All the Right Places (RILEY O'BRIEN & CO #1) (13 page)

“Your minute was up a while ago,” he said, pointing toward the door. “This conversation is over.”

She must have known he meant business because she left his office without another word. He dropped into his chair, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. He studied the exposed ductwork while his mind tried to make sense of the mess he’d made.

Should he go up to the penthouse and talk to Amelia? If he did, what would he say? “I’m sorry I ripped off your shirt” or “I’m sorry we were interrupted. Now let me take off your panties”?

He groaned, pressing his palms against his eyes. Maybe it was better if he just left her alone. He snorted. There was no maybe about it. It
was
better if he just left her alone.

He just wasn’t sure he could.

“How’s the pressure? Would you prefer it deeper? Harder?”

Moaning from the pleasure, Amelia closed her eyes in bliss. “
Ooh
. It’s perfect now.”

“As you wish, Miss Winger,” the massage therapist replied, continuing to stroke and knead her shoulders and upper back with strong hands.

Amelia was ensconced in a treatment room in Beaubelle, one of the most exclusive spas in Nashville, and Ava Grace relaxed on a massage table less than a foot away.

“Thank you for arranging this,” Amelia said.

“You needed it,” Ava Grace murmured.

Amelia had texted Ava Grace before she’d boarded the plane yesterday to let her know she was returning to Nashville for a long weekend. When she’d woken up this morning, her best friend had announced she had booked them for a spa day. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend her Saturday.

The soothing sound of chimes filtered from speakers cleverly hidden in the ceiling, and the air was perfumed with frangipani massage oil. Amelia and Ava Grace enjoyed the diligent ministrations of their therapists for several minutes before Ava Grace broke the restful silence.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, Millie.”

Amelia hesitated, not sure where to begin. Should she start with Teagan’s threat to fire her if she told Quinn about the redesign? Or should she go straight to Quinn’s thoughtful gift and everything that had happened afterward? It was all related.

“I’m afraid I’ve made a big mistake,” Amelia admitted, her voice cracking slightly.

Ava Grace already knew Amelia was involved in two projects for Riley O’Brien & Co., the official project designing the new line of accessories and Teagan’s secret project to revamp the entire women’s division. She had also already heard about Amelia’s meetings with Deda, Diana, and Vandy during previous phone calls.

As the massage therapist worked on Amelia’s legs and feet, which had been tortured this week by impractical shoes, she shared the disappointing news from Shelby’s presentation and Quinn’s resulting distress. She also described everything that had happened after she and Quinn had talked about the presentation but left out the charged moment when he’d almost kissed her.

“Quinn was hurting.
Badly
. I wanted to tell him about the redesign because I thought it would give him hope for the company’s future, but Teagan was insistent we stick to our original plan and not tell him. She told me I still had the option of not working with the company if I didn’t want to keep our project a secret.”

“She threatened you?” Ava Grace asked fiercely.

“Not in so many words.”

“That’s bullshit. It was an implied threat, for sure. So what did you do?”

“I kept quiet because I didn’t want to lose this opportunity. It’s just too important to me. If I go against Teagan, it’s over . . . both the accessories line and the full redesign. I won’t have anything.”

Her words tripped over themselves, and she paused to catch her breath. “You know I could work my entire life and never have another opportunity like this one. This partnership is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal. If Quinn likes the
redesign, Teagan will fund my boutiques. Where else would I find that kind of money?”

“I know you see this partnership as your one chance to make it big. That’s why you went along with Teagan’s plan in the first place. What’s different now?”

Amelia didn’t have to consider Ava Grace’s question for long. She knew exactly what was different: her feelings toward Quinn.

“When I agreed to work with Teagan and go behind Quinn’s back, I didn’t even know him,” she reminded Ava Grace. “I hadn’t even met him. The redesign was about what I wanted and what it would do for me. I didn’t care how it would impact him. I know that sounds horrible and selfish, but it’s true.”

“Well, it’s obvious you don’t feel that way anymore.”

“He’s a good guy, Ava Grace, and I don’t want to be the catalyst for him to lose everything he cares about. He’s already struggling with taking over his dad’s job. Some of the employees don’t support him, and this redesign forces him into a corner. I wasn’t sure before, but now I have no doubt Teagan would push Quinn out if he doesn’t support the redesign.”

