Tongue Tied

Chapter 2

Sean Ashworth wasn't the over-exaggerated description of a CEO that you often hear about in steamy romance novels. He was a short man with an equally short temper who had begun prematurely balding, wrapped in an extremely unflattering Armani suit.

I wouldn't have noticed his withering hair except for the rather hilarious sight I unfortunately witnessed in which the wind blew his toupee down the sidewalk. Judging by the way his assistant rolled his eyes and nonchalantly jogged after the hairpiece that actually resembled a small tumbleweed if you didn't know what it was, I assumed this was a regular occurrence. Apparently Sean hadn't discovered the use of bobby pins yet. Or glue, for that matter.

The meeting with Rutherford Laurence had been unexpectedly cut short. I had been put on the spot about the campaign advertisement presentation. I didn't have a single thing prepared, not anticipating Sean wanting to see it right then even after I'd mentioned it wasn't yet finished. Sure, I had originally intended to make the presentation today, but they hadn't known that.

I tried my best to give the most professionally detailed description of what I was working on to Sean, but I felt like my words, as well as my body language, were coming across rather awkwardly as I attempted to explain my ideas for the advertisements without a poster board or slideshow handy.

In the end, I doubted he was even somewhat impressed. I instantly regretted opting to spend the night in Alec's arms rather than working on Rutherford Laurence's ads. I felt like I'd given the CEO the impression that I was a complete fool who didn't take his company's ideas, plans or needs seriously.

I needed a drink. Or two. Or six. I needed three pints of cheesecake ice cream. Or maybe a whole cheesecake with a side of ice cream. I needed a distraction from how frustrated I was with myself.

I needed Alec.

My workday was only four hours but it felt more like forty. I always got off at noon on Fridays. Usually I'd go home, or to the cafe down the street, and pick up where I'd left off on the book I was currently reading. I'd take those extra five hours of free time and turn them into relaxation time. If I wasn't reading, I was often lounging on the couch, watching a chick flick or the occasional young adult soap-opera-type show with Chinese takeout in hand. Those were my favorite ways to relax the stress away. Well, two of three favorites. The other being Alec.

Deciding against my usual after-work routine, I drove down to the beach. The waves were lapping against the shoreline and birds flew overhead, sounding off in a way that was more peaceful than annoying.

I plopped down on the ground, ignoring the fact that I was still wearing my pantsuit, minus the blazer. I tossed my heels aside and dug my toes into the warm sand. It felt great. Almost as great as those satin sheets this morning.

I yanked the brown hair tie out of my bun that had been quickly falling down with the gusts of wind crashing into me. My hair cascaded over my shoulders and down my back, blowing in the relentless breeze. The ends of my hair brushed against my arms tickling my skin. The feeling reminded me of Alec's soft lips and his fingertips trailing down my body, teasing my senses and making the tiny hairs stand up on my arms. I wished that's what was going on.

He didn't live that far away. Alec had an apartment about a mile up the road from the boat dock. He'd always had a thing for the beach and insisted on living near it the last time he moved. I'd never been to his new apartment though. I knew I'd be breaking one of our rules for being secret friends with benefits. The deal was, since both our families and employers despised each other, and the shit would surely hit the fan if they found out we were fucking, Alec and I had decided it would be best if we kept our sexual encounters a secret. Obviously, our heated fuck sessions were a frequent occurrence, but we had rules about how those encounters could happen.