Chapter Twenty-One
Early September – New York
“Can you hold the elevator please?” Ben called out, breaking into a jog.
He smiled gratefully at the man who held the door open for him, and then blinked in surprise as he saw Lauren’s sister Julia inside the elevator car. Belatedly he realized that the dark haired man standing next to her was her new husband, Nathan Atwood.
“Ben,” greeted Julia happily. “I was hoping we’d run into you during our visit. This is my husband, Nathan. Baby, this is Lauren’s boss, Ben Rafferty.”
Ben shook Nathan’s hand. “A pleasure. And belated congratulations to both of you. I, ah, managed to sneak a peek at some of your wedding photos.” He smiled to note the look of surprise on Julia’s face. “No, Lauren didn’t voluntarily share them with me. One of her crew members was looking at her Facebook page and I just happened to be walking by.”
“Ah, that would explain it,” said Nathan, chuckling. “After all the hassle she gave Julia about that damned bridesmaid dress, she actually seemed pretty happy with how it all turned out on the big day.”
Ben noticed that the dark-haired Nathan was right around the same height as he was, though Julia’s husband seemed far more at ease wearing the pressed khaki slacks and fitted polo shirt – very similar to Ben’s attire today – than Ben had ever felt.
“So, what brings the two of you to New York?” he asked politely as the elevator began to rise steadily towards his floor.
The newlyweds looked at each other with a knowing smile, and Julia actually giggled.
“It’s an anniversary of sorts for us,” explained Nathan. “Julia and I met for the first time in New York two years ago. We’re just here for an extended weekend to celebrate.”
Ben smiled as the couple continued to gaze at each other lovingly. “Well, I’m sure that Lauren is happy to have you here, as well as your aunt.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you? But between getting ready for New York Fashion Week, and becoming re-acquainted with her old boyfriend, my aunt has barely had a minute to spare for us. As for Lauren – well, she’s been a little, um, let’s just say - ”
“Cranky,” inserted Nathan. “Pissy. In one of the worst moods I’ve ever seen her in, and there have been a whole lot of those in the scant year I’ve known her. I have no idea how long it’s been since that girl got - ”
“Nathan,” admonished Julia, placing a hand over his mouth. “Knock it off.” To Ben she hastily explained, “My sister takes particular joy in antagonizing Nathan, probably because he’s such an easy target for her. That being said, we’re both a little worried about her these days.”
Ben frowned. “Why is that?”
Nathan grinned evilly. “You got a few hours to spare?”
“Shush,” his wife scolded, giving him a little shove. “If Lauren learns you’ve been talking about her, she’ll drop you on your ass. Again.”
Ben suppressed a chuckle, and asked instead, “Are you here to meet her for lunch then?”
Julia nodded as the elevator stopped and they all exited. “She’s dragging us to some deli she keeps raving about. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a pastrami on rye fan, though she did let me choose where to have dinner tonight in return.”
“Hey, you should join us, Ben,” offered Nathan. “Uh, I mean, if you don’t have plans already.”
Julia nudged her husband. “Nathan, I’m pretty sure that Ben has a girlfriend. Maybe both of them would like to join us.”
Ben wondered briefly what if anything Lauren might have told her sister about Elle. “I do have a girlfriend, yes. But Elle happens to be out of town for a couple of days doing an interview for her latest article. And thanks for the invitation, Nathan, but I’ll probably be working late tonight.”
Nathan shrugged. “Sure, no problem, Ben. But if you change your mind we’ll be at Puerto 56 around seven tonight.”
“Mmm.” Julia practically smacked her full, glossy lips. “They make the best pisco sours I’ve ever had. Great tapas, too.”
“Are you still yapping about that Peruvian place you’re dragging me to tonight?” complained Lauren as she strode into the elevator lobby. “And you guys are ten minutes late. What – oh.”
She halted her tirade abruptly as she saw Ben, and gave him a ferocious scowl.
“Sorry.” Julia apologized sheepishly. “We, um, got a bit of a late start leaving our hotel, and then we ran into Ben here.”
Lauren gave her sister a knowing smirk. “Yeah, I think we can all figure out why you two were running late. But, never mind, let’s just go. I’m so hungry my stomach is having an entire conversation with itself.”
