Page 25 of Jake

He took a steadying breath and held out a hand. “Do you have something for me to carry in there?”

“Oh! Yes, here.” She handed him the blueprints and folder. “Let me get in front of you if we are to make this believable.”

“I don’t know why he is going to this extreme, but I’ll play along.”

“I thought it was your idea,” Lauren confessed.

“I only said I would stop by again like last week. He came up with the rest.”

She shook her head at Cade. “Let’s get to it then.”

Jake stuck a hand out and touched her chin, gently urging her to look at him. “Please don’t leave?” he asked again.

“I won’t.” It was a promise, to him, to her, something to keep her from running away because she didn’t want to think about it.

She stood in from of Cade’s door and made a show of telling him, “Cade’s in a meeting,” very loudly.

He leaned down and whispered, “Don’t fall,” as he opened the door.

The shiver that went through her was completely involuntary but not at all unwelcome. That surprised her so much she forgot the show she was supposed to be putting on for a minute.

“I told you, he’s in a meeting!” she shouted at Jake as the door swung open.

Chapter Nine

Jake couldn’t believe he’d accidentally discovered who L was. He’d contemplated her but thought she’d never go out on a blind date, much less let Cade convince her to do it. That was a story he couldn’t wait to hear.

“You can’t just barge in here!” came Cade’s father’s booming voice.

Lauren was pretending not to hide behind him as the man yelled. He kept himself aware of her presence as he faced the other man down.

“I have an appointment and I am on a tight schedule, I’ll have you know.” He’d rehearsed what he was going to say and had forgotten all of it the moment he and Lauren realized who each other was.

“Do you do this other people?”

“Of course not. If I had to wait to weeks in a row, I would simply find another company that values my time.”

Cade’s father sputtered. It was an indisputable fact that making him wait wasn’t good business. Of course, Jake wasn’t actually a client.

“Let me see what this project is about,” he demanded.

He felt Lauren jump as he yelled. He reached one hand behind him between her and the open doorway, making sure that he was clearly between Cade’s father and her.

“Sir, with all due respect, you do not work here,” Jake said with much more calm than he felt.

“Fine, have your fun.” This was directed at Cade, who had done little more than stand up and watch the back and forth.

“Father, please excuse us,” Cade finally said and came from around his desk. “If you have any further things to discuss, we can do so at the appropriate time. However, Jake and I do have an appointment and it is getting late on a Friday afternoon.”

Cade crossed his arms and leaned one hip on his desk. The tension was palpable as the men stared each other down.

“With whom? Your incompetent secretary?” he demanded.

Jake winced. It was coming down on her again and that was the last thing he wanted.

“In case you didn’t notice, she tried to stop me from coming in here,” Jake defended.

Lauren placed her hand on his back. He wasn’t sure if it was to tell him to stop or to thank him, but either way, he liked the contact.

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