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Hold the fuck up.

“Long list of complaints?” I repeated with disbelief.

“Mhmm.” Jacqueline held her wrist up to check her digital watch, keeping me at her back.

“May I ask who wrote these complaints? Besides…” I trailed off.

“Me?” Jacqueline finished. The lift dinged and the doors opened, allowing the women to step off first, “You can ask, but I will not tell you. Confidentiality, and all that.”

“Sure,” I smirked, narrowing my eyes at her backside before catching myself, “Confidentiality.”

“Of course,” Jacqueline nodded, pulling her phone out of her bag and widening her eyes, “Shoot!” and then she scurried off towards her office. I stood there, standing with my cousin, admiring how her legs looked in jeans. I wondered if there was anything Jacqueline could wear that wouldn’t look flattering on her when I felt a sharp elbow in my ribs.

“What?” I asked my cousin as she glared up at me.

“Stop checking her out,” Mary whispered with an eye roll, “Fuckingmen.”

I shared a guilty smile with Jamie before the blonde was tugged away past the front desk.

Mary was right though.

I needed to do better.

Progress was being made with Jacqueline, and I didn’t want to ruin any chances of friendship (or more realistically, simple amicability) by letting my mind wander whenever it had the chance.

ChapterSeven

JACQUELINE

“Again?”I asked him through a giggle. He mumbled something against my chest I couldn’t understand, so I tugged on his hair to make him come up for air.

His slow, mischievous grin greeted me right before he pulled out of my grip and licked a hot stripe between my breasts.

* * *

I was distracted,and I blamed my car not starting and having to get a ride to work on Leo’s stupid, dangerous—but confusingly sexy—motorcycle.

“So no holes in our jeans, obviously,” the new hire sitting in the chair across from my desk spoke. Her voice made me blink up at her to focus, “How does Sun Steer feel about tank tops?”

I tilted my head in thought, “Tank tops?”

“Like…” She pulled her cardigan to the side, revealing a thick strapped forest green tank.

“Oh, that’s fine.” I waved her away while I finished filling out the form on my iPad and filed it away under her name. A quick peek at the employment badge I had just given her reminded me that her name was Violet Thompson.

And yet, her hair was a bright electric blue.

It reminded me of Leo’s eyes.

Get a grip, Jacqueline.

“That’s a fun color.” I nodded towards her hair, tied up in a braid that hung over her shoulder. Similar to how I wore my hair today.

“Thanks,” Violet perked up at the compliment, “I’m glad it’s not an issue here.”

“Has it been an issue before?” I asked, puzzled. Most tech companies didn’t mind how their engineers looked on the job. As long as the products they developed worked, that’s all that mattered.

Except for my last job, where my boss asked me not to wear jeans to the office. Working at my old company Blix was the worst, for many reasons. I was still unlearning a lot from that organization.