The last time she’d been to Chicago had been a year ago with her fiancé, Tucker—an evening she’d agreed to because she’d hoped the different environment might make her see him in a new light. That maybe, hopefully, being somewhere with him that he’d deemed as romantic would spark some kind of real passion between them.
Instead, going into the city had made her realize two important things. One, she never wanted to go back if she could help it. And two, once she was sitting across from Tucker at the five-star restaurant where he’d made reservations for what should have been a seductive and amorous evening, she’d come to the difficult and painful realization that it could never work between them. Her phobia of the city and her breakup with Tucker soon after that had nothing to do with each other, but neither had been pleasant experiences she ever wanted to go through again.
“Don’t you think this is one trip that might be worth making?” Claire asked, cutting into her thoughts. Her tone was both understanding of Ella’s aversion to the city and a bit of tough love, too. “You can’t let that building go without some kind of fight. You’ve been planning the expansion for years, just waiting for Old Man Piedmont to pass on so his son could finally sell the place. Don’t you want to know that you did everything in your power to try and get the building, instead of wondering if you could have done more?”
God, why did Claire have to be so smart and truthful? And damn pushy, she tacked on for good measure. The last thing Ella wanted to carry around for the next thirty years was the regret of not knowing if the building could have been hers.
She exhaled a deep breath. “You’re right,” she muttered.
“Of course I am.” Claire flashed her a victorious smile. “So you need to do it. Today. Before too much time passes and you chicken out.”
“Okay, okay! Jesus, you’re one persistent broad,” Ella said with a laugh as she stood up. “I might as well go and get it over with.”
Claire wrinkled her nose as she visually appraised Ella’s faded jeans and old T-shirt attire. “Umm, you’re not going like that, are you?”
Seriously? “What’s wrong with how I look?”
“Did we not just establish that you look like hell?” Claire made an unappealing face. “You need to go home and do something with your hair instead of wearing it in that stuffy braid that makes you look like a spinster, and change into something that shows a little leg and cleavage.”
Ella gaped at her friend. What did it matter how she looked? “I’m not going there to seduce him, for crying out loud.” Besides, as gorgeous and citified as Kyle looked, she was sure he had a girlfriend, or at least a dozen beautiful women at his beck and call who captivated him better than she ever could.
“Not to seduce him,” Claire retorted with a devious smile. “To distract him.”
Ella braced her hands on her desk and raised a knowing brow at her friend. “Oh, kind of like how you wore that short skirt to your meeting with Nolan about your grandmother’s estate?”
“Oh, that wasn’t to distract him,” she replied slyly. “It was to prove a point, that these long legs have nothing to do with the Jolly Green Giant. And it worked, didn’t it? Which proves I’m right. Dress for success.”
“Considering how Nolan tormented you in high school, I can’t believe you’re going on a date with him.”
“Hey, it’s getting to be slim pickings around here,” Claire said, which was sadly true when it came to the selection of single men left to choose from in Woodmont. “Besides, he’s grown up, like we all have, and he’s not the jerk that he once was. Even if we just go out and have a good time and it leads to a hot and heavy hookup, I’m not about to complain. It’s been too freaking long since I’ve had an orgasm that wasn’t induced by my battery-operated boyfriend. There’s something to be said for getting fucked by real fingers, an agile tongue, and a true-to-life dick.”
Ella burst out laughing and shook her head, but she wholeheartedly agreed with her friend. “Yeah, I hear you.” It had been a year since her breakup with Tucker, and even when they’d been together, he hadn’t been overtly sexual, which had been part of the issue between them. Sure, sweet and kind and attentive were great attributes when it came to a man, but sometimes, a girl just wanted to be fucked hard and mindlessly . . . and not always in the same old missionary position. Her own vibrator had been more creative than Tucker ever had been, and always guaranteed an orgasm.
“You’ll hold down the fort for a few hours while I’m gone?” Ella asked Claire as she grabbed her purse from the hook on the wall.
“This place isn’t going anywhere, and we’ll survive a few hours without you.” Claire stood up and gave her a shooing motion with her hands. “Now go already.”
Ella headed for the door, thinking about what she could wear for her meeting with Kyle that was appropriate, then came to an abrupt stop. “Oh, crap, I can’t go home and change.” She turned around to face Claire again. “My father will know something’s up and he’ll bombard me with questions. I don’t want him to know that I’m going to talk to Kyle, either, because he’ll have a heart attack.” She winced when she realized what she’d just insinuated, considering her father had already had a stroke because of one Coleman brother’s actions.
“Yeah, bad choice of words,” Claire needlessly pointed out, the corner of her mouth kicking up in humor. “Go to my place instead. I’m sure you can find a skirt and blouse that will work. And our shoe size is the same. It’s not like you haven’t worn my clothes before.”
Ella exhaled a relieved breath. “True, and thank you.”
With luck, she’d be in and out of the city in no time, and once Kyle heard her reasons for wanting the building, he’d hopefully agree to sell it to her.
A girl could dream, couldn’t she?
* * *
Ella didn’t intend on driving into the city at three in the freaking afternoon, but just when she’d been about to leave the market to go and change at Claire’s, her manager, William, stopped her before she’d made it out to her car to let her know he’d just discovered a coolant leak in the refrigeration system. The temperatures in the coolers were steadily increasing, putting their dairy products and perishables at risk.
