Chapter 7

“So not only is she ridiculously pretty and rich, she’s also Captain Planet,” I say as I sink down into my office chair.

“If Captain Planet was in the business of servers and data centers,” Jackie says back dryly as she takes the seat across from me.

“I guess I was hoping the product might be some evil artificial intelligence that was going to steal our jobs and souls.”

I turn my desktop computer back on so I can quickly check my email to make sure I didn’t miss anything important while in our three-hour long Ellison kick-off this morning. There’s nothing pressing, which shouldn’t be surprising since my life is now all Ellison, all the time.

“Because that would make it easier to hate Olivia Ellison?”

I shouldn’t have said anything to begin with. Jackie has been prickly ever since she left my apartment on Friday and it just seemed to get worse the closer we got to today. Lauren’s arrival. Not like we’ve even seen her yet. I have to assume she was whisked into meetings with Guy and the other leads right away.

I decide to just move past her comment. Partly because I know that she’s right. I didn’t really think the product would change anything about this situation, but I also didn’t expect the product to be something so…. altruistic.

It would be easier to think about Olivia as some corrupt CEO who only thinks about money. But introducing a groundbreaking technology to make cloud computing and data centers more sustainable? That, I was not expecting.

“This changes everything,” I say as I look back to Jackie from my screen. “We’re going to need to bring in the sustainability team from San Francisco for research. I’ll send Michelle a note to check with Ellison on adding two people to the NDA. This is just too specialized without their help. And we need it soon. We’re on a much tighter timeline than we thought we’d be. Four weeks to get an entire pitch ready for round one isn’t much.”

“I’ll reach out to their creative teams too for some good case studies. We’re going to need to prove that we’re capable in that space.”

“Great. Donnelly & Schneider will be tough to beat on this. They have a huge sustainability practice and I’m pretty sure their headquarters just won some big, green award. We’ll need to do a competitive analysis before we dive into strategy.”

“Let’s not pretend that’s the only reason Donnelly has a leg up on us,” Jackie says looking over her shoulder, even though the door is closed.

“Jackie, I get it. This isn’t ideal. Believe me, I’ve gone around and around in circles on that fact. But we’re in this. We have the info. Now we need to do what we can to win.”

“You’re starting to sound more like her.”

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb, Ems.”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say here, Jackie. Am I supposed to say no to Guy and Michelle? Just refuse to work on this? You know I don’t have that freedom. If I say no to this, I can basically just kiss my SVP promotion away.”

“You could just leave. You know you’d be an EVP at any other agency by now.”

“Yes, but Altitude is the best. And I refuse to quit over a hard project.”

Jackie doesn’t say anything and for a few moments, the room just holds an awkward silence.

It’s not that I don’t know Jackie is right. I’ve already voiced these concerns to Lauren and logically I know this is more than a “hard project.” But those concerns don’t change the reality of the fact that we now have a piece of business we need to pitch. Even if it is a long shot to win.

And maybe some of my own competitiveness is seeping into my feelings around all of this. When Michelle gave us the briefing document at this morning’s kick-off, I felt a rush of excitement as I read through the ask from Ellison.

Besides the political aspects of the account, it should feel daunting considering I’ve never worked on any kind of sustainability business. But I’ve won plenty of business before in industries I’ve never touched.

I can feel the early adrenaline I always get at the beginning of a new pitch process start to build. The desire to win is no less potent than it usually is, which surprises me considering the situation and likelihood of us doing just that.

But what Ellison is introducing isn’t some run of the mill tech product that requires the same kind of strategic thinking we always employ. This project will require new ways of thinking since what they’re introducing is cutting edge and new.

Lauren must have been right when she said Ellison Tech had been working towards this announcement for a while. This isn’t something that could have been drummed up in the few days that she was served divorce papers.

It brings up even more questions about their marriage and how much they divulged to each other. You’d think Olivia would have mentioned something about this during pillow talk.

“Whoever wins this business is in a PR dream. Beyond the fact that it’s a 10-million-dollar retainer. Whoever wins this will skyrocket as a leader in sustainability business,” I say.

“Ten fucking million for one campaign,” Jackie says as she shakes her head.

That was pretty much the entire team’s reaction when we saw that number on the briefing document today.

“Damn. Lauren really screwed the pooch on this one,” she added.

“Floozy last week and now screwed the pooch? Why is your vocabulary suddenly from 1950?”

“I’m not sure, why do you keep deflecting any time Lauren comes up?”

