Page 144 of Theirs to Take

“Language,” Evan and Carrie said in unison.

“Jesus, guys,” he mumbled. “I should have told her that I had feelings for her that night too, but I screwed up and told her that we shouldn’t cross the line between our professional relationship and all that crap. I really messed up, and now, she’s pretending to be dating her gay best friend. I’m not sure what the protocol is for all of this, but I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the one who lied here.”

“But you did lie,” Carrie insisted. “You told her that you don’t want her, and you obviously do.” Damn it, she was right. He did lie about not wanting her. He wanted her more than he wanted her next breath.

“Why not just come clean with her and tell her that you screwed up?” Evan asked.

“Because if I do that, and she turns me away, our work relationship will be ruined. I like working with her and I don’t want to lose her from my life completely,” Eli admitted. The thought of not seeing Mina every day made his stomach sink. She was more than his assistant—she had become his friend, and he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to live without seeing her daily.

“Someone who pretends to date her gay best friend to make you jealous isn’t going to turn you away, Eli,” Carrie insisted. “Just talk to her.”

“Fine,” Eli said. “I’ll talk to her, but I’m going to do it when I’m ready. You two need to keep your traps shut about me knowing that Ben’s just her friend.”

“All right,” Carrie agreed, “but, don’t take too long. I don’t think she and Ben will be able to stay friends if she has to pretend to date him much longer. She’ll end up strangling him and then, you’ll have to visit her in prison,” Carrie teased.

Eli chuckled, “I just need a few days to figure out the best way to talk to her. I’ll talk to her soon,” he assured. Jack started to fuss again, and he knew that it was time for another feeding. “I’m going to get out of your hair so that you can feed my nephew.”

“Thanks, Eli,” Carrie said, taking her son from Evan. Eli grabbed his jacket and started for the door, taking one last look back at his brother’s new little family. He wasn’t sure how Evan had gotten so lucky, but Eli was sure of one thing—he wanted what his brother had, and if he was being honest, he was pretty sure that he wanted it with Mina.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to have the talk with Mina that he promised Carrie he’d have. How did he tell Mina that he had feelings for her? He didn’t know how to even begin to broach the subject with her. Did he just blurt it out or did he find a way to lead up to the topic?

He couldn’t believe that Mina had stooped so low as to pretend that her gay best friend was her boyfriend. How had he not seen it without having his brother and Carrie point it out to him? Maybe he didn’t want to see it or maybe Mina having a fake boyfriend was just easier for him. He wouldn’t have to admit to having feelings for her and they could just go on being work companions. Yeah, that would be easier, but was it what he really wanted? No, it wasn’t, and he didn’t need time to think about that. Seeing her with Ben turned him into a raging asshole and if he had to go on pretending with her, he’d never be happy again.

The question was, did she feel the same way about him? Carrie and his brother seemed to think so. Maybe they were right, and she was using Ben to make him jealous, but he wouldn’t know for sure unless he flat-out asked her, and that wasn’t going so well for him. Every time he walked out of his office to talk to her, she wasn’t at her desk. When she was at herdesk, she was on the phone or talking to another co-worker and Eli was sure that he’d never get his chance to talk to her.

He watched Mina gather her things to leave for the night, he thought about stopping her, but then Ben stepped off the elevator and they left together.

His luck didn’t get much better in the next few days. He was being a chicken, sure, but every time he turned around, Ben was there. Eli had even thought about going over to Mina’s place, but he worried that once he showed up, Ben would answer the door. He didn’t want to take that chance, so he moped around the office instead.

“Hey, Eli,” Rod said, sticking his head into his office, “you have a minute?”

“Of course,” he agreed, “come on in.” He’d always have a minute for his boss. Rod and his brother Alex owned the company and brought Evan on as a partner.

“Thanks, I know it’s late and you’ll be heading home soon, but I need your help,” Rod said.

“Sure, what can I help you with?” Eli asked.

“Well, we need a risk assessment done on a company that we’re thinking about buying. Your brother used to handle this stuff for us, but now that you’re here, heading up the whole risk assessment department for McTavish, we were hoping that you’d be able to handle it.”

“It is what you hired me to do, right?” he joked.

“Right,” Rod agreed, “but we were hoping to ease you into the process and have Evan go along with you for the first few assessments. Since Carrie had the baby, he’s tied up for a few months. The company is in Colorado, so you would have to travel. It should take you about a week. Can you spare that kind of time away?” he asked. Honestly, he needed some time away. Having to watch Mina with Ben was starting to grate on his last nerve. If the guy was gay, and he and Mina weren’t reallytogether, then why was he around her so much? Maybe Evan and Carrie were wrong about Ben, and if Mina was really dating the guy, some time away to think would be just what he needed.

“I can go to Colorado for a week,” he quickly agreed.

“Great,” Rod said, “you’ll need to bring your assistant. I’m afraid that there is a lot of note-taking and reports to be filled out. Take her with you so that you’re not too overwhelmed.” He wanted to insist that he’d be fine without Mina, but that might raise some red flags. He didn’t want his bosses to know about his feelings for his assistant.

“Got it,” he said. He’d just have to figure out a way of taking Mina with him later. For now, he was going to plan a trip to Colorado and was looking forward to getting away, even if it was only for a week.

Mina

Mina was clearing her desk for the evening when Rod McTavish asked if Eli was in his office. She nodded, and smiled, finding herself at a loss for words. God, all the rumors about the man were true—he was tall, dark, and handsome. And that Scottish accent of his was a knee wobbler.

She watched him go into Eli’s office and of course, she had to listen in on their conversation. Mina didn’t even bat an eye when it came to eavesdropping on Eli and Rod. When they got to the part about her possibly going to Colorado with him, she nearly jumped out of her seat and cheered. She’d finally have Eli all to herself for a whole week. Mina would have to fake a breakup with Ben, but then, she’d be able to turn to Eli for comfort. Would Eli actually fall for that though? The only way to find out would be to try and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do just that.

She waved goodbye to Rod as he left and as soon as the elevator doors shut, she found herself making a beeline into Eli’s office.

“Everything okay?” she asked, pretending that she hadn’t just overheard their whole conversation.

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