She’s never mentioned seeing anyone lately, and I know she’s so focussed on Deaton and her business that she probably hasn’t got time to date. Then again, she’s an attractive woman, and it can’t stay that way forever. I mean, she’ll meet someone eventually.And you’ll be demoted.
I scrunch my nose up like I smelled something bad, not able to quite comprehend being put on the back burner for someother dude. Like a lightning bolt striking me, I jump up out of my chair and head for Mason’s office.
I hear Chelsea laughing, Mason talking, and as I enter his office, I see several team members taking an impromptu sponge cake tea break.
I clear my throat. “Hasn’t anyone got work to do around here?” I ask, a little more tersely than I’d like.
Mallory, one of our receptionists, jumps and almost splats a giant piece of chocolate cake on her white blouse. I narrow my eyes. “I’d better get back,” she says meekly, taking her slice to go. How much fucking cake did Chelsea make?
“Eric?” I say, my voice a little louder because he’s laughing at whatever Mason is saying.
His smile drops when he realizes it’s me. “Oh, hello, Mister Lucas, I umm?—”
I pique a brow. “You have my adverts ready for this week, right?”
“You know,” he says. “I was just about to email them to you.”
I give him a curt look as he runs away with a handful of cake wedged in his hand.
“I was just helping Mason out with some emails,” Kimberley, one of the assistants to two of our other reps, says. “But I really like the funfetti, Chelsea. I want an invite now, just so I can eat that delicious buttercream again!” She runs out as Chelsea shakes her head at me.
“Cleared the room,” she says, hands on hips. “Anyone would think you’re trying to sabotage Mason’s decision making.”
Of course, Chelsea isn’t mad at me. She never gets mad at anyone. Even a grumpy ass like me.
“Ugh, you again?” Mason wipes his mouth with a Sweet Confetti embellished napkin. “I’ll have you know it’s more productive to let your staff enjoy a few minutes of deliciousness before it’s ripped away from them by a giant ogre.”
“Oh, I’m not mad about that,” I say, walking over to Mason’s desk and peering over into the three large containers. Before Mason can snap the lid closed on my hand, I reach in and grab a piece of the chocolate raspberry. “I just didn’t want to miss out on cake.”
Deaton comes running back in with a Lucas Property Brothers LA cap someone must’ve given him when Chelsea says, “That was quick. Did everyone eat the cookies, honey?”
Deaton nods, placing an empty container down on the desk.
“Why don’t you be a good boy and see if anyone in the office would like some of the cake sampler that’s left, okay?”
“Okay, but Macy showed me some photos of her new puppy. Can we get a puppy, Mom?”
“Not right now,” Chelsea says, looking a little uncomfortable. “But maybe at some point because we’d need to find a house with a yard, puppies have a lot of energy and they need to run around.”
Satisfied with that response, I high-five him on the way to the desk, and he sets about his task with enthusiasm, taking off with one of the containers in his hands.
My phone dings with a message and I pull my cell out to read it, squinting when I read it once, then again, just in case I’m seeing things. “Oh, my god!” I say excitedly. “Chels? You’ll never believe what Dad just told me! Wait for it…” I can hardly contain myself. “Sweet Confetti? The building is going up for sale!”
Chelsea’s eyes go wide, and I watch in slow motion as her bottom lip starts to wobble. She darts a glance at Mason, who’s still babbling away to himself, and my eyes widen in horror as her face turns pink, and then she bursts into tears.
I stare at her dumbfounded.
Oh, holy shit.
Maybe it’s true and I need to walk around with those orange cones around me, just like my dad and brothers always tell me? I’m a walking fucking hazard, and now I’ve upset her.
Why do I always put my foot in everything when all I’m trying to do is help?
But time stands still, and I don’t like making her cry.
I vow no matter what I do from here on in, I will never make her cry again.
Chapter Six
