“Yes?”
“Get the fuck out of my office.”
My tone, and the look in my eye, told him I was deadly serious. He stared back at me for a moment, contemplating his next move. Sometimes Chris pushed me even past this point, and that’s where things got really ugly. Fortunately not today, though.
“Fine,” he said, waving his hand with a nervous laugh. “Maybe tomorrow, then.”
“Not a chance.”
“Actually Friday might be better,” he said, more to himself than to me. “I’ve got bowling tomorrow night, so we’d have to cut things short. And I’d rather spend more time with you than less. We really need to talk.”
I sunk my head into my hands, which were finally starting to shake.
Hold. It. Together…
I felt the presence of motion, and even a slight breeze as he left. My blood pressure dropped almost immediately. I took a long, deep breath…
And then finally looked up, right into my boss’s face.
“You should be working on the Cosmo article rather than bullshitting with my brother,” said Chloe. “Don’t you think?”
I bit down hard on my tongue to keep from screaming. She was standing in my doorway, hands on her hips. Not exactly angry, but not happy either.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I sure do.”
“Is that it?” she asked eagerly, staring at the back of my monitor. She took two steps into my office. “Let me see what you have so far…”
My screen was still covered with gibberish, from trying to distract Chris. I closed the window with a deft click of the mouse.
“My notes are at home,” I said truthfully. “I’ve been collating at night, when my head is clear.”
Chloe looked me over skeptically, but seemed to accept the answer. She knew the quality of my work. As a boss, I had to admit she was pretty fair.
“Fine, but it had better be good, Brooke,” she said. “I want you to take your time with it. Do whatever you have to do.”
I sank back again, steepling my hands together as she left my office. Thinking fondly ahead toward the end of the week… and Friday night.
Whatever I have to do…
Four
“HANNAH”
The Dirty Bean was booming as I left the street and pushed through its gleaming glass doors. I was punched square in the face with a wall of amazing warmth, followed by the rich, delicious smell of really good coffee.
For a moment, I forgot all about the butterflies bouncing around in my stomach. Then I remembered my mission… and realized I now had to find three guys I’d never met, two of them with faces I’d never even seen.
I started looking for trios first, then narrowed it down to guys who had muscles. The pics I’d seen were amazing, almost too good to be true. If Adam hadn’t sent over the sexy abdominals pic, confirming he was who he said he was, I might’ve thought I was being totally put on. Forced into the open by some weirdo with a fetish for dragging strange girls into random coffee houses.
Instead, it didn’t take long for me to find exactly what I was looking for. They were a group within the group. A tight-knit little circle, smiling and laughing, occupying the coziest corner of the warm, bustling coffee house.
And they were absolutely gorgeous.
I spied them before they spied me, which gave me the chance to observe their dynamic. They were obviously very close friends. Comfortable and casual with each other, as they settled back into their seats and unwound from their day.
Adam was in the middle, looking every bit as delicious as in the pics we’d exchanged. Probably even more so, since he was actually here and I could physically reach out and touch him. Not that I should reach out and touch him, but a part of me definitely wanted to.
On his left and right were two equally yummy guys. One had curly dark hair and striking blue eyes, with pretty-boy good looks and a flawless mocha complexion. This was offset by his white button-down shirt and red silk tie, leaving him looking like some impossibly sexy business man torn right out of a magazine.