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“No,” she says. “I can’t find anyone worth hiring.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, grabbing my coffee and joining her again. “I’m looking for an assistant for Cole. Do you want me to keep an eye out for you, too?”
“Yes, please,” she says, setting her MacBook aside. “I don’t know how this city is this populated and we have no one worth hiring.”
“Just use me until you find someone,” I say, sipping my coffee.
Her rejection is instant. “I’m not going to do that to you. You have a new boss and a new career.”
And a whole lot more, I think. “How close are you to done with the book?” I ask, setting her up for my next point I plan to make.
“A few chapters,” she says, “but it’s not right. I know when it’s not right.”
“A new assistant can’t learn and help at this late stage,” I say. “It makes sense for me to help. I love this project. I want to help.”
Her expression is conflicted. “I’ll pay you.”
“You already paid me,” I say. “With help and friendship in all kinds of ways.” I key my MacBook to life. “Did you send me the file?”
“Not yet,” she says, but she makes no move to do so now. Instead, she just looks at me.
“What?”
“I’m waiting to hear the real scoop on you and Cole.”
“Why did I know this was going to be an issue today?” I ask, buying time to think. I want to tell her, desperately want to tell her, but Cat is married to Reese, and this feels like it needs to be between me and Cole; at least for now.
“You and Cole are throwing flames together. I’ve never seen either of you charge a room in the presence of another person you aren’t even touching.”
I don’t deny the truth. I might not tell Cat everything but I’m not lying to her. “Okay. Fine. We have a little spark.”
“Not little,” she says. “A big, big flame. What’s the real story with you two?”
“We aren’t going to work until we get past this, are we?”
“Nope. Not a chance in hell. And why wouldn’t you tell me? We’re fast becoming like sisters.”
She’s right. We are, and I love her to pieces. I just don’t want to lie to her or ignore Cole’s right to privacy either. “I literally ran into him outside your building a few months back,” I say, giving her something, and a portion of the truth, at that. “I dropped my garment bag in the process and he helped me pick it up,” I add. “He asked me out for coffee and I declined and now he’s my boss. Neither of us knew until we saw each other at the office.”
“Oh wow,” she says. “How weird was that for you and him?”
“Actually, it’s fine. We talked about it and we’re past it.”
“Yes, but you’re not. You have chemistry with him. I can’t believe you turned him down when he asked you out just based on that alone. Not to mention the fact that he’s an incredible guy and so good-looking, and you never date. I mean, my God, you should have at least made that one night stand with him, not some other guy.”
She’s obviously trying to find out if Cole was my one night stand, and I’m not going there. It’s not my secret alone. “How would that work?” I ask, sticking to the day I’ve admitted to meeting Cole. “Hey, sexy stranger. I just finished a job, have another to go to before I check on my sick mother, but about eleven I could pencil you and I in for sexy time.”
She crinkles her nose. “You could have at least gone for coffee.”
“Come on, Cat. I couldn’t think about a one night stand at that point in time. And what if it had become more? A girl like I was then, struggling, with no money, is either a charity case to a guy like Cole or someone who he thinks is after his money.”
“That’s crazy,” she says. “You have the world before you.”
“More so now, yes,” I say, “but we’re talking about when I first met Cole. That day, when I turned him down, everything was uncertain. I wouldn’t have wanted that imbalance. It would have affected us both.”
“And now?”
“We’re back to he’s my boss. That’s pretty imbalanced.”
