My Best Friend's Boyfriend

But her red-stained cheeks told me neither of us took it as such.

“No. I didn’t know how long it had been going on, but thank you for telling me. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been to say, given the position you’re in,” I said.

“I just don’t want you to be hurt. That’s all.”

“Trust me, I’m not. Not anymore anyway.”

Her beautiful eyes connected with mine as her raven hair fell into her face. Her darkened skin ignited a want in me, a need to trace my fingertips along it. She was a beauty, an exotic, innocent woman with a sponge for a brain. She was intelligent, self-sufficient, kind, warm. I took a sip of my coffee and tried to rein in my thoughts.

My raging, filthy thoughts.

“Enough about Camilla. She’s dominated enough of this conversation. Tell me how you’re feeling.”

“How I’m feeling?” Ava asked.

“Yes. I want to know how you’ve been feeling after this past weekend. You scurried out of the room pretty quickly. Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry for that. It’s just—”

I reached over and put my hand back on top of hers to get her attention.

“Stop apologizing,” I said as her eyes found mine.

She nodded, and I pulled my hand back, but not before her pinky finger reached up and wrapped around mine.

She wanted to hold on to me, and she wasn’t alone in that want.

“I’m confused, honestly. I was very confused when things sort of—wrapped up. I needed space, and that was why I ran out so quickly.”

“Trust me, I can understand. I’ve been a little confused myself.”

“You have?” she asked.

“I have.”

“What about?”

“Honestly? It still gets to me that you’re Camilla’s best friend.”

“Oh, thank heavens.”

“What?” I asked, chuckling.

“I just mean that it’s been getting to me that you’re my best friend’s ex. So it’s kind of nice to know that weird, confusing feeling is mutual.”

I sighed. “It is.”

“So, where do we go from here in our mutual confusion?”

My eyes fluttered up to hers as I took a bite of my sandwich. I chewed slowly and washed it down with some of my coffee to give myself time to think. She was searching for an answer, and I had no idea what to tell her.

I didn’t think the right answer was what I was thinking, which was “back to my office where I can bend you over my desk.”

Ava

I couldn’t get Logan out of my head. No matter how much I threw myself into work and no matter what I did to distract myself, he was there, lurking, whispering, smiling, and talking in my mind. And it seemed that I ran into him wherever I went. The issue was, I couldn’t stop thinking about Camilla, either, about her lies and her deceit and the way she was so nonchalant about it all. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I had fucked her ex twice, about how she had lied straight to my face and treated Logan like shit. It made my blood boil thinking about how she had treated him.

Oddly enough, I was protective of him.

Getting up, I made my way into work, hoping for a decent distraction. Maybe some paperwork, or another client. What I didn’t expect was the announcement that rained down on me the second I stepped off the elevator, and suddenly I was eating all my words and praying I could take them back.

“Ava, my office please.”

“Yes, sir. Let me drop my things off and I’ll—

“It’ll be quick. You’re not in trouble, but I need to see you now.”

“Okay,” I said.

Slipping into my boss’s office, I closed the door behind me. He looked panicked, like he’d had one too many cups of coffee. He slid his hand down his face as I leaned against the wall, giving him the space he needed to do his thing. He got like this sometimes. Not enough sleep and way too much work. Then he’d pump too much caffeine into his system and come into work acting like a short-circuited energizer bunny.

“We’re being sued,” he said.

My purse fell from my hand as my lips parted in shock.

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah. By a past client. Well, a past business that was a past client.”

“What for?” I asked.

“Fraud.”

“Fraud?”

“Yes, fraud. I was given the official papers when I walked in this morning, so I immediately called our team of lawyers.”

“Well, that’s good. What did they say?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. They said they were going to set up a meeting this afternoon. Does one o’clock work for you? That’s when they scheduled it.”

“One works, but why me? Did I work on this client with you?”

“You touched on a few things, but nothing out of the ordinary. I just need someone with me. You know, as a witness.”

“To make you feel more comfortable.”

“That, too. But the lawyers suggested that having an unbiased party present would help with things.”