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We’re just sharing that moment of silence when she bursts in.
“Finn!” Raven’s crying out. “I have had enough of people trying to get in between the two of us! I want to talk to you, not leave a message with one of your lousy subordinates!”
She collides with me at top speed, wrapping her arms around my neck like an anaconda. All of the magic of that moment with Emma is completely shattered.
I do my best to disentangle the two of us. “Why, Raven! What a surprise it is to see you! And during business hours too! Is there some occasion that brings you here?”
“Oh, darling, isn’t it always an occasion when the two of us are together?” she says. I can never tell if she’s joking or dead serious when she says things like that. “I was just lonely and I knew that you would be lonely too and so I came here to see you.”
Again, she tries to wrap herself around me. Again, I do my best to return her to arm’s distance. “Well, I’m very sorry to hear that you’re feeling lonely. Maybe you could talk to one of your other friends.” I put an emphasis on the word friend, hoping that Emma will notice. “Unfortunately, Emma and I were just doing some important work on this case.”
I hold the file up.
“That’s right,” Emma agrees. “Finn was just agreeing that the firm was going to take it.”
“Well, I didn't quite—” I begin to say, and then I catch Emma’s eye. She certainly knows how to get what she wants. “Right, I was just agreeing that the firm would take it. It looks to be a very exciting case.”
I wonder what Emma thinks of me and Raven. Do I look like some jerk playboy toying with Raven’s heart? Worse, does she think I’m only pretending that the two of us aren’t an item so I can hit on her? I wish I could just explain the whole situation to her, but then again, I’m not quite sure exactly what I’d say if I tried.
Raven looks from me to Emma, then back to me. “Well, if you’re working on an important case, I suppose I won’t get in the way.”
“Thank you so much,” I tell her. I lead her back towards the door. “You know how it is with work. Never a moment to yourself. By the way, how’d you get past security, anyway? Not to be rude, but I could have sworn I told them not to let you in.”
“Oh, that’s no problem for true love,” she replies. “I have the song, after all.”
That’s right, I think. She’s a siren.
“Well, I’ll talk to you later,” I say, closing the door as quickly as I can behind her.
When I look back at Emma, she’s sipping the coffee I brought her with a bemused expression. I want to tell her something, anything to fix the damage Raven’s just done. But at that moment, my mind is totally blank.
Maybe she’s right, I think to myself as I return to the office, holding the new case I’ll now have to explain to my brothers. Maybe I am just a jerk playboy.
5
EMMA
It’s been hours since that woman left the office, but I can’t stop thinking about her. Which is driving me crazy, honestly. I know that I shouldn’t care who Finn spends his time with. He’s my boss, and I know barely anything about him. Except that I like being around him.
But clearly that woman does, too. And she’s so gorgeous, I can’t imagine any male – human or demon – wouldn’t want to spend time in her presence. I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful in real life. I kind of want to ask her what kind of hair treatment she uses, so I can run out and buy the exact same thing. Although even then I know I’ll never look as stunning.
She and Finn must be together, right? Why else would she be showing up at the office? But of course Finn is dating. He’s handsome and rich and arrogant, and I didn’t see a ring on his finger. I’m sure that woman is just one of a string of women he’s dating.
Which shouldn’t bother me at all, of course. Of course! Finn and I aren’t dating. Finn and I aren’t anything, except co-workers. Co-workers of barely a full week. We’re nothing to each other.
And, if I can’t focus on this brief I’m supposed to be proofreading, I won’t even be his co-worker much longer. But no matter how many times I stare at the document in front of me, determined to begin reviewing it, I find myself thinking about her. And Finn. And the two of them together.
At the end of the day, Lucy, another paralegal, pops her head into my office. “Hey, Emma, a bunch of us are going for a drink at the bar downstairs. Want to join us?”
I hesitate, thinking of my empty apartment and the evening stretching out ahead. All I’d do at home is stew over Finn and the mystery woman, or maybe alternate that fun topic with worry that I made a horrible mistake leaving home. “Sure,” I say, and Lucy smiles.
“Great! If you’re done, I’ll walk down with you.”
I stare at the brief and resolve to work on it first thing tomorrow. “I’m definitely ready to get out of here,” I tell her, grabbing my purse.
Downstairs, a group of people has claimed a long table near the entrance to the bar. Lucy and I grab seats in the middle, facing the door. “Do you know everyone?” Lucy asks me.
“Gretchen and Janice, right?” I say to the two women sitting across from us.