Ben couldn’t help grinning broadly, just like he could seldom resist the urge to smile at Lauren’s quick wit and often unintentional humor. “I find it hard to believe you’re that hungry,” he told her good-naturedly. “After everything I saw you put away during this morning’s meeting, I’m amazed you can even think of eating. What was it – two donuts, a package of trail mix, and at least six Red Vines. And that was just when I was in the room. There’s no telling what you’ve put away since I left.”
Lauren glared at him. “I didn’t realize you were paying such close attention to my food intake.”
His smile softened. “I pay attention to a lot of things,” he told her quietly. “You’re the one who isn’t always aware of what’s going on around you.”
He didn’t miss the curious way both Julia and Nathan were observing this interchange between him and Lauren, and once again he couldn’t help wondering what, if anything, her family really knew about him.
Lauren gave an impatient little flip of her long, thick braid before pushing the down button for the elevator, pointedly ignoring Ben as she waited for it to arrive. As the elevator doors opened, Julia gave Ben an apologetic smile and a little wave before following her sister, while Nathan silently mouthed “See what I mean” before stepping inside the car.
Ben was pensive as he walked towards his office, wondering if Julia and her husband had been right to worry about Lauren. And while Nathan had been right on the money when he’d mentioned that Lauren was frequently in a bad mood, Ben realized that it had gone way beyond that over the past couple of months. Her short-temper and almost perpetual crankiness had evolved into being withdrawn and unnaturally quiet, almost to the point of depression. And that sort of behavior was so unlike Lauren that it gave him cause for concern as well.
Truthfully, his mind hadn’t been terribly focused on the job much as of late, and thus he hadn’t paid enough attention to his staff. Rather, he’d been preoccupied with his own problems, both professional and personal ones.
Ever since Karl had called him with the news of his sudden marriage and imminent resignation from the magazine, the wheels had been spinning in Ben’s head about his own future with the company. It was almost a sure thing that he would not seek to renew his contract and remain in his current job, but exactly what he would be doing come January he hadn’t yet figured out. He knew that leaving this editorial job would both anger and upset Elle, especially since what he really wanted to do was travel again.
And Elle was quite another issue altogether. Ben had felt for some time now that they were growing further and further apart, that in fact they’d seen more of each other and liked each other better when they had been simply roommates. Complicating matters of late was the increased presence of her parents, who seemed to be around a lot more often, probably due to the fact that Gordon had retired a few months ago. Elle’s parents had stayed at the brownstone for more than a month before the trip they had all taken to Spain, and then returned to New York for an additional couple of weeks. They had just left two days ago, when they had finally jetted off to England, the same day Elle had flown to Atlanta to interview a retired ambassador for her latest article.
He and Elle hadn’t been alone, really alone, for over two months now. Not that he missed having sex with her per se, especially since she was as reserved and inhibited as ever in bed. But he was definitely horny, a condition that always seemed to be aggravated whenever Lauren was in town.
Like today, for example. Throughout the crew’s morning meeting, he’d had to force himself not to look in her direction too often. Or give away the fact that he lusted after her almost constantly. And while she had never again arrived at the office as scantily dressed as she had that one day last summer, it was small comfort as far as Ben was concerned because everything she wore called attention to her petite, full-breasted body.
Today’s outfit had been simple enough – skinny white jeans, a hip length, semi-sheer pale blue T-shirt, and bright blue Converse sneakers. But the jeans had cupped her butt cheeks like a second skin, while the lacy cups of her bra had been clearly visible through the thin material of her top. He’d had a rather uncomfortable hard-on for the better part of three hours, and it had only made matters worse to watch her eating one piece after another of that damned licorice. As she’d chewed slowly on each stick, it had brought back memories of those plush lips on his cock, and he had shifted awkwardly in his chair every few minutes.
It had been a relief when he’d had to leave the office for another appointment, though he knew his reprieve would be short-lived since he had another meeting scheduled with Lauren and her crew after lunch. Fortunately, they were flying out in the morning for a two-week assignment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. Whenever Lauren was in New York, she was a constant temptation, and Ben definitely didn’t need any additional complications in his life right now. God knew that between making a decision about a new job, and about his future with Elle, he more than had his hands full.
It was becoming more and more obvious – at least to him – that it was well past time to end things with Elle. It wasn’t fair – had never really been fair – to stay with her when he simply didn’t love her in the way she needed him to. But instead of realizing that their relationship had pretty much reached a dead end, Elle had actually begun to throw out more and more hints about getting engaged or married. He hadn’t missed even one of her not so subtle suggestions on the matter.
