Page 16 of Best In Class
“I’ve already been asked,” she continues smoothly, “if we’re the kind of firm that lets lovers squabble over blueprints.” She pauses, tilting her head. “Their words. Not mine.”
I roll my eyes. “Stella is tattling, isn’t she?”
Nina doesn’t even break a smile. “Stella would never tattle.”
She’s confirming what I know. Stella is worried about me, not because of the project but because she knows how I feel about Dom, and she’s asked Nina to run interference and make sure I’m doingokay. This is the problem with working with your friends; they interfere in your life and call it a work meeting.
“Right.” I send her a flat, unimpressed stare. “Dom and I are not squabbling.”
Nina raises an eyebrow.
“We’re collaborating…loudly.”
She leans back. “We all know your history with Dom. Hell, we could draw a family tree of the drama, and what I’m hearing is probably the tip of the iceberg.”
“You’resomixing your metaphors,” I retort dryly.
“If you can’t work with Dom, I need to know.”
I stick my tongue out at her.
She sighs. “Very mature.”
I do it again.
“I need y’all to remember something,” Nina says, her voice sharpening. “This is not a dating service. This is a goddamn architectural powerhouse. And you are one of the finest talents here. Don’t let personal ghosts compromise that.”
I wave a hand. “Sure.”
“Luna,” she warns.
I stretch out, arms behind my head. “I’m fine, I promise.”
“Good. Because you’ve got something to prove. Not to them,” she says, gesturing vaguely toward the outside world, “but to yourself. And I won’t let you blow that over some man who?—”
The door opens without even a perfunctory knock.
“Cara, Luna, am I interrupting?” Diego Perez asks, grinning. His shirt is open at the collar, sunglasses hooked into the front, and his stubble’s at that dangerous level—just shy of intentional.
Nina glares at him. “I said twelve-thirty.”
“It’s twelve-twenty-nine.” He shrugs. The man is sex on wheels, and honestly, it’s the cutest thing I’ve seen—him wooing the hard as concrete Nina Davenport.
“You’re interrupting an ass reaming,” I say sweetly.
He chuckles. “Then I guess I’m doing you a favor by stealing your boss for lunch. She works too hard, and I like it when she eats.”
Nina sighs, grabs her bag, and stands. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
As she passes me, I grin. “Remember, Nina. This is a workplace. Not a dating service.”
“Bite me,” she says over her shoulder.
“Real mature, Nina, real mature,” I call out, to which there is no response but the slamming of her office door.
I find Lia and Aurora in the break room, snacking on cheddar cheese gougères that Mira Bodine, our resident culinary genius who runs the cafeteria, is having them taste.
“These are awesome,” Aurora declares.
