Page 9 of Beck and Call

Men like him didn't look for women who were barely starting out and had no accomplishments to boast about besides a degree. As much as I hated pity and charity it was time to part with my pride and grow up. My grandma used to tell me, "Girl, you're as stubborn as a cat. I just hope you know when to let that go so you can be as resilient as one."

Odd that this was the moment her advice made sense. I could be prideful and refuse help when it was freely offered, or I could accept the hand up and start making ends meet.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Can we move somewhere more private? The bartender is still checking you out and it's annoying."

He held out his elbow. Another old-fashioned gesture, but unlike Daniel's poorly executed hand kiss, Beckett’s came across as smooth and cultured. I accepted without hesitation and felt a jolt move through me. If I went to work for him, I'd be constantly fighting my body's reaction to him.

Beckett led me out onto a heated patio. There were two gentlemen standing near the propane heater discussing a business deal, but they left when they saw us come outside.

I watched them hurry away. "That's an odd reaction."

He looked down at me. His expression was intense and guarded. "I'm used to getting what I want and can be a bit of a bastard if I don't get it."

"I take it this is well known?"

He stared at me as if I should know the answer. "Your lack of knowledge about who I am is refreshing. As far as those men go, I've done business with them in the past. They know I prefer my privacy."

"Why do we need privacy?" My voice came out breathy, and I hated how little control I had over myself. He was going to notice how I reacted to him. There was no way a man like him would want a simpering girl fawning over him while he was busy being a tycoon.

"I have many needs, and some of them are proving hard to meet. Seeing you for the second time today makes me think you might be the answer." He brushed a lock of my long dark hair behind my ear, and I shivered.

"I'm finding I need this. The way it sounds when your breathing catches when I get close to you. It happened in the diner this morning too. I crave it, and I am not used to denying myself."

"I thought you were offering me a job? Shouldn't we be talking about my qualifications, and not my physical reaction to you? I mean is this really an appropriate discussion if I'm thinking about coming to work for you?"

"It is for what I have in mind." He continued to appraise me in ways a boss wouldn't or at least shouldn't evaluate an employee.

"What do you have in mind?" I whispered.

He laughed, but it was humorless. "Do you ever get so lonely you'd do almost anything to be seen? It's a stupid thing for me to say, because I'm watched everywhere I go."

"I think you can be watched and not seen. People are really good at imposing an image on someone and holding tight to it. Trust me, I grew up a poor girl in coal country. The teachers who worked at my school always looked at us as if we were doomed to repeat the mistakes of our parents. They'd given up on us before we even had a chance."

His hand came up to his mouth, and his eyes drooped. It was clear he was contemplating something, fighting against himself even. "I'm trying to be the good guy here. I want to offer you a job and give you the break I believe you deserve."

"But … " I inserted when he paused.

His tongue swept across his full lower lip. "I'm a selfish bastard, Evie. There's what I know I should do, and what I fear I'm going to do despite my better judgment."

Without thinking I leaned his direction. We weren't touching, but if anyone would walk past our body language would give away the intimate nature of our discussion. "What are you going to do?"

His elbows rested on his knees, and he too leaned closer. Our faces were inches apart. "I'm going to break all of the rules I've ever lived by to have you, even for just a while."

Beckett leaned back and grasped his hair. "Just being out here with you, after suggesting I could find you a job is all kinds of fucked up. I've got power over you, because I know you need a job, but right now I don't fucking care. I should. I definitely should care that this is probably sexual harassment and could cost me my company, but I just can't care at the moment."

"Why me?"

He exhaled. "I deserve that. I can tell from the little you've told me that you've already been through enough, and then I insert myself into your life and make it worse. I should go. I'll still help place you in a job."

He started to rise, but I couldn't let him go. He misunderstood my question, that much was clear. I jumped out of my seat, and put my hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to stay. His hand fell to the back of my knee and brought me closer to him still.

"I didn't mean why is this happening to me. I want to know how it was I caught your attention. I'm nobody. I have no family, no money. The only person I have in this world is my friend Jana. Why would you take a risk for me?"

"Are you actually considering this?" he asked.

His fingers stroked the back of my thigh, and I fought to keep from panting. "I'm not sure what you are suggesting exactly. What am I supposed to be considering?"

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