Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3) (26 page)

Krista groaned and went back to her bag.
Marcus was getting
way
overbearing now. She found the shoes
he was talking about, but before she could drag them out, Sean
asked, “Did you find them? Because if not, there are some silver
ones.”

“Tell Martha I found them.”

Sean smiled and relayed the message. “He
called you a homophobe.”

“Tell him Martha is my mom’s name. If I
called him
Mary,
then that’s another story.”

“Marcus?...Yeah, Martha is her mom’s name. Be
pissed when she calls you Mary.” Sean paused a second and laughed.
“Alright man, see you in a bit. Oh and hey, how do the other girls
look?...Hmmm. Alright, see you down there.”

“You can’t wait to check them out yourself?”
Krista asked casually, pretending she didn’t have her heart in her
black strappy sandals with the four-inch heel.

“I can wait for that, yes. I was wondering if
you would be the belle of the ball.”

“Uh huh.”

“I wanted to be prepared for how many people
turned and looked when we walked in.”

“Oh, you’re going to walk in with me this
time?” Sarcasm.

Krista was trying to get her necklace
fastened while trying not to be upset, when Sean stepped up behind
her and took it out of her hands.

“Yes,” he said quietly as he slowly whisked
her hair away from her neck. He let his fingers trail across her
exposed skin, giving her shivers of delight. He clasped her
necklace to fasten it, and then stepped a hair closer and looked at
her reflection in the mirror over her shoulder.

“I’ve been trying to give you some space. I
didn’t want everyone to think we were sleeping together. Instead I
think I made you feel isolated.”

Krista turned around and looked up at him;
into his vivid, fathomless green eyes. She felt the bottom drop out
of her stomach. How had she lived without this man? Why couldn’t
she just make the leap again?

“So now you don’t care if they think we are
sleeping together?” she asked softly, tilting her head up as she
looked longingly at those full, kissable lips.

Sean broke out in a sweat.

“No. But more importantly, they realize we
work well together, and they realize you aren’t just a pretty
little puppet I control,” he murmured, his head dropping slightly
toward hers.

“Not everyone realizes that,” she
whispered.

“No, not everyone. Rome wasn’t built in a
day…Krista, do you want to cross this line? I feel like you still
aren’t sure.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “I do want to,
but…it’s complicated.”

Sean closed the gap between them, but instead
of the lustful kiss filled with desire she was expecting, he gave
her a light, supportive kiss. Then took a step back, his soft eyes
still locked with hers.

“If you aren’t sure, I don’t want to push
this. I will wait for your decision about us, good or bad.”

In frustration, Krista shook her head. “Look,
Sean…I just don’t know that I can trust you for the long haul, you
know? But maybe we can keep it physical and I’ll come around?”

The heat went out of Sean’s eyes. “I really
messed up, didn’t I?”

“Can I lie and say ‘no’ so I can get some
action?”

Sean gave her a sad smile. “No,
Pet
.
It doesn’t work like that. I wish to God it did, but you’ll just
shut down. We are all or nothing, both of us.”

Krista sighed, the wetness between her legs
suddenly out of place. “Let’s get out of here. How is Marcus doing
with your
intel?”

“Better than good, actually. The guy’s
current best friend is the biggest bitch in all the company. She
also works for New York.”

“So…you’re in.”

Sean’s smile blotted out the sun. “I’m better
than in. Snake in the grass.”

“Why do you hate New York so much?”

“I don’t hate them. But they are the big
cats. They are the Titanic. I want to be the iceberg. Well, I mean,
without death. I want to be the big gun on campus. Uh, also without
death…”

“Yikes. Forget I asked.”

They were walking toward the bar for cocktail
hour. There were a lot of guys standing around in their usual
clusters, most with a beverage of some type in their hands. As they
walked into the hollow area of the hotel, crossing the open space
toward the happy hour-goers, Krista remembered what Sean and Marcus
were talking about.

“What did Marcus say about the other girls?
Am I overdressed?”

