Page 45 of Protected By My Best Friend's Brother

“Never. I’d just like to keep at least one for myself.”

We fall asleep on the couch, Emma tucked against my chest, the movie’s credits rolling unnoticed in the background. It’s not how I imagined our first movie night date ending, but somehow, it’s perfect.

Just like us.

Because some things don’t need explanations or analysis to be right.

They just are.

Chapter Sixteen

Emma

Inever imagined feeling this calm walking into a board meeting with Lucas Walker.

Yet here we are, striding into the gleaming boardroom together, our presentation polished and our strategy solid. Lucas catches my eye as we arrange our materials, and I glimpse a hint of last night in his smile. The past two weeks have created a rhythm between us that makes it feel like we’ve been partners far longer than fourteen days.

“Ms. Hastings.” Mr. Garrett’s voice slices through my thoughts. “I trust you’re prepared to explain these unconventional methods?”

His tone suggests he’s still not reconciled to our relationship, though he’s been less confrontational since the Brighton legalchallenge. The board has reluctantly acknowledged that our united approach is working, even if some members remain skeptical about the personal aspects.

Before I can respond, Lucas steps forward. “Actually, Mr. Garrett, we’ll be presenting together.” His professional tone doesn’t quite hide his pride. “Emma’s ideas are exactly what the company needs right now.”

I feel a surge of confidence at his words. Two weeks ago, I was nervously color-coding reports and practicing technical terms in front of my bathroom mirror. Now, I’m co-presenting major strategies with the CEO and feeling entirely in my element.

“As you can see from the implementation timeline,” I begin, clicking to our first slide, “we’re not just matching Brighton’s technology offerings. We’re leveraging our decade of experience with the Johnsons’ systems to create something uniquely tailored to their needs.”

Lucas seamlessly picks up where I left off, and our hours of preparation and shared meals are paying off. We’ve spent nearly every evening this week refining our approach, alternating between the office and his place, with work sessions that increasingly blend into personal time.

“The custom dashboard integration allows real-time analytics while maintaining the personal touch that originally brought the Johnsons to Walker Enterprises,” he explains, gesturing to the interactive model on screen.

We trade off explaining key points, anticipating each other’s thoughts, and building on each other’s ideas. It’s like our natural rhythm has only grown stronger since admitting our feelings. Where we used to dance around each other, now we move in perfect sync.

“This all sounds very ambitious,” Bradshaw comments, adjusting his glasses skeptically, “but can we deliver on these timelines?”

“Actually,” I pull up our progress charts, drawing confidence from Lucas’s steady presence beside me, “we’re already ahead of schedule. The beta testing on their supply chain division showed a 15% improvement in efficiency just this week.”

“Which is why,” Lucas adds, and I suppress a smile at his ‘about to impress everyone’ expression that I now get to tease him about in private, “we’re proposing to expand the implementation to their other key divisions immediately.”

I’ve grown to love these little moments—the private language we’ve developed, the shared glances that hold entire conversations, and the way certain expressions now have meaning only we understand.

This morning, over coffee at his place, we’d practiced this transition point, with me threatening to poke him if he used what I called his “CEO smolder.”

“The costs alone—” Garrett objects, frowning at the projections.

“Are offset by the projected revenue increases,” I finish, bringing up the next slide. “We’ve run extensive models based on their historical data, which only we have access to. Brighton can’t match this level of customization because they don’t have the relationship history we do.”

“Speaking of relationships,” Lucas smoothly transitions, throwing me a professional glance that still manages to make my pulse quicken, “we’ve maintained daily contact with their department heads, ensuring buy-in at every level. This isn’t just a technology upgrade—it’s a partnership evolution.”

I barely hold back an eye roll. We’d argued about that phrase last night, curled up on his couch, until I’d threatened to start calling it a “friendship upgrade with extra computers” in front of clients. He retaliated by tickling me until I conceded that “partnership evolution” was marginally less terrible than “synergistic relationship enhancement,” his first suggestion.

The board members exchange looks, some thoughtful, others impressed. Even Garrett seems to be running out of objections.

My phone lights up on the table, momentarily distracting me. I glance down to see a text notification from Sophie:

OMG stop making googly eyes at each other IN FRONT OF THE BOARD. Also, my mom’s in full gala mode and wants to know if you’re coming tomorrow night because she needs to warn the fountain. Her words, not mine ??

Heat creeps up my neck as I silence my phone. Lucas catches my eye, that familiar mischievous glint telling me he noticed my blush.

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