“You look especially smoking hot this morning.” He fell in step with me, draping his arm around my shoulder. “When are you going to let me take you out to dinner?”
“Never.”
Travis and I had become friends. His flirting was over the top but harmless and more of an ongoing joke than anything.
“Come on. Never is a long time.”
“You probably shouldn’t hold your breath.”
He laughed. “Lunch, then?”
“I told you, Travis. I don’t date people I work with.” Was that even a lie? More like a technicality. I don’t work with Chase, I work for him.
“Ah…read your email.” He winked. “You are having lunch with me today.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’re having a team meeting at noon. Josh is bringing in lunch. So you’re having a hot lunch date with me whether you like it or not.”
Arriving at my office with Travis still in tow, I flicked on the lights and walked to my desk. “If the entire team is there, it’s not really a date, is it, Travis?”
“Maybe not. But I’m going to pretend it’s a date. I bet you secretly will, too. I think underneath all that negative vibing you’re throwing my way, you’re really into me.”
I was busy powering up my laptop, so the voice that came next surprised me.
“I believe we have a no fraternization policy.” Chase’s voice was terse. He stood in the doorway, a full head taller than Travis.
Because of the casual nature of the office, Travis probably assumed Chase was joking. But I saw the tick of Bossman’s jaw. There was an element of something else there. Jealousy, maybe?
Whether or not Travis thought Chase was serious, he took the hint to disappear when the boss stepped into my office.
But not before saying, “See you at our lunch date.”
Chase raised an eyebrow once it was just the two of us.
Instead of answering, I had a little fun. “I thought you were getting rid of that pesky fraternization policy, Mr. Parker?”
“I’ll get rid of it if you let me mark my territory here in the office.”
“Mark your territory? Is that like bite marks or a hickey?”
He stalked closer to my desk. “I was thinking more along the lines of you screaming my name while I bury my face in your pussy right there on that desk. But if you’d like a few bite marks, I’m happy to oblige.”
Chase inched closer to me. I put a hand to his chest, stopping him. “Keep it right there, Bossman. It’s only Monday. We’re not starting off our week like we ended it on Friday.”
Just at that moment, in my peripheral vision I caught Samantha walking by. Unfortunately, she’d seen us, before I saw her. Stopping in my doorway, she looked at us funny. I pulled my hand away, but we were still standing close. Too close. Chase was in my personal space, and he didn’t back up.
Her brows were slightly drawn as she read the unspoken clues. “Morning.”
“Hey, Sam,” Chase said.
I pulled my chair out and sat, anxious to put some breathing room between us. “Good morning.”
She spoke to Chase. “You have some time to chat this morning? I have some things I want to go over with you.”
“Calendar is open until afternoon,” he told her. Then turned to me with a twinkle in his eye. “Unless you were ready to pick up where we left off on Friday?”
I spoke through a forced smile. “No. Definitely not ready for that.”
Chase turned to Sam. “It’s your lucky day. I’m all yours, then.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll come by in a half hour.” Sam was about to walk away until Chase stopped her.
“Oh! I forgot to text you. Anna had her baby on Saturday.”
“She did? Wow. Congratulations. Almost a month early. How is she?”
“She’s good.”
“A boy, right? Everything good?”
“Yep. Sawyer Evan. Ten fingers and toes and the lungs of his mother.”
She smiled warmly. “That’s great. I’m happy for them. I’ll give her a call next week. Did the Parker genetics dominate as usual? Sawyer looks like you and Anna?”
Chase looked to me for confirmation. “I think he does?”
Considering they were both staring at me, I had no choice but to answer. I wanted to kill Chase for what he’d just revealed.
I nodded. “Yes, he looks exactly like the two of you.”
Sam looked back and forth between us and nodded with a measured smile. “I’ll let you get settled in. See you in a bit.”
As soon as she was out of earshot, I whacked Chase with my notebook. “Are you kidding me?”
“What?” He almost looked like he didn’t know what I was talking about.
“You’re standing in my office, in my personal space, and just told the vice president of human resources that I went with you to the hospital to see your sister. Why don’t you just send out an email to the company announcing that we’re sleeping together?”