Love Your Moves: A Billionaire Valentine's Romantic Comedy Page 12

  For a second, I recalled the fear I thought I’d seen in her earlier. Just as I was about to let her go, step back, and call the damn therapist I so clearly needed to get my act together when it came to this woman, she rocked her hips ever so slightly against me.

  It’s not fear right now. It’s lust.

  In the weeks that had followed since I’d last seen her that night, I’d convinced myself that the electricity that had passed between us while she’d been dancing at poker night had all been in my head. Now here she was, having the same kind of physical reaction to me as I was to her.

  I knew it. I fucking knew she wanted me too.

  “You can keep the candy bar,” I said, my voice low and rough as I stared into her eyes, searching for any sign that I’d misread the situation. “I prefer something a lot sweeter.”

  My gaze dropped down to her lips, but that was the only warning I gave her before I brought my mouth down to hers and kissed her the way I’d been wanting to all along. Either she needed a therapist too or else I’d just found my perfect match because she kissed me back, and suddenly, nothing else that had happened between us mattered.

  Chapter 19

  TORI

  I couldn’t believe Ben was kissing me. And oh God, this man can kiss.

  Without meaning to, I surrendered completely the moment his lips touched mine, wrapping my arms around his neck and savoring the connection between us. His lips were so much softer than I would’ve thought, but he kissed exactly as firmly and dominantly as I’d imagined. And I’d imagined it a lot more often than I wanted to admit.

  Our tongues moved together, stroking like they were trying to soothe the fighting words they’d formed against one another just moments ago. Ben’s chest was mashed up against mine, and I felt his heart racing as fast as my own.

  As much as I couldn’t believe it was happening, I also couldn’t believe how good it felt. Not just because he was an amazing kisser but also because it felt right. It felt like all the wrongs we’d committed against one another had just been in response to how much we’d been fighting this attraction between us.

  Almost as if he didn’t want it to stop either, he brought our kiss to an end as slowly as possible, not moving even an inch away from me. His lips were still brushing against mine when he spoke, his nose running almost lovingly along my own.

  Staring into my eyes, he pressed a kiss to each of my eyelids and the tip of my nose. “How did we end up in this mess?”

  “You fired me, remember?” I said gently, none of the bitterness or anger I’d felt about him present in my tone.

  “You’re probably making more money now than you ever did at Prosper,” he grumbled, still so close to me that our breath mingled.

  I smiled up at him, no doubt looking every bit as dopey as I felt. “That’s true.”

  His forehead wrinkled, a dark look crossing his face as he continued to stare at me like I was at the center of his entire world. “I’m not a fan of your new career.”

  Well, that ruins it a bit. It’s too bad really. My voice was still gentler than he deserved for it to be, but there was an air of finality to it now. “Still as high-handed as always, I see. It’s a good thing you’re not in charge of my career choices then, isn’t it?”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, blowing out what sounded like an extremely frustrated breath.

  I planted a soft kiss on the underside of his jaw before pushing him away with my hands on his chest. “I like what I’m doing for now. That’s all that matters. Goodbye, Ben. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry we’re in this mess too.”

  He might not have said it, but I’d seen it in his eyes when he asked me how we’d ended up here. Felt it in his kiss and how reluctant he’d been to end it. Just before he lifted his mouth away from mine, there had been a moment of real sorrow. He regretted where we were, and I didn’t know why that meant anything to me at all. All I knew was that it did.

  This time when I tried to walk away, he didn’t try to stop me. It was a good thing too, because now that I knew what he could do with those lips, I had zero chance of stopping him if he ever tried again.

  The undeniable truth between us was that despite the fact that we seemed to bring out the worst in each other, we were also drawn to one another. Like a moth to a flame. Sure, the flame kills the moth when it finally flies into it but even that seems to fit the two of us.

  Throughout the rest of my shift, I couldn’t stop thinking about him or his kiss. Ben was blisteringly hot, and he definitely knew what to do with his mouth, but he was still the same overbearing jerk he was when he’d fired me.

  Or when he’d gone out of his way to humiliate me in front of all of his friends.

  I felt terrible about my video having affected his business, but it hadn’t been intentional. I definitely didn’t feel bad enough to quit my job over it. That would be like him firing me twice.

  Besides, I didn’t really care that he wasn’t a fan of my job. I enjoyed it, and that was that.

  When I arrived back at the building where the company had their offices, I changed out of the President’s Day garb that had come complete with a powered wig and a tri-corn hat. Some of the outfits I needed, I’d gone and bought for myself. Those were the ones I’d been reimbursed for. Special requests like President’s Day, however, we had a whole studio full of apparel here at the office.

  Once I was back in my jeans, sweater, and sneakers, I logged my jobs for the day and checked my roster for tomorrow. Another full day, it seems.

  I sighed while logging out of the system again. I really did enjoy the job. It was different from what I’d been doing before, definitely, but I liked the smiles I put on people’s faces and the cash tips were a real bonus.

  My fifteen minutes of fame and the masses of requests it brought in wouldn’t last forever, but I planned on riding the wave for as long as it lasted. Even if now that I knew how much my fame had cost Ben, I had to admit that it tasted a little less sweet than it had before.

