Southern Seduction (120 page)

A knock on my door pulls me from my thoughts. Marnie, my secretary, opens the door when I tell her to come in. She places a stack of papers on my desk and an appointment schedule for the next week.

“If there’s nothing else, Mr. Callahan, I’m doing to head out for the weekend,” she says, and I groan. I’ve told her to call me Sawyer hundreds of times, but she never does.

Looking at the clock, I see that it’s already after four. This week flew by, and after my catching Cheyenne lying to Victoria about my dating status, she’s acted distant. Professional, but not personal. I know I shouldn’t have brought up our past, but when I’m around her, I just can’t help myself. It slips out constantly, and it’s a sign to myself—and probably her—that I’m still not over what happened. Maybe I just need closure. Yeah, I bet that’s it. I still have no idea why she left the way she did, even though she tried to leave a letter of explanation. Jesus, that letter. Before I can even begin to recall it, I hear Marnie clear her throat.

“Of course, Marnie. Have a great weekend and say hi to Joe and the kids for me,” I tell her, slightly embarrassed that she caught me mid-thought.

I decide to work through the stack of paperwork she dropped off before finally calling it a day. It’s Friday evening, and unlike most twenty-six-year-old single men in the city of Atlanta, I have no plans. The gym’s calling my name as I’m ready to work off the aggression from the week. Locking up the office, I head toward the elevator, wishing I hadn’t sent Cheyenne in my place to a meeting across town. All week I’ve been trying to figure out way to find out how I could get her to fall for another night of dinner plans, but I never could quite ask her. As if she were anticipating the question, she always bugged off, making up some excuse and exiting the office before I could get the words out.

I enter the elevator alone and inwardly groan as it stops on a floor below mine, where several of the guys from the production department enter. Pretending I’m more interested in my phone than their presence, I don’t acknowledge them. They’re already deep in conversation, joking around, not paying me any attention. They’re discussing some happy hour gig that’s apparently a hot spot for tonight, and they start talking chicks, so I zone out. I’m checking out the stock prices when I hear her name, causing me to look up.

“I asked that hot Hamilton chick if she’s going and she told me she wouldn’t miss it. I swear, she’s been flirting with me for weeks, and I’m finally excited to see her out of those sexy pencil skirts and in something a little skimpier. God, it’s such a shame the way she has to cover that amazing rack every single day. If she’d just pop one more button, we’d be able to get a glimpse at her sweet tits,” one of the assholes tells his buddies.

I’m seething, and while I want to kick this guy’s ass, I calm myself down, ready to launch into a speech that’ll make HR proud. Before I can talk, one of his buddies elbows him, laughing.

“Dude, there is no way she’s coming anywhere near you. She comes to work every single day on the arm of the guy in accounting, and they leave together, too. Not only that, but I see them eating lunch together almost every day of the week. I’ve heard they’re roommates, but I guaran-fucking-tee you they’re not sleeping in separate beds.”

I swear, this is the longest fucking elevator ride ever. Seriously. You should never be on one of these things for more than maybe twenty seconds, but somehow I got stuck on the slowest one in the universe, letting me hear all about Cheyenne’s tits and how she’s probably sleeping with her roommate.

Once the elevator dings, signaling that we’re on the ground floor, I’m finally noticed. At least one guy in the group looks sheepish, realizing that they were just sexifying my employee.

“Hey, Callahan,” he says nervously as we exit the elevator. “A bunch of us are going over to Five Points for happy hour to unwind if you wanna join in.”

Score. I’d be cheering in my head if I actually admitted that I do that. Any bar that they go to in the area will be near Cheyenne’s place, and according to them, she’s going to be there. Plastering on a grin, I nod my head.

“Sounds good. I could definitely use a few brews to start the weekend. Where are y’all headed?” I ask, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

He gives me the info for the night, and I realize that I have just enough time to get home and change before meeting up with everyone. When I get home, I’m quick to remove my suit and tie, replacing them with a pair of dark jeans and a semi-tight grey long-sleeved Henley that shows off my muscles. Sure, I might not be as built as I was when I worked on the farm, but I’ve maintained a pretty good level of fitness, so I think I look pretty damn good. I throw on a grey knit beanie, covering my hair, perfecting the look. It may be a little preppy, but I hear chicks dig it, and I’m all about getting under Cheyenne’s skin.

