A Mess of a Man (Cruel & Beautiful #2)(16)

His parents, holy shit, he didn’t mention I would be meeting his parents. Don’t think too much of this. It’s not like we’ve been dating and he wants me to meet them. This is business.

When he introduces me to them, I realize his father has the same name as he does. Ben explains with a wink that his dad goes by his middle name, Martin. That answers one question.

“Samantha Calhoun? Are your parents Randy and Michelle?” his mother, Julia, asks.

“Yes. Do you know them?”

“We do. From the country club.” His mother’s smile is warm and genuine.

“Oh. Do you golf?” I’m curious to know if she ever golfs with my mom.

“Sadly, no. Do you?” she asks.

I screw up my face. “Not even a bit. I gave it a shot and the best I could do was hit the tee further than the ball.”

That gets a laugh out of everyone at the table. We chat for a few minutes and just as I’ve told them about my work, their clients show up.

Julia leans to me and says drily, “Here comes the fun stuff.” I hold back my chuckle.

“You must be Karen,” the woman says.

I stare blankly, unsure what to say. Thankfully, Ben steps in.

“No, Mrs. Sadler, this is Samantha, my date for the evening. She graciously agreed to accompany me tonight.”

Ben is smooth as he’s easily taken the awkwardness out of the woman’s misstatement.

“Why don’t we order?” Ben’s dad says.

We take our seats and I study the menu wondering who Karen is.

Mrs. Sadler leans over from her seat next to me. “I’m sorry. I thought Julia said Ben’s fiancée’s name was Karen.

My jaw drops, but thankfully the waiter shows up. Ben reaches over and squeezes my hand under the table while I ponder the million and one questions that have popped in my mind.

The Sadler’s are interested in converting their investments over to Ben’s firm. I listen with half an ear because this is the type of thing I hand over to my dad and say, Here. Take a look at this for me, please. I can only hope our solo dinner discussions don’t involve this stuff because so far, I’ve counted six yawns that I’ve had to swallow.

We finally get to dessert and I think my face almost falls into my turtle cheesecake when Martin asks if anyone wants coffee. Thankfully, everyone declines. Then I feel a hand on my leg and I jerk to attention, only to see Ben shaking with barely contained laughter. God, did I almost fall asleep? How embarrassing is this?

Mrs. Sadler hasn’t given up. “Julia tells me you’re a lawyer.”

“No, Karen’s a lawyer. Samantha here is an event planner,” Julia corrects.

Ben’s mom didn’t sound condescending when she said it. So why do I feel so small?

“That’s exciting,” Mrs. Sadler says.

I glance over at Ben who looks ready to cut in, but I decide I can hold my own.

“It is actually. There is a certain thrill in seeing the excitement and happy faces when people enter a space I’ve prepared. And my company is thriving,” I’m compelled to say.

“I happen to find lawyers boring. Samantha is anything but,” Ben adds.

I blush because the way Ben looks at me sends a wave of lust washing over me. He has no idea if I’m boring or not, but I give him points for the save.

Soon, we’re all saying our good-byes, and Julia tells me she hopes to see me again. Is that a message for Ben? I’m not sure, but it sounds as though there’s an undercurrent to her words. Maybe it’s my exhaustion.

Ben leans over and whispers to me, “Will you excuse me for a minute? I need to have a word with my mother before we leave.”

“Sure.” I watch him usher his mother aside, and realize what he’s going to do. I don’t have to hear him to know that angry words spill from his mouth. It’s obvious from the way his finger jabs the air and his mouth is punctuated by a scowl. Julia’s head bobs and then her eyes droop in what I imagine to be remorse. Ben turns away, his lips pressed into a thin line.

When he reaches me, I ask, “Is everything okay?”

“It will be. Are you ready to go?”

“Whenever you are.”

We walk to his car, holding hands. “I’m sorry about the Karen thing. I had a chat with my mom about it.” He blows out a breath.

I nod. “It’s fine. Who is she by the way?”

He looks uncomfortable, so I know there’s a story there.

“She’s someone I made the bad choice of introducing to my mother. And Mom thought she would be planning a wedding.”

“Oh.”

I want to ask more, but decide against it.

“I can’t thank you enough for this. I owe you. Huge. And I noticed that investments really pique your interest.”

“Oh, you did, huh?”

“Yeah. The little head bob you did was the dead giveaway.” His deep laugh makes me shiver.

“Jeez, I’m so sorry.” I shake my head in embarrassment.

“Hey, I’m the one who’s sorry for making you sit through that. But you were awesome. And don’t worry. Mrs. Sadler let out a snore or two,” he says with a chuckle.

A gurgle of laugher bubbles out of me. “She did not.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she did. She was just as into it as you were. Thank you for not snoring.”