Ask Me Something (The Something Series Book 2) (2 page)

“How many names
did you get?” she questioned.

“Uh, only a
couple and I’m not interested in them unfortunately,” I supplied, not wanting
to let her know I’d also gotten fourteen. For the life of me, I didn’t know
why. Perhaps my numbed responses and pained face came off as an attractive
quality in New York City.

Eager to see
Brian, I took out my phone and typed.
“On our way to Evan’s Grill. There
were no casualties.”

“Oh, I’m certain
plenty of hearts are breaking. See you there in about twenty.”

“Who’s the
reason for the smile?” Catherine probed, catching me off guard as we slid into
the back of her sedan.

“Uh, it was a
funny text from my boss, Brian. He’s in town, and I told him we were out for
drinks. Hope you don’t mind if he joins us later?”

“No, I don’t
mind at all. The couple times I’ve met him, he’s seemed like a fun guy.”

He was good fun
and could maybe talk Catherine into better ways to meet eligible men. “Yeah, he
is. We should have some time to recap the bachelors before he shows up.”

After arriving
at the bar, we got a table and ordered some drinks. I loved Evan’s old wood and
romantic lighting and knew it was a favorite of Brian’s as well.

By the time Catherine
and I recapped the men from earlier, laughing at some of conversations we’d had,
I spotted Brian come through the door. He was dressed in slacks and a sweater,
complete with his long wool jacket. My heart skipped a beat when his warm brown
eyes found mine, and he started walking toward us.

“Hi, Sasha. Hi,
Catherine.” He kissed both of our cheeks and took the empty stool next to me.
“Catherine, nice to see you again. It’s been awhile.”

She smiled.
“Nice to see you again, too. Are you up here for Christmas?”

He shrugged off
his coat and ordered a drink from our waitress. “No, I’m actually flying to
Virginia to spend it with family tomorrow afternoon.”

He looked at me
and winked.

While Catherine
and he made small talk about holiday plans, I assessed Brian through her eyes.
He was the all American GQ-type guy with sandy brown hair, baby face, and
charismatic, whiskey-colored eyes. Standing over six feet tall, with a nice
build and clean-cut looks, he definitely earned the attention he got from
women.

“So tell me
about the speed dating thing tonight. How did it go?” he questioned, earning
him a kick under the table from me.

His laughing
eyes flashed towards mine.

Luckily,
Catherine took it in stride. I’d wondered if she would be sensitive to him
knowing about it.

“You know, it
went okay. Fourteen wanted my number and I narrowed the list down to a couple I
may contact,” Catherine provided. “I think I definitely had more fun than Sasha.”

He gave me an amused
look. “I think that you ladies need to get out of New York and come down South
where men know how to treat a lady.”

She grinned.
“You could be onto something. Maybe that’s part of my problem; I’ve been in this
city too long.”

“So how many men
wanted your number, Sasha?” Brian asked.

“Uh, only a
couple,” I lied. “Not a huge surprise that I don’t make a very good first
impression.”

He studied me
for a moment and I fidgeted with the scrutiny. He could always tell when I wasn’t
telling the truth.

“RBF strikes
again?” he teased finally.

“For your
information I resisted it quite nicely.”

“What is RBF?”
Catherine queried.

Slightly embarrassed,
I was about to answer, but he beat me to it.

“It’s a disorder
that affects one in ten women. Unfortunately, the majority of them aren’t even
aware that they suffer.” He sounded like a damn infomercial.

I rolled my eyes
and tried not to laugh. “It stands for Resting Bitch Face,” I said to
Catherine.

“Uh, what does that
mean exactly?” she inquired.

“It means that
when I’m sitting somewhere, minding my own business and not actively engaged in
conversation, evidently I have a look about me that signifies I’m bitchy. Brian
was brave enough to point it out to me a few years back.”

Her eyes widened
slightly, and she frowned at him disapprovingly. “That isn’t very nice.”

He blushed and glanced
towards me. “I didn’t say it to be mean. Sasha was asking for feedback
regarding client impressions. And she didn’t believe me at first.”

“So what
convinced you?” Catherine asked, looking between the two of us.

