The Relationship Business

Val grinned. "I have to distract you first. You're too prepared to answer now."

"What do y—"

She couldn't finish the question as Val found her lips again with an urgency she hadn't felt in him before. One hand slid under her shoulders and the other down to her waist, holding her in place. Since the place was against his body, which felt warm and strong against hers, she didn't mind at all. Halley moved a hand under Val's shirt and he groaned when she made contact.

Intrigued, she freed her other hand to join the first, running them over his back and then, giving into a devilish urge, down over his ass. Val made a noise much like a growl and moved to his knees. Halley stared at him with wide eyes as he stripped off his shirt, then squeaked in surprise when he did the same to her.

"Now." Val leaned over, forcing her back to the floor. Anticipation made her stomach feel full of butterflies and she watched as he undid her bra and pushed it off her shoulders. "If I said you had a beautiful body—and you do..." He met her eyes and then dropped his head to rub his cheek against the soft skin of her breasts.

Halley was paralyzed, her breathing shallow. She was torn between embarrassment and excitement.

"Would you hold it against me?" Val kissed the crook of her neck.

"What?" Halley couldn't think.

Val chuckled and raised a hand to cup one full breast, running his thumb over the tip. It hardened immediately; Halley breathed in sharply at the unexpected contact. He repeated the question.

"Oh, well." Halley closed her eyes and swallowed. "Yes."

Val looked relieved. "Good."

Good doesn't begin to describe it, Halley thought as she and Val managed to shuffle off the rest of their clothes. When at last they were touching with nothing between them, she dropped her head against his chest and tried to even out her breathing.

"Halley." Val nudged her chin up so she would look at him. "Are you all right? We don't have to do this. We can stop anytime. I promise."

"It's just unexpected. I didn't think you'd do anything like this. I wasn't even sure I'd come up here until I did."

"I'm glad you did."

"Me, too."

"So...do you want to stop?" Val looked, she thought, nervous.

"No, I don't."

"I was serious earlier, Halley. I'm not looking for just one night with you. I like you and I think if you give me a chance, you'll like me, too."

"Val, if I didn't like you at least a little, we'd hardly be in this situation." Halley arched an eyebrow at him.

"Good point." He nodded. "Let's see if I can make you like me more than a little."

Halley succumbed to his kisses and touches; she wanted to reciprocate but wasn't sure how.

"Later." Val said before he took her breast in his mouth. "Next time."

"Okay." That was all Halley could get out before Val drove all thoughts out of her head.

He was intense in his attentions, but never aggressive. Halley couldn't remember the last time—not that there had been many times to start with—that someone had coaxed all these sensations from her body. She could do little but react, and when Val used his hand to bring her to her first orgasm, she could only hold on to his shoulders and ride out the waves of pleasure.

Afterwards, they lay in the loft with the candles flickering down to their bases.

"Never did that before." Val's voice was laced with sleep and satisfaction.

"Did what?"

"Made love in the loft." He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "I swear to God, this wasn't my plan, Halley. I just wanted to get you somewhere alone, somewhere we could talk without anyone coming by. This was the only place I could think of."

"It was a good idea." She smiled at him.

"It was." He sighed. "I wish we could stay here but I think that might be tempting fate. How about coming back to my place, beautiful?"

"All right." Halley stretched and laughed at Val's open admiration for the view. "We can always come back, right? It'll be...our place. Rick and Ilsa had Paris; we'll have the loft."

x-x-x-x

And that worked real well until I found him with someone else up there. Halley flopped over and punched her pillow and tried to force herself to sleep.

She fell into a fitful doze and at last into a semblance of sleep until morning. She was up early, and her eyes felt gritty, but she got up anyway. Not like lying here is going to help anything.

A shower helped a little, and dressing in her favorite sweater lifted her mood a bit more. She got some breakfast, then decided to go for a walk. Maybe later she'd go for a run, but a morning walk was a good way to start the day, she thought. A little music, a little exercise; she was sure it would boost her mood. She almost believed it.

It was a nice day, if a bit chilly, but she didn't mind. She focused on her music, refusing to think about anything else, and almost bumped into someone on the path.

"Oh, wow, sorry." She pulled her earbuds out. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't paying attention." She would have said more but couldn't. The man in front of her made her speechless, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"No, I'm sorry. It was my fault." He grinned and held out a hand. "My name's Mel."

