Page 16 of Miss Typed

The way he talked about Chloe’s roommate had me pausing. I’d never known Reid to think of any woman but his vapid fiancée, Vanessa. He’d been so infatuated with her since middle school, I didn’t think he ever noticed other women. “What does Teagan look like?”

His entire neck reddened. “Her appearance is irrelevant. Now back to you.”

His non-answer was enough for me. Perhaps Reid could someday realize he could do a helluva lot better than Vanessa. Preferably before he tied the knot.

“Fine. I’ll let it drop. Chloe mentioned a second job at a restaurant. Do you know where?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Didn’t come up. So long as it isn’t interfering with her job at Delmont, it’s not HR’s business. Neither is why they took these one-year contracts in Dubai to begin with. But most people who come here are trying to make as much money as possible, so Chloe’s moonlighting on the weekends makes sense.”

It wasn’t my business, and I didn’t want to know more.

Now if only I could believe that lie.

Chapter Seven

Chloe

It broke my heart to turn down Aiden’s generous gift. But I didn’t have a choice. If I accepted the plane ticket and flew home, the loan shark who had fronted my brother’s drug money would find out. He’d ask why I wasn’t working off his debt. He’d want to know why I’d spent the money on coming home instead. And if I told him my boss had given the ticket to me as a gift, the loan shark would find a way to use the information to his advantage. He wasn’t above using anyone.

Yet on Christmas Eve, I cursed the fact I was sitting in the office instead of at home making the holiday magical for my younger sisters. Sometimes it was difficult to believe my older brother, James, had gotten himself and the entire family into this mess.

My mother was busy working two jobs. At ages fifteen and seventeen, my sisters were attending high school. They both were good kids, oblivious to what their brother had done. Only my mother and I were aware James had made a deal to fund his gambling and drug habits. My mom had hoped to help him by signing over the house as collateral, and she swore up and down she’d thought it was a legitimate loan. But clearly, it hadn’t been. She was incredibly naïve in believing my deadbeat brother would pay anything back.

Instead, he’d skipped town as soon as he’d reneged on the loan. And now I was stuck working off a one-hundred-thousand-dollar debt plus interest in order to keep the roof over my family’s head.

The debt was held by Donald the loan shark. His name annoyed me. The name Donald should be reserved for big ducks with funny voices who you met at the happiest place at earth. It shouldn’t be the name of a street thug who made my skin crawl.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, I looked at the clock, wondering if Aiden had left for the day. The office was practically deserted today, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d decided to take off early. I’d seen him briefly at lunch, but then he’d gone to a meeting, and hadn’t yet returned. Although he said he wasn’t angry with me for refusing the plane ticket, it felt as if something had shifted between us. Almost as though he was embarrassed for having offered it to me. Hadn’t he said he wasn’t much on gift giving? Then I’d gone and turned his down. The thought made me sick to my stomach.

Not for the first time, I wondered what his story was. The bio had proved me right about his military service, but the fact he was a Harvard grad had struck me as peculiar. I wasn’t familiar with all of the nuances of the American military, but I didn’t think Ivy League grads typically served.

At ten minutes to five, the Facilities manager and the plumber from the last time appeared.

“You returned with the part?” I asked.

The older man held up his toolbox and gave me a grin. “I did indeed,” he said in a heavy Irish accent. “Figured I’d get this done before I take off on holiday. Happy Christmas to you.”

I returned his smile. “You, too. Hold on. Let me text my boss, then you can unlock the office and go in.” The last thing I needed was a repeat of the previous time when my boss had come in, surprised his office had been unlocked. After sending the message to inform Aiden the plumber had returned with the part, I let the Facilities guy unlock the office door and step through.

But something was off. Instead of his desk looking tidy, a number of documents were spread on it. Huh. My boss was so particular about security there was no way I’d risk him freaking out over things left exposed while someone walked in.

“Any chance you could come back?” I asked.

Both men shook their heads.

“I’m off for two weeks but could do it once I return,” the plumber offered.

I chewed my lip, hating to wait that long.

I made a quick decision. “Please give me one minute to gather up some stuff. Sorry.”

“Not a worry. We’re used to security being a big deal in this building. We’ll stay out here a few minutes until you give us the green light.”

“Thanks.” Once they’d stepped back outside, I moved quickly to the desk but then frowned when I spotted Aiden’s laptop bag on his chair. It wasn’t like him to leave without it. Before I could absorb what that meant, I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening. What greeted me as I turned to look had me rooted to the spot.

Christmas had come early in the form of Aiden Samuels standing fresh from the shower with only a white towel wrapped around his trim waist. My eyes couldn’t even make it up to his face; they were too busy staring at his chest. His muscular, tattooed, beautifully perfected, dripping wet chest, followed by incredibly chiseled abs that led down to the V line. He’d gone from stupid hot to forget-to-breathe, scorching hot.

“Why the hell are you in here?”