“I’m not deflecting. There’s just nothing to say about Lauren.”

“Which is how I know you’ve got it bad. Because there’s so much to say about her. And Olivia. Who I Googled by the way and looks like she just walked off a runway in Milan.”

I want to argue with her, but Jackie knows me way too well and what she’s saying is probably true. If this was anyone else, I’d be pulling my hair out about the ridiculousness of the situation. And I probably would march into Michelle or Guy’s office and refuse to work on it. So why am I so reluctant to voice any of that to Jackie?

Her comment on Olivia’s looks doesn’t help. I don’t need to be reminded how far out of Lauren’s league I am. Especially when I’m trying to put all that aside to come up with a strategy to win this business.

I don’t want to argue with Jackie, but I also don’t want to talk about Lauren. So instead I just look back at my computer without saying anything.

“Have you seen her yet?”

I take a deep breath. Jackie is relentless on the topic and I can feel my anger rising.

“Why do you care about Lauren so much? I’m the lead on this project. Ultimately, it’s going to be my name on the line.”

My tone is much harsher than I meant it to be and I instantly regret saying it when I see Jackie’s hurt face.

For a moment she doesn’t say anything back and just looks out the window to the left of my desk. When she looks back at me, her face is more serious than I’m used to seeing it.

“I think you know why, Ems,” she says quietly.

This is the exact conversation I feared would come up soon, but I didn’t think it would come up at work. This office is starting to see way too much of my personal life.

I look across the desk at my friend, trying to decide what I should say. What we really need to do is talk about this somewhere that’s not the office.

I love Jackie, just not in the way she probably wants me to. She deserves a real conversation about it and probably has for months. I’ve just been ignoring the signs that were there.

“Look, Jackie—” I start to say, but am cut off when there’s a knock on my office door. The person who knocked doesn’t wait for an answer and suddenly my door is open and Lauren Callahan is standing in the entryway.

If I wasn’t instantly frozen to the spot looking at Lauren’s gorgeous face, I probably would have rolled my eyes at the incredibly bad timing of her entrance. From the corner of my eye, I can see Jackie stand, but I can’t do anything but stare at Lauren.

This is probably the most casual I’ve ever seen Lauren dress. There’s no dress code in the Seattle office so she won’t look out of place, but having never seen the woman in jeans, I’m having to adjust to the look. Not that I can’t do that easily. Because she looks amazing.

Her hair is pulled up into a bun and she has a pair of glasses on that make her green eyes even more striking. But what I really can’t stop staring at is the tight shirt she has on under a loose-fitting grey blazer. Across the shirt is a faded image of Mickey Mouse.

I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting there, just staring at Lauren’s shirt, but based on the way her lips are quirked up in a knowing smirk, I’m guessing it’s longer than normal.

“Lauren,” I say, but my voice sounds hoarse, so I clear my throat before continuing. “Nice to see you.”

I can’t seem to say much else beyond that. Images of eating Mickey Mouse pancakes the morning after being thoroughly fucked in her hotel room are floating through my head, making speech impossible.

“Hello, Emma,” she says as her eyes move up and down my body.

It’s only when she turns to Jackie that I realize this whole weird greeting was witnessed by my friend. This timing really couldn’t have been worse.

“Hey Jackie, nice to see you,” she says to Jackie who looks less than pleased by Lauren’s arrival.

“You too, Lauren. Did you have a good flight?” Jackie asks in a voice that I can tell is a bit strained.

“A little early, but it was fine.”

Lauren looks from Jackie to me when the conversation stalls, but the awkwardness doesn’t seem to bother her.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she says, but her tone makes it clear she doesn’t care at all if she’s interrupting something.

“No,” Jackie says. “You weren’t. In fact, we were just talking about you.”

Now both women are looking at me. Lauren’s face just looks amused by the situation while Jackie looks more than a little annoyed.

I wish I could tell Jackie something to make her feel better in this moment, but I can’t with Lauren staring me down and making my thoughts feel sluggish.

“Great,” Lauren says even though it’s clear Jackie didn’t mean we were saying anything good about Lauren. “Because I wanted to talk with you both. Michelle let me know the kick-off this morning went well. I’m going to be setting up a meeting for the three of us to meet on Friday for a strategy session.”

The quick swerve into work talk does its job to shake me out of my daze. “Strategy? I ask her. “I thought you couldn’t sign the NDA.”

“I can’t. What I’m going to do is go over a deep background on the client and what our past business relationship has looked like. We’ll go through what Austin has done for them and I can give some insight into best practices on pitching them.”

