The Barrett Brothers Collection, стр. 57

“Or needing instructions on how to scan a document...” I shot back, grinning.

Lee cackled as I swiped the screen.

Jay: At lunch? Walked in, and didn't see you.

Oops. I forgot to clue him in on the plan.

Not in today. Playing hooky with Lee.

Jay: You're not supposed to tell me that.

You gonna fire me?

Jay: Maybe.

What if I lie to put your conscience at ease? We had bad sushi and can't stop vomiting on each other.

Jay: Sounds like one of Don's movies.

I giggled, earning a puzzled look from Lee, who was basking in her unicorn onesie, still munching on pizza.

“Jay?” she asked.

“Sorry, yeah.” I deleted the conversation as a precaution and locked my phone.

“You look like the cat that swallowed the canary,” she observed.

I shrugged, mimicking her and grabbing another slice. I already had two, but everyone knew calories didn’t count when celebrating.

And I was celebrating. I was beyond thankful I didn’t end up married to a slimy sleazeball with a goatee. He and his ugly loafers could fuck right off.

She narrowed her eyes at me, reading me to filth. “We all know you've had his canary in your mouth.”

I choked on cheese as I laughed.

She grinned, stretching tall, happy with herself. “Don't hate me because I'm right.“

I had no defense, so I stuffed another bite in my mouth, slice three well on its way to my thighs.

“Okay. I've been patient enough. When do I get to meet him?”

I shrugged again, chewing away.

“Is it getting serious?” she asked.

I held up a hand over my mouth as I chewed, the last bite a little too big to go down gracefully. “No, it’s too early for all that,” I replied.

The truth was, having him gone for two weeks was rough. It made January seem unbearable, but I forced the thought into the background. I would worry about that when the time came.

She frowned. “Have you had the exclusivity talk?”

“Kinda.”

“Kinda isn't a thing. It needs to be spelled out. I don't want my best friend infected with itchy burny cooter disease.”

I smirked. Now that was the perfect disease name to scare people out of having unprotected sex. “Is that a technical term?”

She scowled and took a long chug of beer, finishing her one and only of the day.

“Well, for one, we always use condoms.” Lie. He was more than happy when I told him I was on the pill and had been for years. “And two, I'm confident I'm the only one.” Semi-lie. I didn't really know that, but I was fairly certain. We spent too much time together for him to hide someone else.

“Why's that?” Lee asked, crossing her arms defiantly.

“I see him almost every day...” I trailed. Not a lie.

She perked up, her cheeks flashing red. “WHAT?!? And I still haven't met him?”

I ached to tell her, but couldn’t risk it. I would when I had a new job, and he was tucked away in Chicago. No one could prove or do a thing then, if she slipped.

“Look, I want to do this right this time.”

Lee stared at me intently before sighing. “Oh girl, you're in deep.”

Each word pierced the armor I erected. Something was there. I missed him and was more than ready to watch a crappy horror flick together while eating takeout. Next up was the Vietnamese place around the corner from his hotel, marked on a sticky I left on his fridge.

I shrugged sheepishly. “He’s a good time.”

He was so much more than that. He made me feel wanted and admired. Smart and funny. Attractive and desirable. They were feelings I hadn’t felt in so long.

Lee smiled, reaching out and squeezing my knee. “You deserve it, baby.”

And for once, I could admit to myself that I did. I’d been through hell, yet a year later, I was climbing back towards the top. Sure, I wasn’t in a meaningful relationship, but I moved on, and soon I’d be free of Croft too if I were lucky.

“I’m not beaver damming, am I?” she asked suddenly.

“What?”

Beaver damming?

“You know... the female equivalent of a cock block?”

I burst into giggles. “No!” I laughed. “He has a job, remember?”

“Maybe he wants some lunchtime nookie.”

“Yeah, no.”

Jason usually worked through lunch, eating carefully measured, fancy-schmancy delivery meals with organic this and steamed that. He was a creature of habit, rarely straying from his set macronutrient goal for the day. There was a reason he looked like sex on a stick.

Meanwhile, I ate almost half of a pizza to myself.

“You never know,” she teased.

“I know, but he’s a busy bee. He doesn’t have time to pollinate my flower at lunch.”

Lee hooted in delight. “Oh, good God!”

I shrugged. “He doesn’t!”

“You want him to pollinate you?”

“Uh, no. I have a great relationship with my birth control pill.”

I’d always wanted a little one, but with how things were going, I wasn’t convinced it’d happen for me. I was inching closer to thirty-three with no baby daddy prospects in sight.

“Oh, come on, El. You love kids. If he’s hot, he’ll make cute kids.”

“Not true,” I laughed, a few Hollywood examples flashing through my mind. “I like kids, but I’m having fun for now.”

“It’s a shame you can’t get a donation from Barrett. That man will make gorgeous kids.”

I popped the last bit of crust in my mouth to avoid having to answer. Not going there. He would make beautiful children if he ever had them. I doubted he would, however. Jason was a lot of things, but he was not a family man. He was married to his career — not a home life.

“I’d love to see his face if he was asked!” she cackled.

“He’d crucify me,” I replied, not at all a lie. That was one way to bring our rendezvous to a grinding halt. Oh hi, I wanna have your babies. Yeah, no.

“Have you been to Jay’s place? House? Apartment? Condo?”

I hated when she rattled off questions. It only led to more lies on the fly, guilt mounting with each new one thrown on the pile.

“An apartment,”