"I'm sorry; Kate,
was it?" He sat
forward in his
chair, bracing his
arms on the desk in
front of him and was
aggravated to
realize the flag in
his pants was flying
high. He cleared his
throat. "I don't
think I heard you
right…"
The brunette, who he
thought was named
Kate or Cathy or
something of the
sort, turned a
tomato red right
before his eyes.
Nope, he'd heard her
right and she was
suddenly very
embarrassed.
"Umm, yes, my name
is Kate, Kate Evans.
I've worked in the
same office building
with you for the
past year, but our
paths have rarely
crossed." She inched
her rump closer to
the edge of the seat
she occupied,
obviously ready to
bolt. "See, the
thing is, my friend
and I made these New
Year's resolutions
and I have yet to do
anything about mine.
Well, there is a bit
of money at stake
and I'm running a
little short on cash
this month, so my
only real choice was
to fulfill my
resolution." She
paused and he knew
she was gauging his
reaction. So far he
was too stunned to
show any reaction
other than surprise.
Realizing he wasn't
going to speak, she
continued talking, a
bit faster, as if in
a hurry to get the
words out of her
mouth. "So my
resolution was to
get in a non-serious
sexual
relationship…you
know, a bed buddy of
sorts. For the past
three months, I've
put off finding
someone to fit my
standards because I
really didn't think
my friend would
fulfill her
resolution. Well, to
my surprise, she
has; now she thinks
she's going to win
our bet. But like I
said, I'm a bit low
on cash this month,
so my only option
was to find a bed
buddy, which is why
I'm here."
Kate's face went
from ripe tomato to
breathe-before-you-die
red. He sat back in
his chair; finally
grasping this wasn't
some sort of prank.
This short stranger
was serious. "So you
picked me? Why?"
"Umm, well, you're
leaving in two
weeks, so if you say
no, I won't ever
have to see you
again. And you're
known around the
office as being
rather adventurous
in bed and out, but
some of the girls
have said you don't
bounce around from
partner to partner
so much that an STD
would be a worry."
Leaving in two
weeks? Did she know
something he didn't?
And did she just use
the term STD in
conjunction with
him?
Then it hit home;
James Crawford from
accounting was
leaving in two
weeks. She had her
James's confused.
Adventurous was
definitely not a
word most people
would use to
describe James
Bradford. Stuffy or
workaholic, perhaps
those would suit,
and as far as worry
of an STD...it was
almost laughable.
She continued
speaking so fast he
almost couldn't make
out what she was
saying. "So judging
from what other
women around the
office have said,
you make the perfect
candidate. Oh, I
almost forgot. I
also heard you just
recently ended a
somewhat long-term
relationship, so I
thought, perfect,
you wouldn't want a
serious relationship
so soon anyway."
James ran a hand
over his already
stubbly jaw. At
least one piece of
information fit him.
Miranda had left him
with a Dear John
letter two weeks
ago. Six months of
listening to her
complain about him
working too much and
she dumps him
because she can't
juggle her job and a
serious
relationship.
Where's the irony in
that?
He took a deep
breath and exhaled
it slowly. "Well,
James Crawford
sounds like he is
exactly what you're
looking for. But I'm
not him."
It took a moment for
his words to
register. When
Kate's perfectly
formed, China-doll
mouth dropped open,
he had to stop
himself from
laughing out loud.
"Not to disappoint,
but I'm not leaving
in two weeks. But on
the bright side,
like you said
earlier, if our
paths haven't
crossed in the past
year, then they
probably won't again
until we want them
to."
