Page 123 of Love Not Qualified

Haelyn was good for me. I quit drinking because of her. I stopped being so broody because of her. I was working on my relationship with Ryker because of her. All of those were things I would’ve never done if she wasn’t in my life.

So how could she say I was influencing her when she influenced my whole life for the better?

I hung up the phone and put it in my pants pocket.

“Your brother?” Haelyn asked, glasses on her nose as she scrutinized a file.

She was standing on the floor in a lotus position, a mass of documents and sketches displayed in front of her. Haelyn was watching me with big eyes as she sunk her teeth into the black pen.

I nodded. “We’re going to a football game this weekend,” I said after I joined her.

Haelyn put the pen down, circling something on a paper, but her whole attention was on me. A genuine smile formed on her lips. “I’m glad you’re not fighting anymore.”

“We’re brothers,” I pointed out. “We still fight, but now I’ve got a bit of the inside scoop. Thanks to you.”

“Happy to help.” She blushed, then turned her attention back to the papers.

We’d been here since morning and while it was already two a.m. and I knew both of us were going to be tired when we woke up, I didn’t have the courage to tell her what time it was. If I did, it would have broken the comfortable feeling between us.

So I kept my mouth shut.

She squinted her eyes. “I think we could partner with CarPer as well.”

“The car perfume company?”

“Yes. We could make a personalized limited line and offer one free to those who come to support us doing the race,” shestarted. “BeeBox, Mech, and PrintDay would also be a great choice if we consider making PR boxes.”

“PR boxes?” I frowned. I knew what they were, but I didn’t think PR boxes could be a thing for car races.

“Yup. I’ve never seen anyone do this and if we get the partnership with Serrari, we’re going to have a high-celebrity list to send those to. We could put some key chains, shirts, mini cars, VIP tickets for the after-party.”

I gave it thought for a moment. At least for all I knew, there wasn’t anything like it in the racing industry and even if it was risky to do something that was never experimented before, it could’ve been exactly what we needed to have a quick rise in the field.

She was right. It was a brilliant idea.

“Write it down, it’s a good idea.”

She smiled like a kid, then took her notebook, adding it on the list that was already two pages full. Haelyn put it down, then lowered herself fully on the floor, breathing harshly.

“I have a good feeling about this. Like really, really good,” she said, smiling at the ceiling. “We came up with so many ideas in two weeks, imagine us five years from now with all of them turning into reality.” She sighed, but she still smiled. “Ugh, I’m impatient.”

I had no idea what to say, so I summed up watching her. She had her legs stretched on the papers, hands under her head with her breasts peeking out through her bra. Haelyn was like a painting that lured you in from a distance and when you got closer, you only found it more alluring.

My breath caught in my throat when my eyes landed on her exposed neck. I imagined kissing it with my lips while we were watching a movie and she had her legs on mine, her head thrown back at my touch. We were both enjoying each other’s warmth and I wasn’t getting enough of her scent.

If she settled her mind on what she wanted from me, we could’ve had that. We could’ve watched movies together, prepared dinner, talked until the morning, and slept in each other’s arms. There were so many things I wanted to do and it hit me that none of it was sexual.

Sure, I wanted her that way, but it wasn’t only about that anymore. I wanted to know if she ate, I wanted to know how she felt, who she was going out with. I wanted to know everything about her so I could protect her.

She got up to her feet, cleaning her hands on her pants. “I think I should go,” Haelyn said, biting the inside of her cheek.

Don’t go, was what I wanted to say. “I’ll walk you out,” was what I said.

I knew I was supposed to call her an Uber and I was going to, but deep down I knew I postponed the moment she left. It felt like we were growing colder by day and that wasn’t something I wanted.

She took the professional relationship like a pro. It was like we never had anything and while her acting skills surprised me, they also hurt like a motherfucker.

Haelyn nodded, grabbed her stuff from the floor, and then threw a jacket on her shoulders. We walked out of my office in silence, and then stepped into the elevator.

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