Page 27 of Devious Temptation
“Your assistant lead, Lucy,should be here soon. We’re so sorry she wasn’t here this morning, Mr. Morgan. She’d already gotten the time off approved,” Mary answers for Anna.
Lucy.
Hearing her name makes my heart skip a beat. Just like it’s done every other time I’ve heard it over the last six years.
It isn’t her, Lawson. She’s probably still living it up in California.
I squash all thoughts of the redhead I’ve never been able to forget and pack them away in a rainbow-colored compartment in my mind. My fingers itch to reach for my phone as I half-listen to whatever Mary is saying as we walk back to the elevator—something about themed parties once a quarter and how they are good for morale.
After spending an unhealthy amount of time stalking Lucy’s Iconic profile after what happened between us, I blocked her so she could forever stay out of sight and out of mind. But what’s that old saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?
Now that I’m back in Chicago, what could it hurt to see if maybe she’s returned as well?
Because she’s eighteen fucking years younger than you, you pervert.
Thoughts of whether Lucy ever came back after college dissipate as I enter my new office on the top floor.It takes me by surprise how clean it is, given how Chadwick doesn’t seem like the neat type. The mahogany desk matches the paneling on the wall, casting an old money atmosphere. The room’s dark color is broken up by a cream and maroon oriental rug that takes up a good amount of space in front of the desk, and light blue vintage chairs with a golden jacquard print. Behind the desk, thick paneled blinds hang over large windows that take up two-thirds of the wall, with built-in cabinets below.
“Would you like me to email a copy of the revised rules to the entire office?” Mary inquires, switching gears as I browse the built-in bookcase behind the door. There are dozens of binders ranging from one to three inches, all color-coded and dated.
Mary laughs when I don’t answer her. “Ah, yes. Lucy is nothing if not organized.”
Meanwhile, I’m struggling to swallow the familiar, unwelcome lump that’s formed in my esophagus.It can’t be.
The system is the exact same, though.
“I don’t trust computers not to eat the data. Sure, you can back it up, but it takes time and costs money when you’re dealing with this much information.”Her words ghost the shell of my ear—a whisper of wind.
No, that’s the door.
“Oh, my god, Mary! I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I’m late on his first day. He was supposed to arrive tomorrow!” A familiar, sweet timbre fills my ears, sounding like she’s talking around something in her mouth.
“Lucy, it’s quite?—”
“I tried to reschedule my appointment, but I wasalready there, and you know how hard it is to get into the gyno. God, I hate being a woman.”
Turning, my heart nearly stops as I see rich, russet, waist-length waves hugging an hourglass figure. She removes the tan paper bag clenched between her teeth and tosses it down before setting a drink carrier with two coffees on the desk.
“Lucy, if you’d just?—”
“And of course, since I was already out, I figured I might as well stop and get his favorite coffee and pastry because I’ve already made a bad first impression by being late, so I wanted to sweeten him up a little. You know what I mean? Is he here yet? Tell me I didn’t miss too much.” As she stands straight, smoothing her olive-green pleated dress, I try to control the spark of irritation at her deliberate attentiveness to know Cameron’s coffee order.
Mary’s brows fall into a flat line as she points to me in the corner without saying a word.
Lucy turns, and whatever she’s about to say dies in her throat as her eyes widen.
It seems too bizarre to be true. The odds of it beingherwho’s my new assistant are slim to none.
But I haven’t forgotten the way her chest heaves when adrenaline pumps through her veins. How her raspberry-painted lip always disappears between her teeth when she’s nervous. Or how her hazel eyes have golden rings around the irises that become brighter when she’s excited. All of which is happening right now, like beacons of light on a dark night.
Itisher.
My rainbow.
Eleven
It seemsas if every higher power in existence is against me today.
Alarm going off late? Check.
