Her Leading Man. Maggie Dallen

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      Ben’s hangover was officially into its second day. Which was unfair, really. When had he gotten so old that hangovers were multi-day events? But then, he’d been on an epic binge the other night, so it was only fair that his hangover be equally epic. He just wished the night had been epic. He assumed it hadn’t been, since he could barely remember it. Surely if it had been epic, it would have been memorable.

      As if a two-day hangover wasn’t bad enough, the sound of his oldest friend being yelled at by a shrieking demon was definitely not helping. He tried to block out the sounds of the couple fighting in the other room of the penthouse suite, but it was no use. His best friend’s girlfriend was so loud the neighbors on the first floor must have been well aware of her fury. Though their fighting was preferable. He couldn’t even imagine how painfully awkward it would be to be crashing with a happy couple after a breakup.

      He’d even put on some earphones to drown them out with music, but the sound of his name thrown out like a weapon was inescapable. Cringing, he pulled off the earphones and gave in to the urge to eavesdrop now that the conversation had turned to him.

      It wasn’t exactly breaking news that Vanessa was pissed he was staying with them. But to be fair, it had only been a few weeks, and it wasn’t his fault that his condo wasn’t ready yet or that he’d been forced to leave his own pleasant, cozy home thanks to his cheating skank of an ex.

      Still, he’d known from the beginning that he couldn’t take Gregory up on his offer to crash for too long, not with the state his relationship was in. Jesus, at least he and Olivia had skipped this kind of toxic despair. Finding your girlfriend in bed with your workmate was not ideal, but at least it had managed to end their relationship quickly and all at once. It had been a swift deathblow rather than this slow torturous death that Gregory seemed to be suffering through with this on-again, off-again relationship.

      But still. He’d never intended to stay as long as he had, and he certainly didn’t want to add any more issues to his friend’s full plate. So he dialed his executive assistant at the office. “Hey, Natalie.”

      “Are you coming in today?” she answered. He could hear the sounds of the office and was struck with a hint of homesickness.

      Ben rubbed his eyes with his palms. She’d asked the same question every day since the incident. He didn’t know how much she knew, if anything. Their office was small, and gossip had a tendency to spread like wildfire. But, if she did know about the breakup and about how his ex had been sleeping with one of his partners, she had never let on. In fact, his assistant of the past two years seemed hell bent on nagging him until he returned to the office.

      No thanks.

      Knowing how Alejandro had betrayed him was bad enough, but he definitely didn’t trust himself to face him in person. Not in an office setting, at least. A good bar brawl, that he could do. A quick session in a boxing match? Sure, he’d be there. But having to sit across a conference table and see that smirking, smug face and not be able to hit it? No way.

      Still, it was kind of sweet that she kept trying. “Any updates from Darren?”

      One of his newest clients, Alexander Darren III, was an up-and-coming real estate developer who was looking to Ben and his firm to provide the capital for his next venture. So far the pitches Darren had sent over looked promising and the numbers seemed to add up. But there was still a long way to go before they signed a deal.

      “Nothing yet.” Natalie sounded bored by that topic. Oh, heaven forbid they ever get through a phone conversation that solely revolved around business. “Where are you staying?”

      Natalie may not know the details—or maybe she did, his assistant seemed to know everything—but she’d helped book him a hotel for those first few hideous nights and was well aware that he hadn’t returned thanks to her assistance having movers pick up his belongings and all.

      “Still at Gregory’s.”

      Natalie let out a sigh that could only be described as dreamy. “Mmm, Gregory. Is he single yet?”

      Ben couldn’t help but laugh. “No, and neither are you.”

      She sighed again, but it was only to make him laugh. His assistant was almost twice his and Gregory’s age and was happily married with three kids. But, as she liked to point out whenever Gregory stopped by to pick him up for lunch, a girl can dream at any age.

      “That’s actually why I’m calling,” he said.

      “Because Gregory’s single?”

      “No, you vulture, because I’m going to need to find a new place. Soon. I think I may have overstayed my welcome.”

      “What are you thinking, another hotel?”

      Ben made a face even though no one could see him. Those nights at the hotel had been miserable. Alone and self-pitying, he’d had nothing to do but wallow. He was an inherently social creature and he needed to be around people—or a person at the very least—now more than ever.

      “Why don’t you see if there are any temporary sublets available out there. Maybe with a roommate?”

      If his assistant found that request odd, she didn’t let on. She knew him well enough at this point that little he did or said fazed her.

      “Will do. I’ll send you some options by end of day.”

      Gregory walked into the room, his normally put together look more disheveled than Ben could ever remember seeing him.

      “Gotta run, Nat, your dreamboat just walked in.”

      “Natalie?” Gregory asked as he hung up.

      “The one and only. Did Vanessa leave?” His question was followed by a loud slam of the front door and he and Gregory both winced.

      “I’ll take that as a yes,” Ben said.

      Gregory plopped down into an overstuffed chair in the corner of the study, opposite Ben who was slumped over the desk. He’d been poring over numbers all morning—or at least until the fighting had started, making number crunching impossible.

      “You doing okay?” Ben asked.

      Gregory’s head snapped up in surprise. Understandably. Ben wasn’t exactly known for being touchy-feely, and Gregory was definitely not one to talk about his emotions.

      “Do I look that bad?” Gregory joked, although there was little humor in his expression.

      “You look like shit.” Ben was also not known for mincing words, and right now his friend—who was rather notorious for being suave and debonair—looked like he’d been through battle. His normally clean-shaven face bore a five o’clock shadow and his eyes were circled with dark shadows.

      Gregory let out a little laugh as he thrust a hand through his already disheveled dark hair. “That’s about how I feel.”

      An awkward silence hung between them as Ben debated whether his friend needed a sympathetic ear or a diversion. Gregory made the decision for him. “So, have you heard anything from this new client?”

      Ben shook his head. Unlike Ben, Gregory came from money. Serious money. He was the guy that everyone loved to hate. Even СКАЧАТЬ