“Oh, I’m sure you have a lot of info to share on that relationship,” Jackie says and I almost can’t believe how snarky her tone is.

Jackie can be irreverent at times and she definitely has no real care about hierarchy, but this was pushing it, even for her.

“And lucky for you, I’ll be here to help. From start to finish,” Lauren says back to Jackie in a much sweeter tone.

She has a smile on her face, but there’s a challenge in her eyes I’ve seen before. Jackie should probably tread carefully. Lauren looks like a caged animal ready to strike if pushed the wrong way.

Lauren seems completely comfortable with the silence that takes over my office. Jackie looks over at me like she’s expecting me to chime in, but when I just sit there, she bends down and grabs her laptop bag by the chair.

“Lucky us,” she says as she moves to the doorway that Lauren is standing in. “I’ll look out for the calendar invite.”

Lauren walks further into my office so Jackie can move past her. Before completely leaving, Jackie shoulders her bag and gives me a last look.

“Talk later?” she asks me and I simply nod back.

There’s so much I want to say, but not in front of Lauren and I’d really like for this awkward encounter to be over.

Despite the fact that Lauren is still in my office, I can instantly feel my shoulders relax at Jackie’s departure. Every moment since the kick-off has felt tense and I hate feeling like that with Jackie. Usually we’re cracking jokes and teasing each other after meetings.

“She doesn’t like me much,” Lauren says as she closes the door behind Jackie.

“She’s just protective of me,” I say as I watch her walk over to my desk.

Instead of sitting down in the chair Jackie had just used, she moves to the desk and sits on the end of it, crossing her legs as she does. Even without her usual, imposing heels, the move is domineering, and it instantly makes me feel like she has the upper hand.

“Is that what that is?” she asks.

“Nice shirt,” I say to her, ignoring her comment about Jackie.

“I thought you’d like it,” she says with her usual smirk.

“You’re the one with a Disney fetish, not me.”

She pretends to look at a watch she’s not even wearing and looks up at me with a shocked expression on her face.

“Why Ms. King. It’s not even 1pm and you’re already talking about fetishes. At work no less. I should report you.”

“I’m sure HR would love to hear about how we came to that topic,” I quip back.

She smiles and gives me a small wink. “While I’d love to continue our foreplay, I have some appointments to look at apartments I need to get to. I came to make sure you didn’t forget about our dinner tonight.”

Dinner.

Like I could have forgotten that I inadvisably agreed to go to dinner with Lauren tonight. Besides the kick-off meeting, I haven’t been able to think about much else. I even wrote text after text to Lauren over the weekend backing out, only to just erase them before sending.

Everything in me is screaming that I should cancel. I’m not an idiot, in fact I pride myself on being pretty self-aware. I know exactly how my attraction will grow if I go to dinner with her. And I know how that will complicate things, not to mention the lecture I’d get from Jackie.

But as I sit here staring up at Lauren, I can’t help but want to spend more time with her. And it’s not like she invited me to her hotel room. Dinner can just be dinner.

“I haven’t been told a time or place so I could technically accuse you of being the forgetful one,” I say back quietly.

The intense way she’s looking from my eyes down to my waist is making me feel like I’m being undressed on the spot.

Instead of answer, she focuses her gaze on my chest and moves her hand to gently play with the collar of my shirt. She tugs it lightly before moving the same hand down to the top button.

Without anything else to do with my hands, I grip the arms of my chair and I can see my own chest rising and falling at a much faster rate.

She deftly opens the top button of my shirt with one hand before moving down and doing the same to the next button. She cocks her head to one side and hums softly as she looks at her own work.

“You look sexy in blue, Ems. You should wear that color more often.”

After carefully grazing the skin just inside my shirt with her fingers, she slowly moves her hand back and sets in on her lap.

“Have a drink with me at my hotel before dinner,” she says in a low voice.

I have to close my eyes for a moment before I can form words. I’m so aroused right now and I know she can easily tell. My defenses are down and she’s using that to her advantage, which is something I can’t let happen.

“No,” I say as I open my eyes and look into hers.

She doesn’t look mad but simply gives me a smile and shrug. “Worth a shot.”

I can’t help but smile back at her. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like Lauren. She moves off my desk and over to the door, which she stops in front of before leaving.

“I’ll see you at Serafina. 8:00. The table is under my name. My last name. I’m sure you remember it.”

