Page 7 of Wrapped Up in You
“Here, let me help you with all of that. This is enough food to feed six of us.” My eyes bulge at the heaviness of one bag.
“Not really. There are drinks, too.” Crew takes the other bag from Mary.
“Thank you again. Enjoy your lunch. Don’t forget you have a two o’clock with Jagger today via a conference call,” she says as she rushes out the door.
“Shit, forgot about that. I’d like to say that the meeting will be completely business-oriented, but considering Jag is my friend, it won’t be. May as well apologize in advance now.” Crew moves beside me instead of across from me. Which I guess makes sensewith the way the small couch is situated, though he could have moved the chairs from in front of his desk over here.
“I’m sure I can handle it. I used to work with a pretty wild bunch, plus my dad and uncle together. Well, they can get rowdy when the liquor comes out.”
“Can handle what?” I look from Crew to the door. I didn’t hear anyone knock, and given how close we are sitting, I’m feeling like the principal caught me making out behind the bleachers my sophomore year with how many times someone has walked in today.
“Hey, Todd.” Crew is able to recover way faster than I am. “We’re talking about Jagger when he calls later today. You know him, his mouth has a way with running, and you never know what he’s going to say.
“Ah, that will do it.” My uncle moves the chair away from Crew’s desk, sets it across from us, and settles in.
“I was about to tell him about the time when you and Dad decided it was a good idea to bring out a water slide at a family cookout. How they still had one in the garage from nearly a decade ago, I have no idea. Needless to say, both of them were hurting the next morning.” We go to reach for the same sandwich when our hands lightly brush each other’s. A zing skates across my skin, causing my core to tighten, and the only way I’m able to suppress a light moan is because my uncle has his eagle eyes narrowed on me.
“That was a lot of fun. Your aunt nearly put me on the couch for a week, though,” Uncle Todd says, grabbing a sandwich of his own.
“Wait, back up a minute. You’re her uncle?” Crew looks from Todd to me, and I shrug my shoulders. Uncle Todd can take point on this conversation.
“I am.” He sits back in his chair, makes quick work of his sandwich as I slowly start eating the broccoli cheese soup. Therewas chicken noodle, beef minestrone of some kind, and this. When Crew preferred the second, I went after my favorite, not that any soup isn’t good in my opinion.
“Oh, that reminds me. What do I owe you for lunch?” I ask Crew. My uncle pretends to be busy with his phone while making a mess out of his sandwich, dropping a dollop of condiment on his dress shirt in the process. And this is why Aunt Val keeps his work closet well stocked.
“Don’t worry about it,” Crew replies.
“Dang it. Whelp, I’m out of here. I need to change my clothes. It seems like Crew is showing you the ropes. By next week, you should be good to be out on your own, you think?” Well, I guess my uncle just came in to make sure Crew wasn’t doing anything he didn’t approve of? Hmm, I guess he wouldn’t like to know that it would more or less be the other way around. Crew might have placed light touches here or there, but he has yet to do anything that I wouldn’t want. In fact, I’m pretty sure I would be the aggressor.
“If not sooner. She’s a pro already with the software,” Crew acknowledges what I’ve been working on since we started this morning.
“Very good. Thanks for the sandwich. I’ll see you two later.” When we’re left alone again, we both remain quiet. I notice that my uncle kept the door all the way open when he took his leave.
“Jesus, Todd didn’t say a word about you being his niece. Only told me it’d be a conflict of interest,” Crew finally says once the coast is clear. He stands up, goes to the door, and closes it, probably in order to keep the noise at a lower decibel. Between Mary’s gasps and the soap opera actors on the tablet she has set up, it’s a wonder one can hear themselves think.
“Am I, you know, a conflict of interest?” I didn’t think of it that way when my uncle offered me a job after I finally figured out what direction I wanted to go career-wise. I had to reallyprove not only to myself but to him as well that this is what I want.
“I don’t. I figured there was more than what I know now, which is him being your uncle.” Crew sits down beside me. The small sofa has us sitting close together, and my body blazes like an inferno.
“Did you… Oh my god, no. You didn’t think…?” I scrunch my nose, place my soup down on the table, and just about lose my appetite for lunch.
“Had no idea, but yeah. Probably thought more along the lines of you could be anything but family. A mistress, maybe. Not like he brings anyone except Val around familywise.” I make a gagging noise in the back of my throat, covering my mouth for added effect, and try my hardest not to run to the nearest restroom.
“Absolutely not. Ewww.” I grab a bottle of water, untwist the cap, and take a healthy gulp.
“It’s been a long week,” he says beneath his breath, probably thinking I can’t hear him. Crew settles on the armrest and leans against the back of the couch. The need to kick off my shoes, pull my knees beneath me, and get comfortable is almost more than I can take. Except I’m essentially in front of my boss, and while there’s sexual tension, the last thing I’m going to do is act on it.
That must be the reason why any time I happened to see so much of a glimpse of Crew, he’d turn around and look the other way. Or he’d avoid me entirely. I’d be ready to say hello only for him to veer off toward another direction.
“Try wearing heels.” I stick my foot out, stretching my calf in the process. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Crew looking at what I’m doing. There’s a hunger, but from what I can tell so far, he’s not going to act on it. Even if he does find the smallest reason to touch me, I’ll just have to up the ante before he sends me on his way when we’re done training.
“You don’t have to wear those. I mean, it’s up to you at the end of the day, but the dress code here doesn’t state that you need to wear those every day, either.” His tongue slides along his lower lip, and my core pulses with desire. I stretch the other leg out, pointing my toes before tucking them in. Our lunch hour will dwindle down shortly, and the last thing I want to do is waste the soup and sandwich Crew paid for.
“I know, and maybe I’ll change footwear, but for now, I’ll stick with what I already have in my closet.” I pick up the food, placing the turkey on rye in my lap with the wrapper, and attack my soup. Crew may keep his suit jacket on to keep up a business appearance, but the cardigan I’m wearing is because of how cold this building and his office seem to constantly be.
“Yeah, excuse me for a minute.” He pops out of his seat when the ringing of his cell phone interrupts our conversation, it’s more than likely for the better. You know, before I make a bigger fool out of myself. It’s clear I’m out of the game when it comes to flirting. Which means this weekend, I either need to talk to Talia or somehow leave this where it lies. What a conundrum, especially since Crew has been my spank bank material since I crashed into of him. At least I haven’t done that yet.
5
