Jill pulled at the hair ties that held her bun in place, shaking her head as her hair fell to her shoulders. She ran a hand through the dark brown strands and groaned. “Oh, her. Another night I’d rather forget. Why did you ever think we would be a good match? She was barely out of college.”

“So? She’s hot. You aren’t much for relationships so I figured you’d be fine with any gorgeous woman in your bed for a night or two.”

“I have standards you know. And those don’t include someone who spends their entire meal, an expensive one at that, on their phone. Sometimes I want a conversation with someone.”

“Since when?”

“I have grown up a bit since college, you know.”

“That’s a pity. Those were some fun days, weren’t they?” Sam tilted her head to the side, staring off to Jill’s right, no doubt remembering the nights they spent partying and hooking up with whatever woman, or person in Jill’s case, they deemed worthy. Jill hadn’t had as many flings as Sam had, then or now. She’d find someone when her hand tired of providing relief, but more often than not, she concentrated her focus on work instead of finding a quickie.

“Speaking of those days,” Sam continued, “we need to go out soon. It’s been too long, Jill. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy spending time with you on a night in, but let’s hit the bars.”

“You just want to find someone new to hook up with. You don’t need me along for that. Half the time you end up ditching me anyway.”

“I won’t next time. I’ll put my charms into finding someone for you instead. What do you say?”

“I say I’ll pass because I’m too busy.”

“I will drag your ass out of that fucking office one of these days.”

“Go ahead and try. Maybe I’ll tell Ash never to let you in my office again.”

Sam grinned. “Well, I like a challenge.”

“Then tell me, who have been your challenges lately?”

Sam immediately dove into a story about a woman she’d met at a dinner party thrown by one of her coworkers. Supposedly they had spent all night flirting before sneaking outside and hooking up against the side of the house.

While Jill sometimes missed the spontaneity and overindulgence of that lifestyle, she had to admit it had left her feeling unfulfilled. A recurring thought also worried her—maybe she would end up just like her stepfather and spend her life working and having occasional meaningless or inappropriate sex. That life didn’t appeal to her either and she certainly wanted to avoid being compared to him. Maybe one day she would look for someone to give her more, but today was definitely not that day.

Chapter Six