Accidental Sex Goddess (7 page)

“Reese! It’s so good to have you in the office!”

Reese looked up from a pile of HR forms to find her new boss wrapping her in a hug. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m glad to be here.” Glad and feeling a little guilty about all the benefits that came with working for Halie’s successful empire.

Halie looked around the office. “It’s not huge, but I hope this space has everything you need.”

“It does,” Reese said. This was the first time in her life that she’d had her own office, and she even had a window. “Hopefully I’ll be done with this paperwork by lunch and I can get started on our New Year’s Eve event.”

“Oh, about that.” Halie lowered herself into a chair on the other side of Reese’s desk and crossed her long legs. “I’d like something sooner. Let’s do a Halloween masquerade ball and something else for New Year’s. Don’t you think that would be fun?”

Fun?
Sure.
Impossible
would also be an appropriate word choice. “Yeah, I can see why that would be fun, but we have to find a venue, find a caterer, market the event. Maybe next year—”

Halie pushed up from the chair. “No, this year. I need to see you work your magic.”

“By having so little lead time, we’re—”

“You can do it, Reese. Stop underestimating yourself.” She headed toward the door, then stopped. “Oh, and I want to start a Sex Goddess for Seniors program, so start looking into some promotional opportunities for that as well. We’ll meet tomorrow and discuss your ideas.”

Reese could only stare at Halie’s back as the woman swept out of the room. Suddenly, she felt no guilt about the perks that came with being an SGI employee. She was going to earn every penny.

CHAPTER SIX

“What are you writing?”

Reese slammed her notebook closed and bit her lip. The PitStop was picking up with the Thirsty Thursday crowd and Reese had been so engrossed in her SG 101 homework she hadn’t even noticed.

Ben looked down at her, his green eyes crinkled with concern. The man was masculinity personified with his thick five o’clock shadow and steel-toed boots.

Been there, rejected by that,
she reminded herself.

He cocked his head to the side. “What’s different? Did you cut your hair?”

Her hand instinctively went to her hair. The no-ponytail rule seemed simple on Sunday, but the reality of her wavy hair in Chicago humidity made her wish Halie had cited more exceptions.

“It looks nice.” He reached for her notebook again, his work-roughened fingers brushing the backs of her hands. “Come on, what’s in the book?”

“Nothing, just...”
Just writing down miscellaneous sexual fantasies.

At the beginning of the week, Reese had sent Halie an email with her description of Reese the Sex Goddess. She’d made it as far-fetched as possible so Halie would let her move to the next step. The sooner she could get through this, the better. Two minutes after she’d clicked send, Halie had burst into her office.

“You’re good with words.” She’d rubbed her hands together, eyes bright. “I think this is going to be key for you. I’d like you to keep a notebook and write down any and all stray fantasies you have.”

Reese should have known better than to laugh. Halie hadn’t scolded her but had said, “I can’t name names, but this worked for a former client—a certain actress who may or may not be known for her excellent lips and her many adopted children. I didn’t think she’d make it through the program. So insecure. So unaware of her sexual power. This exercise...well, most women fantasize more than they realize. Writing it down makes you slow down and enjoy it. It’s a perfect step two for you.”

So, Reese had started creating lame little fantasies and jotting them down in hopes of convincing Halie that she was the kind of woman who saw a copy machine and imagined a hot office romp and not an efficient way to duplicate expense reports.

She was totally faking it. But who knew faking it could be so much fun?

Her last entry had been a rather elaborate fantasy about Mark Hawk and some creative use of his soundboard. And if she’d made herself write it only after having a graphic fantasy about the
other
brother? Well, there was no harm in correcting an errant thought. What counted was that she was correcting the thoughts to begin with. She wasn’t going to be the girl mooning over her best friend like she had been in those days before Lance.

Ben arched a brow. “What’s in there?”

“Forget it.” She bit her lip. “Sit down. I need to tell you something.”

He pulled out a chair. “Sounds serious,” he said, taking a seat.

“It kind of is.”

“More slut fantasies?”

“Sort of.”

