Page 16 of Losing Forever
“Nah. Just get your own, and I'll take care of the others. I've taken up too much of your time as it is. Don't want to get you in trouble with the boss.”
She rolls her eyes and gives me a playful grin. “You're one of my bosses.”
“That's right. You better get to work, or I'll have to keep you after hours, and then you'll miss your date.”
She giggles, and it's all I can do not to smack her ass when she scurries off to her desk.
I take the coffee holder to Noah's office and set it on his desk. “I got donuts, too.”
“Honey, you shouldn't have,” Noah jokes before looking at me. “What kind did you get?”
“Why don't you take a break and go find out.”
He stands. “I think I will.”
“Attaboy.” He opens the glass door to leave, but I stop him. “Hey, wait. How would you feel about me hooking up with Caitlyn for one night?”
He makes a pained expression. “I know where you're going with this. Thought about it myself, but she's a good receptionist and inexpensive, so I let my better judgment override my cock.”
“Smart.” I nod, and then frown. “I might have already asked her out.”
He blows out a low whistle. “Braylee was right. You do move fast.”
Just hearing her name sends a charge through me. I glance at her desk. She's not there. “When did she say that?”
“When she saw you flirting with Caitlyn before you two left. She seemed bothered. It was weird.”
She was bothered? Could she have been jealous?
“Why is it weird?” I set my coffee on top of a file cabinet, no longer interested in the brew.
He scratches his head. “She doesn't get emotional. Not like when she was younger. My mom says she was full of attitude, and used to argue with her parents a lot. But after they…after she lost them, she just sort of shut down. And then you come along, and she's…” He raises a hand as if searching for the right word. "Recharged. It's weird.”
“Not bad weird, though. Right?”
The last thing I want is to upset that girl. She's too special.Special?Where did that come from?Fragile.She's too fragile for me to mess with.
“I don’t know.” He pats my shoulder. “Now, I’m getting that donut.”
“Where is she?” I ask before the door closes behind Noah.
He hitches a thumb to the right and strolls away.
Inside the glass-enclosed office across from mine, Braylee sits at a desk that faces the wall. Her back is to me—to everything. What's she doing in there?
I grab her coffee, worried it won't be hot enough anymore, and enter the office. She doesn’t turn or acknowledge my presence.
“Braylee?” I inch forward until I'm near her side.
She glances over and then bounces in her chair, her hand flying to her chest. Wide sky-blue eyes stare up at me and that plump bottom lip of hers hangs open.
I feel like a dick for sneaking up on her, and even more like a dick for the X-rated thoughts filling my mind—each of them centered around those lips. It doesn’t help that I’m standing near her, the crotch of my pants level with her head. Blood rushes to my groin.
I force my gaze to her eyes. “Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”
She squints with confusion and then tugs on two white cords. Earbuds fall from under her dark, wavy hair and land on her lap. “Why are you in here?” Her perfect brows snap together.
“I brought you coffee.” I place the Styrofoam cup on the desk.
