Chapter 11
Monday morning, Reid sat sipping his coffee across from Naomi. Fortunately, his eye hadn’t turned black and blue. He just had a small cut above his brow that hadn’t, in fact, needed stitches. His brother had accepted his scrapes with the excuse that he’d stopped a mugging. Not that uncommon in the city.
Reid had made sure to arrive at the coffee shop fifteen minutes early so he could be settled and ready to negotiate with his sexy PR expert. But she’d beaten him in and had turned the tables, watching him take his seat.
Nicely played.
He felt the tension, had known it would be there. The feisty redhead had no way of knowing he was a man of his word. It would take time for Naomi to trust that he meant what he said. He did respect her. He did want them to be professional about the business. He would never talk about what they’d done to anyone, because it was no one’s business but theirs.
But Naomi had been burned before. He would need to prove she could trust him. And then, God willing, she’d use that talented mouth on him…everywhere.
He should have been too tired to be hard again, but nope. Just thoughts of Naomi turned him to stone, and sitting across from her didn’t help. She wore a perfume that mixed with her natural scent and had him in mind of sex and spring.
He sipped his coffee and watched her, doing his best to clear his fogging mind. “You look lovely this morning.”
She tipped her head. “So do you.”
He watched her over his coffee. “My, my, Ms. Starr. Such a flatterer.”
She grinned. “You started it.”
“And I’m not even done with my first cup of coffee yet.” He didn’t have to work hard to come up with compliments. He noted the subdued green shirt with full cuffs she wore, the khaki pants and high heels. Naomi Starr was a knockout whether dressed to impress or in a worn robe with matted hair.
Frankly, he wasn’t sure which look he preferred, and the thought amused him.
And remind her of what he’d promised to bury behind a casual facade? No way. “Let’s just say I’m impressed I’m talking before ten o’clock with so little caffeine in my system.”
“Caffeine and sugar. Don’t forget your pastry.” She nodded at his plate.
“I like sweets. It’s a weakness.” He glanced at the half-eaten chocolate croissant on her plate. “But at least I’m in good company.” He guzzled more coffee. “Now show me what you came up with for our campaign.”
Fascinated, he watched her shift into all-work-no-play Naomi—the competent, take-no-prisoners businesswoman who knew her craft inside and out.
He had no doubt Naomi would take his business to the next level. Hearing her speak in such precise, knowledgeable terms while detailing a plan for success, he believed in her. And that had nothing to do with her looks and everything to do with her intelligence.
Unfortunately, those smarts made her even more attractive to him.
“I know web design takes time,” Naomi was saying. “And you’re working with Dennis, who’s a genius. You’re obviously not his only client. But I swing a lot of business his way, so he’s going to put you at the top of his priority list. With a few more changes to your site, you’ll be ready to maximize the interview’s impact. I also reached out to a few local magazines and the paper, and we’ll have you swamped in overlapping coverage for the next two weeks, a hard push to get your name out there.
“Then we’ll back off, let the magic of your charm and your company do its work, then start pushing from an advertising perspective.”
“Whatever you say.” It all sounded good to him.
“In the meantime, I suggest you continue with your plan to hire more people. It’s fine to keep a small firm small, but you’ve already mentioned you’d like Vets on the Go! to grow to meet recent demand. The larger you are, the more veterans you can hire, which helps the community.”
“True, but hiring takes time. Don’t get me wrong, I respect anyone who’s served their country. But just because you wore a uniform doesn’t mean you’re not a dirtbag underneath. I’ve met plenty of those, trust me.”
“You want your people to be beyond reproach.”
“Exactly. I’m not going to hire some jackass just because he was Corps. I’m all about brotherhood, but not at the expense of the customers we serve.”
“Good to know. And on that note, how is Dan Thompson working out?”
Reid grinned at the thought of the crusty old bastard. He loved the guy. “He’s the right man for the job. I made him an offer, and he’s planning to stay on part-time. I think he’s bored with retirement. But that’s our gain because the man’s a god in the office. With him on board, I can hire less experienced admin assistants knowing Dan will train them. Things are coming together.”