“He snapped a
picture of me,” I admitted with a sigh.

Brian chuckled.

Catherine shook
her head. “Sorry, I don’t buy it. I had a first impression with her. I thought she
was poised and professional.”

He glanced
towards me and grinned. “Oh, I’m sure she was. But it isn’t when she’s on. It’s
when she isn’t actively engaged. Thus the ‘Resting’ part. Show her, Sasha.”

“I’m not showing
anyone anything. Matter of fact, I think I’m cured,” I quipped.

He pulled out his
phone and started to scroll through. “There is no cure, only the ability to
cope with the disorder. I wonder if they have support groups for this type of
thing.”

I lightly
punched his shoulder and was curious why he’d taken out his phone. He was all
about manners and wasn’t normally one to have his device out at the table.
“What are you doing?”

“Attempting to
locate the picture in order to show Catherine. I thought I’d kept it—Hey—” he
protested.

I snagged his
phone out of his hand, horrified at the thought he might still have that photo.
I’d never admit it to him, but I’d felt humiliated when he’d shown me that
image. To see yourself through someone else’s eyes critically wasn’t easy to
take. But when you built up a tough exterior, you had to be ready for criticism
and teasing. “You’d better not still have that picture,” I warned, looking at
his screen.

He laughed,
enjoying the fact that I was distressed. “No, I was only teasing. RBF is in
remission. I believe you.”

“If I find out
that you kept that photo…”

He held up his
hands in mock surrender. “I promise I don’t have it.”

His phone buzzed
in my hand. Before I could help myself, I glanced down and read the incoming
text message from someone named Jamie.

“What time are
you coming by tonight? Can’t wait to see you, I’ve missed you, lover
.”

I felt the blood
drain from my face. The pang of jealousy that hit me was so profound that I
could hardly breathe, let alone speak. I handed his device back to him like it
was suddenly offensive.

Looking at me
strangely, he scanned the screen, reading the words.

I busied myself
with taking a large gulp of wine and gave a strained smile towards Catherine,
who appeared to be studying us both.

“So, Catherine,
who is your favorite of the five guys we narrowed down?” I inquired, needing to
change the subject.

Graciously, she
took the hint. “Uh, I don’t remember what number he was, but he had dark hair,
was tall, nice face.”

I nodded. “Oh,
yeah, red shirt. He seemed nice.”

“Ladies, excuse
me for a moment. I’m going to head to the restroom and will be right back,”
Brian announced, walking towards the back of the restaurant.

I wondered if he
had left to respond to Jamie.

“So what was
with the text message?” Catherine queried.

I looked at her,
surprise registering on my face.

She shrugged. “I
heard it buzz and saw you read something. You went white, and then he blushed
when he read it.”

I sighed. “It
was something private that I had no business seeing on my boss’s phone.” Although
I had no right to feel jealous, I couldn’t shake the thought.

She raised a
brow. “Sasha, the chemistry between you and Brian is off the charts. And
although I can appreciate you lying to be a good friend at the speed dating
thing tonight, I’d like it if you trusted me in some aspects of our
friendship.”

Smiling at being
called out, I wasn’t sure I could put something into words that I didn’t
understand myself. “It was a message from a woman obviously expecting him
tonight. We’ve always been friends. I mean, we flirt and there’s always been an
attraction, but timing and God—I’m rambling.” I rubbed my temples. My thoughts
were all over the place. How could one text message have me completely reeling?

“So why haven’t
you pursued it with him?”

Settling for the
most convenient excuse was less than brave, but I wasn’t ready to verbalize the
larger obstacles without delving into my history and subsequent baggage. “There
are a number of reasons. The most obvious is that my career means a lot to me.
What I’ve had to go through and the pressure, well I don’t need to tell you.
I’m the first woman to ever make vice president at Gamble Advertising. There’s
a big spotlight on my front and a target on my back. Sleeping with anyone could
have professional ramifications. Now that he’s my boss, it would ensure that
everyone would question how I got promoted, not to mention devalue my current
position. You know what I’m talking about, Catherine. You’ve seen it happen,
and so have I.” The thought of being judged like that in my career made me
shiver with dread. My job was the only thing I could definitively say I’d ever
been good at. And yet at the moment, it left me feeling empty.

