“Ha!” I yelled, pointing at her as her bottom lip stuck out in an overly dramatic pout. “Now it’s my turn, Harper.”
“Fine, but I will let you know I am a master of—”
She gasped as I hit her, not hard, but with enough force that the tops of her hands were blushing.
I stared at her, full of pride as my lips pulled back in a smirk that revealed the tips of my fangs.
“Wow,” she whispered, lifting her hands to examine them, concern lacing her voice. “I didn’t know that Ambrose, CEO of Essence, likes to beat his employees.”
I barked out a laugh as her serious mask cracked, revealing a cunning, toothy grin. “Oh, is this more blackmail?”
Harper rolled her shoulders in a cocky shrug as she grabbed her bottle by the neck, lifting the dark glass to her lips. She tipped it back, taking a sip, her eyes never leaving mine.
I could not remember the last time I had been so relaxed at work.
Somewhere in the middle of it all, between the banter and the lingering glances, I realized something worrisome.
I didn’t want the night to end.
And I didn’t want her to leave me behind when it did.
Harper
Today is going to be a good day.
And for the first time in a while, I actually believed it.
The smell of espresso and the latest perfume samplers wafted through the office. Sunlight pouring in through the windows as my coffee warmed my hands. My inbox only had two passive aggressive emails from legal, rather than the usual seven. And to top it off, no printer had driven me to the precipice of a murderous rage yet.
Progress, Harper. It is all good progress.
“Did you see the interview Parker James posted?” Alex asked as he leaned against the edge of my desk, his tousled brown hair ending just above his expectantly raised eyebrows.
“I try not to pollute my mornings with Parker’s conspiracy theories,” I replied, sipping my coffee.
Alex raised a brow conspiratorially. “This one’s juicy. He basically called Ambrose a walking pheromone scandal. Said half his contracts are signed under supernatural influence.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not even creative anymore. It’s always pheromones with that guy. Never once considers that, maybe, Ambrose is just good at his job.”
Alex leaned in, lowering his voice. “Or maybe he’s just a demon who smells really,reallygood.”
He grinned, but I knew exactly what he was doing.
Alex was into me. Had been since his first week here. He seemed to think the flirty banter is mutual. But it was not. Not really. I liked him. He was funny, harmless, and charming in a veryoffice crush who’d ghost you after two dateskind of way.
But he was not the kind of guy who unravels you with a glance.
He was notAmbrose.
“You’re implying our boss is seducing Fortune 500 execs with his otherworldly cologne,” I deadpanned.
He wasn’t. But what would they do if they found out that just a few nights ago those same pheromones reduced me to nothing but a desperate mess. Even worse? I liked it…
He smirked. “I’m implying that if I had even half the charm he does, I wouldn’t be drinking discount vodka on the weekends.”
“That’s called a drinking problem, Alex. I heard there are meetings for those.”
“I call it coping with the crushing weight of a doomed economy.”
