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I’ll never forget the cold fire that had burned in Julian’s eyes, or the way his tattooed knuckles had stood out against the cuffs of his button down and Derek’s coat lapels. The fear and trembling in my belly had tripled at the sight. Julian was not a safe man. Those tattoos told a story, and it wasn’t a nice one. And yet, the sight of him had slowed the pounding in my heart and unlocked my frozen lungs.
I’d squeaked out something resembling a thank you and ran away, disappearing from the party as fast as I could. And even though we’d had an easy friendship before that, I’ve barely been able to manage a complete sentence in his presence ever since. Now, whenever Julian speaks, all I hear is the way he’d growled at Derek and told him to back off.
That growl had done things to my lady bits that my mother would be horrified to know. I dream about that sound.
Warmth creeps up my cheeks at the knowledge that he’s watching me as I follow Lauren outside.
“I hate January.” Lauren pulls her jacket tighter around her throat as a gust of wet and freezing wind pummels us. “I’m so tired of gray skies. I need some sunshine.”
I flip the hood of my puffy black coat over my head, tucking my hands inside my pockets. “Didn’t you just spend the holidays in LA?”
“It was wet and rainy there too. Stupid weather.” Like before, Lauren loops her arm in mine and takes off down the street. I’ve never figured out if she does it so I don’t get left behind, or if she’s that affectionate with everyone. “I want to go to that little boutique down here to see if they have anything fun.”
We spend an hour picking out a few pairs of earrings and a pack of temporary tattoos for Emma, chatting about Lauren’s trip to LA and my hunt for a new apartment. I force her to stop at Two Birds on the way back to the office for another coffee and a sandwich.
“How much longer do you have left on the lease?” Lauren’s question echoes through the almost empty lobby. Tina sits at the front desk, typing furiously and nodding into the phone. She stops to give us a wave as we pass.
“A couple of months, but you know how hard it is to find an apartment around here.” I trail behind her, tired from jogging to keep up with her through the store, my mouth full of avocado and tomato.
“I’m sure something will turn up.”
We’re in the elevator, the doors closing when a familiar voice calls out. “Frankie, wait up!”
I force down the food in my mouth to greet him. “Oh, hey, Derek.” I take a step back, angling to put Lauren between us as he joins us.
Lauren gives me a look over her shoulder. I’d spent part of lunch complaining about what had happened earlier. She smirks in his direction as he steps inside the elevator. Shit. “Derek, I heard you were the man of the hour in your meeting with Mr. Sutton and Mr. Edwards today.”
Derek adjusts his cuffs and cracks his neck. “Did he say something to you?” The self-satisfied expression on his face falls at Lauren’s next words.
“No, why would he?”
“I just thought…”
“You thought what?”
I can hardly breathe as the silence grows heavy. Why does Lauren have to pick a fight? Doesn’t she realize he’ll make my life miserable? That she’s going to make him angry, and he’ll take it out on me? Probably Raj, Manesh, and everyone else on our team too?
“You thought in the hour since your meeting ended, I would have called my best friend gushing about how chivalrous you were to my girl, Frankie? And that Sophie would have called her boyfriend gushing over how amazing it was that you gave up your seat for her. After volunteering her to give up her seat for Morgan Edwards?”
Derek’s face turns an ugly shade of red, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
I brush a hand against Lauren’s elbow. “Lauren…” But she doesn’t even look at me, grinning at Derek’s discomfort.
“Especially when you forced her to give up her seat for a man who runs half marathons in his free time and is the least subtle creep on the planet when it comes to checking out the asses of female employees?”
Derek stutters. “No, that’s not…”
“It is. And you’re a—”
Thank God we’re all saved by the opening of the elevator doors on the ninth floor. “Bye, I’ll see you on Friday.” I murmur as I pass Lauren. I don’t look to see if Derek follows me or if he’s trying to argue with her. The only thing I want now is the safety of my office.
Three
Julian
The smell of Axe body spray announces the imminent arrival of my son, the musky-sweet scent saturating my nostrils as he climbs into the front seat of my truck. I bite back a comment, having learned my lesson the last time I saw him, two weeks ago.
Instead, I put the truck in reverse and back out of his mom’s driveway. “So how was—?”