He reached across the table again. She smacked his hand before he reached her book. “What the heck?”

“This is my private journal,” she said, clutching it to her chest.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Damn, what are you writing in there? Dirty stories?”

“What if I am?”

“Then I want to read them.”

She groaned.

Ben grinned.

“Do you remember what Lance said about our relationship?”

Ben’s smile fell away. “You’re not getting back together with him, are you?”

She shuddered. “No. Of course not.”

“Okay. Then
why
are we talking about him?”

She bit her lip. “Listen, I know he was a jerk, but he wasn’t an idiot.”

“We’re all entitled to our opinion,” Ben grumbled.

“He said the way you flirt with me was what kept him from asking me out for so long. He thought I was…yours.”

“In that case, I’m sorry I didn’t flirt with you more.”

Dropping her gaze to her beer, she took a breath. “He said our body language is inappropriate. It gives people the impression we’re a couple.”

Lance hadn’t been so kind. He’d told Reese that Ben was having his cake and eating it too. Ben kept Reese to himself while dating whatever women he wanted.

Across from her, Ben leaned back in his seat. The casual observer might think he was relaxed, but Reese could see the tension in his jaw. “He was jealous.”

Reese shrugged. “Probably. I thought that was all there was to it, but lately—” Lately, she’d found herself falling into the same patterns she’d been stuck in all those years she’d been waiting for Ben, and Sex Goddess Bootcamp had made her realize it. “Lately, I’ve thought maybe Lance had a point.”

“And what’s that?”

“We spend too much time together. We need to cool it a little. Be more like normal friends.” She flinched even as she said the words. They hurt to say, but she needed to do what was best for them both.

“Normal friends?”

“How many dates have you had since I broke up with Lance?”

He crossed his arms. “Enough.”

“You know you’ve dated less since I’ve been single, and that’s my fault. I needed a friend, and you were there. I was grateful for that—I am grateful.” She shook her head and laughed. “It sounds like I’m dumping you.”

He studied her for five hard pumps of her heart. “Aren’t you?”

“No, not at all. It’s just—we’ve been down this road before, and we know how it ends.”

The side of his mouth drew up in a lopsided grin. “Are you worried you’re going to fall in love with me, Reese?”

She snorted and the tension between them fell away. “Hardly.”

“Let me help you through Sex Goddess 101.” The words seemed to shock him as much as they shocked her.

“You’d just love that, wouldn’t you? How do you figure you’d help?”

Ben propped his chin on his fist and wriggled his eyebrows. “With some inspiration for dirty stories?”

“You wish.” She studied him. “Maybe you can help.”

“Now we’re talking. I’ll call the guys and see when they can install a pole in the basement.”

“A pole?”

“For dancing lessons.”

She scowled. “You know what, if I need any help, I’ll just call your brother.”

Ben growled and narrowed his eyes. “Okay, so what kind of help do
you
have in mind?”

She shrugged. “The women you date are…” The ceiling didn’t offer up the words to make this conversation any less awkward so she shifted her gaze to him. “You know.”

He raised a brow. “Profoundly lucky? Imminently satisfied?”

Reese rolled her eyes. “I was going for
sexy
. Or…confident. I don’t know. They have that
thing
.”

“Thing?”

“That sexy thing that makes men drool.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“If I’m going to get through this program, I need to be more like the women you date.”

He straightened. “Wait. You’re serious?”

She frowned. Had it really come to this? Letting Ben Hawk, of all people, help her become sexy? Her love-sick college self was somewhere inside her, whimpering. “Yes. I think so.”

He reached back and pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. “Halie visited me at work on Monday and told me to give you this.”

Reese scowled. “Why didn’t you give it to me sooner?”

“I was too busy trying to figure out which of my exes you want to be like.” He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. “The poet who said I was the inspiration for her best work?”

“Hardly.”

“The lingerie model who wanted me to have a threesome with her sister?”