Sean had chosen to wear slacks and a loose
fitting, long sleeved, button down shirt. She could barely make out
his pecks or biceps, which usually stood out in anything. He still
had a smooth, easy saunter as they drew closer, ever confident.
More and more eyes turned their way at the progression.

“You aren’t overdressed, no. In fact, the
young admins are revealing a lot more than you.”

“So why are people staring?” She tried to
smile, but the amount of attention she was getting made her
nervous. She was trying for carefree and fun loving because if the
predators knew the amount of insecurity she was drowning in, they
would go in for the kill.

Sean looked down at her, concern evaporating
at the look on her face. “You should have been an actor. They are
looking because you are stunning, you are confident, and you are an
anomaly.”

“And what we don’t understand, we fear.”

“Or kill. I am here to prevent the killing.
Which is also why I have to be the Sean McAdams they expect
tonight. Why I haven’t been by your side until now. I need to make
you look good. Good cop, bad cop. Only, good girl, womanizing guy,
might be more appropriate. It’s what older men expect of a young
buck, and value in a young girl.” He shrugged.

“Life is a chess board, huh? And I am forever
a pawn?” Sean’s head snapped to her, surprise and understanding
taking turns flitting across this face.

He was about to say she wasn’t when she said,
“Do me a favor, Sean?”

Krista stopped him before they crossed the
last open seating area before getting to the bar and people.

“Anything,” he said seriously.

“Be discreet tonight, okay? I don’t want to
hear about your conquests.”

Krista couldn’t see the misery warring on
Sean’s face. She was strutting away, raising eyebrows with her
confidence. Which was all well and good—upper hand and all-—but now
she needed a friend to head toward, and those were few and far
between.

She spied Blake standing by the bar, opening
his body for her to head directly into it.
Yeah right,
like
that was going to happen. Marcus was down the bar a few people, but
when she made eye contact with him, since he was looking at her
just like everyone else, he slightly shook his head ‘no.’ Janice
wasn’t in sight. She was on her own again.

At least she was used to it.

Krista chose a hole in the spectators at the
bar, made bigger by her proximity, and motioned for the bartender,
who started to walk over immediately. It was then she heard her
name.

Georgie was standing with Donald and some
other guy away from the bar in a cluster. When she questioningly
met his eyes, he waved her over. She was so relieved, she could
have cried. In answer, she put a finger up to indicate she needed a
minute, got a drink from an overanxious bartender, and joined them.
Hopefully, she looked nonchalant the whole time.

“Hey guys!” She beamed.

Georgie blinked a couple times and stammered
a hello. Donald tilted his head in greeting, as did the other
guy.

Krista rolled her eyes. “It’s just a vagina,
guys, it’s not that scary.”

They all three started laughing.

“Just not used to a career equal wearing a
skirt,” Georgie said. “No offense.”

“That you
know
of,” Krista replied,
looking around them. Sean was standing with Ron and the young admin
from New York. She was cute and bubbly and, therefore,
irritating.

“Krista, this is Mark,” Donald said, pointing
out the guy next to him.

Mark had glasses, thinning hair, and a faded
red shirt. She’d called him Comb-Over and shot him with a paintball
in the back.

“Hey Mark. The rumors aren’t all true. Also,
sorry about the paintball in the back,” Krista said, sticking out
her hand to shake.

He smiled. His teeth were super white and
perfectly straight. They looked like caps. They probably cost a
fortune.
Must be nice to be paid what you’re worth…

“I was surprised to see you in the dunk tank.
Everyone else was a VP,” he said jovially.

“Yeah, why is that?” She asked.

“Because it is the worst place to be, so they
take it upon themselves to endure it,” Mark explained.

Donald looked at him with that furrowed brow
that said he didn’t understand. No compute. Georgie gave a grunt
and a smirk. He wasn’t buying it either. They were too polite to
say anything.

Krista wasn’t. “That’s a load of crap. It is
probably a long standing tradition. Probably a couple VPs did it
because they were the only ones man enough, and the rest thought
they should do it, too, so they didn’t look like cowards. That’s
what I’d bet.”

“Ron started it the year after he became VP,”
Perry said as he walked up.