She gives me a final wink and heads out the door.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It’s not a date, it’s not a date, it’s not a date.

Repeating that to myself over and over doesn’t seem to relieve any of the nerves that have built in my stomach since I left my office. It also doesn’t help me choose something to wear out of the mountain of discarded options that now pepper my bedroom.

Granted I haven’t been to dinner with a woman in a while, but it shouldn’t be this hard to pick something to wear. Especially since it’s not a date.

I even went as far as to look up the restaurant’s website to see if it would give me inspiration. I’ve never been to Serafina, but it’s fairly well-known in the city and I’ve always wanted to try the food.

A dress near the back of my closet catches my eye. It’s a dress I used to wear in New York all the time but seemed a little too fancy for the fleece and plaid culture of Seattle.

But Serafina is a nice restaurant and I’d be lying if I said I don’t care what Lauren thinks about how I look. Because I crave that hungry look she gets in her eyes, even if I shouldn’t, and this little black dress will certainly do that.

The dress still fits me perfectly and I smile at the image of Lauren seeing me in it. While it’s a fairly simple design, the cut is on the short side, showing off the legs I’ve caught Lauren staring at more than once. But my favorite feature is the back of the dress, which isn’t really a back at all since there’s no fabric there, giving people a clear view of my bare skin.

I’m fairly pleased with the outcome of my primping an hour later and give myself one last look in my bedroom mirror before turning to leave the room. But as I get to the door, something Lauren said earlier pops into my head, and I turn back slowly to my dresser contemplating something I definitely shouldn’t.

Fuck it. I move over to my dresser and lean against it as I quickly remove the pair of underwear I have on. I open the top drawer and move some things around until I find what I’m looking for.

As I leave my apartment for the Uber that just pulled up and is waiting for me, I feel a rush of excitement at what I just did.

I’m not going into this night expecting that Lauren will even find out, but it still gives me a rush to know that the very color Lauren complimented me on earlier today is now wrapped around my pussy in the form of a blue thong.

Chapter 8

The restaurant is just as nice as I expected and I’m instantly glad that I decided on this dress. The other patrons in here are dressed similarly and it almost doesn’t feel like Seattle anymore.

“I’m meeting someone here under the name of Callahan,” I say to the Serafina hostess.

She gives me a warm smile. “This way, please. Ms. Callahan has already arrived. Can I take your coat for you?”

I quickly remove my jacket, trying desperately not to focus on her use of Lauren’s last name like that. I can’t be turned on before I even get to the table. I need to keep my focus so I can get some answers from her.

I see Lauren before she sees me. Tucked into a corner table, she looks so much different than this afternoon when I saw her at work, but equally as sexy. She’s retired her jeans for a deep green silk top, and what seems to be some high waisted black slacks.

Her blouse cuts so low that my eyes transfix for a moment on the soft curves that are so easily visible. Lauren’s cleavage is tanned and incredibly soft looking and I can remember what it feels like to run my tongue between her perfect tits. Her blouse is holding them in such a perfect balance that my fingers itch to slide up her top right here in public.

When I raise my eyes back up, I’m almost at the table and Lauren’s eyes are trained on mine. The mischievous smile on her face makes it obvious she didn’t miss my ogling of her tits. Luckily, she doesn’t say anything as I get to the table, but that could be because she was doing her own share of ogling.

The hostess says something I don’t hear and leaves and I continue to stare at Lauren. Her green eyes are impossibly bright tonight, helped by the color of her blouse. She moves over to me and lightly touches my back as she places a small kiss on my cheek.

As she pulls back, her eyes widen before she squints them at my dress. She turns me slightly so she can look at my bare back. When she’s facing me again, her eyes look noticeably darker.

“Hello, Emma. You look fucking amazing,” she says as she pulls my chair out for me.

I can see her take one last look at my back before moving to her own chair.

I swear like a sailor— probably a result of growing up with overly formal parents that made me use the proper word for everything— but Lauren doesn’t. So, hearing her use that word over my outfit does nothing but make me feel sexy.

“Thank you,” I say back as I pick up my menu. I can already feel a blush creeping up my neck and I’ve only been here for a minute.

“Have you been here before?” she asks.

“No. But I’ve been wanting to. Good choice.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered a bottle of their recommended champagne.”

I’m absolutely not surprised that Lauren took the initiative to order for me and that normally bothers me. But since it’s what I would have ordered anyway, I decide not to argue about it.

“How thoughtful. And did you also order my dinner for me?” I say but with a hint of teasing in my tone.

