Page 13 of Nothing to This

There was a pause and then a mocking laugh.“The father of your children.”

“Oh my God,” she hissed, grabbing the phone closer to her mouth with both hands.“JD?”

“How many fathers of your kids are there?Did we get paternity on both of them?”

She scanned the open plan office around her, hoping no one was listening in.“Don’t say that here.You better be alone.”

“I am,” he said with curiosity.“Will you come upstairs, please?”

“I…”

Hmm, dilemma.JD was her boss, but he wouldn’t want to talk about anything professional.Still, maybe seeing him without the kids around would give her the chance to set a few things straight.

“Rylee,” he said, drawing out her name.

Was he about to play the boss card or did he think he was being cute?

“I’ve never been to the top floor.”

“Get in the elevator, press the button for the top.Walk straight ahead, through the bullpen and up the staircase that takes you to the mezzanine.From there, my office is right in front of you.You can’t miss it.”

“Will you be alone?”

Another pause.“In the office?Yes,” he said.“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be up in a minute.”

Hanging up without waiting for another word, getting out while her supervisors were in their daily meeting was the best chance.Grabbing her purse, she dashed to the elevator, pleased the morning rush was over.

Why did JD call?She still wasn’t totally clear on why he’d showed up at her place last night either.While the twins were around, they couldn’t speak about certain topics.If JD was going to live in her home, she’d have to make that clear.

Thinking about him moving into her apartment put her into a trance for the rest of the elevator ride.Eyes focused straight ahead, lost in a swirl of what-ifs, she got through the bullpen.Only after running up the stairs and seeing three sleek, young blondes seated outside JD’s office did she snap out of the daze.Why the parade of underwear models?

Walking straight into the double-doored office, she stopped inside, attracting the attentions of the four men present.So much for him being alone.The three on her side of the desk stared at the intruder.Ted, the CFO, and the COO.At least they were the former CFO and COO, she didn’t know if they still held positions.

JD stood at his side of the desk.Apparently, if his held breath was any indication, she’d interrupted him mid-sentence.

He exhaled.“Gentlemen, would you give us the room,” he said, without hesitating to dismiss them.

Shuffling aside, she let the men depart without taking her focus from JD.

The COO closed the door.

“Who is he?”JD asked.

“Uh…” She wasn’t exactly following.“Ted Carmichael is the only name I know,” she said.“The other two I know by position, not name… former position anyway.Are you restructuring?”

JD frowned.“What?”he asked, confused, then shook his head when he figured her out.“Them?No, the boyfriend.Who’s your boyfriend?What’s his name?”

“Baxter,” she said, looking around the room with its pale gray carpet and heavy black furniture.“This room isn’t very finessed, is it?It’s too eighties.Though they are coming back… but not like this.It was Ted’s, right?You’ll have to redecorate.”

“Are you serious?”

She admired the sparse-on-accessories bookcase to the right and the leather couches to her left.Both were too big to send the right message.

“Yes!Get a decorator in here fast.It seems like you’re compensating for something you don’t need to be compensating for.”She rethought her words and smiled.“I probably just insulted Ted.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”