Come with Me (Let It Be Me #2) (19 page)

“I think Dana already has a proposal for that,” Ben said. “Let’s set a meeting this week for that.”

Alex nodded.

“Liz and Kayla will also be meeting soon for the New Jersey lot,” Ben reported.

“I heard my name,” Kayla said, walking in from the kitchen. She plopped back down on her chair and took a sip of wine from her glass.

Ben grinned. 

“Alex and I have already seen Liz’s proposals for the lot,” Ben explained. “I told her to meet you outside hours so you can give your technical input – preliminary floor count plus consideration of building restrictions.”

“Sure, would love to,” Kayla said enthusiastically. 

“Should I tell her to wait till after your wedding?” Ben asked.

“Nah, I can meet her this week,” Kayla said, and Ben laughed as he saw Alex give Kayla a warning look. Kayla impishly rolled her eyes at Alex. 

“Okay, thanks, I’ll let her know,” Ben said, grinning.

“See, Kayla, Ben has gone one-eighty in his opinion of Liz,” Alex said.

Kayla playfully swatted Alex’s arm. 

Ben felt sheepish, looking down at his glass of wine thinking how he’s so wrongly judged Liz at the beginning. Alex was right all along that somehow because of Eunice, he developed some prejudice against people who grew up in rich families.

But Liz has changed that, as he assured her. 

Alex’s phone started ringing, snapping Ben again out of his thoughts. 

“Excuse me,” Alex said, standing up and walking out to his living area.

Ben turned to Kayla, who was smiling at him warmly.

“You seem happy and at peace, Ben,” she said. “I’m happy for you.”

Ben was caught off-guard. Kayla knew about Eunice – he told her about it months ago, and he knew Alex told Kayla about Ben seeing Eunice in New York again. “I – uh,” he tried to talk but he was rendered speechless.

“Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable,” Kayla said quickly, apologetically. 

“Oh, no worries,” Ben said, offering her a smile. Kayla has been a friend for the past year or so. They’ve been a bit more open to each other. “A lot has happened in the past days. It all just hasn’t sunk in.”

“Well I’m glad you aren’t bothered about Eunice anymore, or so it seems,” Kayla said.

Ben nodded, smiling.

“Alex and I are here for you, okay?” Kayla said.

Ben nodded again. He wished he could tell them about Liz. 

But how can he tell them that he slept with one of their employees?

Chapter 24

Liz

“How about gyros for lunch, Liz?” Dana asked, approaching Liz’s desk.

Liz looked at the clock and saw it was quarter to twelve. 

“Gyros sound great,” Liz said, looking up and grinning.

“Cool,” Dana said, beaming. “I’ll see you and Sarah at the front at twelve.”

Liz nodded. “See you!”

Liz used the remaining minutes to finish up some documents she was preparing for her meeting with Kayla that evening. When they met at Stone Homes a couple days ago, Kayla said that Ben told her about it, and that she was available Thursday evening for a dinner meeting. 

Liz readily agreed, because she was excited to get the project rolling and Kayla’s input would certainly bring the project to the right direction.

Liz just printed the last page when she saw it was a minute to twelve. She got her purse and stood up, to see that Dana and Sarah were still in their seats. She walked over to Sarah.

“Let’s go, I’m hungry,” Liz said as she approached Sarah. Liz spied Dana walking towards them too. 

“Okay!” Sarah said, standing up.

The three of them walked down the hallway. They just rounded the corner to the reception area when she spotted Ben coming in. Liz immediately felt the heat and her pulse started quickening.

Ben was casual as he smiled at the three girls. “Enjoy your lunch, ladies,” he said, but Liz saw his gaze linger at her a few seconds longer. 

Liz watched as he maneuvered so that when he crossed paths with the three of them, he passed by Liz’s side. Liz had a whiff of his cologne and when she felt his finger graze her hand playfully, she almost jumped. She quickly looked at Dana and Sarah but they didn’t notice anything. 

She turned to see Ben’s retreating back and Liz was still feeling warm.

It’s been four days since she and Ben first slept with each other, and Liz was over the moon. Alex’s filming schedule in L.A. was over so Ben has been in New York for the past days. 

