Hailey couldn't believe what had happened. Her whole body was shaking as she stepped out of her office. If she hadn't witnessed it, she would have thought someone was messing with her. At first she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Leaving all of them behind so she could sulk in her apartment had a certain appeal to it.

Matthew's office door was closed when she stopped in front of it. Hailey needed to start sticking up for herself, and Matthew was the lucky candidate that was going to be her guinea pig. Instead of letting herself think too long, afraid she would chicken out, she barged into his office and closed the door with more force than she meant to.

“Hailey. I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now.” Matthew was sitting at his desk, staring out the huge window.

She wasn’t sure how he knew it was her, but she wasn't going to leave. Not until she had her say. Hailey once again bristled at how unfair she really was treated. Yes, she was a new associate but her office barely had ventilation let alone a window. Matthew's office was at least four times the size of hers, and that thought made her fume.

“I don't care, Matthew. I want to talk.” She was proud that her voice didn't shake the way her body was.

Matthew turned around in his chair putting his back to the gorgeous view he had and glared at her. “Was it you that asked to stay on Mr. Daly's account?” he asked, not letting her talk.

So much for not wanting to hash it out. Men, ugh.

“Yes,” Hailey replied not flinching when his eyes narrowed even further.

“I see. Hailey, I think you are over your head with Jasper's account. I have more knowledge than you do when it comes to this. You have done an excellent job with the small amount of experience you have, but you really need to let it go. I'm worried about you. I don't want to see you crash and burn.”

“Stop,” she ordered holding up her hand to keep him from continuing whatever tirade he had planned. “I've heard all this before. Yes, Bill told me that he was going to remove me from Jasper's account. Yes, I told him that I felt it was a mistake and I pled my case that I should keep the account. But it didn't matter, Bill was still going to remove me from the account no matter how much I begged.”

“I don't understand,” Matthew said, getting up and walking around his desk so he could stand in front of her. He had a gleam in his eyes and Hailey started to feel uncomfortable.

“Jasper told Bill that if I was removed from the account he would leave the company and seek another PR firm to represent him. Bill tried to talk some sense into him but Jasper refused to budge and demanded that I stay on the account.”

“Why would he do that?”

Hailey took a deep breath. Was she not respected in this company at all? Her already knotted stomach churned as she tried to explain she wasn't as dumb as they seemed to think she was.

“I don't know, Matthew.” The way his name left her mouth it sounded like it tasted bitter. “Maybe because I'm doing a good job pulling his tarnished reputation out of the gutter all by myself.”

“Hailey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. You’re a smart girl, of course you would have recognized that Bill and I were right in wanting to take the account from you. These artists are odd and eccentric. So it makes sense he would want to keep you as his rep. I should have known you wouldn't have done that to me.”

“I would do that to you Matthew, because I deserve this.”

“Oh really,” Matthew’s eyes held a certain fire.

“Look, you can be mad if you want to, but Bill never lets me have any of the good clients.” She sat across from him. “I have Missy and she is on me every minute to get her on television or in front of the camera. This is the first time I’ve gotten a break. You should be happy for me.”

“Whatever. I think I’m better suited for this than you are, but if you want to play with the big boys, I’ll sit back and watch.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I thought you were different. I didn’t think you were a chauvinist like Bill. I can’t believe he told Jasper I begged for this job. Yes, I overheard that in case you think I didn’t. You know that’s not true, I was qualified.”

Hailey had tried harder than she ever had with Jasper's account. She wanted to prove to herself this was something she was capable of doing. She had convinced herself that if she did a good job, she would get a promotion, helping her financial situation even more. Now she wasn't so sure a promotion was in her future, or if it ever was. It seemed that Bill still thought of her as an incapable woman, and balancing the Jasper account as well as she was doing, still hadn’t convinced him she was a good asset to the company. Hailey felt useless, and that was a feeling she hated most of all.

