Page 6 of Irresistible Little Ivy

Right before I left the large lobby, he was looking at the ceiling as if praying for mercy while Georgiana shook her finger at him.

By the time I made it to my lovely room, decorated in cream, blush, and sky-blue tones, I was a tired mess of nerves and hormones. The sight of my suitcase filled me with relief, and I quickly unpacked then took a shower. I didn’t care how tired I was, I had a rule about showering after I traveled. Once I got out, smelling like my lemonade-scented soap and conditioner, I felt so much better.

Still horny as heck thanks to that unexpected encounter with Caleb, but better.

Food had been delivered to the table in the bedroom, and I quickly ate while watching the late-night news. Switching time zones sucked, and I needed to get to sleep so I could catch up with everyone else. With this in mind I grabbed my favorite vibrator from my suitcase, gave myself an orgasm that didn’t nearly satisfy me, and fell asleep in an unfamiliar place dreaming of a man with sapphire eyes and a sinister smile.

CHAPTER 2

Caleb

I rapped on the doorframe leading to the office of my best friend and technically kind of my boss, Mason. He stood about a head taller than me, thick where I was cut, and made women drop their panties with his roguish smile. At least that’s what the subs who were part of his unofficial fan club called it, his roguish smile.

Personally, I didn’t trust that smile.

The more Mason smiled, the bigger a pain in the ass he was going to be.

Before he could launch into whatever he’d been planning to say, I held up my hand as he loosened his navy and orange tie from around his neck. His light-brown hair stuck up in clumps, and he had bags beneath his blue eyes. We’d both been putting in a ton of hours recently lining up talent to work at the Ranch as guest speakers, entertainers, and professors. Hell, I’d drawn up contracts for everything from a series of classes on baking erotic cakes, to securing a neuroscience professor and his staff for a new college course.

Vastly different people brought together under the umbrella of Rawhide.

When Eli and Georgie has finally admitted they needed help, Derek had let them interview interested parties. Mason and I had been thrilled when they’d asked us to join the Ranch’s Event Planning team. While they would handle the weddings and holiday parties, as the newly created marketing and talent acquisitions department of the Ranch, Mason was responsible for special events while I was Rawhide’s new talent scout. We both worked on marketing and had more than a few people on the Ranch who lent a hand now and again. Eli and Georgie had our backs, giving us sound advice and helping out when we needed it. We worked hard, but it was worth it. Mason and I wanted to prove to Derek that he’d made a wise choice investing in us. And we wanted Eli and Georgie to know that they could trust us with their business.

So far, I think we’d done a great job. Every spot on the roster had been booked out for the next year, and we were close to landing a few contracts that Derek had showed personal interest in. It had taken more than a few seventy-hour work weeks, but I felt like we were at a point where I could finally take a breath.

I was exhausted.

Mason would probably flip out, he was an even bigger workaholic than myself, but I knew he’d understand. He’d just gotten back from a week in the Bahamas with his daughter, and he looked and acted well-rested. I’d handled everything while he was gone, including dealing with the high-maintenance cat girls. Those women could drive a saint to drink.

He owed me.

With this in mind, I bit the bullet and said, “I need the rest of the week off. No, make that the next two weeks.”

Mason jerked his head back, his heavily gelled and messy hair barely moving. “Come again?”

Closing the door behind me, I moved through his large office to where he’d sprawled out on one of the sofas. The other sofa held his gray suit jacket and his shiny black shoes. His laptop sat next to him on the dark-green corduroy cushion, the screen showing an image of the Ranch in the summer. I glanced out the window, the snowy emptiness stretching out before the second-story window. Here and there warmth glowed in the form of lights, but they seemed few and far between.

Leather creaked and I turned away from the window to see Mason approaching me. His tailored slacks were wrinkled, and he had lines on the side of his face that told me he’d fallen asleep on his sofa. Again.

His eyes grew wide as he said, “Man, I don’t know if this is the best time. We’ve got a lot on our plate and a crazy amount of paperwork to do.”

I tilted my head and gave him a look that called him on his bullshit. “Things are crazy because you made them that way. I warned you that we were taking on too much, I told you that I wouldn’t be responsible for your over-extending yourself, and I told you I needed a break. Well, I’m taking it now. You can either find a way to cover for me by yourself, or you can hire an assistant or two. Derek has offered to provide us with a staff multiple times, and Eli has been wanting you to take on an interior design intern from Rawhide University. Take them up on their offers. Either way, I’ll be off the clock at midnight which is in… a couple hours.”

Mason wheezed.

I fought a smile as I said, “Oh, and Georgiana and Petal are your problem now. Good luck with those two crafty kitties.”

“Nooo,” Mason moaned and clutched his head. “They are so high-maintenance. In every sense of the word. Fuck, why do they have to be so good at what they do?”

Laughter burst out of me as I thumped my friend on the back, torn between concern that my buddy might finally have been stressed into a heart attack, and laughter at Mason getting what he deserved.

“You can’t leave me alone with Petal and Georgiana, that’s unfair,” he said after he’d finally sucked in and expelled a couple breaths. “And there’s Spirit Week. I need you on the ground, making sure everything goes smoothly with the people we’ve brought in. This is the first event staffed strictly by people we’ve recruited for it. I need you giving these people some face time to reassure them that we’re here if they need us.”

“Oh, I’ll still be there. As an attendee.” I grinned at Mason and he stared at me with wide eyes. “I found a girl. She’s here for Spirit Week and I want to see if I can get her to spend it with me. I’m telling you, Mason, she’s something else. I saw her and just like—bam—instant attraction.”

He squinted, then held a hand to my forehead. “You don’t feel warm, but your eyes are kind of glassy.”

I smacked his hand away. “I don’t have a fever. Wait until you see us together, then you’ll understand. When I look at her my whole body feels like I’ve been hit by lightning and?—”

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