Bridger shoots Finn a satisfied smile. “Absolutely love hearing that about an Opening Number project.”
My dad clears his throat. “You must be as well, Julia. I know you’ve been keen on the show.”
He might have gotten me the intro that led to my job, but I kept it on my own. He doesn’t need to cue me to join the conversation.
“Yes, it’s been wonderful that there’s so much excitement around the show. I’ve already jumped right into some of the scheduling Tetris,” I say. That’s my special skill.
“That’s why I put Jules on The Rendezvous. She’s a genius with logistics,” Bridger says.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Glad you’re on it,” Finn says. His gaze locks with mine, his green eyes sharp. But even in his all-business mode, those irises still make me ache between my thighs. This is definitely not like those uncomfortable intrusive sex thoughts, this is something real. I can’t stop thinking about sex with him as he sits staring across from me, especially after Friday night at his home. Nothing about these thoughts are uncomfortable, at all.
Which is another problem entirely.
“And we have big plans at Strong on how to compete with Webflix and gain new customers.” Finn pauses before he goes on. “When my brother and I devised our plan to invest, it was contingent on a clear growth strategy for Streamer. To that end, I’ll personally take an active role in the next few months in meetings with marketers, sponsors, and partners. When the show starts filming in a few weeks, my son will be off on a camping trip with his grandparents,” Finn says, and even in that brief mention of Zach, his delight and pride comes through. “So I’ll be going to Paris that first week and meeting with marketers and distribution partners myself.”
Bridger smiles. “That’s fantastic. Because I’m sending Jules to oversee the first week of shooting. Your trips should align.”
I blink.
Then swallow.
“Oh? You are?” I hope my voice didn’t squeak in shock.
“Yes. It only makes sense to have my right-hand woman there on the ground,” Bridger says.
Across the table, my father beams. He couldn’t be more thrilled with this work accomplishment of mine. “I’m glad the two of you will be able to work together. You’ll learn so much from Finn,” my father says about his best friend.
Little does he know.
This is the most uncomfortable lunch in the history of time.
Finn, to his credit, doesn’t move a telling muscle. His is the true poker face. “Paris is wonderful,” he says. He could be talking about a steak or a bottle of wine, not the city famous for enchanting lovers.
Somehow I make it through the rest of the meal, all while another loop is running through my head. I’m going to be in Paris for a week with my father’s best friend. The man who fucked me to countless orgasms the other night. The man who wants to punish me with pleasure.
When the check comes, Finn pays the bill with no questions asked. As Finn waits for his credit card, Bridger asks, “Besides the camping, how’s your son keeping himself busy this summer?”
“He has a pretty full calendar—conducting science experiments, climbing trees, and trying to devour the entire Captain Dude comic collection,” he says.
I hide a smile at the way Finn talks about his son, with such pride and affection, like he did in the yard on the weekend.
“He’s a reader, then,” Bridger says with a smile.
“Definitely. Balanced with running fast and talking a million miles a minute,” Finn says, then pauses. “I take it you were a big reader as a kid?”
“I pretty much grew up at the library,” Bridger says, then gestures to me. “Though no one’s as fast at reading as Jules. I’ve given her scripts at noon and she’s had them finished by twelve-thirty.”
I blush from the compliment.
“Speed reader?” Finn asks me, and it’s strange to have this conversation with him in front of everyone when it feels like one we could have in private, in his home, his bedroom, his courtyard.
“The faster I read, the more books I can devour,” I say.
“She’s always been like that,” my dad weighs in, and I wish he wouldn’t. “That was her motto as a kid.”
Kid. Thanks, Dad.
“And now I guess I know what to read next. Captain Dude,” I say, wrestling back some of the conversational control from my dad.
My father looks at his watch. “I have another meeting, so I’d better take off. But I’m glad this is working out for everyone.”
Except my libido.
“I have to head uptown to meet with CTM,” Bridger says, turning to me. “But I’ll see you back at the office later, and we’ll hammer out the details.”
That’s his meeting with the talent agency we work with a lot. I’m not needed there. I am needed back at my desk, where I should dive into all things related to The Rendezvous.
But when we all leave the restaurant, and Bridger and my dad take off, I’m not feeling the desire to flee quite so much.
I want to stay because I’m standing with Finn outside the restaurant on a warm summer day in Manhattan, and he’s staring at me like I’m a puzzle he wants to solve.
17
DESIRE DÉTENTE
Finn
“You wear glasses,” I say, stating the obvious. But I mean something else entirely.
You look stunning.
Jules lifts a hand to touch the black frames self-consciously. “Contacts most of the time. But at work, I usually wear glasses.”
I bet they’re a shield. A layer she keeps between herself and others. There’s so much she holds inside. So much she clearly keeps to herself.
Even if she needs them, the glasses seem like…work role-play.
“I remember you had on glasses the first time I met you. A year or so ago,” I say.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I probably came from the office. To dinner.”
“These are real?”
She nods. “The ones I wore the other night weren’t,” she says. I figured as much. She took off those glasses at my home and didn’t seem to need them.
I hold her gaze as Midtown traffic chugs by and New Yorkers in suits and sweats march past us, phones glued to ears, destinations and deadlines in their eyes, and I know neither of us is talking about eyewear. We’re talking about each other. The things we notice. The details we’re cataloging.
She nods toward my green tie. “And you’re wearing a tie.” It’s more than an observation. It means I like the way you look in a suit.
I should be talking about the meeting we just had. I really should. But I only want to ask her questions. Why do you put up barriers? What’s behind those soulful eyes? Whose secrets are you keeping?
I can feel her reserve. She holds back in public. But in private, when I touch her, she’s almost a different person.
No, that’s not quite right. In bed, she seems free. A let-loose version of herself. She’s the sexy librarian, taking off her glasses and letting down her hair.
For me.
Mmm. I’d like to play that scene next time with Jules. I get a little lost in the image of her in a pencil skirt, with pouty red lips, tugging a book down from a shelf as she gives me a seductive, come-hither look. I’d return all my books late to get a library fine from this woman.