Page 277 of By His Vow

“You want some lunch? Or maybe a drink?” I ask, pushing from my seat and walking over to the window to stretch my legs.

“Yeah. Give me a few and we’ll go,” Miles agrees brokenly before slipping from my office and leaving me alone.

Pulling my cell from my pocket, I open up my message thread with Tatum, hating that she still hasn’t replied to my message from last night.

Kingston: Missed waking up with you this morning. I hope your day is going better than mine.

“Okay, ready,” Miles says from the door, forcing me to lock my cell before the message has even shown as delivered.

Judith smiles at us as we pass her desk. She might not be involved with the decision-making and hard conversations, but she looks about as stressed as I feel. She’s as much a part of the Warner family as Miles and Tatum. She’d been by Jonathan’s side almost the whole time he’d been CEO. This place runs through her blood; the people who work on the floors below mean something to her. It’s good to see the dedication and the love she has for everyone here. It just goes to prove that we’re doing the right thing.

Miles doesn’t say anything when I press the button for the thirteenth floor instead of the ground, but the smirk he gives me says everything.

“You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?” he asks after a few more seconds.

“What?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Of course not.”

“Don’t lie to me,” he warns. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“Miles,” I sigh, combing my fingers through my hair and dragging it back.

“Just don’t hurt her. Please. Don’t fucking hurt her.”

I stare at him, trying to let him see how serious I am with my next statement. “I’m really going to do my best not to.”

“Good. Have you told her?”

“Told her what?”

“Fucking hell. For an intelligent man you’re a fucking dumbass, KC,” he mocks.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were suddenly the oracle of relationships.”

“Clearly, I’m not. But I know you two, and I know what I see when you’re together. Tell her how you feel, man.”

“I can’t believe you’re encouraging this,” I mutter.

“It’s a bit late to do anything else. You’re fucking married and sharing a bed every night.” I can’t help it, a wicked smirk curls at my lips. “Fuck off,” Miles snaps as the doors open and we spill out onto the marketing floor.

There are plenty of people, most of whom look up the second we enter, their eyes going wide with fear like we’ve come down to lay them off on the spot. But the section where Tatum’s team works is suspiciously empty.

“Maybe they’ve all gone out for lunch,” Miles muses. “They submitted their final campaign ideas to Eric this morning. Probably celebrating.”

“Maybe,” I mumble, my eyes scanning the empty desks.

Moving closer to Tatum’s office, I rap my knuckles on the door three times before pushing it open. But my wife isn’t inside. In fact, it doesn’t look like she’s been here at all. Everything is tidy.

“Come on, I’m starving. You can make all the moon eyes you want at her later.”

“I do not make moon eyes,” I scoff, following him back to the elevator.

“Sure you don’t.”

With our meetings done for the day, we spend a little longer at lunch than we probably should, along with having one or two more drinks than are appropriate for a Tuesday afternoon.

By the time we walk back into the Warner Group offices, we’ve both got a bit of a buzz going on. It should certainly help make the afternoon a little easier to take.

“Good afternoon, Judith,” Miles sings happily, making her eyes light up with amusement. “We brought you a gift.” He places the cupcake we picked up for her on her desk, and her smile grows.

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