Page 17 of Where We Fall

Honestly, I didn't think she'd wear the clothes or makeup until this weekend. I certainly don't want her to feel like this was some new requirement at work.

Dammit, now I feel bad about the whole thing. It's starting to nag at my conscious that maybe making her get a makeover was a dick move, but I don't know how to apologize.

It was an impulsive move on my part, and I didn't stop to consider how it would make her feel. But damn, the results are a little distracting.

She's wearing a tight, gray skirt with a black button-down shirt. The shirt is snug and neatly tucked in, showing off her breasts and trim waist. I'm surprised to see that she wore her hair down and her makeup is done pretty well. She's wearing lipstick again—accentuating her already full, luscious lips.

Yeah, I guess having an attractive co-worker is going to be the new norm for me, but I can take it. I'm attracted to plenty of women that I never develop feelings for.

"What're you doing here so early?" I ask as I glance down at my watch.

"I'm always here early," she says as she walks into my office.

"But you're always here late," I point out.

"True. It's the nature of the job. There's always some problem to fix in one of our systems that takes hours of research to figure out."

I never knew she worked so many hours.

I don't like it. She should've said something. That's not the kind of environment I want for my staff.

I make a mental note to look into adding to her department budget so she can hire staff underneath her.

I can't help but glance down at her skirt again.

"Are you going to be able to get that thing to budge enough to pee today?"

She starts to laugh. "I can't believe you said that. I was thinking the same thing when I was putting it on this morning."

My chest vibrates from laughter. "If you need help taking it off, you know who to call."

Another eye roll from her, which I enjoy immensely. "You're not my fake boyfriend yet."

"Ooh, so what are the rules when I am your fake boyfriend? Do I get to help you take off your clothes then?" I ask as I wag my eyebrows.

"Oh my gosh!" she laughs. "I see why we're in this mess in the first place."

I know it's a joke, all in good fun, but it's a sensitive topic for me. My smile falls from my face.

"I'm so sorry," she continues. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's fine," I lie. "Anyway, I should get back to work. Mia is sending out all the details for the travel arrangements. Thanks again for doing this, Lexi. It means a lot to the company."

She nods her head, but I can tell she still feels bad for her comment. I'm in no mood to get into it right now, so I put my head down and get back to work.

Nearing lunchtime, I get a meeting invite from Mia for this afternoon. I swear, I can never get shit done because we're always having meetings. Reluctantly, I click accept without even reading what the damn thing is about. If I decline, Mia will storm in here and bust my ass anyways. It's not worth it.

I get as much work done as I can before my computer interrupts me with a fifteen-minute reminder for the meeting.

I walk into the conference room to find my siblings already there. Mia, Gabe, and Luke are sitting next to each other, so I take a seat across from them.

I'm about to say something when I see the three of them look like they've seen a ghost.

"Are you guys okay?" I ask, then hear something behind me.

Lexi is walking in, apparently part of today's meeting. Then it hits me, they haven't seen her new look yet.

I turn back around and try to hide the smirk on my face as I watch them fumble over themselves.

---