A Mutually Beneficial Secret: A Spicy Secret Office Relationship RomCom (The Unexpected Book 3), page 8
“One thing I want you to remember is while you’ve worked your ass off to get where you are—and we’re so proud of you for that—your happiness is still very important. You might enjoy what you’re doing for Alliteration, but those books aren’t going to keep you warm at night. If there’s any chance Colin could be the guy for you, then I think you need to take the risk.”
The words leave Kenzie’s mouth, and, for a moment, I can’t believe it. I’ve always known she would do anything for me like I would for her, but her serious side isn’t one we see very often.
Ella nods and smiles softly. “Kenzie’s right. I’ve been thinking about your situation, and I know I said before that you shouldn’t give up all of your hard work for a man, but what if you don’t have to? What if you took a chance and just see what happens? It’s not like you get this way with every guy who talks to you. Whatever is going on is different and you know it, or you wouldn’t be struggling so badly. Do you really want to wonder what might have been if you decide to say no to Colin?”
Damn it. No, I didn’t want to wonder, but the frightening feeling of this all going sideways is a lot to overcome.
Kenzie briefly points her camera toward her chest. “I have never wanted to shove your face into my breasts and hold you tighter than I do right now, but since I can’t, I’ll just say one more thing. We love you, Piper. You are the best part of our friendship. You know what you need to do. You knew the moment he kissed you again in that elevator. Follow that little voice and see where it takes you.”
I’m half laughing and half crying by the time she’s done, and so is Ella as she says, “Ditto everything the crazy one says. Only this time she’s absolutely right, and we both know it.”
Ella blows me a kiss and Kenzie does the same before they both hang up. I toss my phone toward the end of the couch and throw my head back.
Am I really going to take the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life? And all for a guy?
Holy hell, I am.
Chapter Twelve
WITH MY TEETH
Colin
That may not have gone how I hoped it would, but all things considered, I’m not disappointed with getting everything out there between the two of us.
Sure, I only just met Piper and might have scared the hell out of her with my declarations, but at a certain point in life, when you know, you know. There’s no point in trying to deny things when they’re smacking me right in the face.
After having said my piece, I spent the rest of the weekend able to relax. There is nothing more I can do, and I won’t pursue Piper after this. I don’t want to force her into something she could regret later.
Knowing I’d done what I needed to allowed me to focus on other things, like building a bookshelf in my office at home. It had taken me all of Sunday, but at least all of the books I’d paid thousands of dollars to ship overseas now had a proper place in the house.
Now, it’s Monday morning and I find myself feeling ready for the day. There are no more nerves or anxiety inside me.
When I get into my office early, I reply to emails first and check the clock a few times. Nothing has changed here. I still intend to sit with Piper this morning and finish my observation of her integrating the work I know she did at home this weekend back into the piles she had strewn about on her desk Friday.
A few minutes before eight, I get up and grab my notepad. When I turn for the door, I see Brian leaning against the frame.
“Hey, man. I tried to call you this weekend. Thought you might have wanted to go out again with us,” he says.
I smile and shrug. “Sorry. I was busy doing stuff around the house, and I don’t think I’ll be going out again.”
Brian cocks his brow. “Found yourself a woman already? Is it that beauty I saw you with on the dance floor at the club?”
Fuck. He’d seen us? Well, maybe not entirely. He’d said “beauty”, not Piper. So, it had to be fine.
“Nah. It’s just not for me. At least not every weekend. You’ll be the first person I call when I feel like letting loose, though,” I say and take a step forward, hoping he leaves without me having to tell him I’m busy.
He nods and holds his fist out. “You better, or you’ll never hear the end of it from us. The guys all liked you once you relaxed a little.”
I bump his fist, since it seems as if he’s not going to move until I do. “Thanks.” Hopefully that’s the proper response. These guys are nothing like the friends I had back home. We didn’t do clubs. We had private gatherings that didn’t need loud music and sloppy dancing to be fun.
Yes, I realize that makes me sound old, but I enjoyed myself and met a lot of great people thanks to those parties. I mean, it wasn’t like we sat around playing chess.
Once Brian heads back to his office, I make my way to Piper’s. Her door is open, and I step inside to find her bent over the desk with her back to me, attempting to organize the papers as I assumed she would be.
“I almost missed the show,” I say teasingly, but it isn’t until she swirls around with wide eyes that I realize it came out wrong.
That doesn’t mean I hadn’t also been thinking about what it might be like to take her over this desk and make her scream my name. Though, that’s not the thought she’s going to want to hear.
I point to the papers. “I was wondering earlier how you were going to organize all of your notes once you came back in.”
Her shoulders drop. “Oh. Right. I only have three piles normally, and I need them to be in chapter order for my work later to make sense, so it looks like a disaster now, but it’s not.”
Moving further into the office, I make sure to give her enough space. “Do you want help?”
She bites her lip and shakes her head. “I’m almost done. Sorry, I didn’t think you were coming this morning, or I would have waited.”