Instead, going into the city had made her realize two important things. One, she never wanted to go back if she could help it. And two, once she was sitting across from Tucker at the five-star restaurant where he’d made reservations for what should have been a seductive and amorous evening, she’d come to the difficult and painful realization that it could never work between them. Her phobia of the city and her breakup with Tucker soon after that had nothing to do with each other, but neither had been pleasant experiences she ever wanted to go through again.
“Don’t you think this is one trip that might be worth making?” Claire asked, cutting into her thoughts. Her tone was both understanding of Ella’s aversion to the city and a bit of tough love, too. “You can’t let that building go without some kind of fight. You’ve been planning the expansion for years, just waiting for Old Man Piedmont to pass on so his son could finally sell the place. Don’t you want to know that you did everything in your power to try and get the building, instead of wondering if you could have done more?”
God, why did Claire have to be so smart and truthful? And damn pushy, she tacked on for good measure. The last thing Ella wanted to carry around for the next thirty years was the regret of not knowing if the building could have been hers.
She exhaled a deep breath. “You’re right,” she muttered.
“Of course I am.” Claire flashed her a victorious smile. “So you need to do it. Today. Before too much time passes and you chicken out.”
“Okay, okay! Jesus, you’re one persistent broad,” Ella said with a laugh as she stood up. “I might as well go and get it over with.”
Claire wrinkled her nose as she visually appraised Ella’s faded jeans and old T-shirt attire. “Umm, you’re not going like that, are you?”
Seriously? “What’s wrong with how I look?”
“Did we not just establish that you look like hell?” Claire made an unappealing face. “You need to go home and do something with your hair instead of wearing it in that stuffy braid that makes you look like a spinster, and change into something that shows a little leg and cleavage.”
Ella gaped at her friend. What did it matter how she looked? “I’m not going there to seduce him, for crying out loud.” Besides, as gorgeous and citified as Kyle looked, she was sure he had a girlfriend, or at least a dozen beautiful women at his beck and call who captivated him better than she ever could.
“Not to seduce him,” Claire retorted with a devious smile. “To distract him.”
Ella braced her hands on her desk and raised a knowing brow at her friend. “Oh, kind of like how you wore that short skirt to your meeting with Nolan about your grandmother’s estate?”
“Oh, that wasn’t to distract him,” she replied slyly. “It was to prove a point, that these long legs have nothing to do with the Jolly Green Giant. And it worked, didn’t it? Which proves I’m right. Dress for success.”
“Considering how Nolan tormented you in high school, I can’t believe you’re going on a date with him.”
“Hey, it’s getting to be slim pickings around here,” Claire said, which was sadly true when it came to the selection of single men left to choose from in Woodmont. “Besides, he’s grown up, like we all have, and he’s not the jerk that he once was. Even if we just go out and have a good time and it leads to a hot and heavy hookup, I’m not about to complain. It’s been too freaking long since I’ve had an orgasm that wasn’t induced by my battery-operated boyfriend. There’s something to be said for getting fucked by real fingers, an agile tongue, and a true-to-life dick.”
Ella burst out laughing and shook her head, but she wholeheartedly agreed with her friend. “Yeah, I hear you.” It had been a year since her breakup with Tucker, and even when they’d been together, he hadn’t been overtly sexual, which had been part of the issue between them. Sure, sweet and kind and attentive were great attributes when it came to a man, but sometimes, a girl just wanted to be fucked hard and mindlessly . . . and not always in the same old missionary position. Her own vibrator had been more creative than Tucker ever had been, and always guaranteed an orgasm.
“You’ll hold down the fort for a few hours while I’m gone?” Ella asked Claire as she grabbed her purse from the hook on the wall.
“This place isn’t going anywhere, and we’ll survive a few hours without you.” Claire stood up and gave her a shooing motion with her hands. “Now go already.”
Ella headed for the door, thinking about what she could wear for her meeting with Kyle that was appropriate, then came to an abrupt stop. “Oh, crap, I can’t go home and change.” She turned around to face Claire again. “My father will know something’s up and he’ll bombard me with questions. I don’t want him to know that I’m going to talk to Kyle, either, because he’ll have a heart attack.” She winced when she realized what she’d just insinuated, considering her father had already had a stroke because of one Coleman brother’s actions.
“Yeah, bad choice of words,” Claire needlessly pointed out, the corner of her mouth kicking up in humor. “Go to my place instead. I’m sure you can find a skirt and blouse that will work. And our shoe size is the same. It’s not like you haven’t worn my clothes before.”
Ella exhaled a relieved breath. “True, and thank you.”
With luck, she’d be in and out of the city in no time, and once Kyle heard her reasons for wanting the building, he’d hopefully agree to sell it to her.
A girl could dream, couldn’t she?
* * *
Ella didn’t intend on driving into the city at three in the freaking afternoon, but just when she’d been about to leave the market to go and change at Claire’s, her manager, William, stopped her before she’d made it out to her car to let her know he’d just discovered a coolant leak in the refrigeration system. The temperatures in the coolers were steadily increasing, putting their dairy products and perishables at risk.
