Page 35 of You & I, Rewritten

“Not too terrible, honestly,” he says, his tongue licking a drop of coffee from his lip.Can I do that?“Just a few meetings this morning and then hoping to catch up on some manuscripts. What about you?” he asks with a grin.

“Hmm…Klair asked for a second set of eyes on a few projects she’s juggling so I’m going to help with that, and then Lana has sent me a few chapter updates based on some revisions that I need to look over. Beyond that, it should be a pretty mellow day.”Fingers crossed.

“How is that going by the way? Any better?”

“Definitely! She and I have established a rhythm now that we are both comfortable with and she’s been churning out some really powerful stuff.”

I mean it, too. Lana has been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks and I am so proud of the progress she’s made. She takes feedback so well and really leans into the critiques, returning with pages that are far better than I could have imagined.

“That’s so great to hear,” he says, bumping me with his shoulder. “I can’t wait to read more of her work!” We arrive at my desk, indicating the time has come to go our separate ways. People have slowly been trickling into the office, the quiet sounds of their own morning routines fill the open office. “Well…I guess it’s time to get busy. I hope you have a great day, mister.”

“Likewise.” I want to kiss him so badly—so, so badly—but I reluctantly refrain. Instead, I let my gaze linger a little too long on his strong and toned backside as he heads to his own office.

Taking advantage of my clear distraction, Klair sneaks up behind me and whispers in my ear, “Nice view, huh?”

“Ahhh! Beat it, nerd!” I yell, trying to stifle my laugh.

She removes her jacket, sets her purse down, and reaches for my coffee mug, taking a big gulp of the hot liquid.

“Um, sure…help yourself.”

“Thanks, bestie. It’s justso hardcoming into the office and not having a special someone make my coffee everyday, you know?” She hands it back to me, a prominent deep red lipstick ring now decorating the rim.

“You’re so dramatic. You know what? Keep it,” I laugh, shaking my head as I walk back to our break room to brew another cup. Between Graham and his sneak attacks and Klair, well…just being Klair, I can already tell today is going to be an interesting one.

* * *

“Knock, knock,” Graham says, tapping on the side of our cubicle, pulling both Klair and me out of our individual work trances, a welcome distraction from the endless edits I was reviewing all morning.

“Hey, boss man, what brings you to our side of the office?” Klair asks, waving her arms with a flair toward our section, resulting in my favorite Graham smirk that makes my heart race. He leans against the wall, crossing his ankles.

“I actually have a favor to ask the two of you,” he says to the both of us, but he’s looking directly at me. Did he just…?Yup, he most certainly bit his lip and cocked an eyebrow.I swallow hard. He could literally ask me to bury a body right now and I’d drag Klair with me kicking and screaming. Graham using his sex appeal on me while asking for help wasn’t how I pictured my day going, but hey, who am I to complain?

“And what might this favor be?” I ask, leaning forward on my elbows. I’m intrigued considering Grahamusuallyhandles everything himself.

“Well, I know you are both working with newer authors right now and I really want to capitalize on that.” Graham’s face lights up when he talks about work, especially projects and stories that he’s passionate about, and I can’t help but feel a wave of pride wash over me knowing that one ofmybooks is part of his excitement. “I have a few meetings later this afternoon with my father to pitch some upcoming press events, and I’d love to have a few writing samples and talking points from both of you to start generating some buzz. Do you think you can put something together for me?”

This is actually perfect. Klair and I werejusttalking about ways to start promoting our authors and had begun putting together mini press packets, so this so-called favor is essentially done.

“Funny you bring this up,” Klair says, giving me a grin as she proceeds to explain what we’ve already put together. “Does something like that work?”

“Look at you two…our little publishing dream team,” Graham says. “If you can just make sure there is some background information on each author and print out a few copies, this will be so helpful.”

“Too easy,” I say, leaning back in my chair. Graham runs his eyes over my body, so I stretch my arms over my head, flexing in the process and hoping he notices. He shakes his head, rolling his eyes at the same time.Gotcha.

As he starts to head back to his office, Klair pops up from her chair. “Wait…since this is basically done and I’mstarving,join us for lunch?” I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Graham leave the office for lunch. He’s usually bent over a manuscript or typing away at his computer between bites of his salad.Boring. I mean, I guess that’s how he has the body he does.

He’s contemplating Klair’s invite. Briefly, he looks at me, uncertainty written all over his face.Is he nervous?I give him a reassuring smile; it’s just lunch after all.

“Sure,” he says hesitantly.

“Okay, well don’t sound too excited,” Klair laughs, grabbing her purse. “Come on, Will…Mr. Bossy Pants is buying!”

She pulls me up from my desk and loops her arm through mine as we head down the hall, Graham walking behind us with his hands in his pockets and the cutest smile on his face.

* * *

“Damn, you weresoright to be gawking over him earlier. Look at that bu…”

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