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Halley." She raised her own hand, which he took and instead of shaking it, brought it to his lips for a kiss. Halley felt her stomach churn as he did and his eyes never left hers.

"Pleased to meet you, lovely Halley." His eyes roamed over her body.

She wanted to make a cutting remark, but had a feeling he wouldn't care. This guy, Mel, looked way too sure of himself.

"Well, sorry again." She took a step to the side and he mirrored her. "Look, I've really got to get back. Excuse me."

"Leaving so soon? We've just met."

"Yes, I know, but like I said. I have to get back." Halley stepped to the other side and was once again met by Mel.

"Let me walk with you, please." He grinned at her and she felt her defenses melt a little. "I'm new here. First day on the job."

"Job?" Halley was puzzled. "Oh. Oh. You must be Val's replacement." Saying it made her realize that Val might, in fact, stay at his new job. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Mel nodded. "That's right. And if I'd known how attractive my co-workers would be, I'd have shown up sooner."

"You're a smooth one." Halley smiled and shook her head. "We'll all have to watch our step around you, won't we?"

"I'll be good, I promise." Mel let his eyes wander over her again. "I think." Then he laughed. "Come, lovely Halley. Take me to your leader."

x-x-x-x

January 15

A knock on his door yanked Val out of his current computer file, and he was profoundly grateful. "Come in."

A gorgeous, exotic woman with long, shiny black hair and mischievous eyes to match entered. "Hello, sir. Val, if I may. I'm Izzy. We met at the staff meeting."

"Of course." Val gave her a pleasant smile, which he hoped masked his fatigue. "Can I help you?"

"That's what I was going to ask." Her full, sensual lips quirked up in a smile.

Val's mouth went dry. Had he not noticed how beautiful, how sexual this woman was before? Her hair slid over her shoulders, moving with her curves. Nice curves, Val thought. Her breasts were round and full, her waist trim and her hips swayed from side to side and gave a man many ideas.

He swallowed, or tried to. "Sorry?" He'd thought he was detached enough to be confident around any woman, but it was clear Izzy was not just any woman.

Izzy sauntered around his desk, dragging a finger along the top before stopping in front of his chair. She hoisted herself up onto his desk in a smooth, fluid movement and crossed her legs. Her long, shapely legs, Val noted. They'd keep a man...happily confined, he was sure.

"Well, I realize this must be very stressful for you," she began, and her voice was smooth as honey, although perhaps not quite so sweet. "And I thought I might offer some help in...relaxing."

"I'm good."

Val reminded himself that office relationships never worked out. Just look at me and Halley. Thinking of Halley had the odd effect of eliminating some of his fear of Izzy. However, she was a formidable presence and he decided to watch his step.

"No, you're not." Izzy's voice was a reprimand wrapped in a purr. "We all know how stressful things are this time of year. Doubly so for you, I'm sure, with so little previous experience."

Val jumped as he felt her foot on his thigh, and inching upwards. "Ah, yes, well, I appreciate the concern, but I'm catching on. A little rough right now, but..." Her foot found his crotch and his eyes bulged as she began to rub her toes against the sudden bulge his pants.

"But?" she prompted, continuing to move her foot.

"But, ah..." Val snapped back to himself enough to push his chair out of her reach. "But I'm pretty busy so the relaxing will just have to wait a while."

Distance was no barrier; Val found himself with a lapful of sultry, sexy woman. She leaned forward, her breasts pressing against his shirt and leaving little doubt of how they might feel under his hands.

"If you don't make time," Izzy told him, "then sometimes the important things get lost." She nudged her hips against him and he froze, not sure what to do.

"Look, Izzy, you are absolutely gorgeous and..." Val shifted and couldn't stifle a groan as he rubbed against her body. He took a deep breath and kept going. "And I'm immensely flattered, but..."

"Izzy!"

The woman in his lap sighed and rolled her eyes, but instead of getting up, only turned half around towards the door. "Yes, Rhodi, can I help you?"

The blonde woman at the door stared daggers at the woman in Val's lap. "You can get your ass back to work, that's what you can do."

