Read Online Back to the Drawing Board by L.L. Collins - Free Book Online
Authors: L.L. Collins
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dad will never stand for that. And it’s not like I could hide it. Wait until you see this man. He’s . . . deadly. Death by libido.”
Tracey roared in my ear, making me smile. “God, I love you. If he’s that fine, I may be fine with death by libido. Don’t you wish you remembered?”
I thought back to Carter’s cut body, the way he felt against me during the part of the night I could remember, and I groaned. “Like nothing else. But what am I going to do if he ends up moving here, Trace? Whether we slept together or not, there’s something between us—- a sexual tension.”
“Julia,” she said. “You need to relax. There’s nothing you can do but wait and see. And the two of you are adults. If you want to start a relationship, who cares if you work together?”
“A relationship? I never said that. Plus, it will be my dad that’ll care. Oh, I’m in so much trouble. Why did I go to that bar last night? Why did I get trashed? Why did he have to be such a gentleman? ”
Tracey snorted. “He left you in a hotel room. I don’t see that as a gentleman, but you’re all torn up over him anyway. He’s not your normal hook-up, Jules. I know you’ve been ‘hearts off’ since everything happened with your brother, but you can’t let his choices ruin you for your future. Whether it’s this Carter guy or someone else, it’s about time you want more than just a roll in the sheets. You deserve more.”
Tears blinded my eyes and I stopped my pacing, stretching my neck as I held the phone with my hand. Leave it to Tracey to throw out all of my issues matter-of-factly. “Okay, so maybe he wasn’t completely a gentleman. But there’s still something about him . . .”
“Listen to me,” she whispered. “Go talk to your dad. See what he’s thinking about Carter. If he doesn’t get the job, you can call him back and say it was a great night and be done with it, if that’s what you want. If he does get the job, you’re going to have to decide if you want to pursue things with him. There are plenty of people at that firm, Jules. You don’t have to be the one that oversees him, you know.”
She was right. But there was no way I could tell my dad I didn’t want to oversee Carter because I may have slept with him and I may possibly have feelings for a guy I’d known only for a few hours. He would give me that ‘look’, the one that told me he was disappointed in my choices. Then he would lecture me about my career and why I should follow in the footsteps of my mother, who didn’t let being a woman in a male-dominated career stop her from being one of the best. That was because, of course, she worked her ass off to the detriment of every other thing in her life, her children included. Maybe if she’d been more of a mother and less of a ball-busting career person, things wouldn’t be the way that they were. Every school performance, every dance recital, all accomplishments were attended by our lifelong nanny, Nancy. Even though I’ve been an adult for six years, it was Nancy who called me and made sure I was okay. Not that my parents didn’t love me; they just didn’t see it the same way. I swore that if I ever became a wife and mother it would be different. I could do both things, but I’d never let my job take priority over being there for my family.
After a sleepless night, I checked my makeup in the mirror in the office bathroom, making sure I didn’t look exhausted before heading in to meet with my father. I hadn’t called Carter back, but had dreamt all night about our night together. My imagination sure wanted to dream of our explosive lovemaking, but who knew if that was my overactive and exhausted brain coming up with its own version of what happened? I laid in bed most of the night after that dream reliving it over and over. The way he touched me, the way he felt on me and in me, and the way his bright blue eyes watched me in the moonlight.
Sigh. This wasn’t helping. Pulling
Tracey roared in my ear, making me smile. “God, I love you. If he’s that fine, I may be fine with death by libido. Don’t you wish you remembered?”
I thought back to Carter’s cut body, the way he felt against me during the part of the night I could remember, and I groaned. “Like nothing else. But what am I going to do if he ends up moving here, Trace? Whether we slept together or not, there’s something between us—- a sexual tension.”
“Julia,” she said. “You need to relax. There’s nothing you can do but wait and see. And the two of you are adults. If you want to start a relationship, who cares if you work together?”
“A relationship? I never said that. Plus, it will be my dad that’ll care. Oh, I’m in so much trouble. Why did I go to that bar last night? Why did I get trashed? Why did he have to be such a gentleman? ”
Tracey snorted. “He left you in a hotel room. I don’t see that as a gentleman, but you’re all torn up over him anyway. He’s not your normal hook-up, Jules. I know you’ve been ‘hearts off’ since everything happened with your brother, but you can’t let his choices ruin you for your future. Whether it’s this Carter guy or someone else, it’s about time you want more than just a roll in the sheets. You deserve more.”
Tears blinded my eyes and I stopped my pacing, stretching my neck as I held the phone with my hand. Leave it to Tracey to throw out all of my issues matter-of-factly. “Okay, so maybe he wasn’t completely a gentleman. But there’s still something about him . . .”
“Listen to me,” she whispered. “Go talk to your dad. See what he’s thinking about Carter. If he doesn’t get the job, you can call him back and say it was a great night and be done with it, if that’s what you want. If he does get the job, you’re going to have to decide if you want to pursue things with him. There are plenty of people at that firm, Jules. You don’t have to be the one that oversees him, you know.”
She was right. But there was no way I could tell my dad I didn’t want to oversee Carter because I may have slept with him and I may possibly have feelings for a guy I’d known only for a few hours. He would give me that ‘look’, the one that told me he was disappointed in my choices. Then he would lecture me about my career and why I should follow in the footsteps of my mother, who didn’t let being a woman in a male-dominated career stop her from being one of the best. That was because, of course, she worked her ass off to the detriment of every other thing in her life, her children included. Maybe if she’d been more of a mother and less of a ball-busting career person, things wouldn’t be the way that they were. Every school performance, every dance recital, all accomplishments were attended by our lifelong nanny, Nancy. Even though I’ve been an adult for six years, it was Nancy who called me and made sure I was okay. Not that my parents didn’t love me; they just didn’t see it the same way. I swore that if I ever became a wife and mother it would be different. I could do both things, but I’d never let my job take priority over being there for my family.
After a sleepless night, I checked my makeup in the mirror in the office bathroom, making sure I didn’t look exhausted before heading in to meet with my father. I hadn’t called Carter back, but had dreamt all night about our night together. My imagination sure wanted to dream of our explosive lovemaking, but who knew if that was my overactive and exhausted brain coming up with its own version of what happened? I laid in bed most of the night after that dream reliving it over and over. The way he touched me, the way he felt on me and in me, and the way his bright blue eyes watched me in the moonlight.
Sigh. This wasn’t helping. Pulling
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