Conflicted by Lisa Suzanne Read Free Book Online Page A

eyes met mine for the briefest of seconds before he stood and strode confidently toward his father. “Thanks, Dad,” he said, and the two men hugged. I almost felt a tear in my eye at his tender display of affection for his father.
    Tender. Now there’s a word I never would’ve thought I’d use to describe Cole.
    He launched into the speech he’d sent me and I’d reviewed. He’d memorized it, and it was perfect…he was perfect. He was assured and confident throughout his discussion of Benson’s current state, and he explained how the money raised at the benefit would help One Heart One Way, a children’s charity. He ended with a plea for attendees to dig deeply into their pockets before telling everyone to have a good time.
    I couldn’t help my fantasies about this man. I’d never do anything about it, but I was drawn to him for some inexplicable reason beyond my attraction to him.
    I wanted to see his tender side again.
    I wanted to be the one who could make him smile. Instead, more often than not, I was the one who made him scowl.
    I glanced over at John at some point during Cole’s speech, and he was engrossed in reading something on his phone. I smacked him on the shoulder and gestured toward Cole on the stage with my head, as if to tell him to pay attention. It was flat out rude to sit on his phone while Cole gave his speech—especially considering he was my boss and we were sitting at the same table as him. I fumed in silence, but I forgot about it quickly as I found myself enraptured by the man on the stage.
    Cole stepped down to a standing ovation and made his way back to our table. He sat, and everyone congratulated him on an excellent speech as he blew out a deep breath.
    I caught his eyes, and I smiled at him. He held my gaze for a few beats before pressing his lips together and looking away.
    His hot gaze on mine had sent a tremor of lust down my spine.
    I shook it off. My husband was right beside me. I was imagining things.
    The music started back up and the wine flowed. I’d had just enough that I wasn’t drunk—I refused to make a fool out of myself at a work function—but I felt light and happy.
    The speech was over, and the auction would close in another hour. Until then, it was time to dance.
    “Dance with me,” I said to John, looping my arm through his.
    He gave me his “do I have to” face, and I met his expression with my best “yes, it’s your obligation as my husband” face.
    “I’m really tired from work this week,” he whined.
    “Come on. It’ll be fun.” I stood and pulled on his arm. We headed out to the dance floor as Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” started playing. I shimmied around to the beat, giving him some of my best moves, but he wasn’t having it.
    He was being a giant stick in the mud, but I refused to let him ruin my good time.
    Jack and Arlene started dancing beside us, and it was clear that Jack had been following Cody’s rule of taking a drink every time someone congratulated him. He was dancing like an old man, shaking it and boogying on down beside us, and I couldn’t help but laugh every time he bumped clumsily into John, who just kept rolling his eyes. The whole situation struck me as incredibly funny—especially the more annoyed John became.
    A group of women stole Arlene away to chat just as John excused himself to the restroom. So I danced with my old boss as the song switched from dance music to a slower ballad.
    Jack looked at me with raised eyebrows and held out his hand, and I smiled and took his hand in mine. He twirled me around the floor to the slow song, and I giggled. I caught Cole’s gaze from across the room, and my smile faded as he held my eyes captive with his.
    “So, Lucy, tell me how things are going with Cole,” he said, making a bit of a slurred conversation as we danced. He bumped into the couple next to us.
    “It’s fine. We miss you around the office.”
    “He can be hard to handle sometimes.