Karl’s expression quickly became closed off. “I can’t talk about it, Ben. Sorry,” he added apologetically. “She’d have the world’s biggest hissy fit if I said another word.”
“Okay, I get it,” Ben acquiesced reluctantly. “I appreciate that she took you into her confidence and that you don’t want to betray that. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see what happens with her.”
Karl frowned. “If you weren’t talking about Lauren earlier, then who – God, not you, too?”
“I’m not sure yet,” replied Ben non-committedly. “I’m still working through some stuff. But any way you look at it, I’m not cut out for this job, Karl. I miss writing, miss traveling.”
“Hey, I know,” offered Karl half-jokingly. “You should just take my job when I leave.”
Ben was startled, caught completely off guard at Karl’s suggestion.
“Wow,” he breathed. “Can you believe that idea never occurred to me until now? And while I’m not sure how serious you just were, I think you might actually have something there. Definitely something for me to think about.”
Karl grinned. “It’d be perfect for you. Seamless. Except for the fact that Elle wouldn’t be very happy about your traveling again. And especially about the fact that you’d be traveling with Lauren.”
Ben was caught off guard for the second time in less than a minute. “Huh? Why would you think she’d have a problem with Lauren?”
Karl gave a hoot of laughter. “Oh, that’s a good one! Come on, it was obvious to all of us the very first time they met that Elle did not like our girl. And deny it all you want, but I’ve spent the last year and a half watching you and Lauren do this weird little dance around each other every time you’re in the same room. And, well, you aren’t fooling anybody, man.”
Ben felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, and he stammered and stuttered for several seconds before shaking his head. “Do the others suspect, do you think?” he asked somberly.
Karl waved a hand in dismissal. “Nah. Chris is in another world half the time. Or stoned. As for George, he’s too worried about making sure all of his notes are in order to notice. Plus, he’s still terrified of Lauren and doesn’t even look at her unless it’s absolutely necessary. Your secret is safe with me, Ben.”
“There’s really not a secret to keep,” protested Ben. “I mean, sure I think Lauren’s hot. And there might be some, uh, chemistry between us. But there’s nothing actually going on.”
“I know,” drawled Karl. “You’re a good guy, Ben, not the sort who’d two time his girlfriend. And there’s zero chance Lauren would even consider hooking up with someone who’s already taken. That’s one of her ironclad rules of dating, didn’t you know?”
Ben found himself smiling despite the shock he was still experiencing from Karl’s very matter-of-fact observations. “I guess not. What are some of her other so-called rules?”
“Oh, geez, let’s see. No one who’s married, engaged, or otherwise involved. Absolutely no co-workers or anyone else related to her job. No nerds, dweebs, or geeks. Nobody who’s shorter than she is or more than ten pounds overweight. Guys who wear suits are usually a major turnoff. Oh, and absolutely no bald guys. There’s more, I think, but I forget the rest.”
Ben laughed. “That sounds like Lauren all right. It’s a wonder with all of those restrictions that she dates as much as she does.”
Karl gave him an odd look. “She hardly ever dates. I can’t think of the last time she mentioned going out with someone. And Carlo doesn’t count, since he’s like a brother to her. You know, Lauren likes to talk a lot, brag some, but that’s all it is most of the time.”
Everything Karl had just told him continued to weigh on his mind for the rest of the afternoon, especially the realization that his attraction to Lauren apparently hadn’t gone unnoticed. At least, he consoled himself, Karl still didn’t seem to know about his past relationship with Lauren. It appeared that he and Lauren were still the only ones who were aware of their history with each other.
He wound up spending far too much time mulling over all the things Karl had just discussed – how Ben should consider taking his job; how Elle’s jealousy of Lauren was as apparent as Ben’s attraction to her; that Lauren evidently didn’t date much at all and hadn’t for some time. He was distracted during the three different meetings he had scheduled that afternoon, pushed papers around on his desk, and got very little actual work done. By the time four o’clock rolled around, he realized he had at least two or three hours worth of work to get through before he could even think of leaving for the day. He heaved a sigh and thought that taking over Karl’s job was definitely the best idea he’d had in a long time. But since the possibility of that happening was still a few months away, Ben began to plough through the never ending pile of papers on his desk.
It was only a knock on his office door an hour later that caused him to finally lift his head, and he frowned in mild irritation as Lauren poked her head inside. It had been quite some time since she’d sought him out for any reason, and he could only guess at what might have pissed her off enough to finally approach him.
“Hey, you got a few minutes?” she asked, her voice sounding a bit too forced, and he could swear she actually looked nervous.
Ben glanced at all the work he still had to get done before he could get a start on his weekend, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming at his temples. “Not really,” he muttered. “Can it wait until Monday?”
“I won’t be here on Monday,” she reminded him. “We’re flying out early tomorrow morning, remember? On the first of four flights, I might add. Jesus, Nadine really outdid herself this time, didn’t she? And I know for a fact that we could have made it there with only three flights, looked them all up myself.”
Ben scrubbed a hand over his face, gazing at Lauren impatiently. “Is that what you wanted to talk about – Nadine’s latest round of travel arrangements? Because I have real work to do, Lauren. I don’t have the time right now to deal with one of your tantrums.”
She glared at him but surprisingly just shook her head rather than fire back with a scathing retort. “No, that’s not what I came in here for. It’s – something else. And it’s important, Ben.”
He suddenly thought of what Karl had hinted at earlier – that Lauren, too, might be thinking of leaving the magazine. And he knew he was really not in the mood to deal with that kind of drama right now.
“I’m sorry,” he told her curtly. “But I really can’t spare the time right now. Maybe you should make an appointment with Kym when you get back from the trip. Or send me an email about it.”
“An email.” She looked at him strangely before shaking her head. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Sorry for taking you away from your important work.”
Lauren dashed off even as he thought of calling her back. There had been something in her voice, in the way she had looked at him, that made him think what she had to say wasn’t related to the job in any way.
Ben slammed a fist on his desk, pissed off at himself for having acted like such an ass, and regretting how impatient he’d just been with her. He half-rose from his chair, intending to go after her, until he decided instead to take Nathan Atwood up on his earlier invitation.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lauren belted down the last tequila shot, closed her eyes for a moment or two, and then immediately raised her arm as she tried to signal their waiter. Ben thought that the poor young man was probably hiding in the kitchen, cowering in fear from the crazy woman at his table.
She’d been in a lousy mood even before he had tentatively approached their table, and hadn’t bothered to hide her surprise and irritation to learn that Nathan had invited Ben to join them. From that point on her mood had only worsened as the evening went on, arguing with her sister about what dishes to order, hassling the waiter when something wasn’t prepared to her liking, and drinking – a lot. Ben realized that this was the first time he’d actually seen Lauren drunk, and he hoped like hell that he hadn’t been the cause after dismissing her so coolly from his office earlier today.