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“Fine, but I want an extra shot of espresso and two extra pumps of vanilla syrup.” She pulled her purse from the bottom drawer of her desk and slung it over her shoulder. “And whipped cream on top.”
He leaned in, his cunning smile further scrambling her brains, and added, “For your ThomKnox birthday, Addi, you can have anything on top you like.”
Like you?
His innocent comment flooded her sex-starved body in a tidal wave and washed her all the way back to square one. This was going to be harder to do than she’d originally believed.
Her recent wake-up call had come courtesy of Bran’s ex-girlfriend, Taylor. She’d innocently suggested that Brannon and Addison would “look good together,” which meant Taylor noticed Addi’s crush on him. The worst moment of Addi’s life wasn’t when she realized that Bran had overheard Taylor’s matchmaking comment. It was the moment he’d reacted. In the long corridor bisecting the copy room, his face went slack, his expression pained.
Addison had wanted to die.
He might as well have held up a sign in all caps that read I DON’T FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT YOU, ADDISON. A sign she’d overlooked for way, way too long.
And since she loved her job and wanted to preserve what was left of her pride, burying her feelings was the wisest course of action. She’d had years of practice being independent. All she had to do was apply that same principle to her heart.
Tricky.
But necessary. If she had learned one thing from her parents, and it very well might be the only thing, it was that she couldn’t rely on anyone else for anything. Not money, not friendship and certainly not love. A fact she’d forgotten as soon as she’d laid eyes on the younger Knox brother. A fact she was going to pound into her head with a sledgehammer if she had to—whatever it took to survive the travesty of a grown-up crush.
Maybe having coffee with Brannon would be a good thing. Platonic coworkers had coffee together all the time. And reaching the lower echelon of platonic coworkers was the goal. Not a very exciting goal, but she’d had enough excitement for a while.
“Get over him,” she murmured, digging through her purse for her cell phone.
“What was that?” Bran asked as they stepped outside.
“Oh, nothing.” She smiled up at him and her heart squeezed. An organ she’d recently determined had not one ounce of common sense.
The awkwardness continues.
Ever since Bran had dated Taylor, broken it off with Taylor and learned Royce had been named CEO, his work life had been challenging. Addison Abrams seemed to be another domino that had been reduced to rubble.
His executive assistant was irreplaceable. A trusted confidante who always had his back. She’d fit in since day one and brought with her an ease and efficiency that had helped him excel in his role as president. If she left, he’d...
Well, he couldn’t think about it without seeing a mushroom cloud in his mind’s eye. The saying went that behind every successful man was a strong woman. He’d made the epic mistake of believing Taylor was that woman. Now, he saw it was Addi.
Lately his relationship with Addi had been strained, and that blame could be placed directly on one rogue comment from Taylor Thompson. He didn’t know if it was Taylor being in love with Royce or if it was pregnancy hormones that had made her say it, but she’d suggested that Addi should be more than his assistant. That they’d be good together. He and Addi had locked eyes wearing matched expressions of panic. His stemming from complete shock and hers from what appeared to be fear. Seriously. It was like a scene right out of Hitchcock’s The Birds.
Fresh off the grave error of dating Taylor in the race to win the CEO role, Bran was determined not to follow that mistake with another. But he could admit that since it’d happened, he’d started noticing Addison.
Like, noticing.
His plan with Taylor had been shortsighted. Misguided. But at least he could explain it away. He thought having her at his side would make him appear more CEO-worthy. See? Misguided. After a few awkward dates, he thought he’d better their chances by...proposing.
It made sense at the time. Now, he swiped his brow in relief that they hadn’t slept together. That would have made family holidays really awkward.
So. How did that tie in with Addi?
On the tail of the CEO race ending with Royce holding the baton, on Taylor becoming pregnant with Bran’s niece or nephew, Bran found himself at the office more. Paying attention to his assistant more. Addi, whether she was trying to smooth over the uncomfortable suggestion that they should date or simply trying to soothe his ego, had been in his space more than usual.
He’d noticed her poise and passion when she discussed even the blandest work topics. He’d noticed her legs, long and lithe, and wondered if she was a runner or if hers was a yoga body. He’d noticed that she brought takeout from a local restaurant frequently, and she stayed to work late when he did.
In short, he’d noticed she was single.
Taylor’s suggestion had taken a foothold in his subconscious. He’d begun thinking of Addi regularly—and not professionally. Which had led to the disastrously uneasy exchange this morning. Unbelievably, the aftereffect with her was proving harder to hurdle than the almost-proposal to Taylor a few months ago.
Today being Addi’s one-year anniversary at ThomKnox was significant. If he intended on keeping her around for another year, he had to fix what was broken. He wasn’t sure if coffee and an anniversary cupcake would be enough to usher the pink elephant out of the room, but it was a good start.
Outside in the gorgeous California sunshine, the office building towering over the green lawns dotted with reaching palm trees and colorful flowers, they crossed to the coffee shop that was a permanent fixture on the ThomKnox property. The Gnarly Bean served the best coffee in the state—he was hooked.