“I know my parents have been here for a longer than normal visit this time. But they’re just so old-fashioned, and it would make things very uncomfortable if we were to share a room when we aren’t married yet.”
Earlier this summer, she’d made arrangements for a special dinner out to celebrate their second anniversary as a couple, and had attempted to make light of the situation with a little joke.
“Just think, Ben. We’ve been together longer than several married couples I know.”
And just a few weeks ago during the trip to Spain – the one that had turned out to be a total snooze-fest for him when he’d been dragged along to museums, art galleries, and wine tastings instead of being able to get outdoors and do the things he’d wanted to do – Elle had come right out and made several comments about how perfect Spain would be for either a wedding or a honeymoon.
No, there was little doubt in his mind that the time had come to break things off with her. He wasn’t happy, hadn’t been in a long time if he was being honest with himself, and had no idea why Elle would want to remain in such a dead-end relationship. But he also realized he would have to let her down gently, over a period of time, though he certainly didn’t want things to drag on for several more weeks.
He would have to find another place to stay, of course, and had already begun to check out some short term rentals. Not knowing what his job future held at this point, he didn’t want to commit to a longer lease in the event he wouldn’t be based in New York come January.
As he walked past the conference room, he was surprised to see Karl still inside.
“Hey, didn’t you get the memo?” joked Ben. “It’s officially lunch time.”
Karl glanced up from his laptop where he’d been busily typing away. “Yeah, I must have missed that particular memo,” he said wryly. “Actually, an idea popped into my head for this book I’ve been trying to write, and I wanted to get it down before I forgot it all. I’ll go grab some chow in a second.”
Ben couldn’t help feeling intrigued. “A book, huh? Fiction?”
“Yup.” Karl nodded as he saved his document and shut his laptop. “It’s something I’ve been kicking around for a few years now. I figure I’ll have time on my hands pretty soon to do some serious work on it.”
“Any thoughts on what you’re going to do with yourself when you leave here?”
Karl shrugged. “You mean besides writing the Next Great American Novel? Not specifically, no. I’ve socked away a lot of dough, and Tamsyn’s design business has really taken off the last few years. If the writing thing doesn’t pan out, I can always help her with the goats.”
Ben nodded. “Well, if it’s any consolation, you may not be the only one trying to figure out your next career move over the next few months.”
Karl was visibly startled. “She told you? After she swore me to secrecy, threatened me with deadly bodily harm if I breathed a word?”
“Who?” asked Ben, equal parts perplexed and alarmed. “You don’t mean Lauren, do you? Jesus, is she really thinking of leaving? Is that why she’s been so out of it lately?”
Karl’s expression quickly became closed off. “I can’t talk about it, Ben. Sorry,” he added apologetically. “She’d have the world’s biggest hissy fit if I said another word.”
“Okay, I get it,” Ben acquiesced reluctantly. “I appreciate that she took you into her confidence and that you don’t want to betray that. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see what happens with her.”
Karl frowned. “If you weren’t talking about Lauren earlier, then who – God, not you, too?”
“I’m not sure yet,” replied Ben non-committedly. “I’m still working through some stuff. But any way you look at it, I’m not cut out for this job, Karl. I miss writing, miss traveling.”
“Hey, I know,” offered Karl half-jokingly. “You should just take my job when I leave.”
Ben was startled, caught completely off guard at Karl’s suggestion.
“Wow,” he breathed. “Can you believe that idea never occurred to me until now? And while I’m not sure how serious you just were, I think you might actually have something there. Definitely something for me to think about.”
Karl grinned. “It’d be perfect for you. Seamless. Except for the fact that Elle wouldn’t be very happy about your traveling again. And especially about the fact that you’d be traveling with Lauren.”
Ben was caught off guard for the second time in less than a minute. “Huh? Why would you think she’d have a problem with Lauren?”
Karl gave a hoot of laughter. “Oh, that’s a good one! Come on, it was obvious to all of us the very first time they met that Elle did not like our girl. And deny it all you want, but I’ve spent the last year and a half watching you and Lauren do this weird little dance around each other every time you’re in the same room. And, well, you aren’t fooling anybody, man.”
Ben felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, and he stammered and stuttered for several seconds before shaking his head. “Do the others suspect, do you think?” he asked somberly.
