Page 39 of All for Love

KODY

Despite my initial impression, I had to admit that I was impressed by Mercedes’s organizational skills. It’d taken her two weeks in my department, but my job was already so much easier. She’d reduced the bullshit administrative stuff that came across my desk by at least half and every process we had was running smoother.

Less meetings, more emails, and more structured processes for everything from day-to-day reporting, to hiring, firing, and strategizing meant a lot more of my time could be spent on me doing my actual job. It was nothing short of a miracle what she’d accomplished in such a short period of time, if I was being honest.

And that was just in my department.

That first week, I hadn’t thought she’d done much other than organize the file room, but it turned out she was getting an overall feel for the place and what needed attention, and because of that initial decluttering in all the executive spaces, she now had a framework within which to institute her changes.

I wasn’t sure how much longer she was planning on spending in sales, but there was a tiny, irrational part of me that didn’t want her moving on. As I sat behind my desk signing some papers Rosie had brought in, I heard her talking to some of the other assistants in the exterior office.

They were keeping their voices down, but the door was open and I mostly tuned them out until I heard Mercedes’s name. “Yeah, apparently she went on a date with him last Friday and they’re going out again tonight.”

I stiffened, the pen pausing and hovering above the paper even though I’d been in the middle of my signature. “Oooo, that sounds promising. What’s his name?”

“Ben,” Rosie said. “For her sake, I really hope he’s the one, but I’m getting the feeling there’s something holding her back.”

In the past, I would’ve snapped at them to stop gossiping and get back to work, but I didn’t do that. Why? Because Mercedes had been on a date with some dude named Ben and she was going on a second date with him tonight.

I hadn’t known anything about it, but now that I did, I really didn’t like how it made me feel. My gut was suddenly on fire, my stomach rolling and my heart thundering. Something thick, heavy, and bitter seeped into my veins, and if Ben showed his face here right now, I’d probably have ripped it off with my bare hands.

Yeah, that’s jealousy. I’m jealous. Fuck.

Pointedly turning my gaze back to the paperwork, I finished making my signature. It didn’t look right, but it was unnatural to stop in the middle and pick it back up again. I didn’t know what had come over me to even try it.

Moving on to the next policies that needed my approval, I did my damnedest to keep my ears shut and my focus where it should be, but Rosie and the others were still talking. Still right there. And the subject matter was still the same.

“Why do you think there’s something holding her back?” someone asked. “It’s only been one date. Maybe she’s just cautious.”

“Maybe,” Rosie agreed. “I don’t know. I guess I just want her to be happy. She’s done so much for us already and rumor has it she’s got a lot more in store. The bosses also seem happier now, don’t you think?”

“Well, she has taken a lot of the fluff off their desks. Anyone would be happy about that.”

Rosie chuckled. “That’s true. I hope she sticks around. I heard her contract is only three months.”

“Yeah, I heard that too, but it’d be nice to have her around permanently.”

No. No, that would not be nice. That would be awful. It would drive me crazy—and give me a perpetual case of blue balls that you would all eventually have to pay for. Blue balls makes me snappy. No one likes me when I’m snappy.

“Either way, she’s right to be cautious about the guy. There are a lot of dirt bags out there and it’s easier to find one of those than one of the good guys.”

My spine straightened. That was true. There were a lot of dirt bags out there, and what kind of stepbrother would I be if I didn’t make sure this guy she was seeing wasn’t one of them? Suddenly on a mission, I rolled my chair back and stood up. I gave the assistants only a quick nod as I strode past them on my way to my dear stepsister’s office.

She looked up when I walked in, her hair pulled away from her face to showcase her delicate features without obstruction and her green eyes bright and relaxed. There was an edge of focus in them which told me she’d been in her zone before I’d interrupted—and that she’d been perfectly happy and carefree in that zone.

“Kody?” she said, blinking away the relaxation as she sat up a little more. “What’s going on? We didn’t have a meeting or something, did we?”

“No. We didn’t.” I sat down on her desk, resting my hands on my thigh as I twisted to face her. “I heard through the grapevine that you’re going on a date tonight.”

Her brows twitched up and her shoulders caved just a little. “Right. That. Yes, I am. It’s Friday. That’s what Fridays are for.”

“Is it?” I asked idly. “The way I see it, Fridays are for fucking. Fucking Fridays. It’s a thing.”

She swallowed a laugh and shook her head at me. “Of course, you see it that way. Did you really come in here just to talk about my date?”

“I did. According to the grapevine, it’s date number two. Sounded like something I should know about.”

“The grapevine should shut up,” she muttered before sighing and leaning back in her chair. “What do you want to know?”