Page 10 of His Secret Betrayal (Cedarwood Valley Duology #2)

Alek

Caleb: How are things going with Luke?

Alek: He has a creative mind, but Finn won’t stop flirting with him

Caleb: And?

Alek: My employees don’t get paid to flirt

Alek: They have jobs to do

Caleb: Ok… so tell Finn to cut it out

Alek: This is Finn we’re talking about

Caleb: Truth

I do not want to be subjected to another day of Finn flirting with Luke.

In the past two days, I’ve spent way too much time peeking my head out the door and scowling in their general direction.

Even though Luke seems oblivious, it’s turned me into a possessive, growly brute. It makes me want to smash something.

Finn is a flirty, eccentric guy by nature.

He rarely means anything by it. He flirts with…

everybody. Hell, one time I ran into him at the supermarket and overheard him tell a woman who looked to be no less than eighty years old that she looked ‘‘smokin’ hot”.

She had blushed and giggled before swatting at his arm.

Finn is a kindhearted soul who likes to make people feel good. Pair that with boundless amounts of energy and the lack of a filter, and you often get Flirty Finn.

It has never bothered me until now.

When I overheard Finn telling Luke he was attractive and then ask him out for a drink, steam threatened to billow out of my ears.

If anybody’s going to flirt with Luke in my place of employment, it’s going to be me.

Preferably when Caleb’s not around.

An aggravated sigh escapes my throat as I place my coffee mug onto my desk with an audible thump .

I wrack my brain, trying to think of a solution that will appease me enough so I can get some work done today without making it too obvious that what I really want to do is mark my territory all over my son’s best friend.

Honestly, if Luke gave me even the tiniest amount of confirmation he was interested in me—that I’m not imagining the heat in his eyes—it would take a Herculean amount of strength to hold me back.

Fuck me, I deserve a one-way ticket to Hell.

I could let someone else finish his training, but most of my other employees are too busy now. I purposely lightened Finn’s workload so he would be free to help Luke get settled.

My lips curl into an amused little smirk when a new idea occurs to me, and I call for Maria.

She gives my request an odd look, tilting her head with pursed lips and furrowed brows, but quickly acquiesces.

Before long, we’re moving a spare desk into my office and setting Luke’s computer monitors on top.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Mr. Cromwell?” she asks, dusting her hands off of her white shirt and readjusting her green, pleated skirt.

I nod, surveying the new addition to my office. “Yes, if I’m going to resume his training then I want him close by so we’re not wasting time going back and forth between my office and his cubicle.”

I want that perky-assed, blonde-haired package of attitude in my space, flirting and fluttering those long eyelashes in my direction while he sasses me.

“Are you sure you don’t want his desk next to mine? He’d just be around the corner then,” she suggests.

“This will work for now.” I appreciate the suggestion and realize this is a temporary solution. I can only get away with having his desk in my office for “training purposes” for so long. If Maria’s reaction is anything to go by, the employees will think it’s downright weird anyway.

A thrill runs through me, my mood perking right the fuck up when I think of all the potential ways he could react.

He’s not the only one who likes to push buttons.

Noting his shift should be starting soon, I lean a hip on the doorway of my office and wait.

Right on time, Luke’s form turns the corner as he begins striding down the hallway connecting the lobby to the main office floor.

My eyes instinctively roam down his body, my stomach tightening as I take in today’s outfit.

He’s wearing another pair of black skinny jeans but these have rips just above his knees that show off a hint of skin.

His white t-shirt clings to his torso almost indecently, a black coat is hanging off his shoulders, and his hair is pulled back into a tight bun.

A mental image of me tugging on that hair tie and freeing his thick locks so I can run my fingers through them comes to me unbidden, followed by an image of my fist twisting a handful of hair around my hand and pulling.

Control yourself.

He’s typing away on his phone, a frown marring his beautiful face. When I realize he’s about to walk past me without even looking up, I clear my throat.

“Luke, my office.”

His eyes dart up, widening in an almost comical way. “Shit, it’s only my third day. I can’t be in trouble already.”

I snort-laugh. “You’re not in trouble.”

He gives me a skeptical look before nodding.

I remain rooted to the doorway, forcing him to squeeze past me to get inside.

My breath hitches when his body brushes against me, and he gives me this innocent little blink.

But I don’t miss the way he bites his lower lip as he turns away and strides over to the empty chair in front of my desk.

As I flop down in my own chair, he sighs dramatically and speaks again. “Is this because of the other day? Because I already told you I wasn’t flirting.”

Just the mention of it makes me want to grind my teeth, fresh irritation flaring to life.

I begin methodically rolling up the sleeves of my white business shirt.

Partly because I want to distract myself and partly because I want to see if he’ll ogle my forearms again.

“Good. Because, like I said, my employees are here to work.”

Luke gives me a disbelieving little snort. “But it’s okay for you to flirt.”

My movements freeze, my eyes snapping up to his at the petulant tone. Ignoring the way it makes my cock perk up, I narrow my eyes. “What was that?”

He shudders, desire pooling in his eyes at my steely tone before averting his gaze. “Nothing.”

I smirk. “That’s what I thought.”

I bet he whines so beautifully when he comes .

He crosses his arms, his plump lips pulling down into something almost resembling a pout. “No workplace fraternization, got it. Can I go now?”

I scoff. “No.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m taking over your training.”

When my eyes flick toward the far corner of the room, his own gaze follows and he finally notices the new addition. His eyebrows pull up.

“It’ll be easier if you temporarily move into my office with me, so I can be close by whenever you need assistance,” I explain .

He turns back to me with a coy smile, his lack of anger suspicious.

When I narrow my eyes, his smile only widens.

“It’s weird to be punished for not flirting, but whatever.

Spending all day with you isn’t exactly going to be a hardship.

” He shrugs. “It’s honestly like the coolest non-punishment-slash-punishment ever. ”

I don’t think he notices the way I go slack-jawed as he gets up and strides over to the computer.

My mouth goes dry at his words and, based on his casual attitude, it almost seems like he doesn’t even realize he just admitted to wanting to spend time with me.

By the time he sits down and turns his computer on, I manage to smooth out my expression.

He grins, spinning the chair in a few lazy circles before finally turning back to the screen. I roll my eyes.

He’ll be insufferable if he ever figures out how much I love it when he pushes my buttons.

“I loaded some orders into your work queue. They are just for practice right now, so they aren’t real orders. But treat them like they are,” I tell him.

He gives me a mock salute. “Aye, aye, boss.”

Grumbling under my breath before sliding my reading glasses on, I pointedly ignore him while turning to my own computer.

Moving the mouse around, I pretend to work for a few minutes.

But the entire time, I can feel his stare boring into the side of my face.

Sneaking a glance from my peripheral vision, my pulse speeds up at the heated look he’s sending my way.

“Get to work, Luke.” I mutter the command without taking my eyes off the computer screen, my chin propped onto my fist.

He quickly spins around and starts working, completely missing the goofy smile I can’t suppress.