“She wasn’t a lingerie model, she was a woman who didn’t understand the difference between under- and outer-garments,”

“How about the kindergarten teacher who liked it when I took my feet and—”

“Stop!” She shuddered. She knew more than she ever wanted to about that particular woman’s fetishes. Really, it was best to just change the subject.

She pulled the paper from the envelope, unfolded it and groaned as she read step three.

“What is it?”

She tucked it into her back pocket. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

“Are you still breaking up with me?”

She sighed. “I wasn’t dumping you. I was saying we should put some distance between us. Date more. Make our interactions more
appropriate
.”

“Same thing.”

“You can’t seriously want to help me with this program.”

“Let prove I’m not the evil influence Lance made you believe I am. Let me prove you can have a healthy dating life without changing our friendship.”

“And you’re going to do that by helping to turn me into a sex goddess?”

“Why not?”

***

Tall, blonde, and stacked, the woman strode into Mark Hawk’s office like she was ready to give orders. The look in her eyes said she’d knock over anyone who wasn’t interested in taking them.

A smile curved Mark’s lips. He wouldn’t mind taking orders from this tall drink of water.

“Can I help you?” he asked, tossing aside a memo to stand and offer a hand.

Ignoring his hand, she pushed her oversized sunglasses onto her head and studied him. “You’re the man they call The Hawk?”

“The one and only.”

“I’m Halie McCormick, Sex Goddess, Inc.”

This morning just got better and better. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about your work.” He grinned. “I approve.”

Miss Sex Goddess, Inc. narrowed her eyes. “And what do you think you know about my work, Mr. Hawk?”

Nothing about this woman said, “naïve,” so Mark imagined she was well aware that, on air, he referred to her Sex Goddess Bootcamp as “Slut Camp.” Nothing about this woman said “laid back” either, so he also imagined she didn’t appreciate the nickname, even if he did say it with utmost respect.

“I know I like the results,” he said.

He got a smile for that.

He liked her smile. It took some of the hard lines from her face, made her look softer for a moment. When the smile fell away, she was all business and hard angles again.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

Halie smoothed the back of her skirt and took a seat across from him. She met his gaze before she spoke. “You’re a man who appreciates beautiful women. Is my assessment correct?”

Mark shifted in his chair, feeling a bit like an animal being backed into a corner. “It’s not a secret.”

Halie gave a sharp nod. “And what makes a woman beautiful? What makes her sexy?”

If he were on his show, he’d say “big tits and a tight ass.” Hell, maybe he’d say that if he was out with the guys, but he knew as well as any other hot-blooded male that a woman needed neither to be sexy as hell. “Confidence,” he answered, meaning it.

Another sharp nod. “I’m in the confidence business. I instill it in my clients.”

“You make them believe they’re sexy, and then they are.” It was brilliant, really.

She didn’t answer, only pulled a picture from her purse. “You used to work with Reese,” she said, handing it to him.

In the picture, Reese looked like her typical self. Self-conscious smile, oversized clothes, diminutive posture. Damn, she was cute. Nothing like the women he dated. Everything like the women he preferred. He was so damn sick of living a fake life. “Yes.”

“She’s recently enrolled in my program.”

Mark raised a brow. “No kidding?” For some reason, he instantly thought of his brother. What did Ben think of Reese being a pupil of the famed Sex Goddess, Inc.?

“I want you to ask her out.”

Mark’s head shot up, but Halie didn’t look like she was joking. “Excuse me?”

“Reese. I want you to flirt with her, woo her, and ask her out. I want you to play a part in her transformation.”

“Yeah, I don’t think—”

She put her hand up, stopping him. “She’s not sexy, right?”

That wasn’t the problem. Not by a long shot. Mark’s eyes dropped to the picture, thinking of the way Reese blushed when he walked into a room, the way she averted her eyes, as if just looking at him was a carnal act. She hadn’t always looked at him like that, but ever since her boyfriend had moved out, the way Reese looked at him made him feel like a Greek god.

And ever since her boyfriend moved out, Ben had been looking at Reese like she was a goddess.

It was all a fucking mess that made him feel guilty. About the secrets he kept from his brother. About the reason she looked at Mark like that. About the past.