“Perry. Good to see you! Sad to see the
‘stach still intact,” Krista joked, making room.

He chuckled, his belly rolling. “I came to
say hi and heard what you were saying. Slow mover, you know.”

“Aren’t we all, Perry. Aren’t we all.
Especially after a night of drinking.” Krista looked down at the
dredges of her mojito. She should slow down.
Should
being
the operative word.

“What are you talking about? I saw you on
that paintball court.” Perry turned to the other guys. “This girl
and McAdams were sprinting around, gunning people down. Saw it with
my own eyes.”

“Oh now, Perry. I was just saying all the
rumors they heard weren’t true. If they think I am a female
homicidal maniac, they might get a lynching party together.”

“Well anyway,” Perry continued, not to be
deterred. “Ron was newly VP and they were trying to figure out who
would do the tank. No one wanted to, obviously. The person that did
it was always the least useful. So, Ron did it. Year after year he
did it. Then everyone just followed suit.”

“Until I decided I was the least useful and
broke the tradition.”

Suddenly Krista felt really, really bad for
Sean. He would be seen as the VP who sacrificed his employee to
win. Now he was off being a playboy. All because of her. She was
ruining his reputation so he could save hers. How was that
fair?

“Perry, don’t let her fool you!” Georgie
said, trying not to laugh. “Sean tried to stop her and she bullied
him. She isn’t the sweet little flower she looks.”

“Oh, I don’t think she’s a sweet flower at
all!” Perry exclaimed. “I’ve been gunned down by her!”

“Me, too! In the back!” Mark exclaimed.

“Alright you guys,
alright
!” Krista
laughed, trying to break up the slander fest. She noticed Sean
break away from one of the cute little admins with a dress barely
covering her crotch. He was headed to the bar. “I’m going to get a
drink. When I come back—“

“I’ll get it,” Donald said, cutting her off.
His beer was empty. “Another Mojito?”

“Yes please.” She watched Sean casually lean
on the bar and say a couple words to the bartender. Two seconds
later another young admin was next to him, making conversation. She
sighed and focused on the guys around her. It wasn’t meant to
be.

A couple hours into the night saw them
finished with an okay dinner. They’d gotten the cattle call around
seven, as promised, and all started making their way to the
restaurant. There were no seating arrangements, so she sat with
Georgie, Donald, Perry, and a few other guys Perry knew. Bob was
thankfully avoiding her, and Dean only said a couple words to her
all night, which was more than usual, so it wasn’t the end of the
world.

She made a mental note to talk to Marcus
about those two that evening, and tried to make it stick so she
didn’t forget again. She’d traded Marcus for info, and so far the
trade was only one sided!

After dinner the company sponsored portion
came to a close. That didn’t stop the hordes of people heading to
the bar, Krista included.

Donald and Krista were waiting to carry
drinks for their dinner crew when Sean came up. She smelled him
coming, his unique scent mixed with that mouthwatering cologne he
wore, but still acted surprised when she turned and found him
checking out her butt.

“Hi Geegee,” he said with a guilty smile.

Krista returned his look flatly.

He looked at Donald. “Donald. I wanted to let
you and our team know that tomorrow we meet in the lobby at ten,
sharp. We’ll be doing a ropes course, so don’t overdo it tonight,
okay?”

Krista didn’t see what Donald did in answer
to this, but he only got a glance, and she got a pointed look. It
probably meant she should switch to champagne cocktails because she
was already buzzed from the mojitos and not in the mood for
stopping. They made ‘em potent and she was having fun with her new
friends.

Since Sean was done talking, and he was
technically the enemy, she turned away and heard Donald mutter a
farewell as he followed. Sean was undoubtedly headed to talk to
some tramp—Krista didn’t want to see the face of the one he finally
chose for the night. Every time she thought of it ice froze over
her insides.

Chapter Nineteen

The night continued. As the alcohol flowed,
time went pear shaped, but in a good way. Krista was getting along
with everyone. Their group got bigger. The laughter got louder.
People started relaxing in her presence. As the night started
waning, the Fat Cat himself came over.