“I thought the O’Brien siblings were really close. Would Teagan really do something like that to her brother? It’s so . . .” Ava Grace paused, clearly trying to find the right word. “It’s so mean.”

“I agree. And I know it sounds stupid, but I’m disappointed in Teagan. I knew she was frustrated by Quinn’s attitude, but I guess I thought she would at least give him the benefit of the doubt once I told her how upset he was.”

The massage therapists finished their work, and after letting Amelia and Ava Grace know they could stay in the room as long as they wished, the two spa employees left the room. She and Ava Grace remained on the massage tables but turned their heads to look at each other.

“But there’s a chance he would support the redesign, right?” Ava Grace asked. “You just said he was upset the company isn’t as strong as it used to be. If you tell him, and he’s okay with it, you don’t have a problem.”

Amelia sighed. “I’m not sure how he would react. Teagan was so sure the presentation didn’t change his mind, and of course, she knows him better than I do.”

“Do you have the option of testing the water with Quinn? You could casually bring up the idea of doing something entirely new with the women’s division—maybe not be specific, but just the general idea—and see how he reacts. And if he reacts negatively, you could make it a priority to change his mind. Kind of like a Jedi mind trick.”

She laughed at Ava Grace’s suggestion. No one would ever have guessed, but Ava Grace was a
huge
sci-fi nerd. Huge as in she had a set of toy light sabers at home and routinely cajoled Amelia into dueling with her.

Ava Grace deepened her voice and waved her hand in front of her face to imitate a Jedi. “You want to revamp the women’s division. You’re eager to expand the product line. You can’t wait to see my new designs.”

Holding her sheet under her arms, Ava Grace sat up on the massage table and tucked her feet under her. Amelia did the same, and they faced each other.

Ava Grace studied her intently. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

She nodded. “Things got a little messy.”

Ava Grace plucked an elastic band off her wrist and pulled her blond hair into a loose ponytail. As she gave it a final tug, she pinned Amelia with a knowing glance.

“Don’t they always,” she quipped cynically. “What happened?”

Amelia unloaded. She told Ava Grace about Quinn’s surprise visit to the penthouse, dinner at the pizzeria, and getting busy among the produce. Surprisingly, Ava Grace remained silent the whole time, although her hazel eyes got bigger and bigger as the story spilled from Amelia’s mouth.

Finally, she finished her story. She looked at Ava Grace, her best friend, her only family, the person who knew her better than anyone in the world and loved her anyway.

“Wow,” Ava Grace whispered, her eyes unfocused. Then she very obviously came back to Earth because she added in a much louder and firmer voice, “I no longer think you’re the smart one in this family. I’m the smart one.”

It was the absolute last thing Amelia had expected her to say. She shook her head uncomprehendingly.

“What?”

“Millie, that’s not messy, that’s a freaking disaster. What were you thinking?”

Amelia’s mouth dropped open in shock. Where were the love and understanding she needed from the person who was supposed to love her unconditionally and support her without question?

“Oh, my God, Ava Grace! Are you blaming me?”

“Well, you were the one who went all
Girls Gone Wild
on the kitchen island,” Ava Grace shot back.

Anger washed over Amelia. It wasn’t as if Ava Grace was perfect, after all.

“I thought you would understand—” she began hotly, but Ava Grace interrupted her.

“Amelia Deanne Winger, you know better! When you first told me about Quinn O’Brien, I never,
ever
thought you’d let things move past flirting. That’s why I teased you about him. I didn’t think you’d lose your mind and have sex with him!”

“We didn’t have sex!” Amelia exclaimed loudly, uncaring that she might disturb the spa’s other clients.

“Close enough,” Ava Grace countered.

When Amelia opened her mouth to reply, Ava Grace held up her hand. “It’s one thing to get involved with someone you work with. It’s not smart, but a lot of people do it, and usually no one ends up dead, unemployed, or brokenhearted. But you can’t expect anything but heartache if you start a relationship when you’re keeping a huge secret and lying to the other person about something so important.”

Leaning forward, she squeezed Amelia’s knees. “I don’t want my next hit song to be about you, and if you continue down this path, it will be. Count on it.”

