Page 21 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
Click-click-click.
The sound gets louder. Passing the glass wall of the conference room. I can’t help myself. I look.
Tessa walks by, holding a stack of files. She’s wearing a forest green dress today. It’s modest, high-necked, but it hugs her waist and flares at the hips. She’s laughing at something Sarah is saying.
Her laugh is muffled by the glass, but I can practically feel the hum of it in my chest.
Ethan’s pen snaps.
A loud crack echoes in the quiet room. I look at him. He’s staring at the broken plastic in his hand, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle is jumping in his cheek. He tosses the pieces into the trash.
“This is ridiculous,” I announce, standing up.
“Sit down, Owen,” Ethan warns.
“No. We’ve been stuck in this fishbowl for six hours. I need food. Real food. Not…” I gesture to the protein bar wrapper on the table. “… compressed sawdust.”
“We have work to do,” Ethan says.
“And we can’t do it if we’re dead,” I argue. I button my suit jacket, checking my reflection in the glass. “I’m going to lunch. And I’m taking the Brand Lead with me.”
Ethan goes still. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s busy,” Ethan says through gritted teeth. “And because I know you. You aren’t taking her to discuss branding. You’re taking her to flirt.”
“I’m insulted,” I say, placing a hand over my heart. “I’m going to discuss the… uh… the guerilla marketing campaign for the launch party. It requires a nuanced, face-to-face brainstorming session.”
“Owen,” Ethan growls. “Leave her alone.”
“She’s an employee, Ethan,” I say, my voice dropping, losing the playful edge. “Employees eat lunch. Or are you going to order her to eat a salad at her desk again? Because I heard about that. Not your best moment, really.”
Ethan flinches slightly. He looks down at his papers. “I was ensuring she maintained blood sugar levels.”
“Right. Very altruistic.” I grab my phone. “I’m taking her to Perla’s. The seafood place. It’s public. It’s professional. And it has the best oysters in the city.”
“Oysters,” Asher mutters. “Aphrodisiacs. Subtle.”
I flash a crooked smile. “I don’t do subtle, Ash. You know that.”
“One hour,” Ethan says, his voice cold. He refuses to look at me. “If you aren’t back in sixty minutes, I’m locking her access card.”
“You’re a tyrant, E,” I grin. “But a lovable one.”
I leave the War Room before he changes his mind.
I find her at the printer.
It’s the big industrial one in the hallway that jams if you even look at it wrong. Tessa is frowning at the control panel, tapping a button with a manicured fingernail.
“It smells your fear,” I say, leaning against the wall behind her.
She jumps, spinning around. Her eyes go wide, then soften when she sees it’s me.
“Owen,” she breathes out. “You guys really need to stop sneaking up on me. Is it a requirement for the ‘Phantom Trio’? Stealth training?”
“Part of the package,” I smirk, invading her personal space until I’m inches from her skin, close enough to drown in that sweet, dark scent. It’s driving me insane. “What did the printer do to you?”