Val had a bad feeling about this. He cleared his throat. "Ladies. Excuse me." He put his hands on Izzy's waist and forced himself to ignore the feel of her hot, silky skin as he pushed her off and stood up. Izzy let out a small noise of surprise, and Val took fleeting satisfaction in it.

"Yes, Rhodi, what can I do for you?" Val gave her a friendly smile, which was to say the least, not returned.

"Never mind, I came at a bad time." Her eyes sparked with anger.

Izzy laughed and walked to the door, swaying her hips in a motion that entranced Val for a moment, until Rhodi's chilly "ahem" brought him back to the present.

"Rhodi, I dare say the only thing bad about your timing is that I got here first." Izzy gave her a smile, but it was laced with a challenge.

The other woman opened her mouth to speak when Tina came in. "Oh, excuse me. Rhodi, if you would, I believe Chac would like to consult with you. Izzy, I took a few messages for you that need your attention."

Val managed to keep from gaping as Tina maneuvered everyone as though the tension in the room was not thick enough to cut. Rhodi asked, in an even if not friendly voice, where she might find Chac. Izzy took the messages that Tina held out and with a final wink at Val, left the office.

Words would not suffice, Val decided once the other women had left. He went over to Tina and dropped to his knees. "I love you."

She laughed and gave him a playful smack on the shoulder as he stood. When she was finished, she sighed and shook her head.

"What?" Val hoped he hadn't offended her. He'd just been so relieved to have avoided bloodshed in the office.

"You don't love me." She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Well, not yet..." He winked.

"One day you'll want to say that for real," she told him. "We all will. The best to hope for is that we don't miss our chance."

Val was silent, considering her words, until she reminded him of the tightening schedule.

x-x-x-x

January 17

Halley finished her workout and blotted her face with a towel. She grinned at Martha as the other woman kept moving, adding a few dance moves before stopping and turning off the music.

"Thanks, Martha. You do the best workouts."

"We aim to please." Martha grinned and they headed to the locker room. "Can't have any of us fall down on the cardio workouts."

"No kidding. It's too easy to get out of shape in the off-season." Halley held the door open for her friend.

"So, you seen the new guy?" Martha went over and began to strip out of her damp workout clothes. "Hubba hubba."

Halley laughed. "You mean Mel? Yeah, he's not too hard on the eyes."

"Oh, baby." Martha fanned herself. "That's an understatement."

"Better make that a cold shower," Halley teased.

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Halley. The man is fine, and he watches you a lot."

"He does?" Halley shrugged. "Well, that's okay then, I guess."

They were quiet as they adjusted the water in their respective shower cubicles, then Martha raised her voice to be heard.

"How's Val doing at the new place?"

"Okay, I guess." Halley was once again annoyed at the fluttery feeling in her stomach as she thought of Val. "I haven't really heard. You might want to ask Don, or Blix. It must be okay or we'd have heard or he'd come back, right?"

"I guess."

They completed the showers in silence and toweled off before returning to the lockers.

Halley left the towel on her hair as she dressed. She pulled on jeans and a sweater and looked over at Martha. A small wave of envy spiked up as she watched Martha slip into a black pencil skirt and green silk blouse, which picked up her hazel eyes and emphasized the light coffee color of her skin.

"Martha, I wish I had your sense of style. That color is so great on you." Halley sighed. "I could never pick out an outfit like that."

"Sure you could." Martha laughed. "You just don't spend enough time looking. On the other hand..." She paused and tapped a red, tapered nail against straight white teeth, then shrugged. "You must be doing something right. Like I said, the new guy can't stop looking at you."

Halley made a dismissive sound and smiled, then picked up her bag as they walked out. She said good bye to Martha and headed back to her own place. So Mel couldn't stop looking at her? She smiled to herself as she tossed her clothes in the hamper.

That's not the worst thing.

x-x-x-x

January 24

Val was ready to tear his hair out. He looked up at Tina.

"I don't get it. We're three weeks out and I feel like I haven't slept for three days and won't for another four. Before I had this job, four weeks was more than enough time to figure out what to do. I don't get it."

"Oh, Val, don't worry so much." Tina pushed her hair back. "Before this, if you planned anything, it was just for one person, right?" He nodded and she went on. "But even then, anything extra special would require extra planning. Think of this as doing extra planning for a lot of people."

