Page 48 of As You Crave It

“What happens if you don’t do the deal with Seacoast?” she asked. “I don’t want to be the reason you don’t succeed.”

He shook his head. “The more I think about doing business with his company, the more I want to reconsider. It was what I wanted. It was my goal for the past year, but it doesn’t feel right. I want to do the right thing by you, by everyone.”

Celia realized that she’d misjudged him. And they put on a show of being a close, loving couple. It wasn’t hard, but she had to remember that it couldn’t go anywhere. They had agreed on being friends. Anything else would just lead to more hurt for both of them.

As time progressed, the crowd dwindled and she and Quin sat on the end of the pier, their legs hanging over the edge.

“Thanks for coming today,” she told him. “You really pulled me out of a bind. Jared is becoming more and more insistent.”

“Glad to do it. What’s he doing now?”

She sighed. “Since St. Martin, he’s increased his attempts to get me into bed. He’s persistent.”

“That’s so goddamn wrong,” he muttered. “Can you report him?”

“It’d be pointless without irrefutable proof,” she said. “You know what it’s like, allegations like that aren’t taken seriously. I need to catch him in the act. So, I’m torn between wanting to get him alone, which I never want to do again, so he can dig his own grave, and being completely repulsed by him.”

“So why are you doing it?”

She took a deep breath. She’d vowed to herself that she would never tell him. “Early in my career, I was hired by Jared Foster at one of his start-ups in New York. It was a great job at a trendy place. I thought life was amazing. But then he started getting too close, heavy with the innuendo... And I wasn’t the only one.”

“Did he touch you?”

“No, but not for lack of trying. I reported him to HR. And I was the one who was reprimanded. I was fired, blacklisted in the city because he was the one with the connections. So I eventually moved on. And now he’s here, and that’s why I’m here. I figured that the next time I reported someone for abusive behavior, I would make sure I had everything I needed to take him down for good.”

“How about I kick his ass for you?”

She smiled. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that. But trust me. I’ve got complete control of this.”

He was quiet for a bit, but then he looked at her. “What can I do to help you?”

She was relieved that he didn’t want to try to take over. It was her battle to fight and while she didn’t need his strength, she needed his support. “I just want you here. You believe me. That’s enough.”

“You’ve got it.” He exhaled as he looked out at the ocean. “I’m going to cancel the deal with Seacoast Prestige.”

“I can’t ask you to do that. It’s a good opportunity for you guys.”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re okay and getting rid of all of these abusive assholes. The world is better without people like him in positions of power. What are you going to do after?”

“After I report him?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know. Find another job, I guess.”

“Don’t look too hard,” Quin told her. “I’ll hire you at the distillery.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I know Gemma is looking for someone who’s good with computers. She’s automated part of the distilling process.”

“That would be great. Thanks the recommendation. It’s a good thing we’ve agreed to be just friends, though. I can’t work for you if I’m sleeping you with you. Especially once I take action against Jared. That will be the first thing people will see. The optics on that will be terrible.”

Quin nodded. “You’re right. It’s for the best.” He looked over his shoulder. “Looks like the party is dying down.” He stood and held out his hand to her.

Celia looked, too. Jared was nowhere to be found. She put her hand in Quin’s. “Yeah, I guess so.” She knew that she and Quin had agreed to be friends, but spending the day with him was more fun than she’d had in a while. “Do you want to come over to my place?” she asked, before she could even stop herself. She had a sickness. That was the only excuse. Quin was willing to be her friend, and she should be happy with that. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want him again... Just one more time.

Quin hesitated before answering her. “I want to say yes. But I think it’s best if we say goodbye here. Let’s not let this get any more complicated than it already is.”

Shot down. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Celia nodded. She knew that would be his answer, but if she’d gone home without at least asking, she would have lived to regret it.

“You’re right. I can’t believe I just asked you that. We have to be smart.” She stepped up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. The rasp of his five o’clock shadow abraded her lips. “If that’s what you want, too—”

He turned his head and stopped so that their lips were just a whisper apart. “If this was about what I wanted,” he said huskily, “I’d be inside of you right now, but it’s about what’s right. We have to focus on what’s important.”

“I know,” she told him, still wanting him more than anything. A physical relationship wasn’t what she needed. “Rebuilding our friendship is important to me.”

“It’s important to me, too.”

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