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I can’t see Denise’s face now that she’s turned away from me, but from the smile melting off Alice’s face, I’m sure she’s giving my new hire one of her tried-and-true death glares. But rather than give Alice another snide comment, Denise plucks the coat from her outstretched hands, drapes it over her arm, and struts out of the room like a queen at court.
The intangible tension choking the room dissipates with her exit. Sighs of relief, even from the Warren and Baron team, resound, and Alice’s smile picks back up.
“So,” Ben says, cheeky grin in place. “You and Moore, huh?” Chris purses his lips in amusement, and Alice’s smile grows larger. The thing missing from them all? Judgment.
I have a great team. Great friends.
I don’t answer Ben, but I’m sure the smile I can’t control says it all.
Even though I’m guilty of the very thing I’d been wrongly accused of and vilified for eight years ago, the shame I was so sure would drown me isn’t there. But then, I’m not the same young girl, still grieving the loss of her parents, duped by her co-worker, shunned from her profession.
I’m the girl lucky enough to be loved by Chase Moore.
Chris snorts. “Like that wasn’t obvious from the elevator incident after Winston’s.”
Oh my god. Kill me now.
* * *
Chase
Walking is good.
Walking the sidewalks of Manhattan is not like walking on a secluded beach. Your mind doesn’t blank, and it isn’t a good time to sort through your thoughts.
You do that in New York and you’re roadkill.
Walking in New York calls for an active mind and sharp reflexes.
I waited in the closet for a good five minutes after Bell left, trying to simultaneously quell my goofy-ass smile and my ridiculously obvious hard-on. However, the mingled smell of Bell and sex had lingered in the air, and neither my smile nor my stiffy went down.
I escaped, hopefully without detection, and took refuge on the mad streets of Manhattan.
Bell loves me.
I’ve never been loved before. Or been in love.
It’s true that I’ve had girlfriends in the past, but none like Bell. She puts what I previously considered a relationship to shame. I didn’t know that I could feel this much, this fast. Or that it would actually be reciprocated. Because let’s face it, Bell is smart, accomplished, sexy as hell, and can keep a smart-ass like me on his toes.
Now I have to figure out how not to screw it up. Tonight, I’ll—
A shoulder slams into mine, sending me back a couple of steps.
Damn it. That hurt. The offending gentleman is already halfway down the block, not even slowing his stride.
New York, baby.
But it’s cool. A bruised shoulder isn’t going to dampen the fact that Bell loves me.
“Chase! Chase, dear!”
Fuck. How the hell did Denise find me? I turn my head, surprised to discover I’m just a few steps away from Moore’s side entrance. I must have turned a corner at some point and circled back.
Way to be sharp, Moore.
Happiness lost me my edge. Though, on second thought, one look at Denise’s sour face has fully cured my previous problems.
“Denise. How… unexpected.” I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be upstairs with the marketing team, but Chris had mumbled something about her many recent no-shows.