Amelia pulled away from Ava Grace and hopped off the table. Grabbing her fluffy white robe from the hook, she jerked it on.

“Since you’re the smart one,” she said sarcastically, “what do you suggest I do?”

Ava Grace stood up, the sheet wrapped around her like a toga. “You know what to do. Stay away from Quinn O’Brien or tell him the truth about what you’re really doing. Better yet, demand that Teagan tell him.”

Amelia leaned against the massage table. “I can’t tell him the truth. If I do, I’ll not only lose the accessories, but I’ll lose the possibility of Teagan’s funding. I can’t give up this opportunity. And I can’t force Teagan to do anything.”

Ava Grace studied her grimly. “Then you have to stay away from him. You can’t even be alone with him in the same room because you clearly can’t control yourself.”

Amelia sighed. She knew with every fiber of her being Ava Grace was right. But she wished things were different.

“I know. I
will
stay away from him.”

When Quinn stumbled from his bedroom on Saturday morning, he found Cal sitting at the bar in his kitchen. His brother’s dark head was bent over a tablet computer resting on the soapstone countertop.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee was strong, and he noticed two large to-go cups sitting near Cal’s elbow. Without bothering to say hello, he grabbed one and took a huge swallow.

He could literally feel the caffeine flood his veins, and he sighed with delight. How could Amelia intentionally forgo such pleasure?

With his requirement for coffee fulfilled, he addressed his next overwhelming need. “Food?”

Cal pointed to a covered pan on the Viking range, and Quinn punched him in the arm as he walked to the stove. He removed the lid, and fragrant steam drifted to his nostrils.

“Yes,” he breathed, almost drooling. “Denver omelets.”

Taking two plates from the white glass-fronted cabinets, he quickly transferred the omelets from the pan and slid one in front of his brother, along with a fork. He didn’t even bother to sit down before taking a huge bite of his own, moaning as the smoky flavors of ham and cheddar burst in his mouth.

Cal was a kick-ass cook. In fact, his brother kicked ass at everything he did. It was unnatural.

Leaning against the counter, he pointed to Cal with his fork. “Why are you here so early?” he asked, his mouth full of omelet. His mother would have killed him if she’d witnessed his hideous lack of manners.

“I booked us for an eleven o’clock tee time at the club. You need to get your ass moving and change your clothes so we don’t miss it.”

Quinn thought a day of golf with his brother sounded awesome, but he was annoyed by Cal’s assumption he was free. He should have at least checked to make sure he was available.

“How do you know I don’t have plans for today? And you could have interrupted something by showing up here so early. I might have had company.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Cal had the affront to laugh boisterously. “Yeah, right.”

With a scowl, he cuffed his annoying brother on the head. “Asshole,” he muttered before gobbling down the rest of his omelet.

Hurrying to his bedroom, he pulled a red golf shirt and khaki trousers off their wood hangers in his walk-in closet. As he donned his clothes, he assured himself that he could have had a woman in his bed if he wanted one there.

In fact, he had gone out for drinks last night with a woman he’d met at the neighborhood market. After a long day worrying about Amelia running back to Nashville because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, he’d stopped at the store to buy some beer.

He had been in the produce section to grab some oranges for his wheat ale, and the fruit had reminded him of Amelia and their intense make-out session on the island. As he stared into space with a semi hard-on, a tall, thin blonde approached him. Her gray suit jacket showed off a nice rack, and the matching skirt drew his eyes to her long, lean legs.

“You need to squeeze those oranges to see if they’re ripe,” she suggested, her eyes letting him know
she
was ripe.

She stuck out her hand. “Charlotte. But my friends call me Charlie.”

Charlie had known exactly what she wanted, and she
wasn’t shy about getting it. While she had fondled the fruit, she asked him out for a drink.

“Let’s go right now,” she suggested when he agreed, taking his arm and leading him out of the store.

They’d ended up at Murray’s, a hole-in-the-wall bar located just a few blocks from his house. During their walk, they had chatted a bit about their jobs. She was an accountant for one of the big firms, and she had fished a business card out of her purse as soon as they found a table.

“In case you need someone good,” she said, somehow making that innocuous statement sexual.