He has been to her apartment every evening since Monday, and they couldn’t get enough of each other. He even cooked for her one evening – pan-seared salmon with steamed vegetables. She was quite impressed.

Liz was quiet as she followed Dana and Sarah to the elevator and during the ride down. Good thing Dana had some stories to tell about Adam so Liz didn’t have to speak.

As they exited the elevator, Liz’s mobile phone buzzed. She checked who the message was from and instantly felt her cheeks burn when she saw it was from Ben.

Her hand slightly shook as she clicked on it.

“You look pretty today.”

Liz was glad she chose a plain black tee over a long A-line printed skirt for her office getup for the day. She dressed nicely for her meeting with Kayla.

She looked at Dana and Sarah then replied quickly. “Thank you. You look kinda hot today too.”

She was blushing as she clicked on send, and tried to listen in on Dana as they walked to the Greek restaurant, but her phone buzzed again.

“Interesting choice of words, Elizabeth. Will I see you tonight?” Liz grinned. He would sometimes call her with her full name if he was flirting with her.

“Having dinner with Kayla.”

“After?”

“Maybe.”

She smiled as she sent the last message. She couldn’t resist playing with him.

She saw they have reached the restaurant so she put her phone on silent so she could focus on Dana and Sarah. 

They were feasting on their gyros a few minutes later when Dana spoke up.

“What’s with you, Liz?” she asked. “You have a different vibe. You’ve been quiet.”

Liz sat up, surprised by the question but not really. She’s been out of sorts for the past days during her lull moments. She had to be careful with her actions especially with her colleagues.

“Just nervous about meeting Kayla tonight,” she fibbed. Dana and Sarah knew about the new project, and Liz told them about the meeting after she and Kayla set it. 

“You’ll do fine, Liz,” Sarah said supportively. “Between you and Kayla, surely the project would be perfect.”

“Thanks,” Liz said, smiling, but she also felt guilty about lying to them. Dana and Sarah were great. The two of them have truly helped her adjust to her work and to the company for the past few months. 

Liz was however still grateful for the temporary reprieve she got with her alibi. They didn’t ask her anything else for the rest of their meal. 

As they walked out of the restaurant with fifteen minutes left of their lunch break, Liz couldn’t resist checking her phone. She was astounded to find several messages from Ben. 

“Maybe? Perhaps I should remind you of what you could be missing…”

“No response. Is this your way of teasing me?”

“Liz?”

There was even a missed call from him.

Liz grinned as she quickly replied. 

“Sorry for the late response. I do have a life you know.” She added a wink at the end.

His response came shortly. She wondered if he has been waiting for her reply.

“Are you back in the office?”

“We’re on our way back. Two blocks away,” she replied.

He answered right away. “Staircase between second and third floor. I’ll be waiting.”

Liz’s heart started hammering nervously when she read the message. Was he mad? 

As they neared the office though, Liz’s mindset shifted. She was getting pissed that he was ordering her around. So yes, he was one of her bosses at work, but he can’t apply the same superiority with her outside the office.

As she, Dana and Sarah entered the building, they all greeted Gary – Liz had to act naturally and cheerfully. But as soon as they reached the elevator lobby, Liz quickly said, “I’ll take the stairs. I think I ate too much for lunch.”

She waved at the two girls as Dana called out teasingly, “No wonder you’re so skinny!” 

At the stairwell, Liz took her time going up, with each step purposeful. She was already beyond annoyed at that point. She didn’t hear Ben yet. If he had her waiting, he was definitely going to get an earful from her.

Liz had reached the second floor and as she turned to head up to the third floor, she found him at the landing, with his arms crossed, leaning at the wall, looking down at her. He had a blank expression, so Liz didn’t know what he wanted.

Liz’s heart skipped a beat but she ignored her quickening pulse as she went up the steps, at a quicker pace.

“Fine, so you’re my boss,” she started muttering in a controlled voice, looking at him as she came closer. “But I won’t let you command me to do things for you that are not related to work.”

She has reached the landing and took the few steps to be in front of him. 

He hasn’t budged.

