The hairs on the back of my neck rise up, along with the dark feelings of worthlessness the name of my ex-girlfriend always seems to evoke in me.
“Mhmm,” I respond noncommittally, hoping none of those feelings seep through in my tone. That ship containing Lauren Farthington had sailed a long time ago, with no hopes of ever being found again. Not that I ever wanted it to be either.
“They’ll be at the gala too. Ah, well. Okay. Hope you have a wonderful day. I can’t wait to see you at the end of the month.” She makes a kissing noise on the other end of the phone, and then she hangs up.
With another long glance at the door, I try to bury myself in my work again, pushing all thoughts of my ex-girlfriend and my family aside, and trying to focus on the disaster brewing here underneath all the financial reports from last year. But, unfortunately, I end up just giving myself a headache. A knock on my office door has me looking up. I expect it to be Whitney, coming to keep me on track or bring me the lunch I ordered, but instead, I’m caught off guard when I first, catch sight of the time, realizing the workday is nearly over, and second, when I see my brother’s familiar face peering in through the door frame.
I blink a few times, reorienting myself.
My brother steps into my office and slides his hands into his pockets, shooting me an amused grin. “Glad to see you too, brother. Thought I’d get a little warmer welcome than a confused smile. It looks like you’re constipated, dude. Wipe that grin off your face.”
That snaps me out of it. I shake my head and push away from my desk, closing the distance between Chase and myself. I hug my brother, glad to be seeing him for the first time in weeks.
He claps me on the back and then lets me go.
“‘Bout time you showed up,” I tease him. “These financials are killing me, man, I’m going to lose my mind any second.”
My brother chuckles under his breath and pats me on the head. He loves the fact that he’s a few inches taller than me. “You may be the oldest, but you’re definitely not the smartest.”
At that moment, Whitney peeks her head around the door frame and gives me a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, Theo. He insisted that I let him in.”
I wave her further into my office, still smiling widely. “Whitney, this is my brother, Chase. He’ll be joining the company as the CFO.”
Whitney, ever the professional, holds out her hand to Chase. My brother’s eyes flare a bit as he takes her in, and I resist the urge to punch him in the throat for ogling her. I’m really on edge. Chase takes her hand, shakes it, but then holds on for just a moment too long.
“Pleasure to meet you,Whitney,” he says. I don’t like the sound of her name on his lips, and I have to bite my tongue.
She gives him a warm smile but pulls her hand back from his. “Glad to have you on board. Someone’s got to keep your brother in line.”
My brother laughs, but I eye her suspiciously, curious ifshe’s referring to our little rendezvous in the broom closet. We haven’t had a chance to discuss what happened with that, with both of us choosing to sweep it under the rug and move on with business as usual. It’s not as if we don’t have plenty of other things to keep us occupied.
Honestly, I’m not sure I’d even have a valid excuse if we did end up discussing it. I shouldn’t have leaned in. I shouldn’t have brushed my lips against hers. I just shouldn’t have.
End of story. Period.
But I did. And I’m itching to do it again.
Secretly, I’m dying to know how she’s feeling about it. Is she yearning for another taste like I am? Is it all she can think about when she lays down in bed at night? Or was she uncomfortable with the whole thing? Does she want to pretend it never happened?
If she had been uncomfortable about it, I would want to know so I could solidify those boundaries. I wasn’t about to make her job a place where she didn’t feel safe coming to.
But if she felt the same as me?
Well, I’m not quite sure what I’d do with that information.
My animalistic side imagines that I’d grab her, pin her to the wall, and kiss her exactly how a woman should be kissed.
The more rational side of me thinks I’d nod slowly and internalize my relief that she had similar feelings to mine.
Either way, I don’t believe that this conversation will be had in the near future, so it doesn’t matter how I’d react.
“Yeah, my big brother, here, is the looks of the operation,” Chase teases. “But I’m the real mastermind behind it all.”
I roll my eyes. “Just because you’re good at numbers.”
“Among many other things,” Chase says, shooting Whitney a wink. I grit my teeth so tightly my jaw starts to ache. Whitney looks amused but doesn’t seem impressed by my brother’s antics. Chase claps his hands together and looks between thetwo of us. “So, what’s on the agenda for tonight? What special ‘Welcome to Chicago’ activities do you have planned for me?”
“Um, nothing,” I say with a shrug.