Karl waved a hand in dismissal. “Nah. Chris is in another world half the time. Or stoned. As for George, he’s too worried about making sure all of his notes are in order to notice. Plus, he’s still terrified of Lauren and doesn’t even look at her unless it’s absolutely necessary. Your secret is safe with me, Ben.”
“There’s really not a secret to keep,” protested Ben. “I mean, sure I think Lauren’s hot. And there might be some, uh, chemistry between us. But there’s nothing actually going on.”
“I know,” drawled Karl. “You’re a good guy, Ben, not the sort who’d two time his girlfriend. And there’s zero chance Lauren would even consider hooking up with someone who’s already taken. That’s one of her ironclad rules of dating, didn’t you know?”
Ben found himself smiling despite the shock he was still experiencing from Karl’s very matter-of-fact observations. “I guess not. What are some of her other so-called rules?”
“Oh, geez, let’s see. No one who’s married, engaged, or otherwise involved. Absolutely no co-workers or anyone else related to her job. No nerds, dweebs, or geeks. Nobody who’s shorter than she is or more than ten pounds overweight. Guys who wear suits are usually a major turnoff. Oh, and absolutely no bald guys. There’s more, I think, but I forget the rest.”
Ben laughed. “That sounds like Lauren all right. It’s a wonder with all of those restrictions that she dates as much as she does.”
Karl gave him an odd look. “She hardly ever dates. I can’t think of the last time she mentioned going out with someone. And Carlo doesn’t count, since he’s like a brother to her. You know, Lauren likes to talk a lot, brag some, but that’s all it is most of the time.”
Everything Karl had just told him continued to weigh on his mind for the rest of the afternoon, especially the realization that his attraction to Lauren apparently hadn’t gone unnoticed. At least, he consoled himself, Karl still didn’t seem to know about his past relationship with Lauren. It appeared that he and Lauren were still the only ones who were aware of their history with each other.
He wound up spending far too much time mulling over all the things Karl had just discussed – how Ben should consider taking his job; how Elle’s jealousy of Lauren was as apparent as Ben’s attraction to her; that Lauren evidently didn’t date much at all and hadn’t for some time. He was distracted during the three different meetings he had scheduled that afternoon, pushed papers around on his desk, and got very little actual work done. By the time four o’clock rolled around, he realized he had at least two or three hours worth of work to get through before he could even think of leaving for the day. He heaved a sigh and thought that taking over Karl’s job was definitely the best idea he’d had in a long time. But since the possibility of that happening was still a few months away, Ben began to plough through the never ending pile of papers on his desk.
It was only a knock on his office door an hour later that caused him to finally lift his head, and he frowned in mild irritation as Lauren poked her head inside. It had been quite some time since she’d sought him out for any reason, and he could only guess at what might have pissed her off enough to finally approach him.
“Hey, you got a few minutes?” she asked, her voice sounding a bit too forced, and he could swear she actually looked nervous.
Ben glanced at all the work he still had to get done before he could get a start on his weekend, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming at his temples. “Not really,” he muttered. “Can it wait until Monday?”
“I won’t be here on Monday,” she reminded him. “We’re flying out early tomorrow morning, remember? On the first of four flights, I might add. Jesus, Nadine really outdid herself this time, didn’t she? And I know for a fact that we could have made it there with only three flights, looked them all up myself.”
Ben scrubbed a hand over his face, gazing at Lauren impatiently. “Is that what you wanted to talk about – Nadine’s latest round of travel arrangements? Because I have real work to do, Lauren. I don’t have the time right now to deal with one of your tantrums.”
She glared at him but surprisingly just shook her head rather than fire back with a scathing retort. “No, that’s not what I came in here for. It’s – something else. And it’s important, Ben.”
He suddenly thought of what Karl had hinted at earlier – that Lauren, too, might be thinking of leaving the magazine. And he knew he was really not in the mood to deal with that kind of drama right now.
“I’m sorry,” he told her curtly. “But I really can’t spare the time right now. Maybe you should make an appointment with Kym when you get back from the trip. Or send me an email about it.”
“An email.” She looked at him strangely before shaking her head. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Sorry for taking you away from your important work.”
Lauren dashed off even as he thought of calling her back. There had been something in her voice, in the way she had looked at him, that made him think what she had to say wasn’t related to the job in any way.
Ben slammed a fist on his desk, pissed off at himself for having acted like such an ass, and regretting how impatient he’d just been with her. He half-rose from his chair, intending to go after her, until he decided instead to take Nathan Atwood up on his earlier invitation.