“No, but I’m happy to if you’re the indecisive type.”

“I think I’ll manage,” I say back dryly.

The server comes over with two flutes, a bucket and the bottle Lauren ordered. He offers for her to take the first sip, which she gestures for me to take.

My eyes don’t leave hers as I take the first sip and nod to the server. I feel like I’m in some magnetic field and just can’t seem to look away from this woman.

“How did the apartment search go?” I ask when the server leaves.

“It went well. I found a place.” She takes a sip of her wine and closes her eyes for a moment as she seems to appreciate the taste. “It’s in Ballard, so a little far from the office, but it has a nice view of Puget Sound.”

I’ve spent enough time in Seattle to know that having a view of any body of water equals a lot of money. I shouldn’t be surprised though. She must make a good living from her Altitude salary, not to mention whatever benefits she has being married to an Ellison.

“Well that was quick. It took me weeks to find an apartment.”

“I’m very decisive,” she replies.

“Does that mean you know what you’re going to order?” I ask, pointing down to the menu.

“Of course. Do you?”

When I nod, she waves at the server across the room who is by our table in a second. Either Lauren has a domineering effect on everyone, or this guy is really looking for a good tip.

After we order, I can feel my nerves start to pick up. With the menus gone and no reason to be distracted, I know I should bring up what I came here to talk about. But Lauren looks so beautiful across the table from me that I find myself just looking into her green eyes as I take another sip of my drink.

“Now I need to know your secret,” she says with a smile.

“My secret?” I ask

“How did you get to be so good in a pitch? I’ve never seen someone present the way you do.”

She’s complimented me about work before, but I’m a little taken aback by the comment. Surely someone as accomplished as Lauren has come across other talented development leads. But when I look at her, I don’t see the usual teasing glimmer in her eyes. She just looks sincere.

“Both of my parents are professors. I grew up watching them command a classroom and they took my education very seriously. My mom specifically taught public speaking and she would make me practice in front of her. Even just silly book reports I needed to do at school. And I guess after years of that, I learned how to present. And be persuasive as I did it.”

“Are you close with them?”

“Not really. I mean, they’re nice people. But we don’t have much in common and I don’t get back home much. They’re more passionate about academia than parenting.”

“Where is home?”

“Portland. Have you been?”

“No, but now that I’m here, I’d like to visit sometime. Are you an only child?”

“No, I have an older brother. He works for a school district in Oregon. Everyone is in education except me. Even two of my cousins are teachers.”

“And yet you went into PR. How did that happen?”

“My parents spent my entire childhood grading papers. I always used to ask my mom to stop so she’d spend more time with me. And I always said I’d never do a job that required me to spend so much time away from my life.”

Lauren laughs at that. “So you chose to work for an agency?”

I give my own smile back. “Yeah, nobody told me along the way that the career I chose is just as bad. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have work emails to answer on a weekend.”

Anyone in the agency world knows the grueling hours and lack of work life balance the job requires and the topic provides some easy small talk as our food arrives. We each spend some time swapping stories about some of the more demanding clients we’ve had. But as we start to slow on our respective dishes, I know I need to ask her some questions of my own.

“Now I know that you grew up in Portland, you have a brother, and you’re a savant at winning new business. But tell me, Emma. Were you always this pretty?”

She gives me a quick smile and I let out a small laugh at her charming, yet cheesy question.

“You know, this isn’t supposed to be a dinner about me. I’d like to know more about you.”

The light that was in her eyes a moment before is gone almost instantly. She looks down at her wine for a moment before picking it up to take a long sip.

“Where would you like me to start?”

“You know what I really want to hear about. But we can start small if you’d like. Are you from Austin?”

She moves her plate aside and pulls her wine closer.

“No, I’m from a small town outside of Houston. Very rural, very conservative and very poor.”

“I can’t picture that. Somehow you look like a city girl through and through.”

Lauren gives a laugh, but it doesn’t hold much real humor in its tone. “I’ve carefully constructed this image over years. I wasn’t always like this.”

“What were you like?”

I push my own plate aside, which must have tipped our server off because he was back at our table clearing the dishes. Lauren waits until he leaves and even then, doesn’t speak right away.

“I guess it all leads into the story you’re really after.”

She takes the bottle of champagne out of the bucket and tops each of our glasses off. It’s obvious she’s trying to decide what to say or how to start. Or maybe she’s just stalling.

