Rebecca
Parker shook his hand and pointed to Becca. “Yes, well, I was just going to go home and entertain my lovely young bride, but my partner here wanted to spend more time together. The woman is insatiable.” Parker smiled as if batting the ball into her court.
Jason laughed and looked over at Rebecca. “I asked her to come with us, but I’m thinking it must just be your personal attention that she craves.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “You both can sit on something and rotate. I wanted to go home, strip out of these clothes and soak in a hot bubble bath until the water turned cold.”
She smiled knowingly, as she was sure the male minds before her visualized the image she’d painted without much color or skill. She laughed and reached for her drink. “Stop behaving inappropriately. I’m still your boss—and your partner,” she said, looking at each of them in turn.
Jason smiled and moved back a little. “That’s hard to do around such a beautiful woman, Miss Miller.”
Parker nodded. “I agree. You should go join them, Becca. I can find my way home. Really.”
Rebecca scoffed. “No. You asked me here to talk business and we’re going to.”
“Then, when you’re done?” Jason asked, moving a little as the server deposited a basket of chips on the table before them.
“Yes. She’ll be there, but you have to take her back to her car.” Parker looked at Jason, who nodded and turned to jog off, a huge smile spreading across his face.
“Wait a damn minute. I didn’t say I was hanging out with them tonight. What the hell, Parker?” She felt anger rise in her chest, her brow pinching between her eyes. She didn’t need to lead the poor boy on, making him think that something—anything—would come out of their relationship. Things needed to remain perfectly professional, and they would.
“It would be good for you to mingle with our staff, Becca. I’m not saying you have to hang out with Jason or take him home, though that might do you some good.”
She huffed, reaching for a chip. “You have absolutely no ethics. Why did I think business was a good idea with you?”
“I married a stripper. Pretty sure you knew the level of my personal ethics before we started this. Besides, you’re the ethical accountant. I’m the flamboyant marketing guy, remember?”
Rebecca shook her head, unease settling in the pit of her stomach over what the rest of the evening might entail. Pushing her glass toward Parker, she reached to take his beer bottle. “I need to switch to something lighter. I’m not getting blitzed in front of our staff. I’ll end up on the floor of someone’s apartment, and my whole cover of being a good girl will be blown to hell and back.”
Parker laughed loudly, Rebecca smiling at the warmth in his persona. “Please, God, tell me that if this thing with Mina falls apart, you and I can go to Vegas and be incredibly unprofessional together for a weekend.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes and nodded. “I’m in.”
Parker wasn’t her type at all, his artistic side dominating too much of his personality. Why he was concerned about what his once stripper wife planned to do in the way of getting a degree and joining the workforce was beyond her. He’d been a bit of a wild child, having far more than his share of fun in life until a few years back, when he’d sobered up and pulled himself together. The result of said sobering was losing his first wife Cindy, an artist who wanted to just go where the wind blew. Cindy had decided that Parker wasn’t exciting enough anymore and had found herself someone who was.
Rebecca had been friends with Parker since they were kids since he’d grown up just down the road a little, and she knew him all-too well.
Parker had no right or reason to push someone who was twenty-three at best to grow up. He’d married Mina for who she was, and honestly, Rebecca thought it had been a mistake. He needed to reconcile himself to the fact that he couldn’t change the girl and just start loving her for who she was or get yet another divorce. If things went wrong with Mina, Rebecca knew she’d be there for him and they’d celebrate the dissolution of yet another relationship like they had the first time—with liquor and inappropriate flirtation.
Their food arrived in the hands of two servers, one a young blond female who kept eyeing Parker while she stood beside the table. Rebecca almost felt a sense of protectiveness come over her, the emotion giving rise to the fact that she cared about him like family. He didn’t need another mistake to compound the ones he’d already made. Oh, he would make a million more, but this one wasn’t being made on her watch.
She looked toward the male server as he asked if they needed anything else. “Nope. You guys can go. Thanks.”
She reached for her plate and put a few items on it as Parker followed suit. “So, tell me why you married Mina, Park. Why did you think that was the right answer?”
He shrugged, licking sour cream off his finger. “She was beautiful and young and she was into me.”
“She was a stripper. They’re paid to be into everyone.”
He laughed and stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork, lifting it to his lips. “You’d make a great stripper, you know.”
She laughed, almost choking on the last of his beer. “Don’t make me laugh. That’s ridiculous. I’m in my mid-thirties.”
“And you’re beautiful.” He smiled in a knowing way and filled his mouth with food.
Rebecca felt her cheeks color again, hating the fact that any mention of her attractiveness found her embarrassed. She wasn’t a girl, but a full grown woman. When would she stop running from the attention of men?
When I find the right one.
