brief fling.”

She playfully slugged him, “Fling?  I don't think so.  By the way, where did you go last night?  I really wish you wouldn't have
left, I was worried sick.”

“Yeah, I'm sorry about that.  I stayed in the bar connected to the hotel.”

“All night?  It's a wonder you aren't drunk.”

“Um...I don't drink.  However, they have a rule you have to order something to occupy the bar stool.  So, I have been in the bathroom about 20 times.”

Tiffany laughed, “Water?”

He nodded, “Yep, the good stuff.”

“You really should have come back.”

“If there's one thing you should know about me, it's I'm stubborn.  I would have drunk 100 glasses of water in order to prove a point.”

“Was it worth it?”

He shook his head, “No, but at the time it didn't matter.”

“Attention passengers, flight 243 is now boarding at gate 15.”

“Finally,” Tiffany replied quietly.

“You said it sister,” Matt added.  “It will be good to get home and sleep in a real bed.”

Tiffany felt bad that Matt had spent the night at a bar, but he was right.  It would be good to be home.

__________________________

“Thank you for bringing me home,” Tiffany spoke, trying to forget about the past couple days.

“You're welcome.  Remember...if you change your mind you know where to find me.”  He winked at her and she smiled.

“I know and you'll be the first to know.”

“Okay, see you at work tomorrow.”  She waved and watched as he drove away.  She was glad that it seemed like the hard feelings were gone.

“Who was that?” 

She jumped when she saw Robert walk around the house.  “Geez Robert, you scared me half to death.”

“Sorry, but who was that?”

She shook her head, “No one, he's a co-worker.”

“Do you always see your co-workers on Sundays?”

“Don't be a jerk,” Tiffany huffed as she opened up her door and went inside.  She went to slam the door shut, but he caught it with his foot.  “You’re not welcome here.”

“I get that, I figured I would be the last person you would want to see.  It's just that, I've missed you.”

Tiffany stared at him, “Are you serious?  You came over here to tell me that?  What changed?  The last I knew you wanted to do some soul-searching and was on your way to Paris to find out what you truly wanted from a relationship.  Did you even go?”

He nodded, “I went.  I was there for two weeks when I realized it didn't matter what kind of relationship we were in, as long as it was you and me.”

“You can take a relationship without love?”

He shrugged, “It beats the alternative.  We make some great music together and I want to continue to explore that.  Who knows, you could one day find yourself falling for me.  Then we'll both get what we want.”

She highly doubted that, she knew too much about him to know that she wouldn't fall in love with a guy like him.  He was too perfect and she needed a bad boy to mix up things.  With that being said, she also knew she enjoyed the times they spent together and she was tired of going from one guy to the next.  It would be some stability in her life.  The best part about it...it would come with
no strings attached.
”

“So, tell me about your employee.  Is there anything going on?  Did I miss my chance by jetting off to Paris?”

She thought about lying, but she changed her mind.  “There's nothing going on.  He went to the wedding that you turned down, because you needed to find yourself.  He's a nice guy, but that's it.  I could never get involved like that with an employee.”

He smiled a look of satisfaction on his face.  “Good, I'm sorry I didn't go to the wedding, but I'm here now.  Do you want to do something?”

She eyed him cautiously as he slowly approached her.  “What did you have in mind?”

He looked like he was thinking and she giggled.  “It has something to do with the bedroom, a fire in the fireplace, and whipped cream.”

She shook her head, she was hooked.  “You put on the fire; I'll get the whipped cream.”  They went off to their duties and suddenly any thoughts that she had of Matt were gone.

_______________________

Tiffany sighed as Robert continued to kiss her stomach, clearing the whipped cream from her body.  “Hm,” she moaned.  “That was nice.”  They were both finally clean.

“You thought you could leave this and forget about it.  You foolish woman.”

“Let's not forget, you're the one that actually left.”

“Touché.”  He responded with a smile.  “Never again my dear.  You're stuck with me.”

“Good answer.”  She wrapped her body around him, her hands dug into his back and he groaned.  When their lips met again she felt the passion that she was missing for the past month.  His hands were conveniently placed upon her breasts as she rocked back and forth and their bodies became one.  “I could stay in this position forever.”  He nodded his enthusiastic agreement as her lips connected with his.  “Man, you feel good.”  She pulled away from him and laid down so that his hands were resting on her shoulders.

He pulled her back against him, so that she was pressed up against his body and wrapped his arms around her.  “You're amazing Tiffany”

She smiled to herself and then turned her head to face him.  “You aren't so bad yourself.”  It was the only reason she kept coming back for more, despite the notion she needed to give up relationships all together.  She closed her eyes, feeling his warm breath up against her bare neck.  She drifted off to sleep being caressed by the one man she could be intimate with.  Even if it wasn't for love.

_______________________

Matt stared out the window at the falling rain, a few degrees colder and it would have been snow.  He was glad Tiffany felt comfortable expressing the story of her life with him.  He hoped that she didn't regret it, because he didn't.  He took a drink of his coffee and turned away from the window.  It had been 3 years since his fiancée called off the wedding.  He had 3 years to mourn the loss and 3 years to get back on the dating horse again.  It just didn't seem like it was going to happen for him. 

When he moved from Wyoming, he did it to get a better life for him, everywhere he looked he saw his ex and it became too much.  So, after taking some time to think he decided the best thing to do would be to move.  He looked months for the perfect job to open up; it obviously needed to be in Advertising, which was his life.  So, when he discovered the job in New York he knew he had to go for it.  Walking into the interview, he was nervous, who wouldn't be?  However, she instantly set his mind to ease and he realized that it was going to be alright.  He took time to peer around her office, finding that she didn't have any pictures of family or friends, or even pets.  It saddened him, but she smiled, seemed happy and he knew all was well.

Somehow he was hoping to break her barrier, maybe see where that left them.  He would have liked to start dating, because he knew from day one she would be someone he would like.  Yet, he didn't account for her standing on men.  He didn't anticipate that she never wanted to have love; she only wanted friends with benefits.  Even though, he wished the previous night had gone differently and he said he could be a
no strings attached
kind of guy, he knew he couldn't.  He wasn't getting any younger, he would soon be 27” and he wanted a wife and kids, a family to come home to.  He looked around the empty apartment; this was definitely not his idea of good times.

He had to respect her feelings and see where she was coming from.  Even if that meant his idea of
perfect relationship wouldn't be with her.  He would find someone else and be happy, that was all he could do.