“You definitely did not tell me she looked like that.”
Ted nodded his head, “I said she was cute.”
“That is not cute.’
“Calm down Jaxon, she works for us. No funny business.”
“To hell you say. I call dibs.”
“What are we still in college?”
“I called it.”
“You can’t. She is not interested.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“We need a trainer more than you need another woman in your bed.”
“I don’t know Ted. She could be the one.”
Ted sighed. There was no stopping Jaxon and that was why he hadn’t mentioned it and had kept him away as long as possible. Because he knew that he was going to act exactly like he was acting. “So you are going to tell me that you have serious not tried, her the next room over?”
“No. Of course not Jaxon.”
“What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. I just think we should keep it professional. She actually is really good and she will make us a lot of money.”
“I have enough money Ted.”
Ted sighed. He knew that Jaxon was the way he was, but it was still irritating. He was like a dog that had to be kept on a lease or he would go dry hump whatever he could reach. It was sadly more literal than metaphorical and the image left a smile on his face.
“Weren’t you the one that said you could never have enough money?”
“I am growing, priorities are changing. See, she is the one.”
“You have lost it.”
“She looks so innocent. You think she is a virgin? How old is she?”
“She is like nineteen. Way too young for you.”
“We are the same age.”
“I am not trying.”
“Then why can’t I?”
“You are impossible and I doubt she is. Now drop it before she hears you and quits in the morning. Why do you think I haven’t invited you over?”
“I wondered why you sent me on the last supply run. I think you were trying to keep her all to yourself. Well don’t worry Ted. I will be around to help out more. You are always saying how I don’t do my part.
“I figured you would say something like that.”
***
Ted went to bed that night, thinking about Penny, as he had every night that week. He wondered if she knew how much he wanted her. Ted had seen her looking his way a couple of times, but as soon as he looked over at her, she looked down or walked away. It was clear that she liked what she saw, but he didn’t think she was too happy about wanting him. Maybe she felt the same way about mixing business and pleasure. Or maybe she was innocent like Jaxon had suggested.
He would have believed that, especially by the way the other guys talked about her. She didn’t really flirt with any of them and there was a wide variety of men to choose from with almost 20 other employees. The fact that she had not started talking to one of them was suspect at best. While he liked to think that it was because she had the hots for him, Penny had more eyes for Jaxon it seemed. It was the smooth talk and the suits he presumed.
It was a shame, but Ted had more things than a woman to worry about. Everything was going good in the business, yet it was hard to ignore the competition that was moving in and how to stay ahead of it. Jaxon wanted to expand, but Ted wanted to keep it manageable. He didn’t want to hire someone to manage the place or several people. He also didn’t want to go public with the company, but the expansion Jaxon had in his eyes would make it necessary. They had never been so off page with each other and Ted was worried that it would send the two friends on opposite sides.
Ted was lying in the bed, trying to think of anything else but the issues with Jaxon and it was so quiet in the room that he could hear his own heart pounding. He got up to turn on the radio for some background noise, but stopped when he heard a sound from the next room over. It was a small moan, a whimper and it made his blood boil.
He moved towards his side of the wall and held his breath, afraid that what he had heard was just his imagination. The reality hit him like a ton of bricks and his pants became almost immediately uncomfortable.
“Mmm yes, oh…”
Ted listened as the young woman came on the other side of the wall. He bit his lip to stifle the groan that was dying to come out. He didn’t know how innocent she appeared, but she definitely knew how to take care of herself. He wished that he could have helped her. It was even harder to get to sleep after listening to her moans. It made him want her more and the feeling he had felt from Jaxon was taking over his own body. He needed her ever so badly all of a sudden.