Two drinks later, Charlie’s hand had been on his crotch, and her mouth had been sucking his earlobe. He had mentioned he lived nearby, and she must have tucked that information away for future use because she whispered, “Take me back to your place and fuck me. Right now.”

Like any normal man, he’d had a hard-on, and he had been ready to end his dry spell with Charlie. He had already figured out the fastest way to get to his house and get his dick in her mouth. But then Amelia and her damn brown-sugar freckles popped into his head, and he lost all interest in the blonde sitting next to him.

So he’d removed himself from her talented hands and mouth, thrown a fifty-dollar bill on the table, and said good night. He had gone to bed alone, thinking of Amelia, and he’d woken up alone with a painfully hard erection after dreaming about her all night.

He finished dressing, buckled his belt, turned off his bedroom light, and returned to the kitchen. Cal looked up as he entered the room.

“You want to drive?” his brother asked.

“Hell, yes. I’m embarrassed to be seen in your car.”

For reasons known only to himself and God, Cal drove a huge powder blue Cadillac their Grandma Violet used to own. It was old enough to be vintage, but it wasn’t “cool” vintage; it was just ancient. Even worse, it was a gas-guzzler.

Cal shrugged, clearly unaffected by his scorn. “Belva gets the job done.”

He smirked. “I’ve always wanted to know . . . since you named your car, did you also name your penis?”

“No, I didn’t, but Saika did,” Cal answered, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “She calls it ‘Drill Sergeant.’”

With a laugh, he grabbed his keys off the counter. “Then you must be doing something right, little brother.”

•   •   •

Quinn shoved his four wood back into his golf bag. He and Cal were at the sixth hole at the Olympic Club’s Lake course, and he’d just hooked his drive left, sending his ball into the deep rough next to a tree.

“Nice shot,” Cal jeered.

He shrugged, resisting the impulse to ram his fist into his brother’s face. With a handicap of zero, Cal was a scratch golfer. Playing with him always dinged Quinn’s ego.

The Lake course was one of the top golf courses in the nation, and it had fantastic views of Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate Bridge. As they zoomed down the cart path toward Quinn’s poorly positioned ball, he enjoyed the amazing panorama.

The O’Briens had been members of the Olympic Club since it opened in the early 1900s. Quinn, Cal, and their dad had played the club’s three courses regularly until James got sick. They didn’t play as frequently as they used to, primarily because Quinn was busy with work and Cal spent most weekends with his girlfriend and her daughter.

“Why aren’t you with Saika and Valerie today?” he asked as he swerved to avoid a squirrel that clearly had a death wish since it’d stopped right in the middle of the path.

Grabbing the dashboard, Cal shot him an evil glare. “They’re visiting her sister in Los Angeles,” he answered curtly.

Quinn took in the frown on his brother’s face. “Are you annoyed because you almost fell out of the cart or are you having trouble with Saika?”

“Your driving sucks, no matter if we’re in your Audi or in a golf cart.” Cal crossed his arms over his chest. “And yes, Saika and I aren’t doing so great right now.”

Quinn was sorry to hear things weren’t going well between the two of them. He really liked Saika, and her daughter had the sweetest giggle. You couldn’t help but smile when you heard it.

He didn’t want to turn their outing into some kind of pathetic therapy session, but he also didn’t want Cal to think he didn’t care. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

He brought the cart to a stop and was about to hop out when Cal turned his head and gave him a penetrating look. “Do you want to talk about what’s going on between you and Amelia?”

Quinn froze, jerking his eyes away from his brother’s prying glance. He clenched the cart’s steering wheel but didn’t say anything.

“I thought you were acting strange at the party, and then Teagan told me that you bought Amelia an expensive gift and took her to dinner. Was it just coincidence she flew home the next morning when she’d told me that she planned to sightsee this weekend?”

He blew out a breath in frustration. “No, it wasn’t coincidence. But I didn’t interrogate you about Saika, and I expect you to return the favor.”

“Too bad, because I’m not going to. I want to know what happened.”

Stepping out of the cart, he began to search the rough for his golf ball. Cal came up beside him and, in less than a half a second, the bastard found the ball.

Quinn stalked back to the cart to grab his five iron and returned to his ball. After a few seconds of evaluation, he assumed his stance and was ready to take a swing when Cal spoke.

