Page 2 of Resisting the Temptation
No serious relationships, no heartbreak.
No heartbreak, no burdening Jordan.
No burdening Jordan, no worrying they’ll get overwhelmed by my neediness and want to end our friendship.
Yes, this plan will work.
It has to.
Chapter 1
Emma
Ifinish inputting the invoice I’m working on and stamp it with the date, then look up from the computer for the first time in over an hour. My vision’s gone fuzzy, and I blink rapidly to clear the haze.
The calendar notification pops up at the same time, reminding me of the meeting Josh wants to have with me. When I asked him about it, he shrugged and told me he needed to talk to me.
Normally, someone saying they want to talk to me without telling me what it’s about would send me into an anxiety spiral, but Josh’s “somethings” usually mean he wants to pick my brain about a new building idea or a way to make the office more functional.
“Ready for our meeting?” Josh pokes his head out of his office.
“Sure. As long as it isn’t too long. I need to print checks before the end of the day.”
Josh shakes his head and chuckles. “You’ve worked here for four years, Em, you don’t have to try and impress me. You work too hard.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, hush, Joshua. You know this place couldn’t run without me.”
Daniel, Josh’s brother and business partner, walks past and pats Josh on the shoulder. “She’s right, Joshy. We wouldn’t be where we are without her help. Be nice.”
I’ve worked at Kirkham Creatives for the last four years. Originally, it was just supposed to be a temporary job to get their office organized efficiently, but somehow I turned into an executive assistant/accounts payable person. I file, input invoices, write checks, and help them keep their calendar running smoothly.
I can’t complain too much since they’re flexible with my schedule, and the pay is great. Watching them go from a three-person team to one with almost fifteen and still growing has been amazing to be a part of.
Josh punches Daniel in the arm. “I wasn't being mean, dickhead. I’m just teasing her. Want to join us? I’m going to order lunch and tell Emma what we talked about.”
A beat of anxiety pulses in my stomach, so I try to cover it with humor. “I already turned down your offer for a threesome, gentlemen, you won’t be changing my mind.”
Daniel groans, and Josh snickers. It’s a running joke with us that I won’t have a threesome with them. A year into working for them, we were at lunch, and the waitress asked us if we were a throuple. I jokingly told her I was giving them the duration of the lunch to convince me to be with them. When we finished eating, she askedif I was convinced, and I shook my head and turned them down.
Nothing romantic has ever happened with either Kirkham brother, and nothing ever will. Josh and Daniel are relationship types, and I don’t do serious. Besides, they’re more like brothers to me than my real brothers are.
Daniel sighs. “Of course I’ll join you.” He points at both of us. “No more threesome jokes.”
“Fair enough. What are we feeling for lunch? Jun’s?” Josh directs the question at me.
“Ooo. I could go for some japchae right now. Jun’s sounds good. Do you need me to call?”
“Nah, I figured you’d be on board, so I already placed an order. It should be here any minute.” Josh checks his watch, and sure enough, the bell above the door rings, and the delivery person brings in bags of food. The smell makes my stomach grumble. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.
I follow them to Josh’s office, and we set the food on the coffee table between the two couches, unpacking and dishing up pork mandu, japchae, beef bulgogi, tteokbokki, and rice while Josh and Daniel talk about a project they’re working on. I’m not a huge tteokbokki fan, but it’s Josh’s favorite, so we get it every time.
Looking at the two brothers, I can acknowledge they’re attractive, but I’ve never felt a sexual pull towards either of them, thank goodness. The last thing I need is to be attracted to a coworker, much less my superior. Daniel is thirty-five, and Josh is thirty-two. Both brothers are fit and muscular with suntanned skin. I don’t know shit about height because I’m five-foot-one on agood day, but they’re probably close to six feet, maybe taller. They both have dark chestnut brown hair, but Josh’s is slightly curly and always styled whereas Dan’s is usually shaved close to his head. Josh’s eyes are a darker blue than Daniel’s, but they’re both kind and warm.
“So, how does it feel to finally have graduated college?” Josh asks.
I chuckle. At twenty-seven, I finally earned my bachelor’s degree. It only took me six years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, on top of just not being good at school. My neurodivergent brain has a hard time focusing on things, especially when I’m not interested in the subject. I jumped from Criminal Justice to English to Communications before finally landing on Construction Management.
It was kind of an epiphany moment for me. Josh’s best friend’s dad owns a construction company, and they helped build one of Josh and Daniel’s designs from the ground up. I was in total awe seeing Josh and Daniel’s design come to life.