They discussed more options and a few things he hadn’t considered for the company and should have. Though Naomi focused on PR and marketing, she’d worked with so many companies that she knew more about the business side of things than he’d have expected. And it wasn’t like Reid had a business degree. He’d done his best to put together a business plan by looking at other models and with Evan’s input. Naomi was helping tremendously with her suggestions.
He shook his head. “I can’t believe your old boss ever let you go. I’d hire you after five minutes of talking to you. And not just because you’re a knockout. You know your shit—ah, stuff.” Sometimes he slipped when talking to her. Reid had been taught to respect women, and to him that meant no cursing around them. But he felt comfortable with Naomi, as much as his body felt uncomfortable around her. It was an odd dichotomy, but then, so was she.
Naomi seemed both tough yet vulnerable. Sexy and sweet. He kept waiting to see the not-so-nice parts of her, which would make it easier to distance himself. He hoped. For all his talk about not having the time or energy for a girlfriend, he was finding it difficult to not want more from her.
He wondered if she had plans later… Do not ask her to dinner, you moron. Give her what she wants—nothing but business.
“Yes, funny to think I did so much for my company and then was let go. I wasn’t, technically.” She paused, studied him, then seemed to come to a decision. “I told you I was in a relationship with someone I worked with.” She frowned. “I was stupid. I’d put him off for a long time, then I said yes when I should have said no. In my defense, Tanner was a nice guy…up until the time he wanted me gone because I outperformed him at work.”
“Sounds like a real dick.” Reid would never do something like that. At least, he hoped he wouldn’t. He didn’t think he had an excessively large ego. Not excessively large.
“He wasn’t, and then he was.” She blushed, then scowled. “Why am I telling you this?”
“You want me to know the score. Some guy at work dicked you over, but what really hurt was your boyfriend dicking you over. Sorry, Naomi, but he should have put you first, no question.”
She gave him the most beautiful smile. “Thank you.”
He flushed, not sure why. “Just stating a fact.”
“Uh-huh. Anyway, I’m sorry I mentioned any of it after my lecture last week about keeping things professional. My only excuse is I haven’t had my morning espresso.” She held up her coffee cup. “Plain regular.”
“Because our machine was bitchy, but it’s better now,” said a tall woman who looked like she could bench-press Reid’s brother as she came to stand by Naomi. The woman was toned, her sleeveless Blackstone Bikes T-shirt showing off her arms, and she handed Naomi a small cup of espresso. “On the house. Sorry.”
Behind her at the counter a few feet away, a dark-haired man yelled, “Don’t blame the machine because you’re inept, Sadie!”
Customers around the place grinned, a few calling out to Sadie, their waitress.
The guy at the counter scowled. “Now get back here and make our customers happy, damn it!”
Sadie sighed and dragged herself back to the counter.
“Colorful coffee shop,” Reid said. “I come in for the coffee and treats, but the entertainment is something else.”
“Yeah.” Naomi grinned as the counter guy made his way toward her. “Personally, I like the eye candy.”
Reid had often seen the guy interact with customers. Friendly, flirty, and funny. But when he had the gall to kiss Naomi on the cheek, Reid wanted to punch him in his square jaw.
Naomi gushed. “Elliot, I missed you!”
“Ah, one of my favorite customers. I have a thing for redheads.” He gave Reid a thorough once-over. “But then, I like them dark too.” He held out a hand to Reid. “Elliot Liberato, owner of Sofa’s. I’ve seen you around before. Nice to meet you.”
Reid shook his hand, refraining from crushing it. “Reid Griffith.”
Elliot’s eyes widened, and he squeezed harder before letting go. “Hey, you’re part of that moving company, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but how did you—”
“A few friends showed me pictures, you know, of you guys having that photo shoot a week ago. They were there in the crowd trying to get phone numbers.” Elliot winked. “I bet you’re slammed with work now, aren’t you?”
