reply to Cole MacCaffrey: *middle finger emoji* Just pass on the message
I set my phone down and return my attention to my sister. “Sorry.”
She shrugs, offering a wry smile. “Hey, it’s nothing to me. You’re the one who’s let his sashimi go all cold.”
I roll my eyes at what has to be the lamest joke in the world.
“So…Will seems to be working out okay so far,” Em says.
I nod. “Yeah, so far. Although it’s only been three weeks.” Three weeks where I’ve practically lived in my office just to reduce the odds of seeing him, because god knows every time I so much as think about him all I want to do is—
“Spence?”
“Huh?”
Emily shakes her head in exasperation. “You know, I could have made other plans for lunch today,” she says pointedly. “You’re the one who wanted to do this.”
“You’re right, sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was talking about the AC demolition. Maybe you should take Will with you?”
“Um, yeah…maybe.”
Em’s face lights up. “Okay, great. I’ll let Maya know when she needs to cover for him.
Um, wait…what? But, of course, I can’t tell my sister I didn’t actually agree with her, because then I’d need to tell her why. And admitting that sharing the close confines of a limo backseat with my assistant for the entire drive to Atlantic City scares the hell out of me just isn’t something I’m willing to do.
8
Will
* * *
In the four weeks I’ve been working at CPG, I’ve seen Spencer Cox all of three times; once for that bizarre interrogation about Shay, once when he paraded a beautiful brunette past my desk and flirted with her right in front of me, and once when he paraded a beautiful blonde past my desk and flirted with her right in front of me. He’s always holed up in his office by the time I get to my desk in the morning, and very, very rarely does he leave before I do. Or even leave at all.
In fact, I’ve come to wonder whether there might be an escape hatch of some kind in his office because that would definitely explain a few things.
“What’s with that look on your face?” Maya asks, voice full of wry amusement.
I spare a furtive glance for the opaque walls of Spencer’s office before leaning in closer to Maya. “Is he always so…cut off?”
Maya chuckles. “Hmm…well, he does like privacy, but he’s been a bit worse than usual the past few weeks, I can admit that. He’s got a pretty good reason though…” Oh my god. She knows! “He’s had a lot going on,” she continues. “You know, all the legal stuff? I get why he doesn’t want to interact with people right now.”
Oh, right. I slump back against my chair, relieved to know my paranoia isn’t warranted. “Right. Of course.” I attempt to get back to work, but a niggling thought makes me lean over to pester Maya again. “But is it weird that he doesn’t talk to me?” I ask. “I’m just getting all my instructions in email and text…”
Maya considers the question for a moment, her expression forming into a thoughtful frown. “It’s not how he’d usually work with his assistant, that’s true. But I guess he’s just being cautious after what happened last time…”
Or maybe he’s trying to avoid me because he’s uncomfortable about the fact that I fucked him in a public hallway of a gay club and evidently the whole world thinks he’s straight. I obviously don’t propose that theory to Maya, though.
Spencer Cox: Isaac will pick you up IN front of the building at 2pm this afternoon
I stare in confusion at the text. Usually when Spencer’s driver takes me somewhere it’s to courier something that needs to be delivered urgently, or to pick up dry-cleaning that can’t possibly wait until the next day…something like that. But I haven’t received any instructions for a task like that so I have no idea why Isaac would be driving me somewhere.
Me: Is there something you need me to get for you? Or take somewhere? I didn’t get an email or text about it
Spencer Cox: Just meet the car at 2
Spencer Cox: Please
My brows shoot up at the second text and I can’t help letting out a soft little chuckle at the idea that he re-read his message and realized how terse it sounded.
Me: Okay. Got it
As usual, when I meet Spencer’s driver at the limo, he opens the door for me and waits for me to slide into the