Page 34 of Devious Temptation
It’s true. Many weekends have started—and ended—at our favorite Friday night haunt.
Jules scrunches her nose. “Why is it called Lauren’s Fault?”
“I don’t know who Lauren is, but it’s their fault that I don’t remember how I got home after drinking there,” Mike jokes lamely.
“Jules, we’re not going out to have drinks with them. You know the rules,” Lawson gently reprimands her.
“Oh, come on, Law. Live a little, darlin’.” She reaches up and pats his cheek. It’s an intimate gesture, and I hate how they look at each other while she does it—an unspoken conversation passing between them in a way only people who are incredibly familiar with one another can do.
“Okay, well, I’m headed out. Have a good weekend,” Isay with a droll tone to no one in particular. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Jules replies to my back as I walk away without so much as another glance toward my boss.
“See you later, Lulu?” Mike calls after me.
Part of me wonders if Lawson and Jules will end up there after their dinner. I already told my parents I’d be driving out to their place tonight, but I can always go in the morning.
Making up my mind as I walk down the hall, I wave a hand in the air without responding. They won’t be done with work for at least another hour. If there’s a possibility of Lawson showing up at the bar tonight, I want to make him see me as a woman. Not his assistant lead, and certainly not the high school girl he last knew me as.
I know Lawson is attracted to me. I just need to remindhimof that.
After all, if I fail miserably and make a fool of myself, I can always just blame Lauren.
Thirteen
My finger jamsthe lobby button of the elevator, and the annoyance I’m feeling seeps into the small steel box to wrap Jules and me in its angry cloud. “You should have given me more of a heads-up.”
From my peripheral, I can see Jules lift her oblivious face from her phone to look at me. “Are you really upset? I don’t see what the big deal is. You’ve been here for two days, and you already look as angry as a hornet. Is the office that bad?”
A vibratingbuzzbegins in my inner suit pocket before the familiar sound of my ringtone mixes with the jazzy elevator music. Pulling my phone out, I see it’s a business call that should have come through hours ago.
“I have to take this.”
Jules nods, her attention going back to her cell without another word.
The conversation takes longer than I anticipate, lasting the entire car ride to the restaurant and all the way through ordering our entrées. As I finally set down my phone, herbright eyes are glued to my face, a knowing smirk etched across her Botoxed lips.
“What?” I snap with more annoyance than she deserves.
She sips her sauvignon blanc slowly before responding, “We all knew coming back would be hard on you, Law. I just didn’t expect it to take its toll so soon.”
My filet melts on my tongue. It’s possibly one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, but I can’t enjoy it because all I can keep thinking about is the way Lucy looked when Jules arrived. When I agreed to return to Chicago, I never dreamed we’d run into each other again, let alone be working together. Our few stolen moments and one very big mistake on my part are set aside in a rainbow-colored box in my mind—part of my past, where it needs to stay.
Yet, it seems as if no time has passed at all. Lucy and I are both very different people now, and still, the attraction remains as strong as it was then—stronger because she’s awomannow—a young woman, but not an eighteen-year-old girl anymore.
Would it really be so bad, Lawson?
I recognized the flash of jealousy in her eyes when she saw Jules, and fuck if it doesn’t confuse the hell out of me. Why would she care? Is there a chance she’s feeling what I am? The strong pull. That electric spark.
Yes, it would be. You crossed a line back then and encouraged something you shouldn’t have. She would have never thought of you like that otherwise.
Think of Rhys.
My son barely speaks to me as it is. If he ever finds out that I’m evenentertainingthe thought of starting something with Lucy…
“Lawson?” Jules’ voice cuts through my thoughts. Shaking my head, I realize I’ve been absentmindedly staring out the glass of the solarium.
My shoulders hitch in a noncommittal shrug as I focus my attention back on her. “I’m fine.”
