Chapter 21: Chapter 21

"We'll get to the coat closet in a bit," Kate said with a casual wave of her hand. "But first…how did it all start? I mean…you were introduced to each other at the restaurant, and then what? You were so hot for him you spread your legs and hauled his hand between your thighs?"

"Kate!" Ana shrieked.

"I'm just trying to understand," Kate persisted.

"Clearly Elliot doesn't know the whole story," Ana informed her friend with a sigh. If Kate was going to be enlightened, she might as well hear it all. "That night at the restaurant wasn't exactly the first time I'd met Eric."

"It wasn't?" Kate asked, drawing her brows together in confusion.

Ana shook her head.

"Then…when?"

"Do you want me to tell you now, or after you go grab another beer?" she asked.

"Good call." Kate shot up off the couch and left the room; Ana could hear clinking sounds as the refrigerator door opened and then closed before her friend returned to the living room. She placed four beer bottles on the coffee table and arched a brow at Ana. "Are we going to need this many?"

"You are."

Kate flopped down onto the couch. "OK. I'm ready. Enlighten me."

"I met Eric the night Cole…leaped out of the closet," Ana admitted.

"And then…you…what? Called him when you got back to town?" Kate asked, trying to understand how everything had happened.

Ana shook her head. "Not exactly. I was getting ready to leave the bar that night, and when I stood up I glanced to the side. And there he was. Just staring at me." She sighed as she remembered the hungry look in his eyes as his gaze had swept over her.

"And?" Kate asked breathlessly.

Ana shrugged. "He wanted me. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he did. And Kate…there was nothing I needed more that night than to be wanted," she confessed. "After months of Cole pushing me away…" Her voice trailed off as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"So…" Kate prompted as she took a sip of beer.

"When I approached him, he told me he wanted to fuck me."

"And you let him?" Kate asked in disbelief.

"More like begged him."

"Where did you guys go?"

"To a janitor's closet near the back of the bar," Ana muttered.

"Ana Rose Thompson!"

"OK…stop full naming me or I won't give you any more details," Ana warned.

"You lost your virginity in a janitor's closet?" Kate asked; Ana could tell she was struggling to keep her tone even.

"Yes."

"I can't believe Elliot's brother didn't have enough class to at least take you to a hotel if he was going to pilfer your virginity," she snapped. "Or offer to take you out to dinner, for God's sake."

"Eric wasn't exactly…aware of my…inexperience," Ana told her friend.

"You didn't tell him?" Kate squealed. "God, Ana! Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't. And trust me—he was as mad as you are that I didn't tell him."

"Well I like him a little better for that," Kate admitted begrudgingly.

"So he insisted we go to a hotel so we could do it…right."

"He wanted to make it special for you," Kate concluded. "Dammitt!"

"What?" Ana asked.

"I did not want to like him! He was such a jerk to José that night at the bar when he came to pick you up, and now I know why."

"You do?" Ana asked in surprise.

Kate rolled her eyes. "He was marking his territory."

"What?"

"You. He wanted to make it clear you belonged to him."

"I don't…belong to anyone," Ana said.

Kate arched her brows at her friend. "You wanna bet?" she asked. "I've seen the way that man looks at you."

Ana felt herself blush at her friend's insinuation. "Kate—"

"He'd kill any man who tried to get between those thighs," she said in amusement.

"He would not!"

"Trust me, Ana. I know men. And you are involved with one jealous son of a bitch," Kate told her as she stood up. "So…what's his best move?"

"What do you mean?"

"What does he…do to get you into bed?" Kate pressed.

"Walks into the room," Ana replied dryly.

Kate laughed as she made her way to her feet. "Nice."

"What are you doing?" Ana asked shrilly as her friend started stirring the wax again.

"Finishing what I started."

Ana looked down at her bare thighs. "But…we're all done."

"Oh, I'm not talking about your thighs," Kate said. "I'm talking about what's between them."

Ana gasped. "We are not waxing that!" she asserted.

"Ana…I see a few stragglers playing peek-a-boo. I bet you haven't waxed since Hawaii."

"Well, you'd be wrong." Ana beamed triumphantly. "I had it waxed in Georgia."

Kate shuddered. "You are long overdue if you haven't had it done since then."

"Kate—"

"Ana, Eric is going to be sitting at the head of that table in your first staff meeting picturing himself between your thighs—"

"You are crude."

"He's going to be panting for you. And knowing that you're freshly waxed?" Kate nodded knowingly. "That's gonna get his man parts humming."

"Kate!" Ana's cheeks were burning. "He does like it when I'm waxed," she conceded. "But…it hardly matters. I'm not going to sleep with him ever again."

"Sure," Kate said doubtfully. "Like I believe that."

"I'm not."

"Ana, you let him fuck you in a coat room. Now you're going to be in a building with hundreds of beds. Do you really think you're not going to fall prey to him?"

With a huff, Ana slowly stood up and slid her panties down over her legs.

Ana brushed her hair as she studied her reflection in the mirror. A light coat of mascara and some clear lip gloss were all she wore for makeup. Though she did want to impress on her first day at The Lux she didn't want to go overboard. For God's sake, from the way Kate talked, Eric would take it as a seduction if she showed up for work in a skirt. Well…that might have been an exaggeration.

But she was wearing a pantsuit just in case.

Ana recognized the woman who'd hired her as she walked into the lobby of the hotel. "Good morning," she said cheerfully, hoping the woman didn't notice the uneasy tone in her voice.

"Good morning, Ms. Thompson," the woman returned. Ana noticed that she couldn't quite meet her eyes as she cleared her throat. "Before we head to HR to begin your new hire orientation, Mr. Miller has requested a meeting with you."

"Oh," Ana said in surprise. So this is how it's going to be, she thought as she followed the woman to the elevators. He was going to make sure he got to see her one way or the other. Once the doors slid open, she stepped on and forced her breathing to remain even. It was best not to overreact; she could be wrong. Eric was a smart man; surely he knew better than to mix business with…whatever was going on between them.

But as soon as the doors to the conference room opened and his eyes met hers, her accelerated heartbeat let her know that's exactly what it was about.