Page 5 of Let's Call a Truce
“I’m so sorry, Juliana.” She reached across the table to grip my hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
There was genuine heartbreak on her face, free of the usual discomfort I got from people when discussing Jason’s death, and I knew we could be real friends. “There’s not much to tell. Someone looked at a new text instead of where they were driving, and Jason was the one to pay the price.”
She squeezed my hand. “I know there’s nothing I can do to make you feel better, but if you ever want to talk about him, I’d be happy to listen.”
My heart tightened at her words. No one ever wanted to talk about him. Most people were too uncomfortable with the pain to sit in it with me.
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
We finally settled into what we needed to go over, flying through the information about her team. She invited me to lunch later in the week, and I walked away with a bounce in my step.
I had one hiring manager left to meet, and from the people I had seen so far, Ben Thomas had to be the brown-eyed man. My heart raced with each step toward his office. Who would I get today—the charming man who brushed off my faux pas, or the critical coworker who made me feel like an ant for making the right choice for my family?
I tried to ignore the fact that I’d put more effort into my appearance today. I told myself I did it because it made me feel confident—armor for the potential battle to come.
Just like I did before Asia’s meeting, I stopped by the coffee cart downstairs to grab something for each of us as an apology for canceling our other meeting at the last minute. I would be extremely overcaffeinated by the end of the day, but I always found people were more likely to accept apologies when plied with gifts.
Voices drifted down the hallway from inside Ben’s office. I slowed, figuring he was finishing up with another meeting before ours. After all, I was a few minutes early to show how reliable I was, despite last week’s fiasco.
“It’s ridiculous. If she’s not ready to do the work, then she should let the job go to someone who is. Do we even know shecando the job? She said she hasn’t worked in years.”
“Do you hear yourself? You sound like an ass and haven’t even met her.” I recognized Asia’s voice.
“You’re right. I haven’t met her yet. Because she canceled a meeting with me less than five minutes before it was supposed to start.” I could hear the anger in his voice, and I realized they were discussing me. Heat rose in my cheeks, and I wondered if I should walk away.
“Ben—”
His tirade cut her off. “I know, I know. She had an emergency with her kids. And before you go in on me, I know her husband died, and her kids are going through some stuff. But you know what? We all have shit going on. I had to stay late to meet with a client to squeeze her into my schedule, and then she didn’t even show up. It is not my job to accommodate her kids. No one’s doing—”
I knocked to announce my presence, and both heads snapped to the doorway. “It’s time for our meeting.” The fire in my eyes undermined the sweetness of my tone. “I wouldn’t want to start late and inconvenience your schedule.”
Ben grimaced as his cheeks turned pink. At least he had the decency to look ashamed. Asia gave him a pointed look. She mouthedbe nicebefore leaving his office with a small wave in my direction. I gave her a weak smile.
Ben straightened his tie as I sat down across from him. “Look, Ms. Ryan, about what you heard before—”
“Juliana, please.” I lifted a hand as I cut him off. “Eduardo said he doesn’t like formalities in the office, and I’d like to make a good impression on at least some people here.”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. “I didn’t mean you gave a bad impress—”
“Truthfully, I don’t want an explanation. I’m not interested in the story you’ll spin to make yourself feel better.” For a moment, he seemed upset, brows drawn together, but it must have been my imagination. A heartbeat later, his brown eyes hardened. “Luckily for both of us, our interactions will be limited. Your architectural team has no openings, and from what I’ve heard from Christina, your people are quite happy in their roles.”
“You’ve done your research.” His tone implied he was shocked I could do my job, and I clenched the notebook in my lap to keep from throwing it at his head.
“I don’t go into meetings blindly. The KMG family will find I am exceptionally capable, despite what you seem to believe. Now, please, walk me through your team. Don’t worry, I’ll keep extensive notes so we can do everything via email when a role opens up under you.”
My traitorous mind flashed an image of me under him, my overactive imagination filling in the flexing muscles that his button-down barely kept contained as he moved over me. Damn libido. This was by far the longest I’d gone without sex since I met my husband at eighteen. My stomach roiled at the idea of sharing that with anyone but him, but my hormones were feeling more desperate. I needed to invest in some new toys.
A blush crept down my neck and over my chest as I tried to wipe the image away. Ben’s eyes tracked the progression, only to raise his eyes to mine with a smirk, like he could see into my mind and explore every dirty thought. He held my gaze for a few seconds without speaking.
“For someone so offended by a canceled meeting, you seem to have no problem wasting my time.” I crossed my arms, pleased with my quip as I tried to regain some control.
“I didn’t realize I was allowed to speak.” His casual condescension made my blood boil.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Between you running into me in the break room, canceling our meeting, and practically every moment since you entered my office, you’ve barely let me finish a sentence. I figured I would save myself the effort and wait until I had your permission.”
I sputtered, furious at the accusation. He smirked back.
