“Fifty bucks.”
“You’re on.”
He racked up the balls and Jordan was the first to shoot. She ended up winning the game on a technicality and looked very pleased with herself.
“Ooh, how does it feel to have your ass handed to you by agirl?”
“There’s no need to be so smug. I would have won if the white ball didn’t drop.”
She walked towards him and tilted her head slightly to look up at him, her face mere inches from his.How soft are those lips?
“Okay,” she said, challenge gleaming in her eyes. “Double or nothing next game,”
“Fine,” he agreed, walking away before he made his thoughts a reality.
She racked up the balls and he took the first shot, sinking three balls before it was her turn. She walked to the table and studied every detail before she aimed. The next few seconds went by at an incredible speed, but by the end of it, she had sunk every one of her balls, including the black.
“Ouch, Tyler,” she said and he’d come to recognize her mocking tone. “That must have hurt. The ass whipping you just got…must’ve hurt.” She held out her hand. “Pay up.”
He rolled his eyes as he pulled out his wallet. “I’m going to the men’s room,” he said, handing over her winnings. “Give you some time to stop being such a sore winner.” He walked down the corridor to the restroom and as he made his way back to the pool tables a few minutes later, he noticed the plaques and pictures hanging on the wall. He stopped for a closer look and discovered yet another intriguing fact about his accountant, Jordan Shepard.
“Regional Champion three years in a row?” he asked as he neared her.
She pulled her lips in to stop a smile and looked sheepish all of sudden.
“League Champion five years running?”
“Oh, I completely…forgot…about that.”
“Not buying it.”
He approached her slowly and stopped too close for it to be considered a safe distance.
“I beat you fair and square,” she said.
“I was hustled.”
She stuck her nose in the air, her pretty eyes dancing playfully as she fought a smile. “Well, then let’s have a rematch.”
“I want my money back.”
“I want another beer.”
I want to kiss you right now. “You’re buying,” is what he chose to say instead.
The Mistake
Jordan was furious. Fucking furious! She stood in Tyler’s office, tapping her foot, her blood pressure rising as she watched every second tick by. It was 8:45 and Tyler wasn’t there yet. The meeting was at nine and there was no way he was going to be prepared for it. She had worked another sixteen hours yesterday– with being slightly hungover. She had even gone as far as preparing the presentation for this morning and all Tyler had to do was show up at seven o’ clock like she asked him to so that they could go over the details.
Two hours would have been sufficient time, but fifteen minutes? There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell she could brief him in fifteen minutes.
She heard his voice outside the office door and raced out. “Tyler, where have you been?” Panic caused an unsteady pitch in her voice. “I said seven o’ clock. This isnotseven o’clock. You say this is an important business venture and then you don’t show up!”
He walked past her to his desk and sat down. He was too casual, too relaxed given the circumstances.
“Are you on drugs?” she asked. “There is no other reason why you would be acting this way right now. You are in no way prepared for this meeting.”
“I don’t need to be prepared for this meeting,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “You’re making the pitch.”