My eyes meet hers, and I hope they convey the patience I feel inside. “Nothing has changed here, Piper. Whatever was said this weekend has no effect on what happens in the office, as long as we don’t let it, and I don’t intend to.”
She looks down at the desk and takes a deep breath. While she’s processing what I’ve said, I take a moment to appreciate her formfitting black slacks and the red blouse with a small bow just below her neck that I would love to undo with my teeth.
Finally, she meets my gaze again. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
I nearly reach for her, then think better of it. “You have nothing to apologize for. Well, maybe you do. May I ask something I didn’t before?”
Piper’s jaw tightens, and she glances at the door. “Uh, sure.”
My finger points to all of the papers. “Why do you print them?”
“Oh.” Her mouth forms a circle as the singular word falls from her lips. I don’t think she really believes me when I say nothing with work has to change. I’ll have to be extra sure to show her that, especially until she makes her decision about us.
“Well, it’s easier for me to do a second round of edits when my mind isn’t distracted by the comments I’ve already left. Maybe I was in a mood before and missed something or judged it too harshly. I like to know that my opinions are in the best interest of the author and their book, not clouded by my personal feelings.”
That isn’t the answer I was expecting, and I feel bad for what I’m about to say, but again, I’m here to make things easier, and I can’t hold back when I see something that could be improved.
“What if you just had two electronic files and once you were done, you could merge the documents and all of the comments you left would appear together.” My suggestion is simple, yet the shock on her face is anything but.
She blinks several times. “I don’t know. That’s just how my old editor did things. I picked up her process without thinking much about it, but you’re right. That way would save the company money and me possibly hours of time. I don’t know why I never thought to do something differently.”
My lips curve into a smile, and I reach for her elbow, unable to stop myself from touching her any longer. “That’s why we’re doing this. It’s easy to continue doing the same thing over and over again because it’s comfortable…safe. But there’s nothing wrong with change when it has good intentions.”
Piper glances down where my hand is wrapped around her elbow. When she looks back up at me, there’s a softness in her eyes I’ve yet to see. Like a window to her world that I would love to lose myself in.
“Thank you,” she says quietly, then steps away and resumes shuffling papers. “I’ll make two electronic copies for the next book I work on and let you know how it goes.”
I nod, then wait quietly as she finishes organizing the chapters however works for her current system.
She hasn’t given an inkling as to whether or not she’s made a decision about my asking her to risk her job to date me, but I didn’t expect an answer so soon. Not from this woman. I have a feeling after watching her work and the few conversations we’ve had that even if she’s made up her mind already, she’ll wait days, possibly weeks, before she says the words out loud.
It’s a trait I equally admire and hate right now.
When she’s done, I take my seat. This time, the door stays open, and I keep my chair on the opposite side of the desk from her.
At my suggestion, Piper quickly explains why she’s been editing the way she has and how everything works. I listen intently and take more notes, because even though I hope she’ll switch to editing all through the electronic copies, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a piece of her process that could be helpful in other ways.
“So, that’s it. I still have fifteen more chapters to get through, and once I combine everything, I skim through notes one more time to make sure I’ve written them clearly and concisely, then I do my editorial letter and email everything to the author.” She lets out a heavy breath and reaches for a bottle of water at the back of her desk.
My eyes watch the way her blouse rises and shows just a sliver of creamy skin at her waist. Damn, I hope she says yes and doesn’t make me wait long.
We continue to keep things only business. We chat about books we’ve worked on, things we love most about our job, and what we hope to accomplish.
I can’t stop myself from smiling when I finally exit her office just before lunch. During the couple of hours we spent just talking—of course, keeping it work-related—there wasn’t an ounce of awkwardness between us.
After Piper warmed up, I was able to watch the way her eyes glistened when she talked about the things she was truly passionate about, like finding those diamond-in-the-rough stories with authors who just want to learn and use their words to help people escape from reality for a short time.
As passionate as she was about that part of the process, I’m surprised she’s not a writer herself, but when I asked if she’d ever written anything, she waved me off and said, “once an editor, always an editor.”
I whistle softly as I make my way back to my office and find Steve headed in my direction. For once, I don’t dread seeing him.
He reaches a hand toward me, and we shake. “Good day so far?” he asks.
“Absolutely. I just finished up with the first employee I decided to shadow, and I can already see we’re going to be able to make positive changes,” I say.
His fist nudges my shoulder. “I’m glad to hear it. Let me know if you need anything before Thursday. I’ll be gone for a few days, but my assistant Carla will still be around if there’s something urgent.”
I nod and adjust the papers in my hands. “Hopefully, you’re taking holiday somewhere fun?”
Steve grimaces and lowers his voice as his face gets closer to mine. “I wish. The wife is taking me to her sister’s fifth wedding. Like we haven’t seen her get married enough already.”
My shoulders shake with laughter as he walks past me. “Good luck with that,” I call before heading into my office.
As I sit down in my chair and put my notes on the desk, I lean back and grin. Maybe moving all the way to the U.S. for a job wasn’t the craziest idea I’ve ever had.
