Tequila, Tequila

Jade lifted her margarita. “Cheers to that.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN – CAMERON

There was nothing more awkward than your assistant knowing what you look like practically naked.

Mallory had scared the ever-loving shit out of me. When I’d told her I needed those files quick, I hadn’t thought she’d be that damn quick. It was basically fifteen minutes from the call to her showing up at my house.

Not to mention I’d only told her I needed them so quickly because she was, well, Mallory. I assumed she’d get delayed by running over a pigeon or something on her way over.

I’d already decided I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. She likely would, so I’d be the calm one. Really, it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like I’d been entirely naked or I’d seen her.

If I’d seen her, all bets would have been off. There was no way I’d ever be able to scrub the image of her in a towel or her underwear off my mind.

Hell, they were on my mind already.

It was making work a problem because I was more focused on the brown-haired, red-lipped woman outside my office.

I shook my head to dislodge those thoughts as I entered the building. It was already busy and bustling downstairs, with all the realtors seemingly out on a viewing or here with someone. I waved good morning to Amanda who was on the phone and headed for the stairs.

Mallory would already be here. Hopefully, she was on the phone or something so I could just slip into my office without having to talk to her just yet.

It was delaying the inevitable, sure, but whatever.

I took the last stair and stepped into the room. She was sitting at her desk, typing away on the computer. She’d pulled her dark hair up into a bun on top of her head, and her always-red lips were pursed as she paused, moving one hand to the mouse and clicking.

A white collar peeked out from the top of her navy and blue striped sweater, and I hated that the one thing I noticed about it was that it hugged her body perfectly.

Fuck me dead.

As if she knew I was staring, she turned to look at me. A smile broke across her face, and her eyes lit up when they landed on me.

“Good morning!” she chirped. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

What was going on? I wasn’t expecting her to drool over me, but I wasn’t expecting her to be so super friendly.

She had never been this friendly.

“Good morning,” I said, somewhat hesitantly. “I’d love a cup.”

“Great. Let me finish up this email, and I’ll bring one in for you.” That smile was still in place as she turned back to the computer, then paused, looking back at me. “Oh, your grandfather called. The message is on your desk.”

“Thanks.” I hesitated as she focused on the screen once more.

All righty, then.

I made my way into my office, giving her one last confused glance before I shut the door behind me.

Who was that, and what have they done with Mallory?

I slid into my chair and picked up the note she’d left on my keyboard. Grandpa wanted to take another look at one of the houses we’d seen yesterday, so I scribbled a note to remind me to call the owners and see if I could get that scheduled.

I booted up my computer, and I’d barely had a chance to sign in when the door opened and Mallory came in, a coffee in one hand and a plate with a bag in the other.

“I didn’t think you’d get breakfast, so I stopped by the bakery on the way here and got you something to eat,” she said, setting them both down on the desk. “And I even made your coffee with sugar.”

I stared at her.

Not only was she being extra friendly, but she hadn’t tripped once.

“Thank you?” I said, blinking.

“You’re welcome.” She bounced on the balls of her feet and clasped her hands together in front of her stomach. Another big grin stretched over her face, and she literally skipped out of my office like she was high on sugar.

Maybe she was high on sugar. There was a bag of jelly beans on her desk. Perhaps she’d had them for breakfast, and that was the reason for this super cheerful version of her.

I didn’t like it.

Still, I let her go about her business outside being super cheery. She was even like that on the phone when it rang.

She had to be having a sugar rush.

I shook my head and dove into the paperwork I had to do. It took me forever to get through it all, and by the time I had, it was lunchtime.

I shut down the computer and got up after checking the time. Mallory was still at her desk, and she had the phone to her ear while she nodded.