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“Why?” His jaw ticks just a bit, barely perceptible.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
His long legs eat the distance between us as he holds my gaze, that evil glint in his big brown eyes, looking wonderfully hazel today with flecks of green and gold. “You’re devious,” he whispers, looming over me, the tip of his finger tracing over my jaw. “Anything to get off, hmm? Well, no matter. I guess I’ll see you on Thursday night, anyway.”
He drops his hand at the same time my mouth falls open.
“Thursday night? What? No. We’re having our birthday par…ty….”
There’s that smirk again, sliding right into place on his face while I connect the dots. Of course Avery and Wyatt are coming to the party on Thursday. They’re working with us now, after all. How could I have been so daft as to not even think of that? I mentally move my name up a couple slots on the stupid list.
Avery glances down at my desk and raps his knuckles on it before lifting his gaze back to mine. “Wear something I can bend you over this desk in.” He leans down and touches his lips to mine. “Bye, Claire.”
Avery leaves me gaping in my spot as he heads for the door. He twists the lock and Charlee comes tumbling forward into his arms, like she had her ear pressed to the door.
Her wild eyes bounce between us, and so does her finger. “Aha! Caught ya! I knew it! I fucking knew it!”
Avery grins. “Bye Charlee. Make sure Claire gets enough liquids at lunch. Little Miss Strawberry needs to replenish her electrolytes.”
He disappears without so much as a second glance in my direction, and Charlee nearly tackles me to the ground.
“You little sex kitten!” Charlee crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head, wide smile growing by the second. “You are so fucking screwed, Claire.”
So. Fucking. Screwed.
***
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Avery
My eyes peel over the proposal in front of me that Andre sent over first thing this morning. Like always, it’s impressive. Andre’s work is amazing, but he’s good to me. He always charges my clients a fair price. This one is no different.
“It’s a good proposal,” Wyatt murmurs beside me, flipping through his printed copy.
“It is,” I mutter my agreement. Maybe even a little too good. Andre’s shaven off almost a third of the price from the competing quotes that Claire already received. He likes her. He wants to make sure he gets this contract.
Wyatt tosses his copy on the coffee table and leans back on my couch, stretching out his long legs and lacing his fingers behind his head. “You talk to Claire about it yet?”
“Not yet. I’m gonna call her after you leave.” I know she’s seen it though. She texted me an hour ago. There were no words, just a series of emojis.
A smirk tugs up the corner of Wyatt’s mouth. “Why not call her now? What if I wanna talk to her, too? Or do you not want to share?”
I ignore him and click through my email on my computer, shifting my reading glasses up my nose. I’ve got a lunch meeting in forty minutes with a client, and I can’t for the life of me remember where he wanted to meet. It’s been happening all week. My brain feels fried every time I think about Claire.
Fringe. I type the restaurant into my phone now in case I forget after talking to Claire on the phone after this. It doesn’t seem far-fetched.
“You heading out early today?” Wyatt asks.
Glancing at him, I nod. “Gotta lunch meeting with Galvin Pharmaceuticals and a couple check-ins, so I won’t be back.”
“I still can’t believe you finally convinced GP to go public with their stocks. This is huge.” He runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “You’re gonna make a pretty penny off this one.”
“You too, Wyatt.”
“Ah, shit, man. You know I feel bad when it’s a deal this huge and one you’ve worked on so long. We don’t have to split.”
“We do. We’re partners, so that’s kinda how this goes.” I lean back in my chair, twisting side-to-side. “Plus, you know I could never get this shit done without you.”