She had never been more furious in her life than when Bill suggested that Matthew take over the account. Well, that was until Matthew told her that she was done playing with the big boys, or whatever the hell he said. She couldn't really understand what he was saying as her ears started ringing with anger the more Matthew talked, but she got the idea of what he meant and it wasn't nice. After their date, could she even consider them a couple? They would be an odd couple if they were. One that didn't talk at work and said mean things over the course of dinner. No, she decided, one dinner meant they were talking not dating. Still, he had taken her out so he should respect her more.

He stepped closer to her. Hailey moved back until she ran into the door. His hand touched her shoulder and he cocked his head as if trying to figure something out.

Hailey wanted to be more confident.

The sad thing was, Hailey had started doubting herself in all aspects of her life. What other PR representative would sleep next to their client? Sure he was doped up on pain meds and she slept over the covers. Nobody knew it yet, but what if it came out that the only reason Jasper got hit was because they almost kissed, she ran out of his apartment and he followed her, getting hit by a car. How incompetent could she be? Hailey felt what little self-esteem she had wither and die.

Matthew wasn’t getting this one. She was doing a fantastic job handling Jasper's social media accounts and personal appearances. One of the sponsors that dropped him when Tara released the naked photos of them was rethinking their position, and would most likely take Jasper back by the end of the week.

As she thought this, Matthew had moved even closer, catching her off guard and thrust his tongue into her mouth. Hailey was going to push him off but his strong arms wrapped around her waist bringing her flush with him and his hard muscles. Confusion set in. Her body burst with a bit of energy, but nothing like the romance novels she read. It had more fire in it than their first kiss, but still something felt off. Hailey wondered if she wasn't feeling the chemistry because they were in the middle of a discussion. She wondered if this was the way Matthew would end every argument they had in the future. At least the ones where he was in the wrong.

She tried to enjoy the kiss by putting her hands on his chest to feel the ridged muscles underneath. This was Matthew after all. The man she had been lusting after ever since she started working at Big Deal. While Matthew kissed her and ran his hands up and down her back, Hailey tried to decide which was the lesser of two evils. An office romance with a man that had more seniority over her, or her rock star client? She remembered the contract she signed when she was hired on at Big Deal stating she wouldn't have any affiliation with a client of the company whether she represented them or not. The contract stated with no uncertainty that if she were discovered canoodling with the clients, she would have first-class ticket to unemployment-town. Well, that wasn't the exact wording, but the rule was clear. And although office romances were frowned upon, she wouldn't be fired if she and Matthew were found out.

While Matthew was moaning into her mouth pressing himself into her, she was thinking of the choices she had between the two men. She had a feeling that if it were Jasper sticking his tongue down her throat, any form of reasonable thought would be thrown out the window. Just his lips brushing her hair in the kitchen this morning made her more breathless than what she was feeling now. With that, Hailey moved away from Matthew.

He smiled at her, his breath coming out in short pants. “I know we shouldn't have done that but I couldn't help myself. Do you know how hard it is for me to see you at work every day and not touch you?”

“Really? Because you seem to have no trouble ignoring me while we are here.”

Matthew frowned at her. Hailey had never been so blunt with him before, and he was probably wondering how to respond to her newfound voice. Hailey was trying to find a way to maintain her confidence. She had let people walk all over her for so long. When she was a little girl, her grandma always told her to ignore the people who were putting her down. They didn't mean anything to her in the long run, but Hailey had to admit sticking up for herself felt good. She had paid her dues trying to show that she was a worthy associate and letting people walk over her wasn't helping her get ahead. It was time to change her tactic and see where that got her. This independent Hailey felt good. If she could get rid of the butterflies banging around in her stomach and the constant need to apologize for talking back, she would be set.

Matthew's frown melted away and a smile appeared more dazzling than she had ever seen it. He stroked her cheek with his finger before putting his forehead on hers. “It's for show, Hailey. We can't let anyone know that we are together or they would think it was unprofessional. Or that you were using me to get ahead.”

“Why would they think that? You haven't been here that much longer than I have. You didn't tell me what cup to pick to win Jasper's account.”

