“Hey,” I said, standing. Kelsey evaluated my expression, and the good mood I’d been feeling since stepping into my office deflated.
“Thanks for seeing me.”
“You didn’t really give me a choice.” I motioned for her to sit, but she wandered to the floor-to-ceiling window instead, pressing a delicate fingertip to the glass. “What’s up?”
“This view is incredible.” Her breath left a small circle of condensation on the otherwise clear surface. “You guys really made it.”
I loved the view from my office, the city spread out around me, the sky feeling closer. It was one of those what-if things we’d talked about when we started out, laying bets wondering what the future held, but I didn’t feel like a walk down memory lane with her. “So did you. You’re up on the thirtieth floor, aren’t you?” I settled back in my desk chair and kicked myself for letting it slip I knew where her office was. The diffused light from the overcast morning lit her pale skin. I was reminded of things I’d seen in her once, loved in her.
“I guess I did.” She spoke in an airy voice, stepping back to sit on the edge of my desk, her crossed legs angled toward me. Her pencil skirt rode up above her knee, and she rested one hand on the smooth wooden surface. “Well, kind of.”
“Kind of?”
Kelsey’s evasive tone was one I knew well from years of half answers. A familiar annoyance clawed at me, but I tried to push it away. I told her I’d be her friend. I should at least try.
“I’ve got a busy day. What did you want to talk about?”
“I need your help.” She said it so matter-of-factly, it took me off guard. “We’re going under.”
“What? Who?” I should have gone on the defense—I knew Kelsey well enough to be suspicious—but I was too surprised to plan my response.
“HottrYou.” Kelsey slid off the desk with a sigh and returned to the window. “My crew is good, but they don’t have your expertise. We can’t compete.” She turned, looking at me with affection. Even when we’d been together, she almost never allowed me to see such unguarded emotion. “I didn’t realize your passion mattered until I didn’t have it around me anymore.”
The look was fleeting, just a second or two, but it shook me. On the few occasions she’d shown that soft side when we were together, I’d felt that same disequilibrium, and I hated that she still did that to me, that she still made me care.
I leaned back in my chair, creating space between Kelsey and me. “What are you going to do?”
Her jaw tensed and her expression cooled as she looked out the window. “What do you think I should do?”
“Kels, you’re our biggest competitor. Are you actually asking me for advice?” It had come out harsher than I’d meant it to. “Anyway, you know I’m shit with the business side of things.”
“I know.” She abruptly stepped back from the window and leaned against the edge of my desk again, this time closer to me, one leg crossed over the other inches from my knee. “I have a proposition.”
“Okay . . .” This meeting had spun out of my control. “Do you want to sit?”
“I’m fine.” She gripped the edge of the desk with both palms. “I think you should merge with HottrYou and bring me on as your head of operations. You never hired a COO, right?”
I pushed back in my chair, creating more distance between us.
“Hear me out.” She touched the toe of her black shoe to my foot. “FitMi is the stronger platform, but we still have a large client base looking for what we deliver—the promise of being hot, attractive . . .” She tapped her toe against my calf and slid it for just an inch or two. “Wanted.”
“Kels . . .”
“You, me, and Cord. We were a good team, and I would bring the strong parts of HottrYou with me. We consistently outpace you with younger consumers, and our social media game is far superior. This could be mutually beneficial.” She looked down, eyes searching mine. “And you and me, we were good together, too. I’d forgotten that.”
She settled her hands on either side of my chair and hovered over me, her open shirt at my eyeline and her scent surrounding me. “I messed up,” she said, her voice soft, eyes inches from mine. “But I think we could be good again, in business and . . .” She trailed a finger up my forearm, tracing the tattoo. “Elsewhere.”
Those soft, teasing touches used to turn me on, and she knew it.