Chapter 25 – Lacey
I walked to my car, feeling drained. It wasn’t even noon yet, and I was exhausted. That was partly because I had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, having sex. It was also partly because I’d had to fight the whole morning to restore the dignity of a man I didn’t feel exactly deserved it.
And to think, I’d slept with him. Not once, but twice. The first time had been because he’d been hot as hell in that damn tux and he’d just donated so much money to the hospital. There was something about selflessness that just turned a woman on. I wasn’t sure what it was. The second time had been my fault.
I’d been so drunk, I’d only been able to think of two things, sex and Hanson. I had gone to him and put the two together. And it had been a bad idea. It had meant nothing to him.
Of course, it didn’t mean anything to me, either, I quickly reminded myself. I didn’t care about Hanson and what he might feel for me. My own ego was a little bruised that he’d been able to get over our night together so quickly, but that was it.
I didn’t care what he did and with whom, when he wasn’t with me. I didn’t care.
I didn’t care, I didn’t care, I didn’t care. Maybe if I repeated it enough times to myself, it would be true.
I stopped in my parking space and made my way to my office. I’d just sat down behind my desk when Conrad knocked on my door.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“It worked,” I said. “Your call was just in time.”
He nodded. “It’s a pleasure. You just let me know if you need my help again to do your job.” He winked at me.
I shook my head, but I couldn’t help smiling.
“God, what a morning,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
“He’s a handful,” Conrad said. He wasn’t even asking. It was a statement.
“You have no idea,” I said. “If any other guy does what he’s doing, it would just be written off as a guy thing. Some men are like that, and women accept or reject them, and nothing comes of it. But he’s so damn famous, everything he does has repercussions.”
“It’s good for the good stuff, but when it goes bad, I get it.”
I nodded and glanced up at Conrad.
“You should be glad you don’t have clients like mine,” I said. “Yours always seem so timid.”
Conrad chuckled. “We can swap.”
I shook my head. That sounded like a good idea. I wasn’t in the mood for Hanson’s shit anymore, but I had to deal with it.
“I have to get back to work,” Conrad said. “My boring clients await.”
He left my office. I rubbed my hands down my face, not caring that I was wearing makeup. My back hurt from standing on my heels too long. My neck ached. It was where I kept all my tension. And I hadn’t eaten at all.
The phone rang, and I picked up.
“Townsend,” I said.
“Hello, Lacey.” At least he wasn’t calling me “beautiful.”
“You’re phoning me on the office line?” I asked.
“I was worried you might not answer if I called your cell,” he said.
Right. That would have been a possibility. I wasn’t in the mood to speak to him.
“You’re my client,” I said. “I’m not going to ignore your calls.”
“But you might not want to speak to me, either way.”
I didn’t respond to that. It was true. Just because I had to didn’t mean I wanted to.
The problem with sleeping with my client was that I couldn’t just recover from it in peace and forget what I’d done. I had to see them and speak to them all the time. It was one of the reasons why sleeping with Hanson had been such a big mistake.
That, and the fact that he was a first-class asshole.
“What do you need?” I asked.
I’d wanted to be rude about it, but I kept myself in check.
“I wanted to thank you for talking to Coach. He was really pissed at me, and you smoothed it over.”
I sighed. “It wasn’t easy. You need to keep yourself in check. I don’t think you realize how easy it will be for him to get rid of you again.”
“I know, I know. I was thinking, let’s go out for a drink or two. I want to thank you properly for what you’ve done. What you’ve been doing. For me. Right now, I still have a career thanks to you.”
I didn’t hesitate before I answered him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Hanson.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not going to take that risk and be seen in a public place with you if it’s not for business.”
He sighed. “Are you sure? It’s just to say thank you.”
“I’m sure. Others might not interpret it that way.”
He didn’t fight with me. Instead, he politely ended the call and hung up. I was relieved. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight.
When I finally got home, my feet were aching, and my head felt like it was filled with cotton wool. It had been a long day. I walked to the bathroom and opened the taps, running myself a bath. I rarely took a bath. It took too much time and I was always so busy. But I needed to relax.
I poured bath salts into the water, and the steam smelled like lavender and rose right away. I was just about to strip down when a knock sounded at my door.
I sighed and turned off the taps before walking to the door. When I opened it, Hanson stood on my doorstep with a bottle of wine.
“No limousine?” I asked sarcastically.
“Don’t be like that,” he said. His voice was gentle.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” My tone had been unnecessary. “What are you doing here?”
“You don’t want to be in public with me. I get that. So, I brought the drink and my thanks to you.”
He held up the bottle of wine. I glanced at it. It was an expensive bottle, a Chateau de la Tour.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Hanson. Not tonight, okay? I just want to be alone.”
Hanson swallowed. He looked dejected, but he didn’t argue with me. I closed the door on him and leaned against it. I half-expected him to knock again. He didn’t.
I walked to the bathroom and stripped off my clothes. When I sank into the hot water, my body finally relaxed, and the tension slipped out of my shoulders bit by bit.
It had been sweet of Hanson to come around to the house. He had taken what I’d said about not being seen together in public seriously. It was another act of selflessness. He had it in there, somewhere. And it was nice that someone cared.
No. I wouldn’t think like that. I didn’t care what he did, and he didn’t care about anything other than getting some ass. I was just stressed and my guard was down. I didn’t need a man.
Yes, we had slept together, but it had just been about sex. That was what it would always be about with me.
I had made myself a promise, and I would stick to it.
No strings. No attachments. Only sex.
So why was it so hard to stick to those rules with Hanson Bell?