RebeccaThe image of Parker enjoying his food slipped from her vision as memories of Kade took its place, the sights and sounds of the bar fading into nothingness as the warm hum of remembrance rushed across her.Kade. His smile illumined by the sun as it splashed across his features on the lake that day. They’d been fishing together, the air chilly and the morning quiet. Her shorts were short and her T-shirt fitting. The hope was to grab his attention in any manner possible and make him want her the way she wanted him. There was nothing like heading out to Lake Conroe and taking Kade’s daddy’s boat out into the water. She was fine fishing, but she wasn’t baiting her hook, and she sure as heck wasn’t pulling a catfish off of it. She’d seen her own dad get a nasty cut across the middle of his palm, thanks to the jerking of an angry catfish. “Whatcha thinking about, Becca?” Kade’s voice brought her attention back to him, the water shimmering just beyond the edge of the boat. A smile
Rebecca“Hey,” Parker’s hand touched her arm, and her eyes shifted a little to bring him back into focus. “You okay? I didn’t mean to upset you. Just wanted you to know that every man in this place has checked you out three times.”His smile warmed her and she laughed, shaking her head and stabbing a few things on her own plate. “No, I’m good. Just thinking about a boy from high school that messes with my mind from time to time.”“Oh Lord … we’re talking about Kade McMillian?”His name being spoken made her longing to see him again all the more real. He wasn’t just a figment of her imagination, but someone that had seemingly stolen her heart and had yet to give it back. He was probably married or maybe even dead, not even on the radar of possibilities anymore.“I didn’t know you knew Kade.”“Yeah. His older brother Tad and I were on the baseball team together.”“Oh yeah, that’s right. Wait, how did you know that’s who I was talking about?”“I still remember the way you looked at him w
RebeccaRebecca spotted Jason across the room with several other members of her staff who were all standing around a small bar-top table together, laughing. He caught her eye and waved her over, Rebecca sighing internally. This was a bad idea. She should just go home and enjoy the comfort of her tub and then her bed. Hanging out with people from work never proved to be smart when you were the boss. She knew she was pretty cool in terms of office structure and support of her people, but the fact remained that she was in charge, and they answered to her.Jason broke away from the crowd and walked to meet her in the belly of the bar, the small restaurant only having tables around the edge of the room so that people could mingle to their heart’s content in the middle. His smile was wide and oh, so welcoming, Rebecca having to remind herself that they wouldn’t be anything ever, and she was glad for that. No way could she fall for someone so young and then worry for the rest of her life tha
Rebecca“So, how was your meeting with Mr. Vandenbilt?” Bill, one of Rebecca’s favorite staff accountants asked, his bald head picking up the bright light from above and blinding her for a moment.She shook it off and moved in beside him, the crowd getting ridiculous. “It actually went really well. We’re wrapping up our offer letter and closing down the negotiations. I should have the final papers signed by mid-next week, so, huge win for the firm.”He smiled and lifted his hand into the air for a high-five. She obliged him and laughed at his spirit.“That’s great news. I’d honestly love to work on that account if you think it’s a possibility. I’m hoping to move more into the focus of oil and gas accounting, seeing that we’re here in Houston and I’m relatively new to the area.”“I think that’s a possibility.” Rebecca nodded, turning as Adam, Jason’s roommate, moved in beside her.“What’s a possibility?”“Just talking work stuff. Boring, rest assured.” Rebecca smiled and enjoyed the ca
RebeccaThe mysterious man was gone by the time she made her way back from the restroom, Rebecca stopping by the bar where he’d stood and looking at the people surrounding the area. He’d looked so much like what she might imagine Kade to look like, his strong football physique from high school grown up and filled out even more. Perhaps she was seeing what she wanted to, though.It was entirely possible that Kade had physically changed completely. He was a musician on top of playing every sport known to man, so he could’ve made it in Hollywood on some small scale and given up his days in the gym. Maybe he was thin and gangly now. Maybe he was a crack addict and looked like a reaper from hell.Never. At least not in my daydreams.Someone brushed behind her, strong hands moving her hips to scoot her away from her current stillness. She turned a full circle, the back of his T-shirt telling her it had been the man she was looking for.The faint echo of his cologne filled her senses and cau
RebeccaRebecca finally pushed her way through the crowd. A live band played in the far corner of the bar, which worked to bring in the hordes of people milling about. She slipped out into the cold night air, the valet guys moving toward her to get her parking ticket from her.“No, just looking. Thank you, though,” she said quickly, moving out toward the parking lot and scanning the crowd. A large red pickup truck pulled out in front of her, the driver a male, but it was impossible to tell much more with the darkness that surrounded her. She wanted to yell out to him, but seeming needy was completely out. She backed up toward the restaurant, a set of strong hands wrapping around her shoulders and scaring her.She jerked away, turning to see Jason standing there with confusion on his handsome face.“Hey, it’s just me.” He smiled and reached for her arm, pulling her back into the warmth of the bar as she looked one more time over her shoulder.Nothing. Almost like seeing a ghost.“Sorry
RebeccaRebecca’s phone buzzed in her briefcase as she worked to unlock the door to her apartment, the loud music flowing from the apartment across the hall and grating against her last nerve. She’d lived here for several years, and though she paid top dollar for the place, there were people of every background living around her. It was an eclectic part of town, and if the individuals that lived around her didn’t have a healthy bank account, like she did, then they had parents that did. She pushed into her apartment, concern spreading across her at who would be calling at eleven on a Friday night.Rebecca dropped her stuff in the car, turned to lock her front door and then worked to dig through her briefcase to locate the buzzing phone. She’d missed the call by then, but Jason’s name appeared on the screen a few seconds later. Sighing softly, she dropped the phone on the couch and moved through the house, turning on lights as she went. She had watched far too many scary movies as a ki
Rebecca“You dress down nice.” Jason smiled as Rebecca stepped up, pulling herself into his oversized black pickup truck.She had on a cream-colored sweater, skinny jeans and designer boots. She’d thrown her hair into a ponytail and put on a little bit of makeup, but not much. She realized that she looked ten years younger this way, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but she had a really hard time not tempting fate.“Thanks. You dress down nice yourself.” She buckled up and sighed with contentment.Jason was in a pair of jeans and a heavy tan coat, his light brown eyes filled with warmth and rimmed from a liquored-up night before.“What time did you guys get out of the bar last night?”“Oh, I only stayed another hour or so. Once you left, it was just ehhh.” He pulled out into the street, the city seemingly asleep at seven on a Saturday morning. They should be too, but getting her house finished and ready for her to move into was at the top of her priority list.A sudden wave of gr