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That earns me a chuckle and a smile. His warm hazel eyes dance around my face. God, he really is handsome with those windswept blond locks and big muscles. Sometimes I hate that we have this type of relationship, because if he wasn’t such a brother to me, he’d be perfect. I just can’t get over what we already have though.
I tried once. It didn’t work. Yeah, it hadn’t ruined our relationship, but it’d taken me a solid two weeks before I could make eye contact with him, which isn’t exactly how you want things to go at your new job. I kept dashing out of the room as soon as meetings were done, until he finally cornered me in the stairwell and demanded that we just forget it ever happened. So that’s what we did. Me and him, not Charlee. Charlee never forgot it happened, and I don’t think she ever will.
She’s constantly suggesting that she should get to hook up with my brother to make it even. I wouldn’t put it past either of them to try. Frankly, it’s a miracle it hasn’t happened yet, but I think it’s just because my poor brother has had the weight of the world thrust onto his shoulders in recent years. Hook-ups haven’t been on his radar for a while now.
Dex flops down beside his sister on the couch and steals a chunk of her muffin. She slaps him away. He shoves his hand in her face, pushing her backwards.
“Claire,” he mumbles with his mouth full. “You ready for the meeting?”
Ah, shoot. Meeting. I glance at my phone. “What time is it at again?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Right, right, right.” I drum my fingers on the desk and let my head bounce, trying to ignore the renewed thudding this sets off inside my skull.
He laughs, his head shaking. “You don’t have to do anything today, just show your pretty face. Might need you to help me field some questions. But if this goes well, and I can’t see why it wouldn’t, you’ll be their number one contact.”
“Yes, of course. And you’re right, it’ll go well. Didn’t you say they’re friends of yours? Uh, Jones & Beck, right?” God, I hope I’ve at least got the name of the investment firm right or this is going to look really bad. I’m so unprepared today. At least I’ve got my trusty binder. I whip open my filing cabinet and pull it out, running the tip of my finger along the color-coded tabs. My shoulders sag with the relief that floods my system at the one part of my life I keep mostly organized.
Minus this whole forgetting-about-the-meeting debacle.
Dex nods and swipes Charlee’s coffee, sipping it. He makes a funky face. “What the fuck is this?”
“Cinnamon chai latte,” she replies with a shrug.
“Gross.” He crosses the room to my desk and grabs my iced coffee, sucking hungrily through the straw. “Mmm, so much better.” He slams it down and heads for the door. “Yeah, we were friends in college. They’re good guys. Excited about this. They don’t usually bother with investments this small but, like I said, they’re good guys. Happy to help me out.” His eyes linger on me a moment before he raps his knuckles on the doorframe. “See ya in a few.” He points at Charlee. “Go sell my beer.”
With a groan, Charlee pulls herself off the couch, making a face at the back of Dex’s head as he exits. “Yes, boss,” she hisses and mock salutes the spot where he used to be standing. “I hate working for him.”
“No you don’t. You love it. He’s the best boss there is.”
Charlee does all of the marketing for Cherry Lane. She visits the liquor stores, beer stores, grocery stores, bars, and restaurants, and convinces them to stock Cherry Lane. It’s not particularly difficult. Cherry Lane is so popular in Ontario and it’s spreading through a lot of the other provinces now too, even some states just over the border. Its craft speaks for itself and people love to shop and buy local in this day and age, so that certainly helps. Regardless, Charlee is absolutely fantastic at what she does. She could sell underwear to a nudist.
She also plans all of our events, usually with me although I’m definitely unneeded, because goddamn, that woman knows how to throw a party. But after eighteen years by her side, I don’t need to work on her party planning committee to know that.
Charlee wraps her arms around me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. “Go be a pretty face at the meeting,” she whispers.
I’m secretly glad I don’t have to do anything at the meeting. I’m too tired, maybe a bit hungover still, and just pure lazy this Monday morning. It’s not my usual style, so I can get away with it once in a while. I almost wore my PJs to work today, but thought better of it, because it’s not an ideal way to start a workweek. Also, not professional and would make being productive difficult.
Avery’s brown eyes and those ridiculous waves drift through my head, telling me I wouldn’t have paid attention anyway because my mind is elsewhere today. I try to shoo them away. Literally, I wave my hand in front of my face like I’m swatting at a fly.
Charlee swings around to hit me with two raised brows. “You okay there, Clarice?”
I shudder at the name and the way she says it, like she’s coaxing me out of a hiding spot in a pitch-black house with the empty promise not to hurt me. “Can you not call me that? All I think about is cannibals and that damn movie.” My body shakes with another shudder, entirely unholy images clouding my mind. “Oh God, that’s literally all I’m thinking about now! Charlee!”
Laughing like the evil witch she is, she drums her fingers together in front of her mouth.
“That’s not even my name!” I shout as she backs out my office. Her cackle echoes off the walls in the hallway.
Good, she’s gone. Now back to those piercing brown eyes. And oh God, those hands. Those big, warm hands, dipping under my—
“Hey Claire. You wanna head over to the meeting together?”
I’m not proud of the high-pitched shriek that escapes my mouth as I rocket out of my chair.
Grant, one of the accountants, arches a brow at me from my doorway. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Little jumpy this morning?”
Trying to swallow down the lump of pure lust lodged in my chest, I dust off my dress, because it’s…dusty? God, I’m a wreck. I clear my throat. “Just a bit. I’d love to walk down with you, but I need to make a pit stop first.”
