Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3) (39 page)

“Of the managers, yes. But if it makes you
feel better, you are the newest, and you started higher then Blake
did.”

“That does make me feel better. I heard you
scared Blake something awful.”

“Marcus has a big mouth. I didn’t really
scare
him. I kindly asked him to keep a more professional
decorum where it concerned you. Tory put him on probation for
sexual harassment…”

Krista’s eyes got wide. She had no idea. No
one had told her Tory had her back. It was nice to hear.

“…but Blake was still talking to the other
guys. Marcus reported back. I didn’t think it was professional,
which was why I asked him to stop.”

Krista half turned back to look at him. His
head was still leaned back, his eyes were still closed, but he had
a large, boyish smile on his face. His eyes opened half way and his
smile grew at Krista’s scrutiny.

“He apparently doesn’t respond well to
authority figures. So when that didn’t work,” he continued
casually, “I took off the professional veil when I ran into him
outside the hotel.”

“You just
ran
into him, huh?”

“Yes. It was great timing actually—there was
no one else around and he was smoking a cigarette outside one of
the service doors. I thought I would repeat myself about how he
treated you professionally.”

“I imagine your tactic was a bit
different?”

“A bit.”

“Thanks.”

“I was worried you would end up in his bed.”
Sean said it so casually Krista almost missed the worry behind his
words.

“Because of the danger thing?”

“You seem attracted to bad boys.”

“Yeah, I think I like the danger. It gets my
blood flowing.”

“Yes…” Sean drew out the word like he was
thinking about their episode earlier. She got a spark of
anticipation.

“But I wouldn’t do that,” Krista said. “Not
at a work thing. Not when you would hear about it. I may be a
bitch, but I’m not a royal bitch.”

“Just a big bitch.”

“Janice says you need a big bitch.”

“Does she? And she meant you, I imagine?”

“That’s what Marcus said, yeah,” Krista
admitted.

“She’s right. You’re the only woman that I’ve
ever dated that I can’t anticipate. Your brain doesn’t seem to work
normally.”

“Ouch.”

“I meant that in the best of ways.” Sean
chuckled and squeezed her.

He brought his head up and his lips softly
traced the line of her neck. She angled her head to allow him more
access as her groin gave a familiar tug.

“You keep me honest,” Sean said, leaning back
again. “And on my toes. Life is always electric with you. I missed
you.
Badly
.”

“Funny way of showing it.”

“I know. It’s funny, I never talked to Janice
about you. I never told her my interest or history or anything. But
one day, right after you had left my office, she came in and said,
‘Sean, I’m leaving for the day. Also, if you don’t grovel, and I
mean stick your face in the mud and kiss her feet, that girl is
never going to accept you.’ She gave a curt nod, turned on her
heel, and walked out. I’ll never forget it. She never mentioned a
word after.”

“You didn’t do much groveling.”

“Not to your face, no. I didn’t think you’d
accept it, not without slapping me again.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are
you?”

“No way!” Sean laughed. “You took me by
surprise on that one. If you had been a dude with a closed fist,
you would have knocked me out flat.”

“You deserved it.”

“I know. Can I ask now, without a smart ass
answer—what’s next for us?”

Krista didn’t want to answer that question.
The bottom line was…she didn’t know.

“I guess we date for a while and see what
happens.”

“Fair enough.”

She could hear the disappointment in his
voice. She knew he wanted his long wait to be over, and for her
just to jump back into his arms as though no time had passed. If
only it was that easy.

They spent a relaxing hour just sitting in
the tub. They spoke little, but every so often Sean would breath a
deep sigh of satisfaction. Either that, or he would lean forward
and kiss her neck softly. When her fingers started to prune up she
got restless.

“Shall we adjourn to the sitting room?” She
asked in a stodgy English accent.

“Lord, Krista, how I missed you. Missed
this
.”

“No sense in marring the moment with the
past.”

“No. Suppose not.” Sean’s hands slid up her
stomach to her breasts. She felt his lips on her throat, sucking
and licking gently. “I need to go get some clothes for tomorrow.
Otherwise I’ll be doing the walk of shame for our whole company to
see.”

