Page 12 of Wicked Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #2)

Grace

A fter a long night of increasingly intimate passion, Nicole and I woke up tangled in each other’s arms. If I was hoping for a repeat of last night – which I totally was – I was wrong.

As soon as she woke up, Nicole gave me a quick kiss, then headed into the shower.

She didn’t invite me to join her, so I stayed in bed reading emails on my phone until she was finished in the bathroom.

“When are we heading out?” she asked, avoiding my gaze.

I looked at her, trying to figure out what was wrong.

“Is everything okay?” I asked gently. “You seem kind of distant this morning.”

Her gaze pinned to mine for a long, pregnant moment before she looked away again.

“Things got a little… uh, intense last night. I think I’m feeling kind of, I don’t know, tender.”

I hopped out of bed and walked closer, pleased when she didn’t move away, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“It was a lot for me too,” I said softly. “I know we said we were going to keep things casual, but last night didn’t feel casual. It felt the opposite of casual.”

“Yeah.”

“Where do we go from here?” I asked, wanting to let her have the control that I knew she needed.

“Well, we didn’t get any work done this weekend, what with all the fucking and all, so maybe we should head home.”

It wasn’t the answer I was hoping for. I did my best to keep my face neutral though.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Let me take a quick shower and then I’ll make the travel arrangements.”

We’d just settled on the private plane when the message came in. Our environmental engineer had discovered an issue while doing a survey of the Grant Park College site, and we needed to figure out how to mitigate it without substantially increasing the cost.

As soon as we reached cruising altitude we were on conference calls with several of our partners, discussing options.

Even though it was Sunday, we received promises to come back to us with ideas.

By the time we got back to Chicago I’d made two pages of notes and my ‘to do’ list was extensive. So much for my restful getaway.

“I’m going to start working up our options when I get home,” Nicole told me as we exited the plane.

We slid into the back of the waiting limousine, sitting much closer to each other than we did two days ago.

“I’ll drop you off at your place, but I won’t be able to do anything on this until later tonight. I have to get some work done for AGM,” I told her regretfully. “Otherwise my partners are going to fire me.”

Nicole turned in her seat to face me.

“Why do you do both jobs?” she asked. “You’re basically working full time for yourself and your parents simultaneously. You can’t keep that up forever, not with how demanding this work is.”

The fact that she looked concerned about me warmed my heart.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “My parents were insistent that I stay with the family company, partly because I’m an only child and need to…

” I made air quotes, “ uphold the family legacy. But also I’m pretty sure they assumed that Ariel and Maeve and I would fail spectacularly.

But the joke’s on them because we’ve succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. No one’s happy that I’m doing both jobs though, even me, but I can’t seem to disentangle myself from either one. ”

If I quit Sanderson Real Estate Services, I’d be letting my parents down. If I quit AGM, my friends would be devastated. I was damned if I did, damned if I didn’t.

“What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about anyone’s feelings?” she asked curiously.

“Focus on AGM,” I said immediately.

Nicole nodded and I saw a kind of sadness in her expression.

“What about you?” I asked. “I know you were pushed into this work as much as I was. What would you do if it was only up to you?”

“Open an architecture firm,” she said without hesitation. “Architecture is my first love.”

I remembered Nicole telling me that she’d wanted to be an architect that night we’d gone out to O’Connors. Since then I’d seen some of her architecture work, and it was impressive. I’d been in this field long enough to recognize that she had a real talent.

“You should do that then,” I said. “Be an architect. Open your own firm.”

“I’ll do it as soon as you quit your parents’ company and focus on AGM,” she shot back.

“Maybe we can do it together,” I said wistfully. “Make the change.”

“Maybe we can.”

We both knew it was just talk though, and that made me feel depressed.

I knew it was ridiculous, being depressed about having two high powered jobs that made me more money than anyone needed.

That allowed me to give generously to the community and to use my brain and skills for something I really liked.

But I also wanted to have a life outside of work. If only I didn’t have to worry about disappointing someone…

The next few days were crazy busy. Nicole and I worked together with our contractors around the clock until we finally came up with a solution for the issue with the site. We talked every day, either on Zoom or via text, but kept it strictly business.

I knew it was for the best, but in the few minutes I had to think about anything but work, I daydreamed about Nicole and our weekend together.

Something had definitely shifted between us in Malibu and even though we’d had no time for any personal discussion, I instinctively knew that the shift had freaked Nicole out.

If I was honest, it had freaked me out too, but only because the idea of having a relationship was terrifying to me.

I’d never really wanted one before, but spending time with Nicole made me wish for one, even though the last thing I needed was another person relying on me.

Another person I would eventually disappoint by not being enough for them.

“You’re making a lot of assumptions,” my therapist told me at our next appointment. “You are a fully functional adult, why can’t you have a serious relationship?”

“With what time?” I asked dryly. “I’m working two full-time jobs here.”

“Interesting how working so much keeps you from having a relationship,” she commented. “It’s almost as if you hide behind work to avoid getting close to someone.”

“I’m close to Ariel and Maeve,” I snapped.

“Do they know you went to Malibu with Nicole?” my therapist asked.

“Um. Not exactly,” I admitted.

“Interesting.”

I hated it when she said that. There was a world of meaning in that one word.

“What do you think I should do?” I grumbled.

“I think you should consider what would make you happy, even if someone else was disappointed in you for that choice.”

I had a flash of me and Nicole laying on the beach somewhere, taking a long vacation in a place with no cell service. The idea was so ludicrous I almost started laughing. Yet the idea burrowed in my head, popping into my thoughts at the most inconvenient times.

Nicole and I were working together on Zoom Saturday when I decided to see if we could get together again. One of us had to make the next move, so I guessed it would be me.

“You should come over for dinner tonight,” I said as we wrapped up the call.

“I think we’ve done everything we can until Monday,” she said.

“Not to work. To hang out.”

Nicole squinted at me through the screen. “Are you suggesting a booty call?”

“I’m not opposed to some booty call activities,” I admitted. “But I was thinking it might be fun to hang out, eat some food, maybe watch a movie or something. It’s been an excruciatingly long week for both of us. We could use a break.”

Surprise flashed across her face, then she shrugged.

“Sure, that sounds fun if you’re not worried about your friends coming over and interrupting us.”

“To be honest, it’s fifty-fifty, but if they show up, I promise I’ll get rid of them.”

“Sounds good. What should I bring?”

“Do you like Italian food?” I said.

“Who doesn’t?” she asked jokingly.

“Okay I’ll order some food from the restaurant downstairs and how about you bring a bottle of wine.”

“I can do that. Do you want me to bring anything else?”

I paused, feeling the tiniest bit embarrassed.

“What?” she asked.

“Could you bring Nutter Butter Peanut Butter cookies?”