Reid did his best to forget the kiss Elliot and Naomi had shared. So not his business. “We’re getting there.”
“Well, Reid, I’m going to tell everyone about you guys. Give me a flier, and I’ll put it up on our bulletin board.”
“I was getting to you,” Naomi said with a smile. Reid could tell she genuinely liked the guy. “We’re working on Vets on the Go!’s branding now, but we’re gearing up to start advertising. I’ll get you a flier soon.” To Reid she said, “We’ll also put some in local gyms, supermarkets, libraries, places people frequent. But we’ll target online with social media. You get much more exposure that way.”
Elliot nodded. “Naomi helped us last year, brought us into a new sphere of production, so to speak. We now have an online shop for our cookies.” Elliot beamed. Reid hated that he wanted to smash Elliot’s perfect teeth in. The guy was too good-looking and too charming. And Naomi seemed to be eating him up.
“Congrats.” Reid tried to act like he meant it.
“Hold on. Are either of you two allergic to peanuts?” When they shook their heads, Elliot dashed away and returned with two cookies.
He and Naomi took the cookies Elliot handed them. And damn, but they were delicious.
“Good, huh?” Elliot sounded smug.
“Amazing.” Naomi groaned. “You are ruining my figure, Elliot.”
“Bitch, please. You’re gorgeous and you know it. Now this one…” He stared at Reid and sighed. “You think she’s hot, don’t you?”
Reid blinked. “Uh, yeah. I think you’d have to be blind or dead not to see that.”
“I agree. You two enjoy and come back and see us.” Elliot leaned closer to Reid. “And if you ever feel like coming over to the dark side, let me know.”
He left whistling, returning to the back counter to argue with Sadie.
Reid was confused. “What did he mean by that? And why are you laughing at me?” he asked Naomi.
“That was Elliot not-so-subtly letting you know that if you wanted to ask him out, he’d probably say yes.”
Reid stared at Elliot, who waved back at him. “He’s gay?”
“Yep, and proud of it.”
“Oh. Oh.” Reid smiled, feeling better all of a sudden. “Good.”
Now it was Naomi’s turn to look confused. “Good?”
Reid couldn’t explain a stupid attack of jealousy, so he tempered it with, “Good he feels confident to be out so publicly. I was in the military, and I know all about homophobes and morons. It’s not the stereotypical ‘we hate gays’ theme anymore, but there are still those who have problems with it. Me? I don’t care.”
She smiled. “I’ve never had an issue either. Then again, my older brother is gay, so my parents were pretty accepting early on.” She sighed. “So long as you get a great job and have a family and two kids by the time you’re thirty, you’re doing the Starrs proud.” She groaned. “I’m the black sheep of my family.”
“Yeah?” He grinned. “So they’re all successful and coupled up and you’re an old, ugly hag with a barely there company, is that it?”
She sipped her espresso and gave a blissful sigh, one that had his erection back in full force.
“Ben, he’s the oldest, is a doctor with two kids. Peter’s a lawyer, and he and his husband recently adopted an adorable little girl. Harley, my sister, just became VP of her company and is getting married this summer. She would have been married with kids by thirty, but her husband died a few years ago. It was really sad, but my sister never lets anything throw her. Now she’s expecting, working her ass off, and about to be married to Mr. Perfect.” Naomi smiled, showing bright-white teeth.
“So you fit right in,” Reid said, sensing tension and not sure why. Naomi seemed to be one of the most capable women he’d ever met.
“Me? The woman who had to start over, lost her boyfriend and her job at the same time, and will probably never have kids or a husband because I have no time for a life and no intention of settling? Ha! Talk about a black sheep.”
He snorted. “You think that’s bad? My mother barely looks at me when we visit because she can’t stop staring at my brother when she’s not lost in some stupid soap opera, book, or movie. I might as well not exist.”
