Page 76 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

Staying late at work wasn't my favorite thing to do, but since tomorrow was a big fundraising gala for the Hopeful Hearts Foundation, I felt the need to double then triple check everything, ensuring all the contracts were in order and that every 'i' was dotted and every 't' crossed. This had to go smoothly, especially since my mom had handed it off to me while she was out with the flu.

Once I was satisfied that we were in great shape and I'd looked over all the contingency plans in place because something always went wrong, I leaned back in my chair, once again wondering when someone would invent teleporting so I could go home that way instead of making the physical effort of getting my lazy, tired ass downstairs and all the way to my place.

Hunger, exhaustion, and strangely, a little bit of horniness all combined to create a strange mood inside me. For the last week, which had been insanely busy, I'd been thinking about Ethan constantly, even though I hadn't had a chance to see him since our night out. The last seven days had stretched out like an eternity, uncertainty about what to do looming over my every thought.

I'd heard from Ethan a few times, but one thing I appreciated was he never, not even once, asked me about the benefits thing.Ethan wasn't the type to put pressure on me, and guys should take note, that made me want it more.

Ironically, the only one putting pressure on me about it was Astrid. When I'd called to tell her about Chase and the high of seeing him fumble with his investors, she'd laughed her ass off, then promptly asked me all about Ethan. "Did you do it? Did you do it?" she'd asked, pestering me like the annoying little sister she could be sometimes.

When I'd said no, she asked me why the hell not. I didn't have a good answer for her honestly. Because seriously, why the hell not?

All I knew was in that slight hesitation before his answer, my pride had taken a huge tumble, right back down to where Chase had kicked it. And it was made all the worse because of how hard I'd worked to build it back upby myself, only to have another man destroy it.

Astrid had talked me off the ledge, assuring me that Ethan wasn't Chase, and dammit, I should just use him for his big dick and find out how he wielded it. I was reading too much into it. I was getting too into my head about it. It was pretty clear by the size of that monstrous erection that Ethan was all for it. And he truly had just been shocked by my suggestion.

I brought up my favorite picture of the two of us from the Paris gala and let myself get lost in it. Ethan was the definition of a devilishly handsome man, the tongue-in-cheek name he'd given to himself on my phone that I still hadn't changed. His features were striking, sharp angles defining his cheekbones and jawline, his dark hair tousled just enough to add to his charm.

But it was those piercing blue eyes of his that captivated me the most, combined with the slight grin playing on his lips, making him appear like he held a secret inside, something amusing that only he was smart and cool enough to understand.

The flowers behind us caught my attention, and I couldn't help the big smile that came over my face. I imagined Ethan taking one of the pink ranunculus from the party, tucking it into his pocket, then bringing it all the way back to New York, the care he must have taken to do that.

It was amazingly sweet, even sweeter that he hadn't made a big show of it, that he'd done it for his own personal reasons, not to woo me or pretend to have a soft side in front of me. He obviously had a sentimental trait that I would never have anticipated.

A rush of feelings erupted inside me at the thought, the gushy warm kind, along with the overwhelming need to see him. Without giving myself time to overthink and talk myself out of it, I texted him a simple question.

Can you come over?

Tapping my nails against the surface of my desk, I waited, waving a quick goodbye to the last person in the office to leave. So now I really was all alone.

I needed to leave too. Ethan wasn't going to text me back. Why would he? I'd barely been in touch for an entire week. And last we'd left it, I'd made an awful flub when I'd realized the connection between the flower and Paris out loud, right in front of Ethan, practically confessing to my earlier snooping in his desk.

For a minute, his face had turned stormy, completely intimidating, taking me back to Chase in all his rage as he'd yelled the worst possible things at me. But then, something had changed in Ethan's demeanor.

Just when I thought he might turn into a monster like Chase had, he'd morphed back into his usual expression, the anger and upset vanishing as quickly as it'd appeared. For the last seven days, I'd let that sink in, mulling it over, along with the other, ahem, thing.

With a resigned sigh, I started to gather my belongings, stuffing them into my bag, ready to go home, put my feet up and binge something, both food and entertainment.

An alert sounded on my phone.Where are you?

The amount of giddy happiness that surged through me... well, I didn't know that was even possible.

At my office, I responded, belatedly wondering if I'd been too eager.

Stay there. I'll be right over.

A sudden energy pushed me from my chair, and I grabbed my bag again, this time heading to the bathroom for a major refresh. While I primped, reapplied makeup, combed my hair, and brushed my teeth, I tried to mentally calculate how long it would take for him to get here.

How many times had I looked out my window, wondering if he was in his office, wondering if he was looking my way? I imagined him getting in a town car or a cab, telling the driver to rush, that he had someone important to see. Okay, maybe he wouldn't say that exactly.

But the fact that he'd responded, dropped everything, and wanted to come right over? Well, it meant the world to me. Not a soul outside my family had ever been so responsive to me.

While I had put Chase first in my life, and others before him, none of them, not a single one, had ever done the same back. I was always last in line, of the lowest priority, and I was damn sick of it.

Finishing my quick touch-up, I left the bathroom, my heart pumping with excitement. I already knew Ethan was on the list downstairs and didn't need my help with security, so I went back to my office.

No sooner had I sat down when I heard the sounds of him arriving, the faint footsteps and shuffling noises of someone walking through the large, empty office space.

"I'm in here," I called out, leaning to the side so I could see out my door.

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