Page 28 of Sweet Chaos
Until she dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on my fantasies.
“So, I’ve been thinking…” She gave me a sweet smile, nothing cunning or manipulative about it. “We should just be friends.”
“Friends.” Never had the word sounded less appealing than it did coming out of my mouth. That was a hell no from me. I’d never been friend-zoned in my life and sure as hell wasn’t about to start now. But I’d let her entertain this little notion of hers until she realized it wasn’t possible to bejust friendswith someone you wanted to fuck five ways from Sunday.
11
Scarlett
When I told Dylan we should just be friends, I had meant it. Although, judging by the look on his face, it was safe to say that he’d never been friend-zoned in his life. I had even tried to return my birthday present, claiming that it was too expensive to keep but he refused to take it back.
It was the best gift he could have ever given me. Boxes of plain white T-shirts, Vans, tank tops and denim jackets, a treasure trove of blank canvases for my design-loving heart.
Nic and I had been speechless when we’d opened the boxes, and since then I’d spent all my free time working on my designs. Whenever I finished a piece, I sent Dylan a photo, surprised that he was interested and even more surprised when he commented.
He hadn’t forgotten about his offer to set up a website for me so now here I was getting off the elevator on the twelfth floor and stepping through the glass doors of EZ Solutions on a Wednesday evening. The name of the company and the open-plan set-up went against everything I knew about Dylan.
“May I help you?” a woman with shoulder-length glossy brown hair and trendy horn-rimmed glasses asked me. She was wearing a pencil skirt and heels that showed off her mile-long legs. If I had to guess, she was in her mid to late twenties, attractive in that sexy librarian way. I hated that my first thought was,Have you slept with Dylan?
“Oh. Yes.” I cleared my throat and wrapped my hand around the strap of my messenger bag. “I’m here to see Dylan. My name is Scarlett.”
She checked her iPad for confirmation then nodded. “I’m Melanie, his PA.”
Just how much personal assistance did she give him? I needed to stop thinking like that. Just friends, I reminded myself.
I followed Melanie to a corner office that I hadn’t noticed, and she knocked on the door three times before opening it and ushering me inside.
I noticed the longing look she gave Dylan before she closed the door, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t thrill me that he seemed oblivious. But since we were just friends, it really shouldn’t matter. That’s what I had to keep telling myself as I took a seat on a black swivel chair across from his sleek black desk and let my eyes roam over his space. There was nothing personal in his office whatsoever. Just a laptop and a desktop computer. Folders stacked neatly on the corner of his desk. A black pen holder filled with, you guessed it, black pens. Dylan’s office was in one of the new blue glass high rise buildings across from the beach and since he had a corner office, the views were amazing.
“Why does everyone else sit in an open plan area but you’re locked up in the Bat Cave?”
“Because I’m me.”
“So, what exactly do you guys do here? At EZ Solutions?” I choked on my laughter. Anyone who knew Dylan was aware that he was the antithesis of easy.
He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head and I tried really hard not to notice the way his shirt stretched taut against his muscles with that move. “You think that’s funny, Miss Woods?”
“Um, yeah. It’s hilarious. You’re not easy.”
“Are you easy, Scarlett?” His tone was playful but there was an undercurrent of something else in it. Yet another thing I desperately tried to ignore.
“Nope. I’m a lot of work. I require special care and attention.” Oh my God, I was just feeding into this, wasn’t I?
He bit his bottom lip and his eyes darkened as his heated gaze stripped me naked. That was how it felt. Was it suddenly hot in here? I swallowed and looked out the floor to ceiling windows behind him as the sun dipped into the ocean, the sky streaked with tangerine and violet. Nature at its most beautiful.
My gaze returned to him. Nature at its most violently beautiful. He was typing on his laptop, not even looking at me which made it easier to breathe. “So tell me what you do.”
He peered at me over the screen then gestured with his hand for me to come and sit next to him, so I wheeled my chair around the desk and sat by his side, my messenger bag in my lap. “We’re a software development and consulting firm.”
“How many people do you have working for you?”
“Thirty.”
“Wow. I’m impressed.” I meant that sincerely. He was a self-made millionaire. Far more impressive than my dad who had inherited his wealth. “You did this all on your own.”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. But it was huge, and he was being humble. Downplaying his achievements. “I have a partner. Cruz Vega. You met him once. Briefly. We didn’t have time to chat.” His mouth quirked in amusement.
Dylan was referring to the underground fight. I vaguely remembered meeting his friend who was collecting the money from his bets. “Oh. Right. We were too busy running from the cops. What a crazy night.”