“I get it,
believe me. But considering how miserable you look right now, are you sure
that’s still a good enough reason?”

I shook my head.
“I don’t know. But even if I did, what if I’m too late? What if this Jamie
person is someone significant in his life, and I missed my opportunity?”

Her eyes were
sympathetic. “There’s only one way to find out. You have to ask the question.”

“I don’t know if
I’m ready for the answer, Catherine. I’m so confused.” It was overwhelming to
realize my feelings for Brian might be deeper than I’d ever acknowledged.

We both noticed
him walking back to the table and slipped back into our earlier conversation.

My face managed
a tight smile. Evidently my night of faking it wasn’t over yet.

After Brian
returned to the table, he and Catherine resumed small talk for the next fifteen
minutes and ordered another round of drinks. I was drawn in a time or two, but
for the most part I merely listened as Catherine described her last trip to
Paris. I wondered why he wasn’t in a hurry to get to his booty call but instead
acted like he had no other place to be.

“So, Sasha,
you’re flying home tomorrow morning?” Brian asked, turning the conversation to
me.

“Uh, yes.
Tomorrow morning.” I didn’t mean to be short, but I’d yet to recover from the
thought of him with another woman.

Catherine
apparently decided to allow us some time alone to figure it out by excusing
herself to go to the ladies’ room.

“Everything all
right?” Brian inquired, turning fully toward me on his stool and brushing his
leg up against mine in the process.

“Yeah. Why
wouldn’t it be?” I pretended to be nonchalant with my question. My mind might
be spinning with that text message, but my pride wouldn’t let him know it.

He studied me,
and our eyes stayed locked longer than was appropriate for two people who
weren’t interested in being more than friends. “Because you’ve been awfully
quiet since that text came in.”

Oh, boy. I was
much more comfortable with not actually acknowledging this elephant in the room
than with addressing it head on. I wasn’t naive enough to believe he led a
celibate lifestyle, but knowing it and having it confirmed were obviously two
separate things. “It’s none of my business,” I offered lamely, swallowing past
the lump in my throat.

That statement
lay there for the longest time until he spoke again. “Do you want to ask me
something?” The tone in his voice was low and intimate.

I turned toward
him, my eyes widening when he scooted closer and put his legs on either side of
mine. “Aren’t I keeping you from your other plans?”

“No, unless you
want me to go?” he tested quietly, keeping his eyes trained on me.

Wasn’t that the
million-dollar question. The heat from his legs sent a delicious awareness over
my entire body. “I didn’t say that I did.” I blew out a breath, realizing that,
per usual, we were getting nowhere. I’d tried countless times over the years to
visualize a scenario in which we could explore the
more-than-friends
concept,
but I’d never been able to make the mental leap without getting cold feet.

Catherine
approached, and I could see the indecision on her face since Brian and I were
closely facing in toward one another. She was silently asking whether she
should take a seat or make another excuse.

He looked from
me to her, tossed out a smile, and turned back on his stool. But before he did
so, he whispered, “This conversation isn’t over, Sasha.”

A shiver of
anticipation coursed through me with his words. “Uh, do we want to do another
drink?” I posed the question, trying to lighten the mood and met Catherine’s
eyes, silently imploring,
please stay
. I desperately needed the delay to
get a handle on my emotions before any further conversation with Brian could
take place.

“I’m in,” he
smiled, motioning for Catherine to take her seat.

“Okay, maybe one
more, but then I must get home to pack,” Catherine replied, sitting back down.
“Does anyone feel like an appetizer?”

I nodded, having
skipped dinner in favor of speed dating. I needed something to soak up the
wine. Brian begged off, and I was suddenly curious. “What brought you up to New
York? We talked yesterday, and I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I was up in New
Haven with Josh. Mark and I were helping him to finalize some wedding plans,”
he explained.