Piper is perfect in every way, and I just hope she allows me to show her that I could be the same for her.
Chapter Thirteen
BLOODY HELL
Piper
Nearly three achingly long, yet interesting weeks have passed since Colin was in my kitchen and asked me to take a risk with him. I’d decided that day that I wanted to give things a try with him and let future Piper deal with the fallout, but I’d wanted time to get to know Colin without the complication of feelings between us. To experience how work could be if we didn’t make things messy.
I’m not sure if seeing how easy everything has felt between us makes my decision harder or easier, but either way, I haven’t changed my mind about seeing what happens.
I spent quite a bit of time with Colin. A part of me was testing him, and I felt only slightly bad about that. Not once did he ask me if I’d made up my mind. Not once did he try to kiss me or touch me in any way that was romantic. We were merely coworkers getting to know each other as friends.
If that didn’t punch me right in all the feels, I didn’t know what would.
I’d finally had enough of this arms-length, friendship thing we were doing. Ever since our last kiss at my house, I haven’t forgotten the press of his lips against mine, the feel of his hard length, or the gentle way he held me.
It’s Friday night, and I stayed late at work so that I don’t have to bring anything home with me for the weekend. I intend to pay Colin a surprise visit at his house. I found out where he lives when I saw his car parked in the driveway on my way home last week. When he’d been jogging around my house, I didn’t consider he might live only a few blocks away.
Apparently, the universe isn’t done pushing us together.
Telling him I’m ready to try isn’t easy, but I know I can’t be left wondering what might have been. I need to know if this man could be worth whatever might happen in the future.
Yes, I love my job, but I’ve only made work such a priority because it’s safe. Work can’t hurt me as long as I do my job to the best of my ability.
I’m not getting any younger, and seeing my two best friends fall in love…well, it’s made me reevaluate some things.
After logging off my computer and grabbing my purse, I flick the lights off and head for the elevator.
While I’m waiting for the doors to open, I search for my phone and can’t find it. I turn around to go check my desk, but a glow of light coming from another office distracts me. Tiptoeing forward, I stay quiet and peek to see who’s still here with me because they’ve been quiet as a mouse. Also, maybe because I secretly hope I know who’s still here.
I see the door to Colin’s office is closed, and an idea immediately starts to form in my mind. Something spontaneous and not me, but I don’t want to be afraid to act on my first thoughts anymore.
When I get back to my office, I grab my phone and dim the light on the screen since I’m in the dark room. Thank you, Shannon, for sharing everyone’s numbers with me for those just-in-case situations I didn’t think I’d ever have.
Me: What are you doing right now?
I’ve never contacted Colin, so he shouldn’t know this is me, and I hope to screw with him a bit before popping into his office.
Colin: Working late. You?
Not the answer I expected, but I can work with this.
Me: Wondering why a guy like you would be working so late on a Friday…alone.
I hear a snort-laugh from down the hall.
Colin: Because the girl I want isn’t ready for me. At least I didn’t think so…
What the hell does that mean? This is not working out how I wanted.
Me: Well, I’m sure it’s her loss.
Colin: What are you saying, Piper?
I gasp, and my phone clatters onto my metal desk. How the hell does he know it’s me? Shit. Why didn’t I realize that if Shannon has everyone’s number that the others probably do as well?
I feel like such an idiot.
“Piper?” Colin calls from the hallway.
Instead of stepping out to meet him, I transform into a crazy person and decide to hide under my desk in hopes he’ll just go back to his office when he can’t see anything.
After all my attempts to banter with Kenzie, I should have known I couldn’t pull off screwing with Colin over text.
His footfalls sound closer, and I stop breathing, afraid to make even the slightest noise. I’m just grateful my light was already off.
Then, my mother-freaking phone starts to vibrate. On the metal desktop.
The light turns on. My face heats. I’m frozen in the ball I’ve attempted to form into under my desk.
Colin walks around the desk and bends down, settling onto a knee. He smiles, and there’s a tightness in his face that tells me he’s doing everything he can not to laugh his ass off right now.
“What are you doing down there?” he asks casually with a raised brow, looking around me for a second before meeting my flaming face again.
“Dropped something. Couldn’t find it. I’m done now, though.” My fingers uncurl from my knees, and I put my palms on the floor to get up, but I’m still too far under the desk and don’t realize it.
My head slams into the underside of the desk, and I see stars.
Blinking rapidly, I’m back on my ass and wobbling to the side, but Colin catches me before I can fall over.
“Whoa, let me help you.” His hands reach for my ribs, pulling me toward him, and this is the closest we’ve been since the night at my house.
Heat leaves my face and travels south, especially when I realize I’m wearing a dress today and might have been showing him more than he bargained for when he first walked in.
Slowly, Colin helps me stand, but my knees are shaking with weeks of pent-up sexual tension. I don’t know that I can be alone with him right now. I didn’t expect to see him so soon. I shouldn’t have texted him. I should have just gone the hell home like I’d intended and waited to show up at his house.