“You can’t flirt with me when I’m with Dana and Sarah – or anyone else from the office for that matter,” she bit out. She was trying to ignore the fact that he was looking so gorgeous right then and Liz was starting to feel the air get sucked out of the space. “I’m already risking a lot doing this with you –“

She wasn’t able to say anything more because Ben suddenly gripped her arm with one hand and cupped her cheek. He closed the space between them before capturing her lips in a mind-blowing kiss.

Liz placed her hands on his chest supposedly to stop him out of her pride, but her senses instructed her otherwise. She ended up clutching at his shirt as Ben started playing with her tongue and nipping at her lower lip. 

Anyone can just enter the stairwell and see them – but Liz has never seen anyone else take the stairs aside from Ben. But still, what they were doing was so crazy and dangerous.

And extremely exciting.

It was when Ben shifted his hand to her ass when Liz broke the kiss.

She took a few deep breaths before speaking. “You can’t kiss me to get away from any argument.”

“Well you can’t tease me with your cute messages then suddenly stop. It’s not fair to me when I’ve been thinking about you all morning,” he said huskily, smiling wickedly. “So I think we’re even.”

Liz thought about leaving him hanging with her “maybe” comment, then she realized that she was being a tease. What was she thinking? They both couldn’t get enough of each other.

She laughed and Ben joined in. Ben raised his hand and combed his fingers through her hair.

"You're dangerous, Mr. Wright," she said.

"Well you're my weakness too," he said gruffly, before kissing her again quickly.

Liz grinned at him, then kissed him at the cheek one more time. 

“I have to go,” she said, “Dana and Sarah might be wondering where I am.”

Ben nodded. “How about tonight?”

“I’ll call you after I meet Kayla,” Liz replied “Let’s see if it won’t be too late.”

Ben smirked as he spoke. “Well here’s something for you to remember so you will keep your meeting brief.”

He grabbed Liz’s waist and placed a soft kiss at the pulse of her neck.

That one kiss left Liz unsteady, leaving no doubt in her mind that she would want to see him that night.

Ben released her then walked to the stairs leading him down. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

Still frozen by the kiss, Liz wasn’t even able to say goodbye.

Chapter 25

Liz

 “You already know I’m not a very patient person, yet you grab every opportunity to test it,” Liz teased, feigning a tantrum.

“You must be the only woman who isn’t such a big fan of surprises,” Ben said, grinning.

They were in Ben’s car Sunday afternoon driving to who-knows-where. Ben told her the previous day he had a surprise for her. 

They’ve been seeing each other for three weeks already and everything was going great. Ben would go to her apartment after work if he didn’t have anything for the evening. Liz’s been to his apartment at the Chelsea area a couple times as well. 

They’d do something different weekends. One weekend Ben gave in and watched his first Broadway play with Liz. Wicked was on, and Liz had been wanting to watch it. Liz was pleased that Ben enjoyed it as much as she did. 

Then the previous weekend after her shift in the library, she and Ben went on a tour of small art galleries in Lower Manhattan. Liz knew Ben was also into art because of some good pieces she saw in his apartment. They enjoyed that tour, then they finished the day with a good dinner in a pizzeria then had sundaes at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

This time, Ben took over the reins and planned something for them. He just told her to dress comfortably. He couldn’t be any vaguer. It took Liz a while to decide on her outfit though. She ended up wearing a sweatshirt, boyfriend jeans, and her pair of Converse. She brought a black leather jacket if it would get too chilly. Ben was also dressed casually in a denim jacket over a plain white shirt and dark jeans. 

But as much as Liz teased him and joked that she disliked surprised, she appreciated his efforts over the past weeks. Yes, the sex was amazing – an understatement in Liz’s opinion – but she liked doing other things with him too.

“Are we anywhere close?” she asked teasingly, to annoy him some more.

“Maybe we can do something to keep you occupied,” Ben said, placing his hand on her knee and moving it upward.

“Ben!” she yelped, moving his hand back to her knee. “As enticing as it may be, I don’t want us to get into an accident.”

Ben laughed, clasping her hand and bringing it to his lips, before releasing it.

He reached to turn on the radio, and searched for a good station. When a song from a 90’s boyband started playing, Liz screamed. “Stop right there!”