“Try not to shank it this time,” he advised.

Quinn growled. “Shut up, or I’ll hit you with this club.”

He took his shot and watched helplessly as the ball soared directly toward the water hazard, falling into it with a loud
plop
.

“
Shit
.”

Cal laughed as he scratched his head. “That was masterful. Way to go, Jack Nicklaus.”

Leaning on his golf club, Quinn stared at the water hazard. Maybe it was a metaphor for his life. He’d tried to avoid doing something stupid with Amelia, but he hadn’t been able to, and now he had to figure out how to move forward.

He turned to Cal. “You know how you said we needed to keep Amelia happy? Well, I’m pretty sure I did something that made her very
unhappy.
”

“What did you do?”

“Well, let’s see . . . I groped her at the party. I broke into the penthouse and scared her to death just as she got out of the shower. And after I took her out for pizza, I groped her some more.”

Cal stared at him as if he’d just witnessed an alien emerging from his forehead. After a moment of stunned silence, he let out a roaring laugh that sent the birds flying from the trees.

When Cal’s mirth had died down, he pointed at Quinn. “Sounds like you had a busy week.” He slapped him on the back. “Honestly, I’m relieved to hear you’ve still got the urge. It’s been so long since you’ve had sex I was worried you were planning to take vows and become a priest.”

Quinn tried to smile at Cal’s joke, but it must have looked like a grimace because his brother threw his arm around his shoulders and gave him a manly one-armed hug. “It could be worse, brother. At least it didn’t go any further.”

“But I wanted it to.”

The truth slipped out before Quinn could swallow it. And now that he’d said it out loud, he decided he might as well go all in.

“I want Amelia,” he admitted in a low voice. “It’s like I’m obsessed with her or something.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I thought it might be because I haven’t gotten laid in a while, but a hot blonde begged me to fuck her last night, and I turned her down.”

“Where did you meet a hot blonde?”

Trust Cal to get hung up on the one detail that didn’t matter. Quinn told him about Charlie, and his brother’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead almost to his hairline.

“Why did you turn her down, man?”

When he didn’t respond, Cal laughed in disbelief. “You turned her down because of Amelia?”

Quinn turned to walk back to the golf cart, and Cal grabbed his arm. “Is that why?”

He threw off his brother’s hold. “Yes. I’m not going to
have sex with one woman while I’m thinking about another one.”

He had before, and he wasn’t sure why he wasn’t willing to now.

Cal snorted. “Why not? I’d bet most married men do that every single time they have sex with their wives.”

He scowled. “If that’s what you really think, no wonder you and Saika are having problems.”

Cal’s expression turned ugly. “Careful. My relationship with Saika is not up for discussion.”

Quinn noticed another golf cart coming down the path and motioned for Cal to get into their cart.

“Fine. Let’s stop talking.”

Cal protested. “No, I want to continue our conversation about you and Amelia.”

After releasing the cart’s brake, Quinn headed toward the fairway. “There is no me and Amelia.”

“But there could be.”

He shook his head. “It’s a bad idea even if it’s not officially sexual harassment. It’s unprofessional, and it makes us both look bad.”

“I don’t agree.”

“Okay. How about the fact that she’s an integral part of the company’s future success? Do you really want me to mess around with her and ruin it for all of us?”

Cal sat silently for quite a while, and when Quinn looked over at him, his brother’s eyes were closed. Had he fallen asleep?

“I’m not sleeping,” Cal said, obviously sensing Quinn’s gaze on him. “I’m thinking. And do you want to know what I think?”

His question was clearly rhetorical because he continued without pause. “I think you never put yourself above this company. I think you should find a way to get what you want, even if you want Amelia. I think you can maintain a professional relationship in public while privately screwing Amelia’s brains out every chance you get. And I think you can handle any potential fallout. That’s what I think.”

Quinn had some serious doubts about that. At the same time, however, he also felt a thrill at the thought of screwing Amelia’s brains out, as his brother had so colorfully put it.

“So you wouldn’t let a professional relationship stop you from moving forward with a personal relationship? Is that what you’re saying?”

Cal nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. The only thing that would stop me is if the woman didn’t want me the way I wanted her.”

Quinn’s heart thudded heavily. That was the most important question of all.