Garrett

"You look like hell."

I squinted over my cup of coffee and grimaced. "Honest as always, Lexi. Thank you."

The blonde bombshell gave me a cheeky grin and swirled the mimosa in her champagne glass, raising it high in a mock toast. "Would you rather me tell you that you look delectable and let you mingle with that false sense of confidence when all along you really look like complete and utter poo?"

"Yes?"

She rolled her eyes. "Men. Such fragile egos. From the full set of luggage under your eyes and the fact you left the room at an ungodly hour, I'd say you didn't sleep well."

"Sleeping well implies I slept at all," I replied.

When I'd gone into the hotel room to retrieve my toiletries, exhaustion had been imbedded in every atom, but it fled the instant I saw Ivy in that bed, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her hand moved under the covers. A good man would have turned around, fleeing before she opened her eyes to save them both from embarrassment, but it turned out I wasn't a good man at all.

It wasn't until I heard a man grunt that I realized she had a video playing—my full attention had been on the moaning beauty in the bed. Compelled, I picked it up and almost groaned out loud. I don't know what I expected her to be into, but it wasn't the savage scene playing on the screen.

"Thank you again for letting me stay with you."

She shrugged. "You're welcome to stay all weekend if you like."

"I might take you up on that."

I couldn't fathom sharing a bed with Ivy after last night. Not just because I didn't trust myself not to offer a reenactment of that video, but also because I was quite certain she hated me. Every time I closed my eyes last night, I saw her turn away from me and draw the covers over her head. Why didn't I stay and tell her Lexi was just a friend? That she offered me a place to crash because she had an extra bed and no interest in men whatsoever, and after the shit show that had been the trip here, I thought she might enjoy a night alone?

Because it shouldn't matter. Ivy was my employee. Completely off limits, and on top of that, she wasn't my type. If I ever decided to pursue a relationship with a woman, it would be one I could trust to not stray from my bed because I absolutely did not share.

"So, this Ivy." Lexi leaned back in her chair as the server delivered our breakfast. Despite the hotel being booked for the Apple Festival and the conference, the hotel's restaurant wasn't very busy. Most people went into town to enjoy some of the local hotspots.

"Lexi," I warned, tensing for whatever pot she was about to stir. We'd known each other since college, and her taste for drama hadn't mellowed with age.

"Don't Lexi me. I remember Portia talking about her last year, and you barely batted an eyelash whenever she came up. What on earth has happened between then and now? Because she's not even in the room, but the moment I said her name, I could feel the sexual tension wafting off you."

"That's not true."

"Still struggling with the concept of honesty."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and cut into an egg. The man at the table next to us watched with lustful eyes as she raised the bite to her mauve painted lips. She licked a bit of golden yolk from the corner of her lip and winked at his wife, smiling when the woman blushed.

"Pardon me if I don't take you seriously. You think everyone is horny all the time."

"No. I think most women are horny because they're very unsatisfied by the men in their lives. You, being this horny, is new."

"Are we done? I've got to shower and change or I'll be late for the first speaker."

"Evading the question doesn't change the answer," she called out as I bolted from the restaurant.

I hit up on the elevator and waited with arms folded over my chest. Pushing out Lexi's intrusive voice in my mind, I rehearsed what I was going to say when I saw Ivy—assuming she was still in our room, but my mind went completely blank when the elevator dinged, the doors slid open, and Ivy stepped out. Dressed in a curve hugging pencil skirt and ruffled red blouse, she didn't look like she had any problem with sleep last night.

The faintest flicker of hurt went across her face, but she hid it at once with a professional smile. "Mr. James. Good morning."

"Ivy—"

"I'm just going to get a quick bite for breakfast. I'll see you in the conference room."

"Ivy, wait." I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the corner, using a potted ficus to hide us from view. "We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Last night—"

"Was a very awkward thing that happened between us. I'm very sorry for my lack of professionalism. Obviously, I wouldn't have done something like that if I expected you to walk in."

"That's not—"

"And I wanted to apologize for how short I was with you earlier. The accident upset me more than I said, and I took it out on you. From here on out, I will be the picture of professionalism. I promise."

"Ivy," I snapped, struggling not to shake her to shut her up. "Will you let me get a word in?"

"Better hurry. You need to get cleaned up before the conference."

She raked her brown eyes up and down my body. Immediately, my blood rushed through my veins, and the urge to put my mouth on hers overwhelmed me. That would certainly keep her quiet.

"You're right." I released her and stepped back. She stepped around me, but I put my hand on her shoulder and my lips against her ear. "But later we will absolutely be talking about what happened."

Her cool mask slipped a fraction, and she swallowed as she nodded. Then she was gone, and I went upstairs to take a shower. A very cold shower.