“I may not have been here that much longer, but I know what I'm doing, Hailey. And one thing I should tell you is calling him Jasper instead of Mr. Daly is very unprofessional.”

“Matthew, I don't want to fight with you. We obviously are not going to see eye to eye on this. I will have to prove to you and Bill that I am very capable of handling Jasper's account. I'm not against proving myself, but I need you to stop undermining everything I have done. And I'm sure you took the same business classes I had to take in college.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Let me give you a refresher. You treat clients differently according to the way they want to be treated. Jasper is a rock star in case you weren't aware. I have seen his naked body plastered across the internet thanks to his ex-girlfriend. I think calling him Mr. Daly would be ridiculous at this point.”

“Hailey, what has gotten into you?”

“What do you mean?” She knew what he meant but she couldn't think of a proper response. Her independent streak was waning away. Her head was starting to pound, and she seemed to be talking in circles. Maybe turning over Jasper's account would be the right thing to do. Hailey rolled her eyes at herself and her inability to make a choice.

“First of all you're dressed differently.” Matthew's gaze traveled down her body taking in her tight jeans and her off the shoulder shirt.

“What's wrong with this?” Hailey resisted the urge to wrap her arms around herself to shield any criticism against her clothing. It was like high school all over again.

“Nothing. I like it. I always knew you had a sexy body. I felt it when we kissed the first time, but this is hot. But maybe not the most appropriate for the office. Also your attitude is a bit off putting.”

“My attitude? Bill tried to take me off the Jasper account without having any other reason except I haven't had a big account yet. I’m going to have a bit of an attitude.”

Matthew ran his hand over his face, as if he was annoyed with her. “Hailey, what I'm trying to tell you is that you really are not ready for this.”

Hailey opened her mouth wanting to blast him, but he took the wind out of her sails with a smile as he pulled her in for a hug before releasing her.

“I just want to see you succeed. Bill can be a tyrant when it comes to his company and his employees. I worry about you. Especially since you insist on keeping this account.”

“Jasper insisted that I keep the account. Not me. But it doesn't mean I don't agree with his decision.”

Matthew held up his hand to get her to stop. Hailey closed her mouth even though she wanted to say more.

“Ok. Well, I'm not going to argue semantics with you. I care about you and your place in this company. Let me help you. Why don't we discuss Jasper's account later? I will give you some pointers and let you know my opinion on some of the things you have planned.”

“That sounds good,” Hailey said. Maybe Matthew really did want to help her and she was just being paranoid. Matthew had been weird with her when they had dinner the other night, but maybe he didn't know how to tell her he wanted to help her.

“I will call you later and let you know when a good time is. I should get back to Jasper before he goes searching for me.”

Matthew smiled at her and she left his office feeling even more confused than when she entered it. Matthew was so inconsistent with the way he treated her. He may have had an excuse for every one of his actions, but it still made her feel like she wasn't good enough.

The closer she got to her office the more guilt she felt kissing Matthew. As wrong as it was, she and Jasper were connecting, and it wasn't just on a client level. Even though he helped her by giving her advice on Matthew, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something between the two of them.

When she entered her office Jasper was sitting in her chair behind her desk staring at the door. “How are you feeling? Do you need more pain pills? Do you want Carl to take you home?” The way Jasper continued to stare made dread fill her stomach.

“Did you make up with Matthew?”

“We discussed me staying on your account.” Hailey remembered the kiss in his office and blushed.

Jasper's mouth thinned and his jaw moved. When he spoke, it surprised Hailey. “He's a good guy, Hailey. You should work it out with him.”

“I think we did.” Hailey's heart hurt at his words. She didn't know why she felt betrayed, but she did. She was stupid to expect him to tell her to get rid of Matthew and choose him. She wasn't ready to ruin her career and thinking that way with Jasper was a good way to do that. She pushed her disappointment back and put on her professional hat.

“We’ll go make an appearance at the charity cookout tomorrow. Should be a good opportunity for us.”