“I won’t let this go, Lex, so answer me.”
I meet his inquisitive eyes with unmasked annoyance. “Mind your own business, Kevin.”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Minding my own business; the one we built together. Did something happen with her?”
We stare at one another for several seconds before I cave in. “Yes.”
His grin isn’t what I expected. I’m still confused when he wraps his arms around me. “Mazel Tov, Lexi.”
I push him away, disliking the intrusion in my personal space and life—which he knows I hate.
“It was a one-time thing, so cool down.”
“Oh, really? I thought it w—”
“You thought nothing. It happened, it’s done, it’s over. Period. Now, if you’ll excuse me, you just unloaded a shit ton of work and responsibilities on us, so I have to get to work.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you need to tell yourself.”
I glare at him, unamused by his teasing. “Don’t tell your wife.”
He snorts, and I know he’ll text Michelle as soon as I’m out. “She’s been asking if it finally happened every day since our dinner with Andrea. Of course I’m telling her.”
I roll my eyes. Were Andrea and I really that blind? How did Shelly and Kev know something was bound to happen when we didn’t? Ruminating on that, I return to my office.
With the night I had, I should be relaxed and amiable. That’s one of the perks of sex—especially great sex. But waking up and finding her gone left a sour taste in my mouth. The sheets still smelled of her, a heady scent of sweat and jasmine, and being unable to have her again brought all the frustrating needs back. I quickly realized that one night wouldn’t be enough to satiate my hunger for her, but I at least hoped I would have a few days of respite.
Everything’s even worse now.
“Alexander,” someone calls behind me. I turn around, finding Beatrix from accounting hurriedly walking up to me.
“Yes?”
“I’m booking the plane tickets for HWC,” she explains. “And I was wondering if you have a preference for who should sit next to you.”
I think about it briefly, but I’m afraid there’s only one logical answer. If we pull this off and get the app ready on time, I should be seated next to Andrea so we can work on the presentation during the flight. Reluctantly, I answer, “Sit me next to Andrea.”
After a nod, Beatrix is off again. When I reenter my office, I spot Aditya and am reminded of the email I sent him earlier. Fuck, having her back downstairs isn’t an option anymore. I’ll have to endure having her here with me.
“I’m afraid I’ve wasted your time, Aditya. Things have just changed, so Andrea will remain here for now.”
“Alright, no problem.” Adi shrugs before leaving us.
I don’t spare her a glance as I sit on my chair and start working. A few minutes pass until annoyance makes me ask, “Alright. I can tell you’re angry from the way you bash in each key. What is it?”
Her hammering fingers stop, and she answers, “You wanted to move me back downstairs.”
By leaving in the middle of the night, she made her desire for distance very clear. So what is this about? I look over our screens, confused by her temper.
“Is it your Stockholm syndrome talking? Are you enjoying being ‘kept hostage’ up here?”
She looks embarrassed, as though she forgot what she said yesterday. I continue, petty, “I didn’t realize being up here was such a traumatic experience for you, so yes, I messaged Aditya.”
I get up from my chair and walk around the desk to stand next to her. She looks spellbound as I bend closer to her, my face inches from hers. “It’s only for a couple of weeks, and since we took care of yourlittle problemlast night, things should be fine until then, right?”
Although I shouldn’t, I hope she says it wasn’t enough and she needs more—like me. When she opens her mouth to answer, I’m tempted to travel the three inches separating us to claim it. But I hold back, and she swallows her nervousness away.
Eventually, she nods and says, “Yes, of course.”