She stared at him, her blue eyes wide, and he wanted to crawl under the table. How the hell had that slipped out?
Naomi reached out to touch his hand. “I’m sorry. That sounds terrible. But she’s getting older, and older people can act strangely.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “But she’s always been distant.”
“What about your dad?”
“He died years ago. He wasn’t an easy man to love.” Familiar feelings of guilt and anger surfaced at mention of the man. “It’s just me and Cash. And Evan,” he tacked on with a smile. “My cousin is a trip. His mom’s still alive, but she’s much older. She’s more like a grandma than an aunt, but she’s sweet.”
“That’s nice.” She stroked his fingers.
They both looked down, then she slowly dragged her hand back. A rosy flush darkened her cheeks and made her eyes brighter. “Sorry.”
He shrugged, pretending she apologized over his situation and not because she’d needed to touch him. “Hey, life is what it is.”
They sat for a moment, finished their coffee and treats, and did their best not to look at each other. Reid would catch her glancing at him then looking away, and he’d do the same.
Finally unable to stop himself, he reached across the table and took her hand in his. Then he brought it to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “This was the most professional, businesslike, intimate breakfast I’ve shared with anyone.” He smiled. “Let’s do it again soon.”
She laughed, looking relieved. “Yes. Let’s.”
They stood and left together, waving goodbye to Elliot, who was laughing at Sadie and her flailing hands.
“Place has character.” He held the door for Naomi.
“I think you mean characters.” She thanked him as she passed. “Sadie’s engaged to Gear Blackstone, the bike guy.”
Reid paused. “Gear Blackstone, the guy who had that reality show Motorcycle Madnezz? I used to watch that. Man, his partner was such a tool—no pun intended.”
“He was.” She grinned. “I just watched whenever they’d feature Smoke working on a bike.”
“Ah, you like them big, tattooed, and silent, eh?”
“Yep. Silence is golden.”
He laughed, in a great mood as they walked to their cars. “I really hate to get back to work.”
She sighed. “Me too. But the day waits for no woman. See you soon, Reid.” She paused by her car door.
He wanted to kiss her goodbye. Badly. But he didn’t want to break any more rules. So he gave a last wistful look at her lips and said, “Talk to you soon, Ms. Starr.” He waved then turned to make his way to his car.
And couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder at her one more time. The sun hit her dark-red hair, settling over the strands, making them appear on fire. Naomi wore a sweet smile, her blue eyes shining. Something in Reid changed. An emotion, a sensation of…fullness…grew and settled deep inside him.
He didn’t know what to call it, but he liked the feeling. And he planned on telephoning her sooner than later. They had another meeting to work through. One where Reid set a few rules of his own.
* * *
Naomi watched Reid leave, wondering how she’d gone from making love to working to sharing herself with her client…who was so much more than that. Reid had turned into an honest-to-goodness friend. She was starting to trust him on a fundamental level. Though she must have trusted him already, because she’d had sex with the man.
Reid attracted her, no doubt. But every time they talked, she learned something new about him, and it made her like him even more.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down at it, only to see a number she could have done without. Tanner Ryan. She wondered if talking about him had somehow summoned him, an evil spirit of an ex she’d rather forget.
What had possessed her to mention him to Reid?
But Reid had shared something of himself. She couldn’t forget his expression when he’d mentioned his mother. He looked the way she so often felt when dealing with her own family—loving but frustrated. It must be terrible to see his mother and think she preferred his brother over him.
The same way Naomi tired of constantly being second, third, and even fourth best when it came to her siblings.
Her phone buzzed again, and she glanced down to see a call from Harley. Huh. Maybe this phone is cursed.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hey, Naomi. It’s me, Harley.”
“Yes, I have caller ID. I know.”
“Guess what?” Harley bubbled with excitement. “Mom and I are coming for a visit at the end of the month!”
God, shoot me now.
“Would it be okay if we stayed with you for a few days? Ben is getting that award on the thirty-first. We didn’t want to miss it. Dad and Peter can’t come due to work, but Mom and I are planning to be there.”
