Page 51 of More Than Pen Pals

She stands. “Speaking of work, I should get some done today. Not everyone gets to spend the afternoon eating hot dogs at the ballpark.”

“Nachos and beer for me,” I say. “Oh, what are the rules about drinking on the job? Do I need to stick to soda?”

“The only rule is to not get drunk and embarrass the firm. I typically limit myself to one drink, if that. I definitely don’t drink alcohol if nobody else is, especially if I’m the only woman present.”

“Got it.” I decide I’ll play it by ear.

She opens the door. “What time are you leaving?”

I look at my watch. “In about fifteen minutes. I’d better go freshen up.”

“You look good,” she says. “Great choice of outfit.”

“You think?” I look down at my silky button-up dusky pink shirt, slim black pants, and black flats.

“Yep. Very classy.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

Before I know it, I’m ensconced in the backseat of a black Town Car. As we pull away, the driver says, “I need to pick up one more passenger, and we’ll be on our way.”

I nod at him through the rearview mirror. He turns right at the first light, drives partway down the block, and pulls over to the curb. I wonder why he’s pulling over so soon. I discover why the moment the car door opens and a leg steps inside—a leg long enough to belong to only one person who works around the corner from me. The smell of cinnamon enters along with him.

“Hi,” Ash says with a grin as he makes himself as comfortable as he can in the backseat of a car. Did I mention his legs are extremely long?

He clears his throat, and I realize I’m ogling him. At least I’m not licking my lips.

I glance up and raise an eyebrow at him. “Did you know about this last night?” I can’t decide whether I’ll be mad if he says yes.

He shakes his head. “No. Bobby called this morning and asked me to come. Wait. Let me rephrase that. He ordered me to come.” Ash rolls his eyes but then his eyes dart toward the driver.

I know what he’s thinking. He doesn’t know if the driver works for Diego or his agent Bobby Jacobs, or if he’s a random guy hired for this one ride. We need to steer clear of talking about the client and his agent while we’re in the car.

“Not that I’m complaining about going to a baseball game for work,” he adds.

“Right. Soooo …” I don’t know what else to say. Thanks to our rules, we can only talk about work when we’re in each other’s presence, but we can’t even do that at the moment.

“Soooo … rules.” He says no more, but he doesn’t need to.

I finally think of a safe topic. “Wendy told me what happened with Jay this morning.”

Ash’s hands ball into fists. “That guy …”

“She thought you were going to take him out. I would’ve paid good money to see that.” I smile at him.

“Oh, yeah?” He smiles back and angles his body more toward me so our knees are touching.

We gaze at each other until I realize we’re teetering on the edge of danger, and my smile fades. “Yeah.” I look away from him and reluctantly shift my knee from his, though it’s like trying to pry two magnets apart.

“Hey,” he says softly.

I close my eyes and shake my head. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“What can’t you do?”

Deal with him. Deal with Glenn. Deal with any of it. I blurt out, “Glenn called me last night.”

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