“My parents were very poor. The area I grew up in was rough and I guess you could say, I was a bit rough too. I was suspended three times before I even left middle school.”

“Now that I can’t picture. Lauren Callahan suspended?”

“Yes, the very same. I told you, this version of me hasn’t always been there. My parents weren’t around much. They always told me they were always out looking for work, but what I learned later is that they’re just scammers. And they left me alone with some suspicious people in my youth.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

Lauren’s childhood isn’t anything like mine was. My parents could never be considered warm, but they were always around and made sure to support us. And getting suspended would have been out of the question in my house. School always came first.

“An older sister. Much older. She had left the house when I was in elementary school and I haven’t seen or heard from her in a long time. Not until recently anyway.”

“What happened recently?”

Lauren looks more serious than I’ve ever seen her, and she plays with the stem of her wine glass for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before looking back up at me. But the gorgeous features are just etched with sadness and I can feel my heart squeezing for whatever emotional turmoil these memories bring up.

“You want to know what the situation is with Olivia.”

She said it as a statement and not a question. Ultimately, that’s why we’re here and while I’m curious about what she said about her sister, I’m not going to force her to also tell me some tragic family story.

“Once I graduated from high school and decided to try and get my life together, I left my parent’s town and found a community college in Houston. It turns out I’m not stupid, I just wasn’t ever made to do any actual schoolwork. And due to some good grades and wonderful mentors at that college, I was able to transfer into the University of Texas. I met Olivia during our senior year since we were both majoring in PR and marketing.”

“I would have figured someone like Olivia would have gone to some Ivy League school based on who her family is,” I say.

“No, the only thing more important to the Ellison family than money and their image, is Texas. Her whole family went to UT.”

“That’s pretty young to meet the woman you end up marrying.”

“Yes. Too young. And I was still very damaged from my parents. I wasn’t very good with money back then and I didn’t have anything to my name except a whole lot of new student loans. Olivia was the opposite of that. She came from everything I never experienced.”

She looks off again and I decide not to interrupt her thoughts. I can tell this story isn’t something she tells anyone often, or ever.

“She was so vibrant back then. She obviously comes from money, but when I met her, she seemed sweet and kind and generous. She was always the life of the party, just a huge personality that has the ability to draw people to them like glue.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” I say with a small smile.

Lauren smiles back at me for a moment before continuing. “In her case, it drew me to her. We became serious fairly fast and by the time we graduated from UT, we were moving in together in downtown Austin and starting internships at the same agency.”

“You worked together?”

“Yes, at Smith Corp. We both worked there together for five years. I moved onto the development side of the agency and she was working in client services for PR accounts.”

“Sounds like the perfect duo. One wins the business and one manages it.”

“You’d think. But Olivia is ambitious, and she likes to control things. It wasn’t long before she decided to leave Smith and start her own consultancy business. After having only having five years’ experience, that wouldn’t mean much for most people, but Olivia has plenty of family connections to get her work. And high-profile work, too. I joined her to handle business development, but after two years of that, I was offered an opportunity to lead biz dev for Altitude.”

“So you quit your wife’s company?”

“She wasn’t my wife yet, but yes. Working together was just too difficult. I could feel a strain on things that we never had before. And the more successful she became, the more she changed and the more we argued. And the more time she spent with her father.”

“What’s he like?”

“Well he wasn’t a fan of mine. He tried to get Olivia to end things with me multiple times during college and even after. Probably the only thing she ever stood up to him about was me. But he’s complicated. He’s charming and can come across like a sweet cowboy, which is what he wants. But he’s a shrewd businessman and will stop at nothing to protect his family name.”

“Why would he ever let her marry you?”

I’m now fully leaning into the table and can’t help how engrossed I’ve become in her story.

“I guess she didn’t give him that chance. And maybe he was scared she wouldn’t agree to step into his role once he retired. Her business was skyrocketing and he has more than one enemy on the Board of Directors at Ellison. I’m not really sure, but the moment I quit her consultancy firm, Olivia proposed. At the time it seemed romantic that she was going against her father’s wishes. Like she loved me so much that she didn’t care what he thought. But I now think it was because I quit her company. She needed to control me somehow and marriage was her way.”

“Why did you say yes if you could sense her changing?”

“The best reason was that I was in love with her still. I wanted to believe that we were just busy and that’s what happened when you got older, things got harder. I just ignored the constant critique or the ways she’d try to put me down.”

She takes another sip of wine before continuing.

