But then I had to remind myselfyetagainthat this relationship had a countdown clock. It would self-destruct as soon as Sunny found out my real reasons for our fake engagement, and then I'd want to make sure she didn't have my number.
But for now, I suppressed all thoughts of the future to tell Sunny,“I warned you about teasing me out in public."
“Oh, my gosh. I don’t wear panties to one little event...”
I picked up the handset and took her off the speakerphone to finish my grievance complaint. “And you choose not to inform me of that fact until we’re in the middle of the Benton Girls show, with my grandmother sitting on the other side of me." I clenched my jaw at the extremely difficult memory. “You could have told me while we were still downstairs at dinner, given me a chance to excuse us both before the show.”
“It wouldn’t have been any fun if I had told you then,” Sunny protested. “You’re just mad because you’ve never done it in a bathroom before. It's not my faultyou couldn't make it all the way back up to your chessboard of a penthouse.”
"I’ve also never had anyone whisper in my ear how wet she is for me." I leaned back in my leather chair, the hot scene unfolding inside my mind. "How she hopes her dress isn’t too short because she doesn’t want to get her seat dirty?—”
I broke off with a curse.“Now I’m hard again. Tell Tomas to turn you around and bring you back here. I'll meet you at the penthouse.”
“No, Cole,no!”Her voice took on a peevish tone.“Last night, I promised your grandma I’d visit her today, and that’s part of the plan, right? To go over there and go on and on about how happy I am with you?”
My chest hitched, and the words fell out of my mouth before I could catch them."Are you happy with me, Sunny? With our arrangement?"
"I mean, yes. It's just pretend—but, yes?" I couldn't tell if she was answering my question or confessing something new to herself. "Areyouhappy? With me? With our arrangement?"
Usually, I liked to lead with a beat or two of silence.
"Always let them squirm a bit before you give them an answer."That was one of the first business lessons my grandfather imparted when I started working in the C-suite directly after graduating from B-school.
But the unsure note in Sunny's voice let me know she truly wasn't aware of how unusual my behavior was in comparison to any other relationship I'd ever conducted. This time, I didn't hesitate to tell her,"I'm very pleased with your performance."
"That's not what I asked."
No, it wasn't.
"I'm happy, Sunny,"I answered with a brusque tone.And that scares the shit out of me.
I didn't—couldn't—admit the second part out loud. Instead, I returned the conversation to the original subject: Her skipping lunch with Nora and spending the hour with me instead.
Visions of bending Sunny over my desk filled my head as I pointed out,“My grandmother already knows you’re into me.Tell Tomas to turn the car around, and I’ll give you explicit instructions about how you can make last night up to me...with my tongue between your legs until you're begging for my forgiveness.”
"Oh, Cole..."she whimpered, her voice becoming a little breathy. I could almost imagine her squirming in the back seat of the Mercedes I usually let her drive. When my brother wasn't in town."That is sooo tempting."
I grinned on my side of the line, already tasting her on my tongue.
But then she said,“I'm sure you can wait until after my visit with Nora.I’ll see you as soon as you get off work.”
“Lunch,”I growled.“You’ll see me atlunch."
"Cole, she's your grandmother—my grandma's best friend."
"If you leave early, I promise to make it worth your while."
Sunny went quiet on the other side of the line. I could almost see her pretty face as she struggled with the decision.
“Fine. No promises, but I'll try to make it to lunch with you,”she said.
I grinned.Gotcha."See you then."
"Hopefully,"she said, ending the call with a laugh.
More than hopefully. I could tell Sunny didn't know that Nora was on the OMAD plan and usually reserved her one meal a day as an excuse to have boozy dinners with her friends.
I woke my computer to reschedule my short call with Geoff Latham about the status of the AudioNation deal but paused when I saw an email from Rich Harrison with the subject line:How about that golf game?