It’s not long before I’m heading out of my place and walking the short distance to the bar. Somehow it’s never come up that I also live in Five Points, and I’m okay with that. Knowing Cheyenne, she’d have been looking for a new place to live in five seconds flat. Instead, I’ve remained impassive whenever talks turn to where we live.

Entering the bar, my eyes have to adjust to the dim light. As I scan the room, I see many of our coworkers, but not Cheyenne. Trying to stamp out the disappointment in my chest, I head toward the bar and order a stiff drink before joining a table with a few of the other department heads. I’m listening to them shooting the shit when I finally see her walk in, and she’s not alone. That guy, Bryan, is right behind her with his hand on the small of her back as he guides her to a table across the room. A shorter, raven-haired girl follows behind them, and I assume she’s the other roommate. My hopes that she might be hooking up with Bryan are completely erased as I watch them. I doubt he’d be paying more attention to Cheyenne if he was with the other chick, and it suddenly crosses my mind that the douchebags in the elevator might have been right. Maybe she is hooking up with him and that’s why she’s been acting weird all week. I try to shake the thought out of my head, but it’s too late. The idea’s been planted, and now I’m pissed at myself for not taking advantage of the situation when I caught her all jealous over Victoria.

I try to focus my gaze somewhere else in the room, but it’s no use. No matter what I do, my eyes always gravitate back towards her, so I stop fighting it. I take a moment to check her out as she stands at the high-top table, not yet sitting down as she waits for her friends to get situated. She’s changed out of her business clothes, and as much as I love Cheyenne in pencil skirts, the sight of her ass in skin-tight jeans makes my mouth water and my dick firm.

Finally, she turns round the table and pulls out a chair in between the other two, and the sight of her in a long-sleeved t-shirt that hugs her breasts perfectly has me discreetly adjusting my jeans. Jesus, you’d think I would’ve gotten used to seeing hot chicks with tight t-shirts, but something about Cheyenne never fails to turn me on. I know I’m not the only guy in the room checking her out, and I groan, knowing that it’s going to be a long-ass night if I can’t get her to talk to me.

I’m about to look away when she glances up from the drink menu and catches me watching her. She looks surprised to see me, like she didn’t expect me to make an appearance, to mingle with the staff. I’m not a snob by any means, but I do usually spend my weekends with my college buddies instead of fraternizing. The thing is, all those policies that I touted to Victoria had slipped far away from my mind when Cheyenne walked through my door. She’s looking at me curiously, holding my gaze before a waitress takes her attention away from me.

“Yo, Callahan,” I hear and turn to see Hunter, the head of the finance department, looking at me quizzically. “How ‘bout a game of darts?” he asks, and I’m thankful for the distraction. I glance back just in time to see her laughing at something Bryan said. Clenching and unclenching my fist, I take a swig of my whiskey and follow Hunter across the room.

We play the first couple of rounds in silence, and I can’t stand it. I try to make small talk so that I don’t get stuck in my head. We’re talking shop when he casually brings up Cheyenne. “So that assistant of yours? How’s that working out?”

I turn to study him, but he’s concentrating on the board, not looking at me. I have a feeling I know where this is going, and I want to groan over being put in this position.

“It’s going just fine,” I tell him, not expanding on it.

He lands a double bull’s-eye and moves to the board to pull out his darts. “I’ve been able to talk to her in the hall a few times. She seems sweet, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous as hell. Do you know if she’s seeing anyone? I was thinking of asking her out, but I wanted to see if you knew the inside scoop first.”

I have to push down the scowl that’s threatening to form on my face. No way in hell is Hunter asking Cheyenne out. Don’t get me wrong. He’s actually a pretty good guy, but if anyone at Wellsley is going to ask her out, it’ll be me. And finally, I realize that I need to grab ahold of my balls and do just that.

“Sawyer?” he asks, breaking my concentration.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Uhh, I’m not sure if she is or not. She’s always with that blond guy,” I tell him, gesturing towards Bryan, and now I know how it felt when she was telling Victoria that I was seeing someone.

