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I watch her leave, smiling at her when she waves at me from the elevator.
This dynamic isn’t what I wanted, and it wasn’t what I thought I’d get from her. But maybe… maybe wecanmake this work. Just as friends. Friends with benefits. Just for now.
Once I have the thought, I can’t help but roll with it. I grab my bag and jog to the elevator. I get there just as the doors are opening.
“I’ll ride it with you.”
She nods, shrugging.
“Laura,” I say suddenly. “Come with me to the banquet.”
Her eyes widen. “The… New Year's Charity Banquet? Next weekend?”
I nod. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
She nods slowly. “I think so…”
“Well, Jessi is going to be there with Lewis. It’s a good chance to show that we’re serious. And no one will think much of it that I invited a junior attorney. The partners do it all the time, if they’re taking one under their wing.”
Her brows rise. “And is that what’s happening?”
I shrug. “It’s not favoritism,” I say. “It’s… convenient.”
She purses her lips. “Why is it called the New Year's banquet if it’s at the end of January?”
I laugh. “I have no idea.”
She hums. But she doesn’t answer me.
“Come on. You’d be doing me a good favor. Those things are a bore.” The elevator is getting close to the bottom. “Honestly, Laura, I… I want us to be friends. I know this is strange, but… well, we get on, don’t we? And we’ll be in each other’s lives, at least a little, once this is over.”
She considers what I’ve said. My heart beats. I mean it. It’s not just the good sex. It’s that Laura isn’t going anywhere, and honestly, I don’t want her to. Even if I can’t have her the way I want her, shouldn’t we be friends?
The elevator reaches the bottom floor.
“Yes. I’ll go with you,” she sighs.
I grin. “Great! I’ll have Piper send you the details.”
We part ways after she refuses my offer for a ride home, saying she’s going to meet Alice anyway. I remind her she has no underwear and might want to stop at home first. I’m still chuckling at her expression when I get to the car.
“What’s so funny?” Damon asks, brows rising at my good mood.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing. Thanks for staying late.”
Damon nods, smiling with a curious expression.
We get out of the garage and on the main road. I see Laura in Alice’s car, and Alice’s screaming is obvious even through the window.
I laugh all the way back home.
CHAPTER 17
Laura
The banquet is on Sunday, and I have nothing to wear.
I’m not usually the kind of person who cares if there’s something to wear or not. I have comfortable clothes, I have clothes that I can wear to the grocery store, I have work clothes, and Alice dresses me before we go out to a party. What else is there?
