Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(2)

The companies she dealt with often, which numbered about ten, started learning what she wanted to see, and started giving her exactly that. She also got presents at Christmas, and on her birthday. She even got her coffee in pourable containers so she could use her lucky mug. One company got her a mug stand, of all things. It was a heating pad you could put your mug on to keep the contents warm.

Krista worried the heat directly on the porcelain would crack it, so she didn’t use it. She never saw the mug stand again. That was how pampered she was.

Krista felt like a celebrity sometimes. A mean, bitchy, cold-hearted celebrity that gave bad news as often as good.

But still, she felt like a celebrity. Everyone had to be known for something.

Krista saw Marcus and Ben often. Tory wanted to structure them into the Marketing department together since they knew each other so well and fed off each other. They might be out for coffee, or lunch, and come up with a fantastic idea. Marcus was the dreamer, Krista, the do’er, and Ben, the gloss. Once, they even came up with a product idea. Tory laughed himself silly with that one. But it sold. Not a ton, but it did sell.

And they got royalties!

Like she wanted to a million years ago, she finally picked up surfing on the proper California beaches. She headed out to the waves whenever she could. That and running were the times she turned off her brain and just went with nature. Sometimes, when she was sitting out in the ocean waiting for the perfect wave, or pushing her legs to the next mile on the beach, or even doing a new yoga pose she hadn’t quite mastered, she would smell the ocean breeze and feel the sun on her face, and feel close to Sean.

Those moments were probably the happiest moments in that strange new city. They were also the loneliest.

Krista sighed again and brought her mind back to work. She didn’t really have much more to do. It was all just organization. She really could have gone out with Chet. She really could use some sex.

Krista shut everything down. As she was putting away her pens, Marcus sauntered in. Happy to see a face she knew longer than two years of her life, even if not much longer, she leaned back and smiled. “Marcus, just the man I wanted to see.”

“Perfect reception,” he said, sitting down in her visitor chair and stretching out his legs. He worked as hard as she did, but managed to keep his social status alive and well. The Dark Hub, what he called his desk, was in full scale social networking action. There wasn’t much that went on that Marcus didn’t hear about. Beside his paycheck and various boyfriends, nothing changed with the striking fellow.

“I need a dose of gossip. What are my people saying about me?” Krista asked, leaning back and putting her legs on her desk.

“Eh. Same ol’, same ol’. You are a slave driving bitch of a boss, but at least you are the coolest one in the company.”

Krista rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get that dichotomy.”

“They don’t know what working hard is unless they’ve worked for Tory. By the way, he put another trip on our calendar.”

She groaned and closed her eyes. Marcus and Krista traveled constantly. Constantly. She went somewhere at least twice a month, often once a week. Sometimes they were sent just to check on a current client— to hear an idea or go over some data. Lately, he had them checking on other branches, looking at numbers, but only meeting low-level number crunchers instead of the usual high-level idea people.

Tory had something in the works, but damned if they knew what it was. It was big, they were involved somehow, and that was all they knew. Not even Marcus could figure out why a creative marketing person would need to go on all the numbers excursions. Nobody was talking.

“Where this time? I just got back from Texas,” Krista asked, once again rubbing her eyes.

Marcus paused a beat before he said, “San Francisco.”

Krista got a jolt of apprehension. “Which company?” she asked quietly.

Marcus just looked at her, raising his eyebrows slightly. Krista broke out in a sweat and tears came to her eyes.

“Have you talked to him since you left?” Marcus asked. They both knew who he meant.

Krista shook her head. “Not once. What have you heard?”

“I’m still in contact with Judy. How much do you want to know?”

Krista didn’t want to know anything, but at the same time, she wanted to know everything. She figured she should get the worst out of the way now before she was slapped with it later.

“Is he… does he…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Have someone? The rumor is that he was seeing someone regularly for a while. A tall blonde. Beautiful girl. He hasn’t been with anyone in the office since you left, though. Not even an ‘oops.’ But Judy thinks there might be someone outside the office. Probably that blonde.”

Krista nodded. Sean was an outrageously attractive guy. How could she possibly have thought he wouldn’t easily find another girl?

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder—with as close as Sean was to his sister, Cassie, and the fact she’d moved to San Francisco, and that the description was basically hers—could Krista dare hope the rumor mill was just that? Unfounded rumors?

Hope was a dangerous thing.

Krista had to remind herself that it didn’t matter, Sean wouldn’t communicate with her. He meant it when he said clean break. Plus, Jim, her violent ex-boyfriend that showed up in San Francisco two years ago to try and forcefully drag her back to Seattle, got out of prison a while back and turned up at her old house. Abbey had to call the cops because Jim was convinced she was hiding Krista. Sean had said he didn’t want information on her in case he ever ran into Jim. Or so he said. It sounded a little farfetched when she thought about it now.