Page 141 of Theirs to Take

“Will do. See you soon,” Eli promised, ending the call. His brother sounded tired, but good. He loved that he had found so much happiness with Carrie.

Eli took a deep breath and walked out of his office to find Mina. “Hey, my brother called,” he said. She stood up and practically leaped at him.

“Did she have the baby? Is he okay? Is Carrie all right?” she asked. Eli put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from springing at him.

“One question at a time,” he insisted. “My brother didn’t have a whole lot of details, but I’m sure that we’ll get them when we get to the hospital. He’s here and according to Evan, he’s perfect. Carrie is fine and is being moved to a room as we speak. He’s going to text me the room number and I’ll send it to you. Carrie would love to see you tonight.”

“Oh, I can’t wait,” she said.

“I’m going to run home and shower, and change, but I’m heading over there soon. Do you want to ride over with me?” he asked.

“Um, I’d love to, but Ben is coming to pick me up after work and we were going to go together. I’m sorry, Eli,” she breathed.

“Nope, not a problem. I just thought we could carpool, but if you already have a ride, that works too. I guess I’ll see you over there. I’m cutting out a bit early to run by my place. Feel free to do the same.”

“Thanks, Eli,” Mina said. “I’m going to finish up these reports and then I’ll call it a night. I’ll see you over at the hospital.” She didn’t say, “With Ben,” but he heard that part in his heart. He hated that he was going to have to put on a happy face and be polite to that guy again, but he would. He didn’t like the fact that he was with Mina, but for her sake, and the sake of their working relationship, he’d pretend to.

Mina

She was playing with fire, and she was sure that she’d get burned. Bringing Ben with her to the hospital, to meet Carrie’s and Evan’s baby, wasn’t playing fair. She was doing it to make Eli jealous, and that was dirty of her to play things that low.

Ben knew what he was getting into. Hell, when she told him that about her “Not” a date with Eli, he was practically jumping at the bit to help her come up with a plan to make Eli jealous—if that was even possible. She hoped that Ben was right, and their plan would work, because if it didn’t, she’d be all out of ideas. Mina had even thought about quitting her job just so that he’d consider dating her since Eli was adamant about not dating other employees. There were no rules about employees dating each other at McTavish Industries, but for some reason, Eli was completely against it.

At the time, it felt as though her only option was to go with Ben’s plan to make him jealous, but seeing Eli day in and day out was making her antsy. She didn’t want to make him jealous—she wanted to make him admit that he had feelings for her. Ben was right about that. Every time she looked at Eli, she could see howhe felt about her in his beautiful eyes. Of course, he’d look away or make a self-deprecating joke, as if he had been caught doing something that he shouldn’t be doing.

Eli walked out of the room, smiling from ear to ear until he spotted her and Ben. “Hi guys,” he said, trying for casual. “You here to see my nephew?”

“Yep,” Mina said, “I heard he’s as pretty as his mama,” she teased.

“Actually, he looks just like Evan, and well, me,” he countered.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Mina insisted. “Are you coming back in?”

“I was going to make a coffee run. That will give you both some time to visit. It’s a bit crowded in there.” He looked Ben over and she instantly regretted bringing him along with her. But he had been going everywhere with her lately, to keep up the ruse that they were dating. Ben wrapped his arm around her as if staking his claim.

“Thanks,” Ben said, “Mina’s been going on about seeing the baby all day. Carrie called her last night when we were getting ready for bed, saying that she was having a few contractions and hoped that it was finally time. Mina couldn’t wait to come to visit today.” Eli’s eyes flared at the mention of them getting ready for bed. She didn’t miss his scowl either.

“Well, you both enjoy your visit. I’ll be back soon. Would either of you care for coffee?” he asked.

“I’m good,” Mina squeaked.

“None for me either,” Ben said. “Mina kept me up half the night and I’m hoping that we can get to bed earlier tonight. I’d actually like to sleep some tonight.” God, she was mortified as Ben pulled her against his body and kissed her cheek. She playfully swatted at his chest as Eli walked away from them and stepped onto the elevator.

“Don’t look back,” Ben said. As soon as the elevator doors closed, she full-on slapped Ben. “Hey,” he shouted.

“Don’t you hey me,” she said. “What the hell is wrong with you, Ben? I thought that we were only pretending to date right now. We never discussed pretending to have sex.”

“Right, but we’re two attractive people who would probably be having sex at this point. I mean, it has been a week,” he said.

She turned on him, pressing her finger into his chest. “I don’t have sex with men after only one week, Ben,” she spat.

“Well, that would have been good to know,” he teased, “but, it’s too late now. He thinks we’re having sex. Consider it a way to fast-track our breaking up. You won’t have to wait too much longer to get him to admit that he wants you. Did you see how pissed off he seemed when I mentioned that we were getting ready for bed?” Ben asked.

“I did,” she admitted, “but, that could be because you shared a personal story with him and he’s my boss, Ben. Have you forgotten that?” Mina asked.

“I have not,” he said. “Have you forgotten that we’re trying to make him jealous because, even though he’s your boss, you have admitted to me that you want him? I’m just speeding up the whole process.”

“Well, cut it out,” Mina insisted. “I don’t like seeing Eli like that.” She gently knocked on the door and was told to, “Come on in.” She pushed her way through the door to find Carrie nursing the baby and Evan sitting next to her.

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