Page 77 of The Fireman and the Flirt

24

CARY

Christmas was around the corner, but Hannah and I were already thinking of next year. We spent our morning putting together an invite list and email invitation for a kick off party to meet new potential clients.

That was the thing about sales. You could be on top, but when the ball dropped on January first, we’d be back to zero. And we’d be ready to push that boulder up the hill all over again.

We weren’t celebrating yet. We were still working on Derek’s closing and aiming to have that done by the twenty-ninth. Once it was a done deal, then we’d officially end the year on top.

And the next stop, Bali.

But we weren’t thinking of Bali yet. We weren’t counting our chickens before they hatched.

“How is the invitation coming?” I spun my chair to her side of our cubicle and looked over her shoulder, where I did not see an email invitation being typed out. “Hannah, are you looking up swimsuits?”

“Maybe. We’re taking a family trip to Florida in February?”

I cocked a dubious eyebrow her way. Those swimsuits with plunging necklines weren’t for visiting her in-laws in Florida. They were for lounging poolside with cocktails and no kids in Bali.

“Let’s concentrate. We don’t have it yet.” Who knew what kind of last minute shenanigans the Morris brothers could be pulling right this moment.

“You didn’t hear?” She licked her lips. Juicy gossip incoming.

“Hear what?”

“Tad and Chad were all set for their clients to close on a luxury condo, but the deal fell through because their clients were caught lying on their mortgage application.” Hannah gave a real Grinch-like smile, and I’d allow such pettiness. The brothers Morris deserved it for all their underhanded practices like trying to steal clients and pushing people to buy way more house than they could afford.

“That is…a shame. Mortgage fraud is a serious problem,” I said, straining to keep a straight face. But hell, I couldn’t keep a straight anything.

We burst out laughing, and watching each other laugh made us laugh even more. We dabbed at the happy tears prickling our eyes.

“So, who do you think you’ll take with you to Bali?” she asked.

“Uh…not sure.” I hadn’t told her that I was fucking my client, and that it wasn’tjustfucking with me and Derek. At least, I hoped it wasn’t. There was a lot to catch her up on, and now wasn’t the place to do it.

But as luck would have it, Derek strode through the front doors of PRG a little while later. My heart raced when the office admin let me know he was waiting in the lobby. What was he doing here? And why did my mind immediately assume it was something bad?

Derek lumbered through the sea of cubicles in our office. He looked very out of place, his large, bulky body figuring out all these right angles of corporate America. He was my rugged man, and no building could box him in.

“Hi Derek!” Hannah said when he got to our cube.

“Good morning. Thought you would like these.” Derek handed me a large cup of Caroline’s coffee and Hannah a large cup of Starbucks.

“Derek, you spoil us.” Hannah gulped down a huge sip of her gross, overcommercialized coffee. “To what do we owe this honor?”

“Just wanted to say hi.” He flashed his eyes to me, setting my chest afire. Was this what it felt like to be with someone? Knowing they could pop in at any moment to say hi and dazzle you with their gorgeous smile? I was here for it.

“Hi,” I stammered. I was still getting used to Derek noticing me.

“I was in the neighborhood. How’s all the closing stuff coming along?” he asked.

“Good. I’ve scheduled the inspection for this week.” I could feel my face turn red. Could Hannah feel the sexual vibes between us? Could I not feel them and go back to being my professional self? Would I ever reach out a point when I wasn’t full-on googly eyes for Derek Hogan?

“Well, about that. I’ve actually decided to work with the Morris brothers. Yeah, I thought about it, and it would be best.”

I didn’t know where the hell they came from, but Tad and Chad popped up at the mention of their name.

“What’s this?” Tad asked.

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