Page 21 of Forever Mine

I chuckle as I take a seat across from her. Fortunately, should anyone see us in the conference room, they’ll assume we are going over last-minute information before Meghan leaves.

“I technically met Monica last weekend. I had no idea she was employed here. That I would be her boss,” I tell Meghan.

“Okay,” she drawls. “What’s the big deal?”

“We may have … kissed. And I may have asked her to go home with me.”

“Holy shit! You slept with her?”

“No! She said no! And then her boyfriend showed up.”

“Fucking Marcus,” she snarls. “I hate that guy. Rubs me the wrong way.”

“Agreed.”

“So you met her and kissed her?”

“Yeah, but that makes it sound really bad. I approached Monica because her boyfriend had yelled at her, and I wanted to see if she was okay. I didn’t even think. I just kissed her,” I say quietly.

“Did she kiss you back?” Meghan asks, and I nod. “Okay, well, at least there shouldn’t be any kind of sexual harassment issue.”

“Fuck, I didn’t even think about that,” I mutter. “Could she even file harassment charges if we didn’t know the other would be employed here?”

“I doubt it would stick. Plus, the owners are pretty chill. They’d see both sides of the story and decide based on facts.” The owners are a married couple who reside in Florida. They lived here for a few years and then moved to Florida to open a second office. They come into town a couple times a year.

“I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable,” I tell Meghan.

“I don’t think she will. Monica is a really strong woman. She’s had a rough go of things, but she’s a great friend and an amazing realtor.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Is it serious with that Marcus guy?”

Meghan smiles.

“I don’t think so. You want to throw your hat in the ring?” she asks.

“I didn’t get a good vibe from him. I swear I know him from somewhere. I just can’t place it, and it’s bugging me,” I explain.

“I don’t get a good vibe from him either, and Mon let it slip once that none of her other friends like him either.”

“Do you know his last name?” I ask.

“No. And if I ask Monica, she’ll get defensive about it. That Italian blood gets the best of her sometimes.”

“A temper?”

“Not too bad. But she can jump to conclusions too quickly,” Meghan tells me. “Listen, I need to get going. I have an ultrasound across town.”

I stand and wait for Meghan to put her heels on before helping her to stand.

“When are you due?” I ask.

“Four weeks.”

“And when will you be getting the other baby?” I ask, wincing as I realize how uncouth that sounds. She giggles.

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