The wedding in
question was that of my friend, Haylee Holloway, to the owner of Gamble
Advertising, Josh Singer. She’d been his assistant temporarily last year, which
is how I’d met her, and they’d fallen in love. Brian, Mark and Josh had been
friends for many years. With Josh currently living between New York and New
Haven where Haylee was attending law school, it didn’t surprise me to hear that
Brian had been up visiting.

“What made you
decide to travel down here tonight, then?” Oh yeah, I was well aware of the awkward
spot I was putting him on. Even though I was pleased he wasn’t in a hurry to
leave to get to this woman’s place, one of the things that confused me was why
he’d called me to go out in the first place if she was expecting him.

He smirked
before answering, indicating that he was on to my question. Then he turned on
the charm. “We hadn’t seen one another in weeks and I thought I’d ask if you
were free.” He glanced over towards Catherine. “We used to do dinner or happy
hours at least twice a week when we worked together down in Charlotte.”

Was it my
imagination, or had his leg moved closer to mine, touching slightly? I needed a
change of subject. “Are you throwing a bachelor party for Josh?”

“No. There isn’t
a lot of time for one, not to mention the groom-to-be isn’t a bachelor party
kind of guy,” he affirmed.

“I’m kind of
surprised his younger brother, Colby, isn’t insisting on one. According to the
stories, that kind of party seems to be his specialty,” Catherine laughed.

He grinned in
response. “You’re not wrong, but thankfully he’s respectful of Haylee. Not to
mention, he’d have to get his big brother to Vegas or out on the town and
that’s not going to happen.”

The appetizer
arrived and Brian went on to recall some stories about Colby’s wild ways. We
were all in the midst of laughing when a pretty blonde walked up and tapped him
on the shoulder.

He turned,
registering shock. “Uh Jamie, what are you—?”

She cut him off.
“Oh, you said you were out with friends, and I had thought maybe it was Mark or
Josh. And since this place is around the corner from my condo, I thought I’d
stop by. Now I see you aren’t with the boys, and I’m sorry if this is awkward.”
She glanced over at Catherine and me, smiling.

Brian fumbled
completely. “Uh, right. Yeah, no, both Mark and Josh are in Connecticut. Um,
so…” He looked from her to us and couldn’t find any words.

Jamie raised a
brow at him and then took matters into her own hands by addressing both of us.
“I’m Jamie Morgan, a good friend of Brian’s.” Her eyes focused on me first.

Catherine tapped
me with her foot under the table when I didn’t respond right away. I must have
been in shock.

“Hello, I’m
Sasha Brooks,” I somehow got out, actively working on appearing unaffected even
though my heart was beating through my chest. She was beautiful and put
together with her shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. It was obvious
this woman had too much knowledge of Brian’s friends to be some random hook up.

“And I’m
Catherine Davenport, nice to meet you as well.”

Brian recovered
slightly, but still looked uncomfortable as hell. “Sorry, I forgot my manners for
a moment. Uh, take a seat Jamie, if that’s okay with everyone?”

Catherine
mercifully spoke for both of us. “Of course it is.”

Since I was
sitting next to Brian, I realized it made sense to give up my stool. It’s what
a normal work colleague who wasn’t sick with jealousy would do when her
coworker’s girlfriend, or whatever she was, showed up uninvited. “Here, sit
next to Brian. I’ll move.” It wasn’t completely unselfish as taking the stool
across allowed me a better vantage point to study them together.

“You don’t have
to,” he started.

I was already up
and moving. “No, I insist.” Jamie had no issue with sliding right in. My leg instantly
missed the heat of him when I sat on the cold stool across the table. Meeting his
eyes briefly, I had to look away when I realized Jamie’s were trained on me.

“I hope I
haven’t crashed anything?” she prodded, glancing at Brian who gave her a smile
that didn’t quite touch his eyes. He wasn’t normally at a loss for words so I
wasn’t surprised that she appeared to notice something was off.

Catherine took
the lead with a response. “Not at all. We were catching up, that’s all. Do you
live in the city, Jamie?”