"Why can't they do the planning themselves?" Val shoved himself up and away from his desk. "Why does this whole relationship thing have to be so...so damn complicated?" He whirled to face her. "How hard is it, really, to talk? To buy some chocolates? Huh?"

Tina looked away and pursed her lips. Val dropped into his chair. He'd learned that when Tina made that particular face, she was going to be direct. He hated that.

"You know, Val...sir, rumor has it that you were quite the, ah, expert on romantic things before taking this position."

He rolled his eyes. "God save me from my reputation. I wasn't that bad, you know."

"I'm sure not." Tina gave an enigmatic smile. "It seems to me, though, if you don't mind me being frank, that perhaps..."

"Perhaps what?"

"Perhaps you find all this stressful not just because it's new but because...it's hitting a little close to home?"

"What are you talking about?"

Tina sighed and dropped her hands in her lap. "Again, Val, I don't mean to gossip, but: word got out that you were involved with someone, and then it didn't work out. That's often difficult for people to deal with, especially at this time of year. So let me ask you—how hard is it, really, to talk?"

"It's not...I didn't..." Val dropped his head on his desk. "I never should have taken this job. What the hell was I thinking?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there."

Val looked up with a half-hearted glare, but Tina's face was the picture of innocence. She's such a smart liar. She was a step ahead of him, and he had the feeling she always would be. On the other hand, he also suspected she was a step ahead of everyone, and that was a little comfort.

"You're a...you really know how to take the wind out of a guy's sails, you know that?" Val propped his chin in his hand and looked at her.

The corners of her mouth twitched. "Well, you asked and it was an honest answer. Besides, we don't have time for you to be feeling sorry for yourself."

"No, I guess not." Val sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. "Okay. Let's start over."

Tina was quiet for a moment, tapping her fingers against her notebook. Val watched her with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

She looked up, startled. "What what?"

Val sighed. "When you do the tapping thing, you're planning something. Like you're going to teach me a lesson. Makes me feel like I'm in first grade again."

"Do I really?" She shook her head and laughed. "Well, this is different from your previous job, you must admit. And most of us come from a sort of background in the field. You didn't. Since we're in a pinch here, I'm trying to think of the most efficient way to both bring you up to speed and get things accomplished."

"I'm not sure if I've been insulted." Val leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. "But, even if I have been, I don't mind, because you're right."

"You're learning fast, don't get me wrong. It's just that when you're in the business of relationships, things get..." Tina waved her hands in front of her as though trying to encompass a cloud. "Messy."

"Tell me about it." Val kept his eyes on the ceiling and started counting the tiles. Messy didn't begin to cover how he felt about things with Halley. Even the fact that he was still thinking about it, months after the fact, was messing with him, if not messy per se. I sit here every day, surrounded by women so beautiful it should be illegal, and all I can think about is her. Not that Halley wasn't pretty, he allowed; in fact, he'd thought she was gorgeous. That sleek brown hair and those tawny eyes...

Yeah, well, she's the one who broke it off, he reminded himself. Never let me explain, wouldn't even give me the chance to try. So she can just...

"Come on, Val. Let's take a break and try something else."

He looked at Tina, suspicious. "What?"

"Let's try the real world approach."

Alarms went off in his head. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

"It'll be an observation trip. Come on."

Val shrugged and got up to follow her. She led him outside, and then through a maze of pathways he knew he'd never remember, and soon they were walking by a park. It was chilly, but he guessed the weather was warmer than usual from the number of people walking around, and commented on it to Tina.

Tina nodded. "Sometimes you just have to get out to avoid cabin fever." She scanned the area and Val wondered if they were supposed to meet someone. "Ah, there's our man." She gestured at a bench, on which sat a young man in jeans and a ski jacket, but no hat or gloves. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and the breeze flicked through his sandy blond hair.

"Our man?" Val looked the man on the bench and then back to Tina. What do you mean?"

"Come on, you'll see."

Val and Tina walked towards the bench but kept their distance. To his surprise, he saw someone from the office. "Tina, isn't that...Ross?"

"It is." She lowered her voice. "Watch."

Ross jogged over and dropped onto the bench, laughing as he did. "Whew. Didn't think I'd make that last basket. Not that I mind buying lunch but those guys—" He jerked his head toward a basketball court where a pickup game was still going. "—would use up a week's pay."