Page 134 of Theirs to Take

“I was wondering if you could answer a question for me,” Eli said. He wasn’t sure if he should just blurt it out or forget asking altogether.

“Shoot,” his brother said.

“I’m just wondering if Mina is seeing anyone,” Eli said. He decided to go with just blurting it out and from the look on his brother’s face, it might not have been the way to go.

“Why are you asking me about Mina’s dating life? Is something wrong? Is she not working out or something?” Evan was just full of questions and now, Eli was going to have to field them all if he wanted answers.

“She’s working out fine,” Eli admitted. “I’m just curious. She said that she has a date tonight with a guy that she met while on a coffee break around the corner. I was wondering if you heard her and Carrie talking about some guy she just met.”

“No, I can’t say that I have,” Evan said. “I mean, I don’t listen in on all my wife’s conversations with her best friend, but I haven’t heard her talking about Mina going out on a date or anything like that. Do you want me to call and ask her?”

“Um, no,” Eli said when his brother picked up his cell phone from the desk. “That’s not necessary. I was just worried that she had met some stranger and I guess I’m just trying to look out for her.” He knew that if anyone would be able to see through his bullshit, it would be his brother. Eli was just hoping that he’d give him a pass this time.

“Bullshit,” Evan said. Yeah, so much for giving him a pass. “You like her, don’t you?” he asked.

“What—no,” Eli protested. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Okay, so then, you won’t care if I ask my wife if Mina is seeing anyone. I mean, if you don’t like her, what does it matter?” Evan asked. His brother always had a way of calling his bluff and it always got on his last nerve.

“You know what—just forget that I even came up here to talk to you. I’m heading home for the weekend. I’ll see you on Monday. Send Carrie my love,” Eli said.

“Oh, don’t be that way, Eli.” Evan chased him all the way to the elevator and grabbed his arm before he could get on. “I’m sorry, but I also don’t think that you should pursue Mina,” he said.

“I’m not pursuing her,” Eli insisted.

“What do you call all of this?” Evan asked waving around his arms. “You two don’t really even know each other and maybe, you should get to know her professionally first.”

Eli barked out his laugh, “You’re one to talk,” he said. “You didn’t know Carrie at all, and you seemed just fine with jumping into a relationship with her. Did you get to know her professionally first?”

“Well, no,” Evan admitted. “I didn’t get to know her professionally, but we had a different circumstance that we were dealing with when we met.”

“Right, well, maybe Mina has a crazy ex that I can protect her from, and we can go on the run together,” Eli teased.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Eli,” Evan said.

“I appreciate that, but I also can’t stop feeling the way that I feel,” Eli said.

“Then, I guess all you can do is ask her out,” Evan offered.

“It’s too late for that,” Eli said, “she told me that she has a date tonight and I kind of lied and told her that I do too.”

“You two are a pair, aren’t you?” Evan asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a pizza to order and a couch with my nameon it. See you later,” he said, stepping into the elevator. He was going to go home and mope, that was certain, but at least he’d be able to face his new assistant on Monday because there was no way that he was going to call her bluff and go over to her place tonight. He wasn’t a lunatic.

Eli spent Friday evening doing what he told Evan he’d be doing—eating pizza and watching movies from his couch. By Saturday morning, he felt like a slug and decided to go to the gym to work off some of the carbs that he ate the night before.

By the time he got to the gym, the weekend crowd was in full force. They were the ones who put off working out most of the week only to take up every machine in the gym on Saturday and Sunday. He hated working out on weekends, but he really didn’t want to just drive home after putting effort into getting dressed and driving over there. His late nights at his new job didn’t help him get to the gym on weeknights either, so he had nothing to lose except for a few unwanted pounds.

He checked in, towed his stuff in a locker, and got on the closest treadmill. He always like to start his workout with a good run. Then, if he had any extra energy left, he usually hit the weights before heading to the showers. Eli damn near fell off the treadmill when he realized that Mina was running on the machine in front of him. He thought about giving up on the whole idea of exercise, but then, he’d be giving up the best view in the gym.

Mina had her dark hair pulled back in a slick ponytail and he loved the way that it swished back and forth with her efforts. He didn’t mind watching her ass mimic the same movement in her tight, hot workout leggings. God, everything about her turnedhim on and he was sure that he was going to regret his next move, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. He had never been a fast learner and following his brother’s advice and simply asking her out still felt wrong to him. How could he date his new assistant and work with her day in and day out? The only way to find out was to actually man up and ask her out.

He took a deep breath and stopped his treadmill, practically stumbling off the back of it. Eli regained his composure, looked around to make sure that no one had seen him make a fool out of himself, and grabbed his water bottle and phone. He walked over to the side of Mina’s treadmill and gave her his best smile and a little wave. Yeah, he was an idiot. Who waved at someone like that when they were standing right there?

She slowed down her pace and pulled her earbuds from her ears. “Eli,” she breathed. She sounded sexy as hell with the way she rasped his name out. He wondered if that was how she would sound during sex—breathy and hot.

“Hey,” he said.

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