Page 20 of Alex

“And do you work there too?”

“Sometimes. Usually only when he makes me, but I’m going to be around more. He’s eager to show me the ropes and have me take over a little bit.”

Kate’s eyes widen as she looks at Elise. “Did you hear that, Elise? He’s going to be around more.”

Elise presses her lips into a tight line as she narrows her eyes at Kate. “Yeah, I heard.”

I glance from Kate back to Elise. “That’s not a problem, is it?”

“No! Of course not.” Elise looks down at her half empty drink in her hand, like she wants to say more, but is refusing to speak her mind.

“You might be Dad’s executive assistant, but I think we will be working closely together in the near future.”

She gulps down her soda before looking at me. “I don’t mind helping you, but you have to do some of the work. I have a company to run.”

It’s the first time she seemed confident regarding work.

I lower my voice so only she can hear me. “I wouldn’t dream of making you do all the work. I intend on working hard and making things better for you. So much better.”

Both in and out of the office. Her eyes darken as she comes to the same conclusion as me. We both want each other and it’s only a matter of time before she’s screaming my name again.

I take a step back, putting some distance between Elise and me before turning my attention to Kate.

“So, Kate, what do you do?”

Her lips twist into a smirk. “What do you think I do?”

I look her over for any obvious signs, but fall short. “Model maybe?”

Elise smacks Kate’s arm with a resounding thwack. “See? I told you.”

It’s my turn to be confused. “What? Are you not a model?”

Kate shakes her head. “Nope.”

Elise faces me with an enormous grin on her face. “Kate doesn’t work unless you count traveling all over the world spending her daddy’s money while looking for her future husband. She’s an heiress looking for the poor man that will bend to her every beck and call.”

There’s not a hint of jealousy in Elise’s voice. She’s genuinely happy for her friend, even teasing her about her adventures. I only see love and happiness in Elise’s gaze.

I glance toward Kate to see if this is really the truth, and she quickly nods. “That’s true. I’m a little disappointed that even though I’ve been to sixteen countries, I haven’t found someone yet.”

Elise chuckles. “That’s because you intimidate and use them. You chew them up and spit them out.”

“I can’t help it if they can’t keep up with me. I might need to find a set of brothers that way when I’ve exhausted one, I still have the other.”

Elise glances at me with arousal in her eyes before turning back to her friend. “If anyone can handle two guys, it’s you and I wish you luck because there’s no way in hell that I could do it.”

Kate leans closer to Elise and me and whispers, “I’ll do it for the both of us.”

The excess alcohol causes Kate to giggle uncontrollably. It doesn’t take long for Elise to join in. The two of them hold on to one another and laugh like they just heard the funniest joke of all time.

I laugh with them while glaring at the man that is now an arm’s length away from the laughing pair of best friends. He looks from me to the women before taking a few steps back.

Elise’s phone dings with a message a second before it rings. She digs it out of her bag, smiling when she looks at the caller ID.

She holds it up to her ear as she answers the call. “Hey, Peter. What’s going on?”

Who’s Peter?

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