Page 238 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“Jesus, Jeremy. Please tell me you aren’t around anyone right now.”

“No. I’m in my car hiding.”

“Why are you hiding?”

“Because Veronica is here and she brought her boyfriend.”

“Veronica works for our company, and it’s a coworkers and families event…Of course she’s going to be there.”

“Yeah, but it’s just…weird. You know…”

“No, Jeremy. I don’t know because I specifically made it a rule never to sleep with coworkers…Maybe you should have listened to me back then.”

“Maybe…Welp, I gotta go in since someone is late.”

“I’m one minute late, and I’m about to turn into the fucking parking lot.”

“Willow, can you keep her occupied while I sneak in?” he jokingly asks.

“She didn’t come. She’s not feeling well.”

“What?! Who the hell am I going to bullshit with?”

“Me? Your other coworkers?”

“No. I can’t do that anymore. You know I can’t say any of my usual jokes around them. We’re the bosses now. We have to be completely professional.”

“Oh, is that what you call yourself? Professional? I specifically remember you doing body shots to celebrate our father’s retiring?” I scold him as I pull up next to his car. He looks over at me and stupidly waves.

“Listen, I was already shitfaced. We were finally rid of our fathers. We could control who we represent and finally start making it into the firm we’ve always wanted to. So yes, body shots were very professional for the occasion.”

I very dramatically stab the end call button on my phone before shutting off the truck and hopping out. I lock the doors making sure to double-click it to arm the truck. I have too many weapons inside to risk it getting broken into.

“That was rude. You hung up on me,” Jeremy whines as he walks over.

He’s dressed casually today in jeans and a black V-neck, whereas I decided to go business casual. Black dress pants, a black button-down, and a matching blazer. My hair is slicked back making me feel like I’m trying too hard. Everyone else is dressed for a party, but I’m dressed for the office. Jesus Christ, I don’t know if I’ll ever get the hang of this boss thing. I don’t have to be professional all the time…Do I?

As soon as we step through the door, we hear our names being called.

“Noah. Jeremy. Hey,” Veronica calls out, waving us over.

Jeremy audibly groans as he tries not to show the agony on his face. She doesn’t seem to care anymore, so I don’t know why he’s acting so weird. She’s moved on.

“Hey, guys. This is Tom, my fiancé.”

“Fiancé?!” Jeremy says, stunned.

“Congrats, you two,” I quickly say.

“Yep. He proposed last night at dinner. Where’s Willow? I wanted to tell her in person and show her the ring.”

She holds out her hand flashing the ring to both of us, and snuggles up to her man.

“Hello, Tom. Welcome to the party. I’m Noah, and this is my cousin, Jeremy. We’re the senior partners at Andersons’ and Sons.”

Soon to be Anderson and Anderson, Attorneys at Law.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you…Both of you.”