I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. I felt something warm settle on my knee and I opened my eyes. I saw Carter’s hand wrapping around my leg, his thumb stroking the top of my jeans. I could feel his body heat penetrating the denim I was wearing.
It sent shivers up my legs to intense it ached my hips.
“Look it’s… people go through things. We all have our pasts. What’s important is how we choose to continue and press forward,” I said.
“Wise words coming from such a young woman,” Carter said.
“Young is relative to what a person has experienced in their lifetime.”
I looked up into Carter’s eyes and took in the beautiful green they housed. I finished off my glass of wine and set the glass between my legs. His hand drifted up my thigh, caressing my skin as I watched him travel farther. Lower thigh. Middle thigh. Upper thigh. My hip.
Then I watched his fingers move to the glass between my legs before he plucked it from its threshold.
“I’ll take this,” Carter said.
I let go of the breath I was holding as he got up and walked away. I closed my eyes and took a few shallow breaths, trying to steady the uneasiness in my gut. It had been years since I’d felt this way around a man. And of course, it had to be my boss.
“Would you care for another glass?”
“Oh, no. I’m okay,” I said.
“You sure?”
“Positive,” I said.
“Suit yourself.”
I heard him pour himself a glass of wine before he came back over to the couch. He sat down next to me, but he was so close our knees were connected. I felt my heart slamming against my chest. My hands were beginning to sweat. I looked up into Carter’s eyes and smiled, watching as he relaxed into the couch.
Holy hell, that man could wear a suit.
“I met Logan while the two of us were in college,” he said.
“So you went to Caltech as well,” I said.
“I did. We were frat buddies.”
“Oh man, you were one of those guys I hated in college,” I said.
“It was an academic fraternity. Not one of those fuckboy parties.”
“Did you just say ‘fuckboy’?” I asked.
“It’s the only accurate term to describe them. Logan had this side-business going while he was in school. He was helping the small businesses around the area advertise in a way that attracted the heavy student population. We got to talking one night over some beers and I told him he needed someone to set him up a website. Something that would get his name out there. Something that would pop up if people searched for him on the internet.”
“So you’re not the marketing guru,” I said.
“Nope. that’s Logan’s alley. I’ve picked up some tools of the trade, but that’s more his wheelhouse. He deals with advertising and marketing, and I deal with everything that comes with internet marketing.”
“Is that not the same thing?” I asked.
“Nope. Logan does things like commercials and billboards and works with creative minds to come up with slogans and campaigns. I deal with websites and social media and GoFundMe accounts and YouTube videos.”
“So, Logan does the traditional marketing, and you do the modern marketing.”
“That’s… actually a really good way to put it,” he said.
“Sounds like the two of you are a good team.”