“Bryan? Nah, they’re just roommates. He mentioned it a while ago, and since they’re close, I didn’t feel comfortable asking him about her just yet.” Relief washes over me, glad to learn they are just friends.

“Ah, well, then it’s up to you I guess,” I say, noncommittal. “What about company policy though?”

His eyebrows furrow as he shakes his head. “Weren’t you at the last staff meeting?” he asks, and I shake my head, remembering that I was out of town on business. “Policy changed. Dating’s fine as long as each party works in different departments. And since I’m not her boss, that means she’s fair game. Sucks for you, man!” he says, grinning, and I have the urge to throw a dart at his smug smile.

Shit, I do remember reading the memo about that. He’s right. If something does happen between Cheyenne and me, she’ll have to move departments, and that would suck. In two short months she’s become the best assistant I’ve ever had, and I chalk it up to us being in tune with each other, even after so much time apart.

As soon as we finish up the game, Hunter heads to the bar to grab another drink. Before I can even think about what I’m doing, I make my way towards her table. Bryan spots me coming, and he makes a big show of putting his arm around her chair, scooting it closer to him. I see her look at him in confusion, but he just keeps his eyes on mine. I wonder what exactly she’s told them about me, if anything. Pulling up another chair to the round table, I sit next to the raven-haired girl. Cheyenne’s eyes widen when she sees me, and she’s quick to take a drink from her glass.

“Cool if I join y’all?” I ask, emphasizing the y’all, willing Cheyenne to remember the time she claimed I’ve probably never said the word, to remember anything and everything about that summer.

A huge grin spreads over her face, and I know I have her. Shrugging, she looks back and forth between the other two, who both nod. I settle in at the table as Cheyenne begins to make introductions.

“This is my best friend and other roommate, Cori,” she says, and the girl holds her hand out to me. I shake it, and try to suppress a smile when her eyes widen as Cheyenne introduces me. “Cori, this is Sawyer Callahan, my boss.”

I grimace at the title, knowing I used to be so much more than that. The way that Cori’s staring at me wide-eyed lets me know that she also knows that boss isn’t the correct title for me, and while I hate that she used that term, I’m beyond pleased that I was deemed worth discussing.

“And I’m pretty sure you two have met, but just in case, Sawyer, Bryan. Bryan, Sawyer,” she says, her hands waving between the two of us.

“I don’t think we ever officially met. Sorry about that. I try to get around to all the new hires, but we’ve been busy with crazy deadlines.”

Cori smiles, butting in. “Oh, we know, Sawyer. Cheyenne’s been working a lot of late nights at the office,” she says teasingly as she shoulder-bumps her friend, who turns to glare at her. “What? I’m just saying we can certainly understand how busy you’ve been, right, Bryan?”

He’s staring at me, and if I hadn’t just heard from Hunter that they weren’t an item, I’d be thinking that he’s trying to make it clear not to move in on his territory. Unfortunately for him, I can see that he’s acting more like a protective older brother.

“Yeah, whatever. I need a shot. Shy, come take one with me,” he says, getting up from the table. She looks from me to Cori and then back to me. Hell, if he wants to liquor her up for me, I don’t mind. I shrug, and when she leaves, I turn towards Cori.

“I take it you’ve heard of me,” I say, not letting a second of our alone time go to waste.

“Oh, yeah, Sawyer Callahan. I’ve heard of you. I first heard about you a long, long time ago,” she admits. “Even though I don’t know you personally, I’m rooting for you. I don’t know what happened between you guys last weekend, but she was in a hell of a mood when Bryan and I got back from California, and, well, your suit’s still sitting in her room. I’m probably overstepping my bounds and breaking some kind of girl code, but between you and me, she hasn’t dated much in the whole time that I’ve known her and I think you might be part of the reason why.”

Her words surprise me. All this time I figured she was probably dating guys left and right in college, having the time of her life. To hear that she doesn’t really date—and that it might be because of me—gives me hope that somehow I’ll be able to work my way back in.

“Do you know all of it?” I ask, wondering if Cheyenne spilled every single bean.

“Yeah, and for what it’s worth, I think she’s an idiot. Just give her some time. I think being back here in Georgia is helping her remember who she used to be before she got immersed in school and then her career. Just be patient with her, Sawyer. It’ll all work out.”