Page 34 of Playing with Forever

Now I knew better. That wasn’t in the cards for me.

I hated to disappoint my parents, but at least they respected my privacy enough not to really pry. And it was always good to see my dad again, even if it brought back that ache, to think of my parents’ marriage and what I’d be missing out on. At least I had my family, and I knew they always had my back.

It wouldn’t do to get greedy.

CHAPTER13

Andrea

Ifrowned at the layout of designs spread on the conference table in front of me, contemplating what was missing from the overall message Brandon and I were trying to convey. While we mostly created social media campaigns these days, sometimes it did us good to print everything out and move it around, like we were arranging spreads on a magazine. Just staring at a computer screen for so long, you started to feel a little cross-eyed, and I’d found that changing the medium could jolt me out of an artistic rut.

“I think we made this one pop too much,” I said, tapping a section that was brighter than the rest, my brows still furrowed. “It’s too pink. We need to tone it down a bit. It’s hurting my eyes.”

Brandon laughed and made a note. “Sounds good. You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you wear a frown in weeks.”

I looked up at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Just that you seem really happy lately,” he explained.

“Oh, do I?” I said, trying to downplay the fact that I truly was more relaxed these days.

Regular sex, the exact kind I’d always craved—along with Chase himself—was the reason. But opening up to Brandon—who I knew was still interested in me and had even hinted again about a date—wasn’t something I felt comfortable doing.

He tipped his head, studying me too intently. “Yeah, you win the lottery and not tell me?”

He was clearly prying in a joking manner, trying to dig for more information that I wasn’t willing to share. “No, just in a good mood lately, I guess,” I said, injecting a light tone to my voice while keeping things strictly surface-level. “No reason to be in a bad mood. Everything’s going well here, we haven’t had any weird client emergencies or complaints…” I forced a casual shrug and added a laugh, one that sounded too loud in the quiet of the room.

Brandon leaned back against the edge of the conference table, arms crossed, gaze lingering. “I love your laugh,” he said, his voice low and easy.

I stiffened, my smile faltering for half a second before I caught myself. The praise was probably meant to be harmless, but there was always this undercurrent with him. Always just a little too familiar. A little too personal.

“Well, I’m glad that you’re feeling so happy, whatever the reason,” he added when I didn’t reply, his eyes on my face. “You deserve to always feel that way.”

Ugh. There it was again—that tone. Like he was trying to stake a claim to something that had nothing to do with him. “That’s sweet, thank you,” I murmured, because what else could I say? I hated that I felt the need to feign appreciation just to avoid tension between us, but inside, I was cringing.

There was nothing romantic between us. Never had been, never would be. And I wished, so badly, that he’d quit with the compliments. The hopeful looks. The not-so-subtle hints. It wasn’t flattering anymore; it was exhausting.

I wanted to tell him in a firm, uncompromising tone,please stop. But I couldn’t, not without risking offending him. We worked together. One wrong word and suddenly I’m the “difficult” one. Or worse, I make things awkward for the whole team.

So instead, I returned to rearranging the printouts on the table—professional, polite, and internally begging for the moment to pass.

Thankfully, our senior PR manager called Brandon away to work on a different campaign for the afternoon, leaving me blissfully alone. Knowing I was going to meet Chase at the club tonight after work kept me in high spirits and by the time five o’clock rolled around, I was ready to leave the office, and my earlier encounter with Brandon, behind.

I’d brought a change of clothes with me so I didn’t have to stop at home, and I slipped into the ladies room to swap out my more staid office attire of a pencil skirt and blouse for a figure flattering dress and seductive lingerie beneath. I replaced my sensible flats for sexy heels, and I made up my eyes with more dramatic liner and shadow. As the final touch, I swiped a daring red hue across my lips, just to tempt and tease Chase.

On my way,I texted as I headed out of the office building and to my car.

I’m already at the club. Don’t keep me waiting long.

I grinned at the subtle, seductive threat in his words, knowing no matter how quickly I got there, he’d still insist it wasn’t soon enough, and a delicious punishment would ensue. I couldn’t wait.

When I arrived at my vehicle, I came to an abrupt stop, my heart sinking. My front left tire was completely flat, leading me to believe I’d most likely driven over a nail or something equally sharp on the way to work and the tire had spent all day deflating.Shit.

I called Chase first thing, knowing this was going to take a while to get fixed and I didn’t want him to worry.

He answered immediately. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I have a flat tire,” I said, bummed that our night together was going to be delayed. “I need to call roadside assistance to change it out for me.”

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