“Already moved.” Krista closed her eyes as
his hands slid back down her body.

“My clothes?” His hands stopped at her hips
in anticipation of her answer.

“Yeah. I had Marcus move your clothes up
here.”

Sean was still. She could feel his breath on
her neck.

“Is that okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“When did you do this? Or have him do it, I
guess.”

“Not long before I asked you to come up here.
Is that okay? I just figured you wouldn’t mind a little R and R. I
guess I could have waited until after the bar scene was over…”

“I thought all this was spur of the moment. I
didn’t realize you planned it out…”

“Is that okay?” Krista asked for the third
time. And she would keep asking until she got an answer—he should
know that by now.

“Yes. Very much okay.” Sean nuzzled her neck.
His hands again rested on her hips.

“I love you,” he said softly into her ear.
His lips found her earlobe and his hands slid further down her
hips.

“Can I ask you a question?” Krista asked
shyly. It was time to tie up her curiosity. Get the truth fully out
there.

“Of course.” Sean moved down her neck,
kissing and nibbling.

“Have you been without protection with anyone
else?”

Sean hesitated and leaned back. Krista’s
heart was in her throat.

“No,” Sean said quietly. “You are still the
only one. I’ve never trusted anyone enough besides you. Are you
still…”

Krista breathed out a sigh of relief. It had
really mattered to her. That little piece of him she got to
herself. No one else had Sean completely but her. It helped mend
the bridge that was still broken.

“On the pill? Yes. I wouldn’t have—you know,
without it.”

“I figured as much. It was why I didn’t ask.
Or stop.”

Sean didn’t resume his ministrations.
Instead, he said, “I should probably come clean.”

Krista went rigid.

“I know about your job offers.”

“
Oh holy fuck!”
Krista said, losing
all the air in her chest. “This was a helluva time to bring that
up! Don’t ride on the coattails of a non-protection sexual
conversation with mundane stuff! What is wrong with you?”

Sean laughed. “Sorry. I really do trust you
about that other stuff. It doesn’t weigh in my mind with the same
gravity as yours, I guess.”

Krista climbed out of the tub, Sean
following. Their fingers and toes were all wrinkly.

“Marcus has a big mouth,” Krista said,
wrapping herself in a fluffy white hotel robe.

“He hinted about it, but it was Kate that
spilled the beans. She was trying to humble me, I think. It
worked.”

Krista laughed. “She still wants to give you
a kick.”

“You have more offers, now.” Sean said,
putting a towel around his hips.

Krista faced off with him. He was looking at
her with his business look. She looked back with hers—she had one
now! She’d practiced at all the analytical meetings with Tory, Ben,
and Marcus.

“From whom?”

“Apparently one of our biggest
competitors.”

“Kate said that?”

“No. Tory.”

“
Tory
knows?” Krista asked, her
business face cracking. She didn’t want to go about it like that.
Sean was one thing—before now, anyway. She had still kind of wanted
to stick it to him. But Tory had given her a lot. He had spent time
with her to build her up, to give her more tools. She didn’t want
to go behind his back.

“Tory found out from a gloating CEO, I
guess.” Sean stood silent, looking at Krista.

She waited, not really sure what to say. She
was still seriously considering leaving. She loved Sean, and she
wanted to give it a chance, but she needed to think of herself,
too. She needed to go where she would be welcomed. And also with
who would give her the best deal.

“Are you planning to leave?” Sean finally
asked.

Krista bowed her head and walked out of the
bathroom. Sean followed quietly. When they got to the sitting room,
Krista sat on the couch, looking out the window.

“Once I would have stayed for you,” Krista
said somberly, “but that was before I spent two years building
myself up. It was before I got out on my own; before I learned my
worth.”

Sean said, “It was before you realized you
didn’t fit in.”

