I chuckle at how absurd this all is, down to him using his fingers to count the contacts from memory. “Okay, take a breath, and have a seat. We’ll figure it out.” I turn my screens toward him as he wiggles the chair closer, sitting with a huff. “This is what I documented from our time on Tuesday.” When I slide my keyboard to him, his eyebrows knit like he’s never worked a day in this office before. “Caleb, bud, redo the form. I’ll watch, to make sure you don’t miss anything. It won’t have all of your data, but for your sake, it’s better than nothing.”
He nods and breathes out his relief. “Thanks, Trevor. Won’t let it happen again.”
Doubt it.Shaking my head, I check my watch. I canalmostcall it a day, and I’ll still have enough time to hit the gym before catching my flight to San Diego. Meeting my friends for an end-of-summer music festival is the reward I deserve after dealing with Caleb’s shit today.
The rapping on my office door pulls my attention from the rookie tapping away on my keyboard. “Hey, Trev.” Chase, mycomanager and one of my best friends, peeks his head in my office. “They’re waiting for us in the conference room.”
Damn, I totally spaced the call with the LA office. Might have to skip the gym after all.
“Hey, Caleb, do me a favor.” I clap his shoulder on my way out, and he freezes. Chuckling, I head to the door, calling over my shoulder, “Save those when you’re done.”
“He used the sample again, didn’t he?” Chase asks, swiping fingers through his sandy blond hair. We fall in step down the hallway.
“Three times, on three different days. I think we gotta pull them for another training intensive.”
“Sounds good to me, man. The team hasn’t struggled like this since our first year here.”
As we round the corner, I catch a curvy, power-suit-wearing head of caramel curls walking through the conference room door. She doesn’t see me, which is good, considering the instant sneer that takes over my face. I’m tempted to dip out of this meeting entirely. It’s not like I don’t need to leave soon anyway. Chase can fill me in on Monday.
“Was that?—?”
“Looked like it.” I resist the urge to turn around, steeling myself before walking into the room. Even after all these years, the sight of Marla Rhodes still sets my teeth on edge.
“Come on,Wills. Aren’t you even a little excited?” Ashlie asks Willa. I slide into the booth next to Hunter, and we bump knuckles. Willa wrinkles her nose as her head shakes, her deep amber skin glowing under the warm lighting. She gathers her black and brown twists over her shoulder, and my mouth goes dry. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe her.From her full, pouty lips to the almond shape of her eyes, the softness of her thick curves, Willa’s inimitable.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” I smile at the arguing sisters, who barely acknowledge me. Glancing back at Hunter, I whisper, “What’s that about?”
“Who the hell knows anymore?” The deep-set scowl on his face as he adjusts his glasses tells me he’s about to bolt. His sienna-toned skin is pulled taut over his knuckles as he cracks them and nods toward the bar. “You want a drink?”
“Nope, I’m good with water.”
“After listening to these two all day, I need several.” His elbow jabs me until I scoot off the bench. When he gets to the bar, he slumps into a stool, a clear sign he’s not coming back anytime soon.
“Hey, Trev! How was your flight?” Ashlie’s golden-brown coils bounce against her amber cheeks as she turns toward me.
“Not too bad. Hey, Willa.” I hold up a few fingers, and Willa gives a tight-lipped grin before burying her head in her phone.Damn…
“Don’t mind her. She’s mad at me for convincing her to come.”
“I’m notmad. I just know I won’t have a great time.”
“Come on now, Gem. You might be surprised,” I say.
“I doubt it,Dimples.” She rolls her eyes, and my heart skips a beat. “Not with the way Hunter and Ashlie maul each other every chance they get.”
“You could stick with me: handsome and hands-off.” I draw anxover my heart with a finger and flash her a smile.
Willa’s eyes narrow. “Hard pass.”
Ouch.
We stay like that, me smiling and her glaring at me for a few seconds, before her phone buzzes and steals her attention away. Willa acts like I bother the hell out of her most of the time, but I’ve always been enamored. She’s beauty and brains, all wrapped up in an introverted high-security package. I’ve had this crush foryears, which is a little embarrassing to admit at thirty-two. Pining isn’t a habit of mine. I never hesitate to go for what I want in life, but she’s in a class all her own.
“Don’t waste your breath, Trev,” Ashlie says. “Once she makes up her mind, it’s a wrap.”
Willa side-eyes her, and I bite my cheek to stifle the smirk creeping across my face. Willa’s the epitome of snark, and it does things to me. I’ve asked Ashlie repeatedly if she’s seeing someone, and the answer has been no for a while. According to Ashlie, the last guy fumbled Willa so badly, she’s sworn off relationships completely. I don’t know a lot about it, but I know one thing: if the time ever came where I could have a chance with Willa, I wouldn’t let it slip through my fingers.
CHAPTER THREE