She smiled and I
noticed her gaze kept flicking back to me. I willed my face not to go into any
type of
bitchy
place whether it was active, resting or whatever else it
would do with the sick feeling I was experiencing. The stab of possessiveness
was so sharp that it took a few minutes for me to realize I was biting the
inside of my lip to keep from displaying any outward emotions. My nails dug
into my thighs trying to get myself out of my own head with the twinge of pain,
wishing I hadn’t taken off my black elastic band. If I’d thought the text
message was rough, this was so much worse.

“I’ve been
living in New York City about ten years now,” Jamie replied. “Moved here after
college, which is where I met Brian, Josh and Mark. We’ve stayed really great
friends through the years thankfully.”

Again her eyes
trained on me. It was as though I was in a fish bowl, and she was waiting to
see how I’d react to everything she said. Maybe my paranoia was simply
misplaced. “You guys have known each other awhile then?”

“We have,
haven’t we, Brian?” she murmured, running her hand down his thigh and causing
him, if possible, to look even more awkward.

“Yes. Since
college,” he acknowledged with a stressed smile, purposefully avoiding eye
contact with me.

It was
irrational, but hearing that he and Jamie had been friends for that long sliced
through me like a betrayal. I’d always thought my friendship with Brian was
special. Now to find out that someone had known him longer was difficult to
hear. I was about to escape to the restroom to get myself together when Jamie
addressed me directly.

“So, Sasha, I
swear I’ve heard your name a lot over the years. You work with Brian, right?”
she inquired.

I forced a
smile. “Yes, I do. But I’m in the New York office, and he’s down in Charlotte.”

“Yes, well lucky
for me, he gets up here whenever he can.” She turned toward him and rubbed his
back, making it known that whenever he was here, they got together.

Gulping my wine
down like it was my lifeline, I tried not to count the times he’d been up to
the city over the last few months. Forget fleeing to the restroom, I needed to
get the hell out of here. I was about to motion the waitress for the check when
the bomb went off.

“Oh, I know
where I’ve heard your name. This is Sasha as in Sasha-B-Fierce, isn’t it?” she
questioned, looking towards Brian expectantly.

Taken off guard,
I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly. “Sorry, what was that?”

“Sasha-B-Fierce.
Oh, my gosh, did you not know that was your nickname?” She swiveled towards
Brian, swatting him playfully. “You never said it was secret. You and Josh were
discussing her with that term, and I figured it was a compliment…” She stopped
and looked at me as if awaiting a reaction.

My eyes shot up
to his face, watching as he turned red.

Immediately, I
knew her game. I was the threat, and she was challenging me to take her on in
front of Brian about the nickname. There was a brief second where I entertained
the idea of going thermonuclear, but Catherine snapped me out of it with a
nudge under the table. Sliding a glance her way, I caught her warning look.

“Given that you
work with all men at your level, Sasha, I think the word fierce is definitely a
compliment. Women don’t get to the top without displaying that quality,”
Catherine defended.

Not to be out
done, Jamie attempted to make this about her. “Oh, believe me I know. I’m a
partner at my law firm. Talk about a lot of stress and responsibility.”

Catherine, in
uncharacteristic fashion, decided to take her down a notch. “Yes, well, as the
fashion editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, believe me, I know, too.”

I was afforded a
moment of satisfaction in watching Jamie blanch.
Uh, yeah, sweetie, Catherine
is a big deal, and you could take a cue from her about being humble.

Jamie attempted
to recover. “I, wow, yes, I guess you would. I absolutely love fashion.” She attempted
to soften her approach, clearly impressed with Catherine’s title.

Brian looked at
me apologetically and took advantage of the other two women talking to each
other. “It was never a bad thing, Sasha. We were talking about you in a pitch
and how you’re fearless.”

Giving him a
tight smile, I endeavored to tamp down on the urge to storm out of the
restaurant. Pride was a powerful thing, and I willed myself to stay where I
was. “I’m not offended. I was merely taken off guard to hear about it from
someone I don’t know rather than from someone I’d thought I was close to.”

The direct hit
registered on his face, and he swallowed hard.

Our eyes were
locked with a storm of emotions passing between us, and I didn’t give a damn in
that moment if his little girlfriend was part of the audience or not.

“What is
everyone doing for the holidays?” Jamie asked, trying to change the subject.