It was Saturday before he saw Sloane again. Unfortunately, his cast wasn't ready to come off so he couldn't cook for her. He invited her over and ordered Thai food.
It disappointed him his bone hadn't mended. Although it had only been six weeks, he was eager to get started on his rehab. She took his fingers and looked at his cast.
"Still here." She knew because he had told her in one of their short phone conversations. She had worked long hours all week.
"So how's work?"
"Okay. I think I can work normal hours now. Dom went home to pack up his things."
"Where will he live?"
"With me." She said it like it was the most obvious choice.
Ben had to remind himself his first impression of the two together was wrong. Dominic was not a threat to him. He hadn't felt this jealous since the night he left Kim at that party. He wanted to stay and talk to her. He should have let the girl he was seeing leave on her own. He couldn't even remember her name. He was so close to acting on his promise to Kim, because he had already planned to skip senior year for the draft. There were too many should haves.
"Hello! Where did you go?" Sloane's voice pulled Ben back to the present.
"Huh, what? Just tired, which is a joke. I have done nothing and you have worked a million hours all week."
She smiled. "I like to work. I have loved coming home to my own bed and driving my car and not having to deal with flight arrangements. I'm not saying I'll never take on a client which requires travel, but hopefully it won't be all the time."
"How did it really go when you quit your job?" They sat down and he handed her a glass of wine. He didn't know much about wine, so he stocked up on a few bottles of the kind she drank at her birthday.
"This is good." She smiled after her first sip.
He liked the taste of wine best on her lips and leaned over and kissed her. She gave in to the kiss. It was nice not to have the car console between them. He pulled her closer and was certain he could spend the entire night kissing her. Well, maybe more than just kissing, but his cast limited him. He wouldn't attempt assaulting her with it. He wasn't sure she was the type of girl who fell into bed after a few dates. She deserved respect, so he regretfully pulled away.
"You never answered my question." She looked dazed. Did he have that effect on her? "Quitting, how did your boss take it?" She hadn't had the chance to go into detail on the phone.
"Not well. I sent him an email on Sunday and he called me first thing Monday morning. He was livid because clients were expecting us, well, me. Dom went to the client only until replacements could arrive, which took all week. He submitted his resignation at the same time I was being hollered at. My old boss tried to tell me I would never work again, but I told him I was working for Whitby Enterprises, who was my own client. He roared that there was no way I landed Whitby. I had known the sales team had been trying to break into Whitby for years. I never helped because I preferred to keep my identity a secret at work."
"Sounds familiar." He smiled and felt proud of her.
"I told him Mr. Whitby was impressed with my client list. I held my tongue and didn't refer to him as Montgomery. Then he threatened to sue me for poaching from the company. I assured him my client list included Petersen Shipping, Homestead Builders, and Calhoun Construction."
Ben laughed. "Did he connect the dots?"
"He did and asked if I was related. I just told him I had to get back to work and if he didn't work his valuable staff so hard, they might be more loyal. The turnover is ridiculous. Dom and I were there practically the longest. One of our other colleagues who had been there as long as us called me. He wanted to know if I was hiring. I told him if I could find him some clients in New York, I would let him know. He lives in the city."
"But you did a job in New York since we met."
"Yep, and I'm sure others have had jobs in Chicago and Boston. They never attempted to assign us geographically. They charged the client for travel expenses, but it causes the staff to burn out."
When the buzzer rang, Ben asked her to get the door. He didn't want delivery people to know they were delivering to him. He handed her money. "Just let them keep the change." He typically over tipped and asked them to forget his address. He knew eventually it would get out. Based on recent social media posts which his publicist was tracking, he learned Angela was in Texas. He didn't know where his mother was, and it worried him.
"You look distracted again." She looked at him with the bag in her hands.
He smiled a forced smile. "We can sit at the counter. More wine?"
"Water's fine. I'm driving."
He nodded and liked that she was a responsible social drinker.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Sloane spoke first. "You know you can trust me. I would never breathe a word of anything you told me in confidence."
"I know." He squeezed her hand. He didn't want to talk about his mother. He often felt she had a sixth sense and came out of the woodwork whenever he spoke of her. "Tell me again about the people at your party."
She smiled. "You're deflecting again."
How did she know him so well in such a short time? A question came to his mind, and he blurted it out. "Would you like me if I didn't play ball or didn't play for Boston?"
She looked at him for a moment. "Do you mean if I met Jett and Kenzie and then you as her brother?" He nodded. "What would you do if you didn't play?"
"I don't know. I never wanted to do anything else."
"What did you major in?"
"Math but I never graduated. Would my career matter?"
"Yeah, you would need to support yourself or I'd think you were just after me for my money."
He laughed. "Are you giving me a taste of my medicine?"
She shook her head. "No, I have criteria. Take Aidan, Sage's husband, his family isn't poor but not in her category."
"There are categories? Is it based on net worth?"
"Stop interrupting." She pushed on his shoulder and he felt the heat in her touch. "They made a suitable match and her parents love him because he's a great guy, but also because he majored in finance at Harvard and has a good job and potential."
"Does she have a career?"
"She's a college professor, but now they're starting a family."
"So she's using him!"
"No, it's not like that. Forget I focused on careers. Let's say you played for a different team. I remember when the announcers made a big deal about your first trip to Boston. I went to one of those games and saw you and Jett having fun when you were at the plate."
He remembered playing against him. "You were sitting right behind the plate." She nodded. "He told me what was coming and made me strikeout. I tuned him out."
"Why'd'you strikeout if you knew what the pitch was?"
"He kept sending me fastballs, and I'd swing when they were off the plate."
She giggled. "I definitely thought you were cute, but you were on the other team so..."
"So you couldn't like me." She nodded. "What if I get traded or become a free agent and sign with another team, will you dump me?"
"Not, if I still care about you." He saw the pink creep into her cheeks. "So your question was if you weren't a ballplayer. I have to believe if I just met you through Kenzie, I would like you. I would be attracted to you. You wouldn't distrust me and call me crazy. If I like you after all that then I probably would. Hey, who's to say you wouldn't be married with a few kids."
He choked on his water. "You know, I never want kids."
Would his life be different if he had been with Kimmy? Would he have had a kid or two for her? He didn't even know if given the choice if she'd have wanted a baby.
"There you go again."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She smiled. "Did you hang the photograph?"
He smiled. "In my bedroom."
"Oh."
He stopped himself from suggesting he show it to her. Instead, he pointed to the wall across from him. "That watercolor I bought at the gallery."
"The night you assaulted me."
He felt an ache in his heart. "I'm sorry."
She rested her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, I said that. I know how guilty you feel. I was trying to joke, but it wasn't funny."
Without thinking, he lifted her hand off his arm and brought it to his lips. "I want to make up for what I did."
"You will. I still have your punishment planned. I think it will be soon."
"You're scaring me."
"Don't be! I promise it will only hurt your pride. No one will know but you."
"And I like you." He winked.
"Only because I'm wealthy."
"Not true. There is a vast difference between liking someone and trusting them."
"Who caused you to be distrustful and don't evade?" She squeezed his hand.
"More than one person, including Angela."
"Tell me one more."
He sighed. "My mother, but I don't want to talk about her."
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