Page 28 of The Flirt

"Yes. You'll tell the others?"

"I’ll take care of it. You don't worry about anything, except maybe ogling Scarlett." He waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Julian," I warned.

He held up his hands in self-defense. "Fine. I won't say anything else on that topic. You do you."

That was exactly what I intended.

But after he left, instead of going to my desk, I kept looking down. She was on her phone, now slightly hunched over the table, revealing the back of her neck to me. Would that be a sweet spot for her?

I looked away, turning around. I needed to get a grip on myself.

But I didn't. Rather than returning to work, I decided I needed a break, too, and stepped out of my office.

Shauna immediately came up to me. "Chad, I've got some documents for you to sign."

"I'll do that once I'm back."

"You've got a meeting? I didn’t see anything on your calendar."

"No. I'm going downstairs for coffee."

She narrowed her eyes. "But... we have a coffee machine here."

"I need a longer break."

Her eyes bulged. Yeah, guess who never took long breaks? Me. I believed in efficiency, and since I scheduled everything between dropping off and picking up Bella from school, I never even had time for breaks.

But now, I wanted to make time.

"The documents can wait," she said. “Enjoy your break.”

I headed to the ground level, thankful that no one actually liked to use the stairs, as I didn't want to explain myself to anyone else. I honestly didn't even have a good explanation. I didn't need coffee, but I did need to see Scarlett. Ogling her from the third floor wasn’t enough.

Thankfully, she was still in the courtyard when I got there. She looked up from her phone when she heard me.

"Chad. Hi." She glanced around. "Want me to go?"

I furrowed my brow. "Why would I want that?" I walked to the small table, sitting down in front of her.

"I don't know what the protocol is for breaks. The team said I can come out here at any time. I usually drink one cup before lunch rush.” Scarlett nodded to her coffee on the table and continued, “I’d love one in the afternoon, but there’s no time. Anyway, no one told me what the protocol is if I run into the CEO."

I leaned forward. "Just a hint: they'll probably tell you the CEO never takes breaks."

She licked her lips, and I almost kissed her. "So how come you decided to take one?"

I decided to be completely honest. "I saw you from upstairs."

She parted her lips slightly, and my eyes darted to her mouth before I even realized it.

"Chad." Her cheeks turned pink, and she glanced down at her drink. Then she grabbed her phone. "Oh no, let me just book this before I forget."

"Book what?" I asked.

She smiled again when she looked up at me. "I’m going on a haunted tour of the city tonight. It starts right after my shift."

I stared at her. "In the evening?"

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