Page 51 of The Spare
“Tell you what. You stop trying to sleep with me, and we can be friends?” I offered with no actual intention of following through. I didn’t need a contact at the company for what was left of the merger, just a few signatures once the work was done. “The kind that keep their clothes on.”
He refused. “Love, this isn’t a negotiation.”
“Then what is it?” I crossed my arms.
“Flirting.” He was being presumptions, thinking it was bold and charming. It kind of was, along with being mildly insulting. “Come on…you know you missed me.”
I scowled.
“I’m sure a part of you did,” he continued. “But I’m not sure which part.”
I flinched. “Is that all?”
“Think on it.” He pulled himself up from the seat and made his way to my door. Finally, an exit. He looked at his watch. “Well look at that. I’ve given you back twenty minutes.”
“Or wasted ten.”
“This is going to be fun, I can tell.” He winked. Not long after he left, I looked at my phone to see he’d texted.
Jay Sachi
That doesn’t count as catching up.
Jay Sachi
Let’s get drinks. No charm, I promise. It’ll be so appropriate that you’ll hate every second of it.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore it.
Penelope came in and I told her about the bizarre exchange.
“I can deal with the client updates if it makes it less awkward.” She stood in front of my desk and paged through the latest merger negotiation documents.
“Nah, I’ll be fine.” I assured her.
“I think you should go. It could be fun.”
A part of me considered it, out of sheer boredom. Xander would never let me live it down; I would be teased endlessly. “Maybe.”
* * *
The rest of the week dragged along without incident, and to my surprise and delight, I had an unexpected visitor after lunch.
Marcus sat in my office, in one of the chairs in front of my desk. He wore a beautiful navy suit. His elbows rested on the armrests of the chair, creating a delicious outline of his biceps against the fabric. He was responding to emails as he waited for me. I strolled across his line of vision and stood at my desk. “Marcus.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at work before, Counselor.” His eyes roved from mine down to my hips and backed up to meet my gaze again like he was seeing me for the first time.
“Thoughts?” I asked.
“Your desk seems,” the corners of his mouth tipped up, “sturdy.”
I didn’t know what we were doing, but I liked it. “I don’t know.” I gave it a little shake and looked at him with faux concern. “I may need to test it out. Know anyone who could help?”
Got him. Genuine surprise papered his face. I won that round.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked, as I sat after a moment of soaking in the victory. It almost made me forget that we hadn’t actually done anything physical.
“I got you something.” His eyes looked down at the beautifully wrapped rectangle I hadn’t noticed sitting on my desk. “And I hadn’t seen you in a while.”
