When You're Mine - Layla Hagen Page 0,8

she’d ask us over to pack the rest of their things.”

I chuckled. True, our sister usually liked to text us at least twice a day, but she had a lot on her plate.

“Nah, don’t butt in. They’ll ask for help if they need it.”

Brayden was home for a break between legs of the tour, and they just wanted time for themselves.

“Butting in? No one in this family appreciates me,” he muttered before leaving the office.

I spun in my chair, looking outside. Our office was in a building overlooking the Hudson River. It wasn’t far from my apartment, so I lost zero time commuting. I loved efficiency—it allowed me to focus on the essential things, like project Z. We had other projects going on too, but those were running like a well-oiled machine, bringing in a lot of revenue. Project Z was something Ian and I needed to do.

It was challenging and pushing my limits, but I loved every second of it. I'd always been looking for ways to prove myself. I always wanted challenges that made me see beyond the narrow scope of software programming. I'd gotten into it by mistake in high school when I became a hacker and roped my brother into it too. We lurked around without breaking the law... most of the time. Now we put our skills to better use. And after an intense day of programming, I needed to blow off steam. It was necessary, or I'd go insane. My favorite way of blowing off steam was working out. Before joining Genesis, I mostly jogged, but I wanted a more intensive workout.

I’d planned to go later this evening, but I was already on edge. I couldn't stand being at work anymore. I went to my brother's office. He was at the keyboard typing furiously, and I knew he was programming. Both of us were still very skilled at writing code and enjoyed doing it because we were good at it. Being businesspeople came second, and we always described ourselves as software programmers first, then as business owners. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I sent him a message, letting him know I was heading for the gym. He’d signed up yesterday too, so I was likely to see him there later.

I walked to Genesis since it was a few blocks away. I was proud of my “triangle of efficiency.” My office, my condo, and the gym were all in walking distance from each other, near Battery Park.

The gym was relatively full when I arrived, but it didn’t feel crowded. While I changed, Ian texted me that he was going to drop by the gym too. I went straight to the treadmill, setting the timer for forty minutes. Running gave me a sense of freedom. Growing up in Montana, I was outdoors a lot. Running while overlooking the Hudson River reminded me a bit of home.

Twenty minutes into the workout, a sinful distraction named Mel appeared.

Finally.

I’d come here every day since I’d signed up three days ago, but I hadn’t seen her again since that first time. I ended my workout early and stepped down as she approached with a huge smile. Her eyes were strikingly beautiful, not just because they were vivid green, but their round shape was simply gorgeous. She’d pulled her dark brown hair on top of her head. I wanted to run my hands through it to feel its silkiness. Even though she was tall, I still towered over her by several inches. Up close, I now noticed a dimple at the right corner of her mouth, something I’d not seen before.

“Hey. Where have you been the last few days?” Mel asked.

Nice to know she missed me.

“You’ve been keeping an eye out for me?” I teased.

She blushed. “I figured maybe you decided not to join after all.”

“I was already signed up. And if I weren’t, meeting you definitely sold me on the gym.”

“How did I manage that? By fainting on you?” she asked with a giggle.

“By promising to spill some secrets next time we meet.”

Her blush intensified. I enjoyed it immensely.

“Oh, that? You remember, huh?”

“Told you that you’re not off the hook.”

“I thought you might say that.”

“Is this why I haven’t seen you around these past few days? Were you hiding?”

Her lips curled in a half smile. They were so fucking tempting that I was itching to touch and taste them.

“So you’ve been keeping an eye out for me too, huh?”

“Both eyes.” I did my two-finger-me-to-you eye point.

She licked her