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Alex pulled his hand back before his grip tightened in response to the stupid nickname.
“Yeah, it’s a long story,” he said, as he held the elevator open for Jason. “Say, you mind if I tag along for your interview? Emma and I keep having to reschedule our usual meeting, and I’m dying to see how she’s coming along with the story.”
“Um, sure,” Jason said, looking a little unsure for the first time as he followed Alex down the hall. “So, you work for . . . what’s the magazine’s name? The girly one.”
“Stiletto,” Alex said, pausing in front of Emma’s door. “And I’m actually just the interim editor-in-chief while the real boss is on vacation.”
“Huh.” Jason said. “That must be—”
“Surreal? Trust me, it is,” Alex said.
Then he knocked on Emma’s door.
Her reaction when she saw him standing next to Jason was everything he’d hoped for. Disbelief. Annoyance. Alarm.
“Look who I found in the elevator,” Alex said, resting an arm on her doorjamb and leaning in just slightly.
Her eyes narrowed. “How delightful.”
“Very,” Cassidy said. “We had lots to talk about. Lots in common, actually.”
Emma stepped aside so a puzzled-looking Jason could enter.
She started to close the door on Alex without another word, but he stopped it with his palm. “I thought I’d sit in on this one.”
“Nope,” she said, trying to shut the door again. “There is literally no chance of that.”
“Emma,” he said, his voice cajoling and maybe a little condescending. “I haven’t been getting progress reports on your stories like I have from everyone else.”
She glanced at Jason, who’d had the good sense to let himself into the living room instead of eavesdropping.
Emma turned so she could face Alex head-on, stepping forward so they were face-to-face. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Supervising my employee.”
“Don’t be an ass, Cassidy. You said if I wrote this idiotic story you’d stay out of my business.”
“If all your ex-boyfriends are as dull as this one, there won’t be a story,” he whispered back.
“Don’t worry, they’re not all dull,” she shot back. “In fact, there’s a real asshole in the bunch, and I’m still debating whether he’s worthy of mentioning—”
He put his hand on her waist to move her aside as he stepped into her apartment, ignoring both her sharp intake of breath at the contact and his own unexplainable urge to keep his hand on her waist. To pull her closer.
Alex dropped his hand, clenching his fist in reaction, and moved past her, focusing his attention on Jason. “What can we get you to drink?” he asked in a man-in-charge voice that had Emma bristling behind him.
“Water would be great,” Jason said.
Jason’s relationship with Emma must have been a hell of a lot more peaceful than Alex’s if the man wanted water. He moved to the fridge like he owned the place, pulling out a Brita water filter and searching around until he found a glass.
“You’re sure this is all you’re having?” Alex asked as he poured. “I’m going to have a glass of red.”
“Are you now?” Emma said, both hands on hips. She was wearing a berry-colored dress that was high necked and long sleeved and would have been unsexy as hell if it didn’t hug her body in all the right places.
“Some wine would be great,” Jason said, his voice slightly relieved.
Emma gave Alex one last glare before going to a small wine rack next to the dining table and pulling out a bottle.
She shoved it at Alex’s chest before giving Jason a soft, sweet smile that Alex couldn’t remember seeing from her . . . ever.