“Sure you can stay with me. I insist,” she heard herself saying and immediately wanted to take back the words. “Do you need me to pick you up from the airport?”
“If you wouldn’t mind. I’ll shoot you the itinerary in a few days.”
“Great.” No, no, no! “What’s Kyle going to do without you?”
“Oh, he’s coming too. You do have space for us all, don’t you? We can’t stay with Ben because his in-laws are staying with them. They’re flying in too. But it’ll just be Mom and me, so two rooms. Kyle and I will be sharing a room, obviously.”
“Sure.” It hurt to keep the smile going. Perfect Kyle and perfect Harley were enough of a burden, too much happily ever after to go with Harley’s pregnant glow. Add in Mom and her need to oversee her children’s lives, and Naomi wanted to move out of the state, pronto.
“Great. I can’t wait to see you and Tanner. It’s been too long.”
And then there was that little nugget Naomi had been hoarding. The fact that she and Tanner had broken up ages ago. Naomi had meant to let everyone know, but since her mother had pitched a fit about Naomi dating her boss way back when, Naomi hadn’t had the heart to tell her she’d not only broken off with a poor choice for a boyfriend, but that she’d also lost her job. Left my job. I left before I could be fired; there’s a distinct difference.
“Well.” Naomi cleared her throat. “Tanner and I are no longer a thing.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” The worst thing was Harley meant it. Tack on genuine and nice to business genius and domestic goddess. “What happened?”
“The usual.” Naomi did her best to keep her tone light. “We grew apart. Work got stressful, and I’d decided to leave. I’ve wanted to make it on my own for a while, and I finally did. I’ve been running Starr PR, and we’re doing great.”
“Oh my God. You broke up with Tanner and left your incredible job? When did all this happen?”
A year and a half ago, right after you announced your big promotion and engagement to Mr. Wonderful. “Not too long ago. I haven’t mentioned it to Mom or Dad yet. But I’m happy and doing great,” she said. “Even seeing a new guy,” she added in a perky voice, needing to feel not so inadequate.
“Oh?” Harley laughed. “You really are doing great.”
Didn’t I say so? And it’s not all because of Reid. Is it? Naomi’s thoughts shot to Reid and his devastating smile. Hell. “He’s a friend I met through work. We really hit it off. But I’m taking it slow. I’m so busy with the job that I don’t have a lot of time for a boyfriend.”
“I hear you. But life is short, Naomi. Take it from me, when you find someone special, hold on with both hands and don’t let go.”
Naomi gritted her teeth, tired of her older sister’s wisdom, constantly handed down through a miasma of emotional pain and sad dignity. Naomi knew she was being petty, but she’d been getting unasked-for advice her entire life. The woman was only slightly less pushy than their mother when it came to telling Naomi what to do.
At least Peter and Brad wouldn’t be coming. Her brother and his husband could be such know-it-alls, even worse than the rest of the family. The one person who never tried to boss her around, her father, remained at home in Walla Walla, no doubt glued to his phone for a teleconference about some corporate legal case or another.
Dad could always be counted on for a laugh. She wished he would have been able to come with the others. She got her sister off the phone after a few minutes with an excuse about work. Then she texted her father and received an answer she’d been dreading…
I know you and Tanner split a while ago. You stopped talking about him the way you used to, then altogether. Since you didn’t tell your mother, I kept quiet. Now’s your chance to confess. Love you. Good luck surviving your mother and sister! Better you tell them than I admit I knew and didn’t tell. Ha! Love, Dad.
The traitor.
Naomi wondered how best to handle her family. On top of her mixed-up feelings for Reid, it seemed prudent to keep Reid and her family far apart. Not that easy to do considering she’d just mentioned she had a new man in her life.
With any luck, her family would never know her new “boyfriend” didn’t really exist, and Reid would never learn she’d used him as a prop to keep her family off her back.
Talk about unprofessional to the extreme…