  At the end of the day, though, it wasn’t like I’d forced him to do what he had, and I hadn’t lied about what had gone down. I’d simply described it—and him—in rather flowery terms.

  When I’d seen him at the law firm, at first I’d been convinced he was there to talk to them about suing me. When he pulled me into that room, I’d been terrified he was about to break the news that he was going to take me for everything I was worth.

  It didn’t seem like that had been it, though. If it had been, I doubted he’d have kissed me and then spoken to me the way he had.

  Feeling slightly more at ease now that I was relatively certain he wouldn’t be suing me, I decided to go to the restaurant where Kari worked instead of going home to our empty apartment. I was feeling celebratory, and even though she’d be working, I wanted to see my sister.

  The new hostess who helped out when it got really busy recognized me when I walked in. “You’re Kari’s sister, right?”

  When I nodded, she gave me a nervous smile as she glanced around the dining room. “Let me try to find you somewhere to sit. It’s a bit crazy in here with the dinner rush.”

  “It’s fine if you’re full. I was hoping to grab an empty table, but I completely understand if there isn’t one.”

  “No, I’ll find you a spot. Just wait here.” She smiled again before disappearing into the throng of people. A minute later, she was back. “Follow me. There’s a two-seater right at the kitchen door.”

  “Ah. The one no one ever wants to sit at, but I happen to love because it allows me to distract you all while you’re working.”

  She winked. “That’s the one.”

  Kari came over as soon as she could once I was seated, her cheeks flushed and sweat dotting her forehead but smiling despite looking beat. “Hey. How did your shift go?”

  “It was fine,” I said, not quite meeting her eyes. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  Hand flying to her hip, which she jutted out as she stared m
e down, she waited for me to bring my lying eyes to hers. “Something happened. What is it? It was something out of the ordinary, wasn’t it?”

  “Not really. Well, I mean, yes, but we can talk about it later. I just wanted to see you.” I gave her a look that very clearly said not now, but she flat out ignored it.

  “If you wanted to see me that badly before I even finished my shift, it’s something big. I don’t have time to badger you right now, but I’m dying to know. You don’t want me to mess up someone’s order because I’m too preoccupied trying to figure out what my sister is hiding from me, do you?”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “No, you coming to my place of work with that look on your face, then admitting that something happened but refusing to tell me is what isn’t fair.”

  I sighed. “Fine. I kissed Ben earlier, and I liked it.”

  Her eyes grew wide, a thousand questions jumping into them before we both heard a crash from the table next to mine. Snapping my gaze over to it, I noticed Eliot standing there and clean cutlery littering the table.

  “Sorry about that. It slipped.” He said it with a stiff face before righting the knives and forks. Then he hurried toward the hostess. Presumably, he was going to tell her the table was ready for the next people who needed it, but it looked a lot like he was running away from us.

  “Poor guy.” Kari stared after him. “It couldn’t have been easy for him to hear that out of the blue. He really likes you, you know?”

  “That’s why I didn’t want to talk about this here.” I clapped my hands over my eyes and let out a soft groan. “Do you think my chances at a free meal are ruined now?”

  Kari shook her head. “You’re incorrigible, sis. But don’t think that gets you out of telling me everything about that kiss later on. I can’t wait to hear all about you and Mr. I-hate-him billionaire, and how you ended up kissing him. I thought he was your sworn, mortal enemy.”

  “Yeah, so did I,” I mused as I watched her walk away. He sure was a handsome enemy, though. And one I’d seen a bit of a different side to earlier today.

  Even so, it would be better to steer clear of him and his talented lips from now on. Nothing good could come from making out with one’s enemies.

  Chapter 20

  BEN

  A couple of days after our kiss, I still couldn’t seem to focus on my work. I sat behind my desk, staring out my window without seeing anything beyond it, thinking about what it had been like to have Tori’s lips moving with mine.

  It had been a kiss for the ages, a fiery passionate one I was unlikely to forget anytime soon. So why was she able to walk away so easily? Dance away, more like it.

  Once again, I was pissed off at her and frustrated by her actions. After that kiss, I’d stayed in the empty conference room by myself for at least two long minutes trying to regain my composure. Okay, so I’d been waiting for my raging hard-on to go down, but still.

  She’d walked away like she hadn’t been affected at all, even though I knew she had. Without so much as a backward glance, she’d dismissed me as if nothing had happened.

  The fact that she’d done it so she could go show off that sexy body of hers to other men made me burn with jealousy, and I couldn’t shake it no matter how hard I tried. I knew I shouldn’t be feeling so possessive of her. Tori and I weren’t even a good match, but hell, I knew from that kiss that we had incredible chemistry.

  I wanted her, but even if I got her, we’d do nothing but fight. Maybe the sexual level was the only one we would ever connect on, but fuck if we didn’t connect really well on that level.

  Running my palms along my cheeks, I exhaled deeply and wondered for what seemed like the millionth time what the hell had happened to me the day I’d first seen her. I also didn’t understand why we kept being thrust onto one another’s paths now.

