Probably working, I thought to myself wryly as Josh snorted.
“Look at those fucking clowns,” he said as a few guys—other assistants—inched closer to AJ and her friends, lingering around. Clearly waiting to cut in.
I couldn’t blame them.
It was why I’d avoided her since we got here. I knew well I could spend my entire night fixating on her. On how good she looked. Who she was talking to and who was looking at her. I knew it only took one glance in her direction to break the seal.
And now that it was effectively broken, I couldn’t stop watching her, staring hard the way I did when I wanted her to look up at me from across a crowded room.
It took another few seconds, but she then did exactly that.
“Oh, shit,” Josh said before giving a big grin and a wave. AJ paused, giving that slow, close-lipped, what’s going on smile as she waved back. “Goddamn,” Josh groaned through his smile. “See that little jiggle when she waved?”
I scowled, knowing well that he was talking about her tits. Whether or not I wanted to admit it, I’d been looking too.
“That’s it. No matter what happens tonight, I gotta smash.”
I managed a bored nod despite the increasingly hot irritation crawling through my veins. “Cool. I need another drink,” I said. And with a tightly-clenched jaw—along with a nod toward the bar when AJ caught my eye again—I excused myself.
AJ
I had been summoned.
I’d sensed it coming from well across the room, so as soon as my gaze locked again on Adam’s, I headed for the bar, giving an obligatory eye roll to Liza as I said, “The boss needs something.”
That was usually the case at these parties, and it was usually some work-related task, like getting intel from a fellow assistant or helping him eavesdrop on one of the partners.
But I had a hunch that wasn’t what this was about tonight.
“So.” Approaching the bar, I arched an eyebrow at Adam as he nodded his thanks at the bartender. “Any reason you and Josh MacMillan were staring me down?”
Adam eyed me over the edge of his glass as he took a drink. “There’s a reason he was. He wants to fuck you.”
My eyebrows flew up. “Really. And what makes you say that?”
“I don’t know. Just the fact that he told me explicitly.”
“Huh.” I blinked in surprise as I leaned one elbow on the bar and eyed Josh
from across the room. He was talking to the Melissas from marketing, a pair of bubbly BFFs who talked openly about their “giant boner” for Josh.
And now that I was single, I could see it. He was a bit of a bro, but at least that gym addiction meant he was pretty built. He wasn’t Adam-level ripped, nor did he look as powerfully good in a black suit as Adam did right this very second, but I very clearly needed to stop noticing Adam, so maybe Josh was the key.
He certainly wasn’t anyone to kick out of bed.
From the corner of my vision, I could see Adam watching me.
“What, are you interested?” he asked with open disbelief.
I laughed. “Well he technically doesn’t work at Engelman and he’s pretty objectively hot.”
“He calls everyone ‘broski’ and refers to himself in third person. As J-Mac, no less.”
“Well, thankfully this is an area where personality isn’t exactly the deciding factor.”
“No? Then what is?”
I squinted as I studied Josh a little harder. “Hmm. Well, a strong upper body is important but I think the deciding factor is the glutes.”