AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Curious, I wandered closer until I saw the screen where he had two emojis next to each other, trying to decipher their meaning.
“Boot phone. Boot call. Boot—”
“Booty call,” I blurted, making him jump and drop his unopened package of sweetener…
Right into his cup full of steaming, dark liquid.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry!” I gushed as I covered my mouth with my hands as he cursed and rushed to fish the soaked packet from his drink with the tips of two fingers.
Hissing over how hot the liquid was, he lifted the dripping remains free before flinging it into a nearby trash can.
When he turned back to me slowly, jaw stiff and expression blanketed with irritation, I blurted out a laugh and said, “Whoops. I totally didn’t mean to startle you into dropping that. I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t answer, just blinked at me a moment before furrowing his brow and glancing around. “What’re you even doing here?”
“Oh.” I blinked and pulled back because he seemed really displeased about my presence. “I—I asked Mr. Draper if I could come in today and file a few things. Is—do you—I mean, is that not okay? He said it would be fine, but—”
“It’s fine.” He shook his head and closed his eyes, grimacing, which let me know it wasn’t fine at all. “I just thought I’d be free of him today.” Blowing out a breath, he reopened his lashes and gave me one of those tight smiles that wasn’t actually a smile at all. “That’s the reason I work a lot of Tuesdays through Saturdays. So I can have more days free from him.”
“You do?” I hadn’t realized he worked on any Saturday. Crud. I might’ve rethought my idea about coming in today if I’d known he would be here. Not that I didn’t want to see him—I’d been thinking about him a lot since hugging him at the theater. But I was pretty confident that he didn’t want to see me. His chilliness toward me these past few weeks around the office made that pretty evident, anyway.
I didn’t even know what I’d done wrong either. He’d been pleasant and fine during the entire movie and even when he’d walked me to my car afterward. And the hug had been epic. But now…
If I only knew what was wrong, maybe I could fix it.
“Yes,” Gracen was saying to me now. “I do.”
It took me a moment to catch up and remember what we’d been discussing. And when I did, I blinked, surprised to learn he didn’t care for his co-owner much at all if he purposely worked certain days of the week just to avoid him.
Wow.
Mr. Draper gave me a creepy vibe sometimes too, but he’d been really nice and understanding to me so far, so I couldn’t really complain about him.
It was a shock to learn Gracen didn’t like someone, though. He’d always seemed like one of those people who got along with everyone.
“Oh,” I mumbled, feeling like a moron. “Well, I don’t think you have to worry about Mr. Draper coming in. I’m just organizing a few things at my own desk. The filing system in my cubicle was a complete mess. So there’s no reason for him to—”
“Trust me,” Gracen said with acidic ire. “If he knows you’re here, he won’t be far behind.”
I pulled back, alarmed and confused by his words. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing,” he mumbled and picked up a new packet of sugar to give it a savage snap before he ripped it open and dumped it into his drink. But as soon as he picked up a stirring stick, he glanced back at me, one eyebrow raised.
“You really think those emojis mean booty call?”
I shrugged and made a face, waiting for him to finish stirring and picking up his cup so I could have my crack at the coffee station. “What else would it mean?”
“Good point.” He expelled a long breath. “She is seeing someone, then,” he mumbled to himself before focusing on me. “My sister,” he explained.
“Ah…” I nodded, trying to be polite before adding, “Good for her.”
I had worried about how Bella had coped with everything and moved on after—well, after. It was nice to hear she’d found someone else.
Gracen sliced me with a scowl, however. It must be hard for him to believe I truly cared about her happiness.
“No,” he growled. “Not fine. She’s hiding this prick from me. Why the hell would she hide a relationship? I’ve never made a fuss about any guy she’s dated before. Just what is so wrong with him that she thinks even I wouldn’t approve? I approve of everyone!”
Except, obviously, Mr. Draper.