  From her personnel file, I knew she was a local girl. I’d been born and raised right here in Hartford too. Yet, in all the years we’d both been here, we’d never run into each other before. I would’ve remembered a girl like her, and even if I hadn’t remembered her expressly, no way would I have forgotten eyes like hers.

  Since Tori was twenty-eight, our ages differed enough that we never would’ve overlapped in school, at sporting events, or even at college, but that didn’t explain why she was suddenly everywhere when she’d come out of nowhere.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a call from my CFO. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes after I answered. Then he got down to the real reason for phoning me.

  “If we don’t do something to rehabilitate our brand and our image, we’re going to have a seriously bad first quarter,” he warned. “That fucking video is still popping up all over the place, and some of our competitors have started cashing in by advertising themselves as the golden kids.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  A few clicks of his mouse later, he cleared his throat. “There. See for yourself. I’ve emailed you. Agility, Nomad, and 4U have started running ad campaigns based on their happy workforces over the holiday. They’ve got people smiling at Christmas parties, short clips of their employees saying how much they value their job security, and Brent Meyers has even come out with a compassionate interview about how not every big corporation is heartless.”

  “Brent fucking Meyers,” I spat, feeling my anger turning into tumultuous rage. “Didn’t we bury him after the Opulence merger?”

  “We thought we did, but he’s still gunning for you. Going after the jewel in his crown when he was already facing a tough time put us in his crosshairs for life. He even mentioned it in his interview, saying that you’re as brutal in your takeovers as you are with the employees afterward.”

  “He said that?” I was pretty sure my blood was simmering at this point. “He was stealing from his own fucking company. He should be in prison, not spewing all this shit.”

  “He should be, but he’s not. It doesn’t even matter that we kept all the Opulence employees on. The spin that’s being put on every move we’ve made is leaving us high and dry.”

  I shot a piercing glare at the clouds outside, like they were to blame for all this. But none of it was happening because of the clouds. It was all happening because of that one video.

  Little Miss Victoria was prancing around profiting off my name while I lost millions. Maybe it was time to give her a dose of her own medicine.

  There was a part of my mind screaming at me not to do this. Tori and I had possibly started something the other day, and if I went through with this, I wouldn’t get a third or hell, was it fourth?—chance with her.

  No, I thought we might’ve started something. She just walked away. Regardless of how I felt about that kiss, she’d made it totally clear that it hadn’t meant anything to her.

  Besides, wanting her and having kissed her once didn’t mean all was well and forgiven. If not for her drunken antics, none of my competitors would’ve been able to pull the stunts they were pulling. More importantly, Brent, who’d been my nemesis practically since grade school, wouldn’t be getting one up on me.

  Waiting until I calmed down enough to think straight was probably the smarter idea, but the more I considered it, the more I didn’t want to give myself time to get back to thinking straight. It was up to me to fix what she’d broken—or risk losing my company because of it.

  Every action had a consequence, and Tori’s actions might just end up in a lot more people being out of jobs if I couldn’t turn the ship around. Maybe the entire company wouldn’t be lost over this, that might’ve been an exaggeration, but if we lost much more profits, we’d have to consider making more cuts.

  Of course, if we made more cuts right now, we’d be in an even worse position. Making more cuts would result in us looking that much more heartless, losing more next quarter, which would mean selling off assets or making even more cuts eventually. It was a vicious cycle, and one I had to break sooner rather than later.

  With my mind made up, I picke
d up my phone again after hanging up with him and searched online for the company she worked for now. Carl had given me the name. All I needed was the number.

  Once I had it, I would get my revenge by hiring her for a few jobs that wouldn’t earn her any applause. It was only fair that she suffer a taste of what I was going through after what she’d done.

  “Hello?” I said when a friendly-sounding woman answered the phone. “I’d like to book a dancer named Tori for a few gigs.”

  “Sure. She’s very popular though, sir. Why don’t you give me the time and date you need her, and I’ll see if she’s available?”

  I rolled my eyes. Yeah, she’s popular because she tried to tank my fucking life’s work.

  Doing a few quick internet searches while I was on the phone to her, I found the information I needed and relayed it to the woman. “It’s very important to me that it’s Tori who comes to perform. I’m willing to pay a premium to ensure it’s her and that no one else shows up on the day.”

  “That’s a guarantee, sir. I’ve included you on her roster. She’ll be there. We’ll include the premium on your bill, but we request that you give our dancers a good tip for their efforts if they’re that important to you.”

  I smirked into the phone, feeling a little like an evil genius from a comedy movie. “She’s important to me, all right. I’ll be sure to give her a good tip.”

  Here’s my tip to you, Tori Mitchell. Don’t cross me, thinking you’re going to win. You won’t. I’ve been at this a lot longer than you.

  We confirmed the details of the time and place I wanted her to dance, as well as the person I wanted her to perform for and how I wanted it to take place. Then the nice receptionist told me to have a nice day. She hung up the phone, none the wiser that she’d just taken the booking that would tarnish their golden goose.

  Still smiling like a villain, I put down my phone and wondered if it was too early to acquire a hairless cat. Nah. I’d be a terrible pet owner. I’m not home nearly enough.