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I turn at the sound of Ellie's voice. Her eyes dart between Crew and I before she finally settles on me. I wait a beat before I say anything. "Ask if you're free for dinner tonight."
"Not tonight." She shakes off the question with a two-word reply and a shrug of her shoulder. "I keep forgetting to ask if you've seen a necklace. I lost one. I usually keep it in my shoebox but I thought it might be in yours."
"Shoebox?" Crew huffs out a laugh. "You two are already at the cute code talk stage which means I'm out of here."
Ellie watches as he walks away. "The necklace isn't expensive, but it does mean something to me. I'm pissed that I didn't get the clasp fixed before it broke."
"It's being fixed as we speak." I tuck her hair behind her ear. "I found it at the shoebox yesterday. I was going to give it to you last night but it slipped my mind. I noticed the broken clasp this morning so I sent it to a jeweler in Chelsea. She does excellent work."
"You're kind of perfect." She tosses me a smile. "I'm sorry about tonight but I promised Adley we'd go to a movie."
Her devotion to her best friend is admirable. It's also annoying, but I'm learning that Ellie isn't the type of woman to alter her life for anyone.
"I'll hang out with May." I lean in to kiss her forehead. "Shoot me a text before you go to sleep."
"So I can talk dirty to you?"
"So you can text dirty to me," I correct her with a smug smile.
"Deal." She reaches for my hand and brings it to her mouth. She closes her eyes before she brushes her lips across my fingertips. "Keep your phone close, Nolan. You never know when I'll get the urge to message you."
I watch as she walks away, the swell of her ass under the tight red pencil skirt she's wearing moves with every step she takes.
My phone chimes. I look down at the screen and the message from Ellie.
You're so busy staring at my ass that you haven't noticed the woman standing behind you staring at your ass. I can't say I blame her.
I look up to see Ellie disappear into the stock room, her back straight, her focus forward.
I debate whether to turn but I do. I pivot on my heel and face the woman who apparently is checking me out.
"Nolan Black," she says my name before I register that I've never seen her before. She's petite with long dark hair and a tailored white suit. "I'm Thea Morgan. I'm representing Shelby Leon. We can do this the easy way or you can make it hard. I'm open to either approach."
Somewhere in there is a reference to my cock. I can tell by the way she's checking out the outline of my erection through my pants. I have Ellie's ass to thank for that, which I will do, personally as soon as possible.
"My eyes are up here." I tap my nose. "My lawyer is across town. He's the one you should be speaking with."
She slides her gaze up my frame until her eyes are locked with mine. "My office is half way between here and there and I have a press conference scheduled there in an hour with Shelby by my side. I thought you might want to discuss terms before that happens."
"The only thing I want to discuss is how misinformed you are." I tense. "My lawyer
has undeniable proof that I am not the father of Ms. Leon's baby. If my name is brought into this in a public manner, there will be repercussions."
"I'll postpone until I review what your attorney has." Her gaze darts quickly around the store. "I use Matiz products. I have to tell you I've never used anything better."
I nod. I'm not opening my mouth to acknowledge the compliment. I don't trust her.
"This is completely off the record, but I'm available." She wiggles her bare left hand in the air. "My divorce was finalized last month and Shelby mentioned that you helped her forget about her ex. If you're interested, I'm free tonight. Say at seven? No strings. Unless you're into that because I'm open to trying anything."
It's been awhile since a woman threw herself at me this way, but I'm not catching. I'm not even in the fucking ballpark anymore.
"I'm not interested."
"I should mention that I'm double jointed and I was a backup for the Olympic Gymnastics Team eight years ago."
It's impressive but not for the reasons she's going for. "I'm involved with someone. I have no interest in continuing this discussion with you. If you have anything else to say to me, bring it up with my lawyer."
Her cheeks flush as she bows her head. "Fine but the offer is still open. I can do things on a set of uneven bars that will make your head spin."
