Page 70 of The Fix Up

She looked at him then, and the sadness in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Her mind was made up. If she was really ready to walk away from this, maybe she wasn’t the woman he thought she was.

You’re just like your father after all. Relationships can never turn out to be more than career-building tools.

As if to emphasize the point, Holly stood up and smoothed her hands down her skirt. She took a step away from the bed, and the look on her face nearly broke his heart.

“Good-bye, Ben,” she said, and took another step back. Then another, her gaze still on his face like she was trying to memorize him. Then she turned away and moved toward the door.

As the door clicked shut behind her, Ben took a deep breath.

Then he swallowed his alpha male ego, and let her go.

CHAPTER13

Ben glared at himself in the dressing room mirror. The tuxedo he wore made him look like an angry monkey, which only served to piss him off more.

“You look fabulous!”

Ben turned to see Marcus the salesman smiling at him through the open doorway. Ben pivoted and checked out his side view in the mirror, but that wasn’t much better. From this angle, he looked more like a disgruntled penguin.

Marcus didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he was too discreet to say anything. “The fit is almost perfect,” he said, hustling forward to straighten Ben’s lapels. “A little tailoring through the shoulders and we’ll have you fixed up in a jiff. When did you say this charity gala is happening?”

“Saturday.”

“Perfect. We’ll have you all squared away. Do you need any more ties?”

“Ties,” Ben repeated. “Let me think on that.” Christ, he’d bought more ties in the last month than he’d purchased in his entire life up to that point, which wasn’t saying much. Still, he had no idea when he’d ever get around to wearing them all. Dinner dates with Holly?

That wasn’t going to happen.

He’d tried to get up the nerve to call, but each time he heard her words echoing in his ears.

It was always just a business arrangement.

So that’s how it was. He didn’t know why the idea had caught him by surprise. It was how all his father’s relationships had been structured, and Ben had been doing his best to master his dad’s job. He was fulfilling his own destiny here.

A rustling behind him pulled Ben from his thoughts. “I think he needs one of those snot rag things.”

Ben turned at the sound of his best friend’s voice, and smiled to see Parker ambling toward the open dressing room.

Marcus eyed Parker and gave an uncomfortable little laugh. “Snot rag?”

“I think he’s talking about a pocket square,” Ben said. “And the fact that I even know what a pocket square is means I’ve effectively become my father.”

“Pocket square! Yes, of course,” Marcus said. “I have several I can show you if you’d like?”

“That’d be great,” Parker told him. “It’ll give me a chance to talk to this dumbass.”

Marcus looked back at Ben, probably wondering if it was safe to leave the two of them alone together. Ben gave a silent nod, so Marcus turned and hurried toward the door.

“Absolutely,” the salesman said, scurrying down the hall as he chattered on about silk paisley while Ben turned back to the mirror and straightened his tie.

“You know, you couldn’t become your father if you had a million snot rags,” Parker said, leaning against the wall. “And you couldn’t be a bigger dipshit if you put catnip in your pockets and crawled into a lion’s den.”

“Thank you. Is this heartwarming little pep talk almost over?”

Parker shook his head and slugged Ben in the shoulder. It was enough to make him turn around and look his friend in the eye again. “What?” Ben demanded.

“I knew you were a mess when you texted me to bail on our gym time because your dad ordered you to get a new tuxedo. Don’t you have enough monkey suits?”

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