“I guess the worst reason I can give you is that I’d never been with anyone who had taken care of me. Once we were married, Olivia paid off my student loans. She showered me in gifts. Which sounds superficial, but I grew up not knowing if my parents would even be home to feed me. Olivia took care of me.”

“That’s not superficial. I’d marry almost anyone to get rid of my student loans,” I say with a smile.

I’m relieved when she gives a small laugh and smiles back.

“She was controlling then,” I say, bringing the conversation back to where she left off. “Did she hurt you?”

“Physically? No, never. Maybe emotionally, somewhat. She liked to bring up my childhood a lot. It was kind of a constant jab. One day I came home from work and my parents were at our apartment. She had invited them for dinner.”

“She invited them without telling you?”

She nodded as she poured the last of our bottle into each glass.

“How long had it been since you’d seen them?” I ask.

“Since I left for Houston. Maybe nine or ten years.”

“That must have been a fun dinner.”

She gives a small laugh before answering. “It was fine. Olivia was overly charming and weird. And my parents are always a little awkward, but I guess I thought that was that. We wouldn’t see them again for another ten years.”

“And have you?”

“No,” she says before seeming to think about how to continue.

“The thing about Olivia is that she’s better than anyone I know at controlling her own narrative. The one thing her father instilled in her the most is the need to protect the family name and what it means to be an Ellison. My family was not something she ever wanted to come to light. And to be fair, my parents are loose cannons. She said she wanted to meet them so she knew what we were dealing with. Like they were insects we needed to get rid of. After that dinner we went on but our marriage wasn’t very happy. We fought a lot. She hated any time I had to travel for work. She called me incessantly on those trips.”

“She sounds insecure.”

“Maybe. As I said, she needs to be in control. Every success I had that wasn’t hers felt like a betrayal to her. Anyway, a year ago I was working from home and I came across some documents. And I found out that Olivia has been paying my parents for years.”

“What do you mean?” I ask and I have to stop myself from reaching out to touch her. Her face looks so pained and unlike Lauren, but it doesn’t feel right in this moment, so I just let her continue.

“I saw all the receipts. Lump sums of money written out to them. I confronted her about it thinking maybe they roped her into it behind my back, but she came right out and told me that she was the one who offered it to them. With a contract to stay away from us. And they accepted. She acted like it was the most logical solution to my little family problem there could be.”

“When did it start?”

“She tried to tell me that it only started after that dinner, but again, I saw all the receipts. She’s been paying them since we graduated from college. The dinner was just a game for Olivia. Some way for her to give me a night with them that was controlled. But after that dinner, I didn’t hear from them again. Just like I hadn’t since college.”

For a moment I don’t even know what to say. Lauren presses her lips together and I can see her jaw clench and wonder if she’s ever told anyone this story or if I’m the first.

“Lauren…I don’t know what to say. That’s really awful.”

“It gets worse. She also found my sister. And paid her too.”

“Why would she do that?”

“When I approached Olivia about it, she told me she reached out to my sister proactively. To cover her bases. And my sister accepted the check. Or checks, plural, as it were.”

“So you left?”

“Not right away as you know. For once I wanted the upper hand. And I knew what she’d do to her relationship with Altitude. And I know how it sounds, but my career is all I have. And I wasn’t about to let her decimate that as well.”

“Why didn’t you tell me when we first got together?”

Lauren looks at me for a long moment before she speaks. “I should have. With you…it was like I couldn’t help myself. I’ve never done anything like that. But after that night in your office, I just couldn’t stop. I never expected to like you, Emma. I guess it didn’t seem prudent to say anything in light of what was going to happen with Ellison and Altitude.”

“Are you still in love with her?”

I don’t know why that particular question is making my heart pound so hard, but I feel frozen in place. Lauren’s made it clear she’s moved on from Olivia, but that doesn’t mean deeper emotions don’t still exist.

“No. In fact, I’m afraid I might hate her. The way I went about this divorce may seem callous on the surface, but I also know how hard Olivia would have made it for me to file had she known my plan. Divorce is not something that the Ellison family does.”

“So now Olivia is giving a final ‘fuck you’ by opening up her business to other agencies?”

“Olivia planned to do this long before she knew that I found about the payments. And it’s certainly not out of character. Olivia’s first move as CEO was always going to be one that gave her more control. Making sure I don’t have any of that control is also paramount. Maybe it was supposed to be my punishment for joining Altitude in the first place.”

“And here we are,” I say.

“And here we are,” she replies.

