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She’s magic.
I want to admit that having her in my work life has made work ten times easier for me since she started, but the truth is, I’m more frustrated than ever.
For the first time, I want someone I can’t have.
Nothing can happen between us.
I can’t shake her words that I have been replaying endlessly in my mind.
Which they shouldn’t, because I said them first.
Meant them then. Don’t mean them now.
“What’s with the frown?” Cole enters my office.
At the same time, Arianna’s chipper voice floats into the room like it does every goddamn day. “If you send me your court check-in list, I can chase them up for you.”
I glare at her through the open doorway.
Resting her phone between her ear and her shoulder, she continues the conversation with whoever is on the end of the phone, doing about a dozen tasks all at once.
“Does she ever fucking sleep?” I ask, annoyed that she runs this place like she owns it.
A vision of her and me running the company together plays out like a movie in my mind. As husband and wife.
What the fuck? Where did that come from?
“Only you can answer that.” Cole sits down on the sofa opposite my desk and gives me a hard stare before looking over his shoulder at Arianna and back at me again. “She did sleep that night at your place, right?”
“A little.” In between us fucking each other’s brains out.
“She’s got you rattled.”
“No, she doesn’t.” That’s a lie; my head is fucked.
“Yes, she does, and the sooner you admit it, the sooner we can have grouchy Nathan 1.0 back and not this extreme 2.0 version you’ve been lately. You were unbearable before, but now you’re?—”
“Needing to get your dick sucked to relieve all the sexual tension you two have.” Max interjects, walking into my office alongside Eli.
“Leave,” I bark. “All of you.” Idiots.
“I’m staying.” Eli dismisses me, and I think I’m going to pop a gasket any minute; he can raise my blood pressure in seconds. He further annoys me when he picks up the donut with multicolored sprinkles on top that Arianna left on my desk for me this morning and takes a bite out of it.
“Give me that.” I grab it out of his hand, making some of the topping drop off and scatter over my keyboard. “That’s mine.”
“Did Arianna buy it for you?” He scrunches his nose up and doesn’t let me reply. “Aw, isn’t that cute,” he says in a singsong voice that’s playful and exaggerated.
“Fuck off.” I hate it when my brothers tease me. “Isn’t there a bull somewhere you can wave a red flag at?”
Holding his hand to his heart, he pretends to be offended. “It’s going-home time, which you should be doing too and we’re heading to The Golden Spirit, are you coming?”
“Can’t.” I point at my screen. “I have client background checks to review, and I want to look at the previous cases filed against the airline she is suing.” I grab a tissue out of the box and wipe the sticky residue from my donut off my fingers.
Max lifts his head from the magazine he’s stuck his nose in and asks curiously, “What’s the case?”
“Vivienne Cavendish versus Regal Wings,” I reply, trying to remain cool. I haven’t seen that woman in a very,verylong time and I’m surprised she wants me to represent her given our history.
“I thought she married that old fucker who owns the television channel, SFCTV?” Eli asks.