“There’s no signature,” Olivia told her, shrugging apologetically. It wasn’t exactly a lie. She had her suspicions, but he hadn’t signed his name, so how could she be sure? “I can’t imagine who would have sent them.”
She quickly tucked the card in her pocket, where it would be safe from curious eyes, including Chloe’s. No way could she admit who they were from. People were already talking about her and Cole as if they were practically headed to the altar. She wasn’t ready to open that can of worms just yet. Or ever.
“And they say size doesn’t matter!” Chloe scoffed, flicking one of the roses with her index finger.
“This isn’t funny!”
“Tell me about it,” Chloe said with a devilish grin. “I can’t remember the last time a guy sent me flowers!”
“It’s not like that,” Olivia argued, rubbing her temples. Whatever the flowers were, they meant something. Guys didn’t just send a woman flowers without wanting something in return. She had a pretty good idea what that something was when it came to Cole. Why couldn’t he get it into his head that she couldn’t just openly screw the boss?
“Riiiight,” Chloe drawled, rolling her eyes. “There are only two reasons a man sends flowers like these—he’s getting some action or he’s trying to get some.”
“Well, he can forget about it. My vagina is officially closed for business,” Olivia swore, crossing her arms emphatically. She was definitely not going to have sex with Cole again, no matter how big his arrangement was. Not even if he tried to lure her with those ridiculously gifted hands of his.
Or that mouth.
Nope. She was done with sex. At least for now. She just needed to set Cole straight.
Again.
She shooed Chloe out of her office and headed straight for Cole’s, letting herself in without knocking and shutting the door behind her.
“Olivia—”
“Have you lost your mind?” she hissed through clenched teeth. She stalked across the office and placed her palms on the desk, leaning into his personal space. “You can’t just send me roses at work!”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and she knew he wanted to laugh. Jerk. Why did he have to be so sexy when he was being such an ass?
“Remind me again why I can’t send you flowers?”
“Because,” she sputtered, trying to remember why it was wrong. There seemed to be a sudden disconnect between her brain and her mouth. Probably had something to do with all the blood rushing to her center. “What will people think?”
“I sent you flowers; I didn’t propose to you,” he said, flashing her his trademark dimpled grin. “And you’re the one who pointed out that people already think we’re sleeping together. Why not run with it? You really need to loosen up.” His smile turned seductive, his eyes hooding with desire. “I could help you with that, you know.”
“And just what, exactly, did you hope to accomplish with this little stunt?” she demanded, doing her best to ignore the wicked glint in his gray eyes and the lock of dark hair that hung over his brow. Her fingertips burned with the need to push the stray hair back and explore the softer side of the hardened man who sat in front of her.
“No hidden agenda. We’re going to knock Vixen’s socks off. Consider them a pre-closing celebration gift.” He smirked at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “The post-closing could be even better.”
“Cut the crap, Cole.” She rolled her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t see her flush with excitement at the thought of them celebrating the deal together. Alone. Naked. “I can’t believe I have to reiterate this, but you can’t send me flowers. I thought I was clear on that when I agreed to our little bargain.” She straightened her back, placing a hand rebelliously on her hip. “Which, by the way, was clearly a total mistake. No gestures. No public anything. Just a little secret sex.” Why was that so hard for him to understand? And why did the words feel wrong when she said them?
“I told you the first time I met you—I get what I want.” He crossed his arms stubbornly. The soft cotton of his blue dress shirt emphasized the broad muscles of his chest and shoulders, sending her focus into a tailspin once again. It was impossible to concentrate when all she could think about was the mind-blowing orgasms the man had given her.
“You’re impossible!” she insisted, throwing her hands up in frustration. She turned her back on him, fully expecting to get the last word, but he wasn’t about to give up so easily.
“Olivia.”
She paused at the door, her hand on the metal knob.
“You need to break things off with Wall Street.”
She laughed and walked out, leaving the door open behind her. Go figure. They finally agreed on something.
…