I realize I never introduced him.
揅lement,?I supply.
揗r. Clement, Cole梪h桵r. Lancaster tells me we抣l be working with the peaberry bean. I抦 pretty pumped about that. I抳e never worked with anything so rare, let alone this fresh.?
Troy抯 lips turn up, his smile almost predatory.
揧ou抮e in luck, Ace. The farms here use the latest harvesting techniques. We should net just enough small-batch peaberry loads to keep up with demand for the resorts. But since this crop is more delicate, you抣l probably have to test them over and over to find just the right method for your campfire brews. I抦 no expert in development, of course, just a thought.?
I hate how she looks at him.
Why is she smiling?
And what the actual fuck is wrong with me?
揑 don抰 mind the testing. It抯 my favorite part of the job, actually, but are you sending the peaberry beans to Seattle? I don抰 have a lab set up here, so棓
揧ou have everything you抣l need in a sunroom on the other side of the house,?I bite off, cutting in. 揑t抯 not as large or as glamorous as your usual workplace, but with your skills, you抣l manage.?
My fists are slightly more relaxed as her smile shifts to me and her cheeks go pink.
揙h, wow. I wasn抰 expecting that. Thank you!?
Any-fucking-time.
If only a hundred scenarios weren抰 stampeding through my head every time my eyes try to see through that dress.
All of them end with her under me, scratching my back as she screams, battle scars I抣l gladly show to goddamned Troy so he knows she抯 off-limits.
Fuck me.
I抦 breathing harder than I should.
Yeah, I抳e got to get my head screwed back on.
My phone buzzes with a calendar reminder. Meeting in ten minutes now. Thank God.
揋o sit, Eliza. We抮e about to get started,?I say.
She nods and scurries inside the room to the first open seat, throwing a sunny smile over her shoulder.
Goddamn, I抦 glad this gathering doesn抰 require much brainpower.
Thankfully, Troy also disappears for his shower and returns a few minutes after the meeting starts.
It抯 a quick gathering just to review the mission and plans for the next few days. I remind everyone we抣l be meeting virtually daily as long as we抮e here for a quick check-in.
I抦 well aware I can抰 expect all work and no play.
This isn抰 my first trip to a place rife with wonders competing for company attention. Without the regular check-ins, it抯 too easy for them to get lost on the beaches, and then a vital trip costing tens of thousands of dollars becomes a missed opportunity.
I dismiss the meeting and people trickle out, talking amongst themselves loudly.
揅ole, why didn抰 you tell me Ace is smoking??Troy says when it抯 just us again.
I hold his gaze, careful not to let my temper boil over, my face set like stoic steel.
揂ce is not her name. That抯 probably also not an appropriate comment to the CEO about a woman you work with while we抮e on a work trip.?
He does a double take and slowly winces. Before he can even hold up his hands, offering a half-assed apology, I shake my head.
揕ook, I know things are more laid back in Bali. I抦 not here to bust your balls or play a game of 慻otcha,?but my c-team back home expects a certain discipline. If it抯 anything I抎 frown on with them, then it isn抰 fit for me to be a huge fucking hypocrite and gab about her appearance either梟o matter how striking she might be.?
For a second, he抯 damn near speechless.
Way to be a sanctimonious jagoff, I think to myself. Where was your concern when she had her fingers in your mouth? When she tripped into your arms and you almost fucking kissed her?
But I left the lab then. I refrained from leaving teeth marks on her lips under the banyan tree.
I do the right thing, dammit, even when it抯 the very last thing I want.
Troy stares at me, his mouth parted in this awkward half smile. Then he throws his head back and chuckles.
揥hat??I clip. I wasn抰 expecting that.
揙h, man, good for you. The single widower has moved on.?He slaps me hard on the shoulder. 揑t抯 healthy, Cole. I抦 happy for you. Honest to God.?
Fuck this.
I should抳e known he抎 read between the lines and start flinging crap.
揑 have no idea what you mean,?I growl.
揕ike hell, you don抰，？Troy whispers.
I stare him up and down, wondering how he抯 matured so little when he抯 married to his job like I am. And how was I ever close friends with this guy?
揑f I said the same thing about Lola Goodwind in finance棓
揑抎 tell you to get your eyes checked.?Lola抯 image comes to mind. She抯 not hideous, but she抯 a human chameleon. Maybe if she stuck to a single color or at least one color palette and washed her hair regularly, she抎 have men up her ass. She also keeps about fifty different inspirational quotes taped around her desk, the surface littered with disposable cups from every coffee she抯 drank that week. 揂nd maybe your head, too,?I add glumly.