Krista looked at him. At his troubled green
eyes. “I love you, Sean. I want to give it another chance. I want
to date and see what happens. But that is personal life. This is
business. I can make more money elsewhere. I can get more respect.
I don’t have to try so hard to do my job. I can just
do
it,
without the struggle, you know? I want to buy a house. I want to
try and get settled, finally. Real estate is expensive—I’m looking
out for
me
on this one.”

“I won’t hold you back. But give Tory a
chance to talk to you before you make any final decisions. I can’t
give you a raise, not yet; but he has said he can, so wait to see
what he offers. That is my only request. Wait to see what he values
your worth, and how the guys respond to you in L.A., before making
any final decisions.”

Krista nodded slowly. “I haven’t interviewed
or anything, so you have some time. Just…don’t take it personally,
okay? Whatever I decide, don’t take it personally.”

Sean sat next to her. “That was me talking on
a personal level. You have another thing coming if you think my
business side is going to let you go that easily.”

Krista laughed. “Is that a challenge?”

Sean chuckled darkly and resumed his
ministrations. With a smile, Krista leaned back and let him.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

One month had gone by since the team building
convention. True to form, Sean was back to the grindstone with very
little pause. He was working long hours and trying to get his
region to make miracles happen. Krista was pushing Kate and the
other supervisors under her, which now numbered four, but only Kate
was handling the increased pressure. Everyone else was cracking and
requiring more help from Krista, which sometimes meant
reorganization.

One of those departments was in Bob’s
care—Sean had them reassigned a couple of weeks before the
conference. Like Bob, Krista had to try and force the supervisor
out. He would not be motivated. He simply would not work! He
finally gave up from her monotonous persistence, made a giant
public display in the break room by calling her a raging bitch, and
walked out. Sean had Jasmine reassigned directly after the
convention, and Krista had the whole department restructured and on
the path to better performance, with Jasmine’s help, in two weeks
flat. There was one more woman in upper management, and she was
kicking ass, just like Kate. Just like Krista.

Sean told Ron from New York personally.

Sean had taken Krista out to one dinner, and
that was when they were still in Colorado—they got later flights
and enjoyed lounging. Since then, though, she had seen him at work
daily, and refused invitations to his house daily. Over and over
she told him she wanted to date him, not be his booty call. Over
and over he told her he was too busy, but as soon as things slowed
down, he would.

So just please come over.

No.

It was Friday and she had just finished
looking at Jasmine’s most recent report. Jasmine was really
bringing things together for the department. She was pissed that
Kate was still outperforming her, and taking it upon herself to end
that winning streak. What’s more, they loved her. She gave
impossible demands and told her people that if they met the goal,
she would give them a party. Or bring in beer. Or take them to
lunch. Even after all the parties and extras were factored in, the
department was way under budget.

Krista was happy with the bottom line and
Sean was happy with the performance, so the parties continued
unhindered. Obviously Krista wished she had thought of it.

So did Kate, who implemented the practice
with gusto. It was why they were still pulling ahead. The two
departments were becoming rivals. They didn’t give a crap about the
company as a whole—not many underlings did—but they did care about
getting better parties, and therefore, better numbers than the
other departments. It got to the point that Tory noticed the bottom
line and reamed Sean out for L.A.’s mistake in reporting financial
information. A panicked Sean called Krista.

A day later a smug Sean called Tory back,
furnished with a flash drive full of information, including a table
of contents, regarding the validity of their numbers. The next week
there was a company bulletin for all upper management highlighting
Kate and Jasmine’s departments and their fantastic progress. Ron
was livid—L.A. was making a chump out of him. The highlighted
department’s got a combined party and gift cards for such superior
work. Krista got another pat on the back from Tory, and their
meeting was moved up a week.

Speaking of their meeting, Tory was making a
trip down to meet with Krista. He wanted to discuss her employment.
Like Sean said, he was aware of her offers. He was also aware she
had interviewed with four companies, each offering some truly
fantastic packages: higher wages, bonuses, benefits, and some
spacious offices. They couldn’t offer such challenging work,
however. Three of the four were basically creating jobs just to get
her in the door; she would be a glorified consultant.