Tempt the Hookup (Tempt 3)

“That would be great. You can call Eliahn. I know that she will be on pins and needles all day, and she’ll call me.” I nod at her, then turn and walk out of the office, feeling like a piece of meat.

Getting into the car, I call Eliahn who I know is probably a nervous wreck. “Hello,” she answers right away, and I hear that she is in the car.

“How did it go?”

“I almost cried,” I tell her, shamelessly, and she chuckles.

“I always cry on the first day, especially when he looks at you and almost pouts. You should have seen pre school drop off.”

“Yeah, well, a little warning next time,” I tell her, laughing. “He went with Mrs. Hope, and I gave all the papers to Mrs. Lambert. She is going to call you today to touch base and let you know how his day is going. Can you call and let me know? If I don’t answer, you can text me or leave a message with Lauren. She usually has my cell phone when I’m in court.”

“Of course,” she says. “I just got to work.”

“Have a great day,” I tell her, and she disconnects. When I walk into the office twenty minutes later carrying two Starbucks coffees, I walk smack into Noah, who is grinning like a fool.

“What’s up with you?” I ask him. “You look like you caught the mouse.”

“Word on the street is that someone knocked up Ms. Coco and left her for six years,” he says, shaking his head. “And the word on the street is that it’s none other than straitlaced Luca DiMarco.”

I walk to my office, handing Lauren her chai latte who smiles at me “Thank you. Hello, Noah.” He nods at her and follows me into my office.

“Well,” I tell him, putting the coffee down on my desk and looking over at him while he throws himself on the couch. “Word on the street is incorrect.”

“What’s the incorrect part?” he asks, smiling.

“Well, to start, I didn’t leave her.” I lean back on my desk and cross my hands over my chest. “I didn’t even know she was pregnant.”

“Savage,” he says, and I look at him. “Why does your face look shiny like it’s glowing?” I ask him.

“It’s this new cream that I’m wearing. It’s so good,” he says, and I squint at him. “Lauren!” he yells toward the hallway, and she comes in. “What’s the face cream you gave Kaleigh to try?”

“Did you try it?” she asks him. “It’s for women.”

“Don’t care.” Noah shrugs. “Look at my face, I look ten years younger.”

“Your face is shining.” She laughs. “I think you have oily skin.”

“I do not have oily skin,” he fights back at her, and she just laughs.

“Anyway, I’ll give you some cream. You should try it. You’ll look younger.”

“I am younger,” I remind him, while Lauren laughs. “This has been fun, but I need to start my day,” I tell them, and he gets up to leave.

“All kidding aside, I can’t wait to meet him,” he tells me, and I smile as he walks out of the room.

I look at Lauren. “I owe you a raise. I honestly don’t know how you did it, but that bedroom killed it.”

She shrugs. “I’m resourceful,” she tells me, and I have no doubt. When she first started working for me, she had one rule and one rule only. Don’t fuck with her Post-its. I won’t even touch her desk for fear of what she might do to me. I heard stories about when she first started working for her husband, and I do not want to end up like that.

“Let’s get to work,” I tell her, and she starts telling me everything that I have to do today. I shrug my jacket off and roll up my sleeves, gearing up for the day. I work until I look up at my cell phone when it rings at one thirty, showing me it’s Eliahn.

“Hello,” I answer right away.

“Hey.” Her voice comes out light and fresh. “Mrs. Lambert just called me.”

“Is he okay?” I don’t let her answer. “Does he have friends?”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine. According to her, he’s adjusting really well,” she tells me, and I lean back in my chair.

“That’s a relief. How is your day going?” I ask her.

“Great,” she answers. “It’s fun being in the office. The team looks like it’ll be fun.”

“That’s great,” I tell her, smiling. “What are you two doing for dinner?”

“We are going to my parents’, and then my father wants to take Aiden to the park and kick around the soccer ball,” she tells me.

“What time do you think you’ll be back?” I ask her, and I’m not sure that I’m upset that I won’t see them or bothered that I was the one who wanted to take Aiden to the park.