Page 6 of If I See You Again

David

“ W hat’s that look for?”

I jumped as I swung my feet off my desk and stared at the woman leaning against the door frame. Today, she pulled her long, blonde hair back into a sleek ponytail, her red sheath dress hugging her curves.

“Audrey, how often do I need to tell you not to sneak into my office?”

She chuckled as she sauntered over to the empty chair across from me before landing on it. “Probably about as many times as you told me to stay out of your room growing up.”

I scowled at her, but it was impossible to hold on to my anger toward my little sister. She was cute as a button, but fiery and a boss bitch when she needed to be.

“Look, just because I’m getting ready to turn things over to you…”

She held up her hand to stop me from talking. “Don’t worry, David. You know I won’t run things into the ground here, right?” She fidgeted slightly, looking around the room and tugging the bottom hem of her dress.

The truth was, Audrey had been surprised when I came back from Chicago only to announce that I’d be moving and that I needed her to manage the North Carolina office.

She was smart, capable, and more than ready.

She just didn’t always see it. Part of that was thanks to a jackass ex-boyfriend she’d had.

If anyone tried to make my sister feel small like that ever again, they’d pay for it in blood.

“I wouldn’t have asked you to take over if I thought you would. Now, what can I do for you?”

She grinned. “Can’t a sister ever just check in on her favorite brother?”

Oh, she definitely wanted something. “I’m your only brother,” I reminded her.

She lifted a dainty shoulder in a shrug. “Semantics.”

“Audrey—”

“Okay, so you’ve been different since your trip. What happened? I thought you were only going to scope things out, and now you’re preparing to pack up and move.”

My phone pinged with an incoming message. It was stupid, but I lifted it to see a response from Malcolm. Warmth spread through my chest as my heart pounded just a little harder. I didn’t hesitate to open it, but had to hold back from laughing at his words.

Malcolm: Is there an emergency? Are you canceling the project?

“There’s that smile again.”

I threw my cell face down on my desk as I rolled my eyes at Audrey. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So if I pick up your phone, there won’t be a message from some mysterious stranger you met in Chicago, and that’s the real reason you want to leave?”

Damn, the girl was fucking perceptive. Instead of giving her the satisfaction of being right, I sat back in my chair because there was nothing incriminating in those messages.

“It’s just the person I hired to manage my advertising account.”

Her eyebrows rose before she fell into a fit of giggles. “I bet that’s not all he’s managing.”

Caught. My sister knew me. Business was business, and I never got silly or giddy over those messages. Malcolm was different, and even seeing him send me back an attempt at maintaining professionalism had me smiling like a damn idiot.

When Audrey finally calmed down, I ran a hand over my face, running my fingers through the short beard on my chin. “I might have… hooked up with someone before a meeting. In my defense, I didn’t know he was the very person I was supposed to interview for the position.”

Her eyes widened before she was up and out of her chair. Long, manicured fingers pulled my phone from my desk as she started scrolling through my messages. There wasn’t anything good in there.

“Did you at least get a picture of him?”

I chuckled. “No.”

Audrey huffed. “You’re useless. Come on, David. How am I supposed to live vicariously through you if you can’t even get me a picture of the goods?”

“He’s mine. I’m not sharing. We’ve been over this. It’s a little creepy how much you’re invested in the men I date.”

A red, sparkly nail pointed in my direction. “So you admit it. This is more?”

I rubbed at my temples as the headache settled.

I loved my sister, but she was getting carried away.

Malcolm and I weren’t really anything more than business acquaintances who had hooked up—not that I didn’t want more from him.

He’d made it very clear that it was all we would be, and maintaining professionalism was paramount from now on.

I took my phone back from my sister, typing out a quick response before firing it off.

Me: No emergency, but we need to set up a meeting. Maybe a video call?

I wanted to see his handsome face again. I could do everything via e-mail, but there was no fun in that. Those haunting eyes and that gorgeous smile could make me lose myself. “We’re not dating. It’s strictly business.”

Audrey threw her arms up in exasperation. “Where’s the fun in that? Live a little, big bro.”

If only she knew how much living I’d been doing.

I dropped my jacket on the back of the worn leather sofa that sat in the middle of my living room. The room was still dark because I hadn’t turned the lights on yet, and as I toed out of my Oxfords, I fished my phone out of my pocket, momentarily blinding myself with the brightness of the screen.

Malcolm: I swear.

I chuckled because I could hear his incredulity through the text.

Me: I promise I won’t be that much longer. Give me five more minutes and I’ll be ready for our meeting.

It was a dick move. I’d been dangling it over his head all day. While it was nine in the evening for me, it was only eight for him. Then again, our original time had been at six. Two-hour delays were horrific on the best of days.

Keeping that in mind, I took my time strolling through my apartment, loosening the buttons on my dress shirt. I got them about halfway down my chest before I reached the bedroom and called it good.

The pillows on the bed bounced as I plopped onto my mattress and pulled my phone out one more time. Okay, so I was being an asshole, but I wanted this guy to relax with me. I didn’t want Malcolm to think that professionalism had to mean stuck-up, formal business meetings all the time.

After I propped myself against my headboard, I hit the call button to start a video conference with my new Product Marketing Manager. A scowl marred the handsome face that popped onto my screen.

“What—? I mean, Mr. Garrison, we can reschedule this if you need to.”

I huffed out a laugh, bristling at him, calling me Mr. Garrison again.

“It’s David, Malcolm. How many times do we have to go over that?”

His face turned bright red, but he said nothing as I continued. “And no. I’ve kept you waiting long enough. This meeting will happen now.”

Malcolm looked away from the screen, blowing out a breath before he looked back at me. “Very well… sir.”

“David.”

His frown deepened.

“Come on now, Malcolm. You didn’t have so much trouble saying it the other night.”

And there was that blush again. “And that’s the problem, David. I don’t understand how you can be so casual about this.”

I shrugged, slouching further onto my bed. The motion caused my shirt to fall open more, and I didn’t miss how Malcolm’s eyes widened when he noticed.

“It’s easy. Separating business and pleasure can be done. I’ve done it before.”

That had Malcolm’s attention. “You mean you’ve slept with people you work with before?”

I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees and bringing the phone closer to my face. “Years ago, maybe. Definitely not when I’ve been in a position of power over someone.”

Malcolm chewed that tempting pink lower lip, and I wanted to slip through the screen and kiss him.

“So you see the issue. You hired me for a job. You’re technically my boss.” He ran a hand down his face. “Can you please button your shirt up at least?”

I found it amusing. “What’s the matter? You’ve seen me in far less.”

That earned me a glare. “And I can claim sexual harassment if you keep this up. I thought this was a business meeting and not a ‘ bother Malcolm ’ phone call.”

I laughed, loud and hard. My gut ached with the force. “All right. You caught me. Is it so bad that I wanted to see your face again?”

An eye roll. “It is when you had me canceling dinner with a friend because you kept postponing the call.”

I inwardly winced with the guilt. Acid churned in my stomach then, overwhelming the good feelings that had been there from getting him to joke around with me. “Did you really cancel plans?”

“No, but this can’t happen like this again. If you need to meet with me about something important, I’m here. And if you just want to talk, be honest about it.”