Page 72 of The Write Off

“I’ll go anywhere, as long as you’re there.”

A grin stretches across her face that steals my breath. She’s so goddamn beautiful. “You want to go on an adventure with me?”

“I do.”

“What if I told you I feel like having an adventure right now?” she asks, coyly.

“How adventurous are we talking?” I ask in a low voice as I advance towards her.

“Do you remember the balcony scene in Ravished By A Raptor?”

“Vividly,” I shake my head, laughing. She read the entire novella out loud to me over the course of a week. I was not expecting dinosaur erotica to be so well-written.

Her curls bounce as she starts to walk up the stairs backwards. Tilting her head to the side playfully, she keeps her gaze locked on mine. “Follow at your own risk.”

Chapter 36

Rilla

“I’ve got a lot of ideas for different social media posts as well.”

Alix’s eyes flit nervously to Bryce before settling back on me. I’ve exchanged a few polite emails with her over the last couple of months, but this is the first time we’ve met in person. When she arrived in the small waiting room outside Bryce’s office, I thought she was a model who got lost on her way to a shoot before she gave me a timid smile and introduced herself.

“It all sounds great,” I assure her. She’s spent the last thirty minutes talking about sales and marketing campaigns and what I’ve understood sounds great. I mean, she’s the marketing manager and I assume she knows what she’s doing.

She brightens at my praise, her relief obvious. For a woman significantly taller than me, she looks like she’s purposely trying to take up less space. “I’m so glad. I’m really looking forward to working with you.”

“Likewise. Thank you so much for walking me through everything today.” Not only do I think I can learn a lot from her, Alix seems really nice. A bit reserved, to be sure, but hopefully she’ll come out of her shell more as we get to know one another better.

“Yes, thanks Lexy,” Bryce says, his sleazy perma-leer plastered on his face. Alix almost shudders at the nickname and I suspect that it’s not me who’s put her on edge for the entirety of the meeting. “Be an angel and close the door when you leave?”

She looks at me with a look that can only be interpreted as sympathy before hurriedly walking out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

“Alone at last,” Bryce winks and I’m grateful for my lack of a gag reflex. “How are things coming with book two?” He asks, looking down at me.

To be clear, I don’t mean that he’s looking at me with disdain or contempt. I mean he’s literally looking down at me. In this huge corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows, Bryce’s desk sits on a platform that’s raised about eight inches off the rest of the glossy tile floor.

Is it a style choice? Perhaps. But my gut instinct tells me he just likes feeling superior to every person unfortunate enough to walk through his door.

But back to his question. I’ve decided that until I see how things go with Of Cinder And Sand’s launch that I am not disclosing that the rest of them are finished.

“Really well, thank you. I’ve already started sending the parts I’ve written to Logan for his thoughts.”

Bryce appears to be surprised by this information. “You know, Logan was not my first pick to edit your book, Rilla. He managed to use the clout he’s built at the company to call dibs on it. I know that you never wanted to work with him, so just say the word and I’ll assign someone else.”

“You’re not wrong. We didn’t get off on the best foot, and that was partially my fault. But once we worked out the kinks, we found that we work really well as a team. There is no one I’d rather have as my editor.” There is no one I’d rather have, period.

They say time makes fools of us all and I bite back a grin thinking how true the sentiment is. In less than a year, Logan has gone from the bane of my existence to my favorite part of every day. My mind flashes to how he looked this morning, waking up next to him. The tousled hair and sleepy grin when his eyes crept open and found me, lying next to him. Right where he left me.

I pull myself out of my daydream, cheeks feeling flushed. It’s only been a few hours since I saw him and already I can’t wait to meet him in his office when my meeting is over.

I look up to find Bryce staring at me with an unfathomable expression. Eyes narrowed, mouth flat. It’s as though he’s put the final puzzle piece in place, but the image still doesn’t make sense to him.

“I want you to come to an event with me this weekend.” It’s an abrupt statement, not an invitation.

Uneasiness starts to build inside me. “An event? But Alix just said that those are months away.”

“It’s not for your book. It’s a charity event that I’ve been invited to.”

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