Page 40 of Reunion With Benefits

“Uh-huh.” That sounded like half a story to Spence. “Did he actually make a pass at you?”

A week ago that question might have sent her temper spiking. It could have led to a fight, with one of them storming out. But that had changed, too. Spence no longer weighed every word. He was careful but not wary.

She stood up. Let her hand trail over his thigh. Low enough to be decent but with enough pressure to pull his mind away from the office. “Abby...”

“I made it clear that it would be stupid for him to try anything.” She rubbed her thumb back and forth over a crease in his pants.

“Are you trying to prove to me that you can handle him?”

“Didn’t I?”

“You did, but I already knew that you would.” His hand went to her waist and he toyed with one of the buttons holding the sides of her jacket together. “Any chance I can convince you to skip your meeting and have lunch with me?”

By “lunch,” he meant not eating. He’d settle for an actual meal, but his control was wavering. The more he watched her in action at work and cuddled with her on the couch at night, the more he wanted everything. And the more Jackson’s use of the word love didn’t seem so misplaced. Not that he was ready to talk about that, because he wasn’t.

“Derrick would be impressed with your work ethic,” she said.

Spence and Derrick had an understanding. Spence knew his strengths and Derrick didn’t try to redirect those. “My skills tend to be best used in going out and getting us new projects to bid on, or better yet, just win outright.”

“Always the salesman.”

“It takes a lot of time and study.” He stood up, letting his hand linger on her stomach. “Weeks, sometimes months, of reviewing everything to find the right course of action.”

“Are we still talking about work?”

Not really. “Of course.”

She tugged on the bottom of his tie. “How about this. We both be good employees this afternoon, then we’ll meet up for dinner.”

He liked the way her mind worked. “I can make a reservation.”

“At my place.” She skimmed a finger down the buttons of his shirt. “We’ll stay in.”

All the blood rushed from his head. The idea of a night with her, even just holding her, sounded so good. “You sure?”

“I hear you’re very skilled at doing dishes.”

He had to smile at that. She could charm and seduce him into just about anything. “Not to brag but I’m good at a lot of things.”

“I plan to let you prove that to me.”

* * *

With one battle done, Abby moved on to the next one. Last week, as soon as her bad cold passed, she’d called Rylan. Made it clear to him that passing notes to her from other businessmen was both juvenile and a move guaranteed to haunt him. She mentioned filing a complaint. Then she talked about telling Spence about what really happened and how Rylan let Jeff Berger use him.

She’d dropped every threat she could think of to teach him a lesson. Once she had his full attention, telling him he had exactly one week to finish his work and deliver his report had been easy, and he beat her deadline by a few days.

She suspected this meeting with Jeff would not run as smoothly.

They met in a noisy restaurant. One of those impossible-to-get-reservations type in a building that used to be a bank or a warehouse or something. It had soaring ceilings and the bar stretched out along one side with an open kitchen in the back.

The servers shared a similar look. She thought of it as unshaven, hair-in-a-bun male Pacific Northwest vibe. It fit with the decor and the all-black serving outfits. They seemed to know Jeff and hovered around the table, trying to please him. Even called him by name.

She wrote the whole scene off as more of his power-play antics. He wanted to impress her, make her think he controlled everything. Whatever.

What he didn’t understand is she’d already taken on Eldrick and Rylan this week and somehow managed to tame Spence into potential boyfriend material at the same time. Whatever threats Jeff had planned would be just one in a long line she intended to bat down.

She ignored the menu in front of her and reached for the water glass. Taking a sip, she glanced around the main dining room. Saw the plates of salad and bottles of wine being delivered to tables. Heard the clink of silverware as she tried to decipher the mumble of conversation around her.

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