We’re both silent for a moment before Lauren reaches her hand out and lightly plays with my fingers. “I like you Emma. I’d like to see you. Outside of work. And I am sorry I didn’t tell you all of this, but you should also know, I’ve never told anyone this.”

“Thank you for telling me more. I still wish you had told me, so I didn’t find out how I did, but I also understand more now.”

The sever reappears and offers a dessert menu, but I’m entirely too focused on Lauren to give him much attention. Lauren seems to understand and simply hands her card to him for payment. Usually I’d offer to pay, but I have a feeling that’s futile with Lauren.

“Well I’ve told you my tragic relationship story. What’s yours?”

“Mine isn’t as close to as exciting as an evil CEO.” I give her a wink to bring some lightness to the conversation. “My story is way too typical. I fell in love with a client and we got together for about three years until I walked in on her and a guy from her company.”

“I’m sorry that happened. Do you still talk?”

“God no. I’m not sure she was ever really worth it anyway.”

“And what about you and Jackie?”

“There is no me and Jackie. She’s one of my best friends. We dated briefly, but we’re better as friends.”

“Does she know that?”

I take a sip of my wine instead of answer. Lauren clearly knows the answer anyway.

“I can see the way she looks at you,” she adds.

“Jackie think she can see the way you look at me. Maybe you two have that in common.”

She gives me a small smile at my comment snide comment and takes a sip of wine, never once breaking her eye contact.

“I like when you’re sassy,” she says.

“Really? I’d assume you prefer it when I’m more malleable.”

“On the contrary. I like how strong minded you are. It makes the way you submit to me that much sweeter.”

I’m sure the other patrons in this restaurant can see the blush that just erupted all over my exposed skin.

“Submitted,” I respond quietly. “Past tense.”

She gives me a challenging look but doesn’t argue. “Tell me what else you’d like to know,” she says instead.

“I assume you haven’t been celibate for all this time, meaning, I wasn’t the first since Olivia. Do you date in Austin?”

“Date? No. That would have been way too messy, especially if Olivia found out.”

She gives me a long look before she continues.

“I told you I’d tell you the truth. The truth is that since I decided to file, I have been with other women. You weren’t the first, but you are the only one I’ve wanted to see again. I really haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

It’s hard to process all this information while also feeling my body vibrate at her final words. Because I know I haven’t stopped thinking about this woman either. And a huge part of me wants to believe everything she’s told me tonight.

It doesn’t change the impossible work situation I’m now in, but it does shed some light on who Lauren is. And maybe I can separate what I have to do for the Ellison pitch with my growing feelings for her.

I don’t feel jealous about the women she’s been with. And I don’t even think I judge her for being with them when she’s technically still married. But Lauren has been so sure and confident with me in her need for dominance that it makes me instantly curious about these other women.

“When you’re with the other women, was it always…I mean, have the women since Olivia all been into…,” I stumble over my words in an embarrassing fashion.

I may not be as open about sex as someone like Jackie, but I definitely don’t mind talking about it. But since the start of dinner, I’ve felt a mood shift and there’s an undercurrent to every look she’s giving me. As if she knows just where things are headed but is waiting for me to realize the same. As if I haven’t already.

“You want to know if they’ve all been into BDSM?”

I nod. “I guess I’m curious if they all subbed for you.”

Lauren doesn’t respond right away because the waiter decided that was the perfect moment to come over and bring her card back. Lauren watches him walk away before turning her gaze back on me.

“No, not all of them. But I enjoy it more if they do,” she says simply while giving me an intense look.

“Was that your dynamic with Olivia?”

“Yes, but only with her in control. It gave me some insight into the world, but also allowed me to learn that I don’t enjoying being submissive.”

“Was Olivia your dom?”

“No. But she was in control in the bedroom,” she says as she interlaces our fingers together. “I know you said you don’t usually bottom, but was I your first experience relinquishing control like that?”

“Yes,” I say in a low voice.

“Did you enjoy that dynamic with me, Ems?”

Her use of my nickname and the sultry look she’s giving me is making me feel like I’m on fire and this restaurant suddenly feels confining.

“Yes,” I say back quietly.

“Would you like to explore that with me more?”

She moves her fingers up my wrist and arm so she can slowly stroke them back down.

At this point the dinner is done, our plates have been cleared and I can’t find it in me to maintain the anger I’ve felt over the past few days. I want her and I’m not going to continue fighting that.

“Yes,” I say in a whisper.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Miss Callahan.”

“Good, then let’s go.”