Page 14 of Friend Me

5

After I settledJackson and Mr. Weston in his office, I took my lunch and my novel into the sixth-floor breakroom. I poked at a square of my peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich in its scarred plastic container, the same one I’d used when I was a kid. And just like then, I’d left Dad a matching sandwich. I hoped he remembered to eat it.

“There you are.”

Thank Marie Curie it was Alicia and not Cooper who’d caught me with my sad-sack lunch. I beamed at my friend. “Hey. Did you need him? He’s meeting with Weston.”

“No, I came to see you.” Although she wore a visitor badge, security never required an escort for Jackson’s fiancée.

My stomach curled in on itself. “I promise I’ll give you the reply card by tomorrow.” If I’d just had the courage to ask Cooper to go with me, I might not be about to mark a sad1on theGuests attendingline. Even sadder than eating lunch alone would be sitting abandoned at the head table watching Cooper dance all night with Jamila Jallow.

“No, I didn’t come to pester you about that. Though, normally, you’re not quite so…spontaneous.” Alicia said it like the word tasted bad. Aside from falling in love with Jackson, Alicia, a planner to the core, had never done a spontaneous thing in her life. “I came to thank you for yesterday. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“It takes a bitch to fight one.” I poked at my sandwich, and a little of the jelly oozed out.

“Marlee.” She said my name so sharply I looked up. “You’re not a bitch. You know what you want, and you do what it takes to get it.”

I slumped in my chair. If only I were brave enough to get Cooper.

Her blue eyes were misty when she said, “But under that drive, you’re the most kind-hearted, resilient person I know.”

I smiled at my best friend. We had that in common. She’d taken in her nephew when she’d lost her sister. Alicia advocated for Noah, who also had ADHD, with a determination I hoped to one day emulate for someone I loved. She might look soft on the outside, but Alicia was all steel on the inside.

“Excuse me, Alicia.” Cooper had come up behind her where she stood in the doorway. She stepped aside, all the warmth in her smile frosted over.

“How’s your work for Jamila going?” he asked her. I froze at the name.

“Almost done. We’ll wrap up the project before the wedding.”

“Good.” Cooper’s blue eyes had been as cool and reflective as Millennium Tower, but they warmed when he noticed me. “Afternoon, Marlee.” He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out one of his nasty green smoothies.

I snapped the lid onto my sandwich container and propped an elbow on it. “Hey, Cooper. How are you liking Kim?”

“Oh.” His smile faltered. “She’s fine.”

She was not fine. Unlike her predecessor, the eyelash-batting, mouthy slacker, today’s temporary administrative assistant had sat quietly at her desk all morning. But after four hours, she still couldn’t spell Cooper’s name correctly and had somehow managed to schedule him for a meeting with a key partner in Boston while he was supposed to be at a conference in Los Angeles. She’d probably last a few more days, which was all I needed.

“Great.” I gave him my most dazzling smile. “Good workout this morning?”

“Not bad.”

Why couldn’t I ever think of anything smart to say around him? In my mind, I’d be Katharine Hepburn to his Spencer Tracy, and everyone around us would be stunned by our witty banter. Or we’d have at least one meaningful conversation. Like, ever. In reality, we were finalists in the Most Awkward Coworkers competition.

“Well.” He shot a side-eye at Alicia before lifting his smoothie toward me in a toast. “See you later.”

When he turned, I watched those khaki-wrapped legs and tight ass stride across the hall until he sat behind his desk. After seeing him in his workout gear this morning, it was easy to imagine what was underneath the business casual.

I grabbed my book and fanned myself while I gave in to a few seconds of fantasy: me walking into his office, Cooper pressing the button on the wall to lower the shades. Me crossing to where he sat in his chair, him pulling me into his lap. The firm press of—

Alicia cleared her throat. “Marlee, this crush isn’t healthy. I think you’re holding onto something even you don’t believe in anymore.”

I glanced around to ensure we were still alone. “I felt it from the first day I saw him. True love. And I still believe in that. You and Jackson are proof.”

She chuckled. “It certainly wasn’t true love the first time I met Jackson Jones. He hated everything I represented, and I thought he was an ass.”

“Jackson isn’t exactly love-at-first-sight material. He can be a little…” I searched for the right word to describe my boss. I adored him, but others, especially Weston, found him challenging.

“Arrogant? High-handed? Prickly?”

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