Page 11 of The Work Wife

“He’s still trying to woo you to his team.”

“Apparently.”

“You’re not interested? Not even a little?” he asked.

“No.” Not after making a list of pros and cons last night. “I’m fine where I am. We’ve got a good thing going.”

“I think he wants to be more than your partner.”

She snorted and shook her head. “You’re crazy.”

“Am I? Then why is he looking at your ass right now?”

Jamie turned to look behind them and sure enough, Duane’s gaze was at ass level. He looked away immediately.

“Should I go tell him he doesn’t have a shot because you were fondling me last night?” He grinned down at her, all innocence.

“Let’s just go to the office so you can eat your scone.”

He stuck out his tongue, making her laugh. She realized then that things between them were perfectly normal. Their friendship was strong enough to weather any storm or momentary doubts.

* * * *

Wes pulled the scone out of the bag and took a bite. Dark chocolate chunks and dried cherries made him groan with delight. He glanced up to see Jamie shaking her head.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just thinking I should have brought you a spot of tea instead of coffee.”

The ball was back in his court. That was fine. He was ready. “Hey, remember that time you groped me in the lobby while I was sleeping? You didn’t even tell me I was pretty.”

“You’re pretty. Now shut it and focus on the Newport building. It’s due this week.”

He moved through his emails, stopping on one from Duane that had come in only minutes before.

She’s not yours, the message read.

He wanted to write back something like, Yes, she is. But it wasn’t true. He knew Jamie wanted to move up. He could tell she was still thinking about the opportunity, even if she thought she’d made her decision.

Rather than play into Duane’s lunacy, he deleted the message and went on about his day. Occasionally he would glance up at her to see her staring out the window.

Would she leave? He couldn’t imagine having to get used to someone else. They knew each other so well. He didn’t want to start over with some stranger. But he didn’t want her to feel like he was holding her back.

He got caught staring.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head and looked down at . . . nothing. Damn. He snapped up a file and opened it.

“Okay, fine.” Jamie let out a loud sigh. “I touched your dick. Big deal!”

She was trying to make this about the lobby incident.

“You’re still considering his offer,” he blurted out. “I can tell it’s bothering you. Do you want to talk it out? Pros and cons?”

“I already did pros and cons.”

“And?”