Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(58)

Tory turned to Ron. “If you will excuse us, Ron, I have a couple things to talk to Sean about, then we all best head down to paintballing.”

Ron got up laboriously and slowly made his way out of the suite. Tory watched him go, grabbing a bottle of water from the bar as he did so. As soon as the door was closed, Tory turned back to a nervous Sean.

“Nothing gets Ron Powers motivated like an intrigue.” Tory’s eyes sparkled. “On a personal level, how it is going with Krista?”

Sean’s eyes widened. Then he sighed. “Very slowly. She is having a really hard time here this weekend. She isn’t letting me help, but I am hopeful she is slowly coming around.”

“You two work exceptionally well together. I was right.”

“You are the second one to point that out. And yes, we do.”

“I’ve seen your preliminary numbers. They are impressive.”

Sean puffed up slightly, trying not to smile. “It’s a work in progress.”

“Once she gets your team working cohesively, I think you will do great things.”

Sean laughed. “I thought I was a better motivator. It was a hard pill to swallow realizing I need her as much as I do.”

Tory chuckled, too. “Follies of the youth. I had that same realization. My next step was to marry Emily.”

“You probably had an easier time getting her to say yes.”

Tory’s eyes were twinkling again. “Not at all. It is a hard thing, eating crow, but women are a forgiving breed. If you are patient enough, you would be surprised what they will talk themselves into.”

“Let’s hope.” Sean said, getting up.

“I don’t need hope, I have Emily. Okay, keep up the good work, but remember what I said about sexual harassment. We need to update the company view and you and Ron Powers will be the leaders in that. He is also a powerful motivator, and he would also benefit from a ‘Krista’ to do all his work.”

“Why does no one think I work?” Sean laughed. Tory laughed with him.

Sean left shaking his head. He had to get his sweats on for paintballing.

Chapter Seventeen

“What are you guys doing?” Krista asked Janice, putting on her running shoes. She was showered, changed and rested. Her head was buzzing, but no longer whirling. It was at least a step in the right direction.

“We’re paintballing, too.”

“Oh. That’s good. At least there’ll be more women.”

“It will be nice with a mix of people. I have had my fill of gossip.”

“I bet Marcus is having the time of his life.”

Janice smiled, heading toward the door. Krista followed. “He was sent here to make friends, and he is doing just that. By the end of this weekend, Sean will know more about the other regions than their VPs do.”

“That’s what he was going for. How are you guys doing in your competitions?”

“Well, Marcus isn’t an admin, of course, so…”

That was about when Krista stopped listening. She couldn’t help it—there were more pressing matters in her head than typing contests and note taking. Like that kiss earlier. Like how good it felt. Like how her body revved up and remembered how right it was once.

The problem was there was still a piece of her in a dark corner that was broken. She didn’t trust that Sean wanted her bad enough. What if something else happened and they had to separate? Would he push her away again?

Krista thought he probably would. He just never seemed to put himself out there when it really mattered. If he was going the same way, then she was his gal. If not, well then…

They went outside and around the hotel to the tree line. A small huddle of ref’s were there, with yellow shirts, and the normal huddle of cliques. A couple of the New York guys already had guns, masks, and other protective gear.

Krista and Janice joined their team, who were all there. Sean, who was wearing form fitting sweats, looked up as the two women joined the group. He then couldn’t help but scan her body. He was still on overdrive. Krista stopped herself from scanning his.

“Hey guys,” Krista said. Everyone but Bob-the-Turd gave her a glance and looked back at Sean.

“Geegee, Janice, great,” Sean said. “I was just going over some strategy. I first need to figure out who is the team handicap.” Everyone looked at she and Janice.

“Well, if you mean ‘who might not be great at this?’, I’ll raise my hand.” Janice followed by actually raising her hand. Sean and Dean nodded like they knew as much. Eyes shifted to Krista.

“Don’t look at me, fellas. I’ve been shooting since I was twelve. Plus, I’m in great shape. No dunk tank for me this time!”

“You’ve been shooting since you were twelve?” Bob asked in disbelief.

“My mom took my sister and I once a month from twelve to twenty. She said when we got our own place, we needed a gun. If someone got in, we’d need to know how to shoot. Rape and murder proofing, she called it.”

“Yikes.” Georgie smirked. “Watch out for the Fields family women.”

He didn’t know she’d changed her name.

Sean looked over Krista’s shoulder and smirked with that boyish mischievousness that made his face all kinds of hot. Krista did scan his body then—she couldn’t help herself. His suit showed off his broad shoulders fantastically. And his pants were tight enough to see those shapely, defined legs, which were nothing compared to that rock star quality ass! The guy needed to wear tighter pants more often, style faux-pas or no! Krista could just barely make out his pecks, so she focused instead on his biceps. He could pick her up and throw her on the bed without breaking a sweat.