Page 14 of Love From the Ashes

I could feel my cheeks getting warm as I turned away. Reid might not have minded the contact, but I did, especially since he felt and smelled so wonderful. “Now that we’ve finished, it’s time for you to go,” I snapped, getting up from the floor.

“Wow. Our project finished, and you’re kicking me out. And you’re not even being nice about it.” He looked surprised as he stuffed the laptop back in the case.

“You’re right. I’m kicking you out. I still have some personal things to take care of, and I have to get up early for work. I don’t want to be late since the company’s owner might not like my tardiness, and I certainly don’t want to make him mad. Do I?”

“All right, I’m going. You might want to use a better excuse next time and stop making me the bad guy. I’m not an ogre, and my role in life isn’t to be your tormentor. So try being a little nice.”

“I am nice.”

“Really? If what I’ve seen is nice, I’d hate to see you when you’re being mean. I’ll take the laptop and leave it on your desk in the morning since I get to the office around seven o’clock. It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow, so it’ll be easier if I take it. That is unless you want to argue about that too.”

“No argument here. And thanks for helping me. I would have been at it all night without you.”

“Ahh, a compliment. I’m shocked. What a nice way to end the night. I’ll have to bask in your words all the way home.”

“Very funny. Just don’t expect it to happen again.” I held back a smile as I thought about the way we bantered back and forth. I enjoyed it, but I’d rather die than confess that to him.

Reid called his driver and directed the man to pick him up. Then he retrieved his jacket from the bathroom and slipped it on. “Thank you for an unforgettable evening. I’m going to wait downstairs for Lawrence. I’ll see you at the office. Good night.” Reid walked out the door without another word, closing it quietly behind him.

I stood there staring at the wooden barrier, my hand touching my cheek. His shoulder had felt so warm and comfortable, I hated to admit it, but I liked it. That was another tidbit of information I preferred to keep secret.

CHAPTER 6

The Trio Is Born

Iglanced atmy watch as I came around the corner of my desk. I was half an hour early for work, my day scheduled to begin at eight o’clock. Besides being unable to sleep since I couldn’t get Reid off my mind, I wanted to finish the task Krista had assigned me late yesterday and send her the PowerPoint before she came asking for it. I couldn’t do it last night since I had no internet service.

After getting situated at my desk, I reached for the laptop case Reid had left for me, just as he’d said he would. A folded piece of paper had been addressed to me and placed on top of it. It looked like someone had angrily crumpled the paper into a ball and then tried to smooth it back out, the note riddled with wrinkles and one of the edges torn. I opened it and read the message.

Good morning, Sofie. Thanks for an unforgettable evening. Reid.

The note made me smile. It was sweet, and Reid was slowly chipping away at the unflattering picture I had of him. Pushing the paper aside, I took the laptop from the case and hooked it up to the network in the small conference room. After logging on, I saved the file in its proper location on our shared drive and then returned to my desk after shutting the equipment down. Finished with that task, I emailed Krista the file and let her know the revision was available in her presentation folder. I spotted her storming toward me a moment later, the dark look on her face worse than anything she’d displayed so far.

“Why were you with Reid last night, and why did he leave you that note?” Krista’s words shot from her mouth like venom from a viper.

“He helped me with the PowerPoint presentation you told me to revise.” I eyed her warily, unsure where she was going to strike.

“Are you so stupid you couldn’t do it yourself?”

“How dare you insult me like that. I’ve never used the program before, which doesn’t mean I’m stupid. And you’ve never given me training.”

“Why should I bother? You were unqualified for this job when they hired you. I’m not going to warn you again. Stay away from Reid.”

“Are you threatening me?” I said slowly, my words carefully measured. Krista had to be obsessed with Reid or just plain crazy. Either way, now she had me pissed, and there was no backing down.

“Of course not. That would be against company policy, wouldn’t it? I’ll call it friendly advice.” Krista gave me a mocking smile, her rigid jawline and the coldness of her eyes displaying her hatred toward me.

“Maybe I should share your friendly advice with Reid? He might be interested to know what you said to me.” I tipped my head up and jutted my jaw forward, daring her to threaten me again.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Krista breathed, her eyes wide.

“Try me. You can back off, or I can go to Reid.”

We stood staring at each other, neither of us making a move. Then the door opened, and a group of employees entered. Della was one of them. Krista spun around and briskly walked away, the two of us ending at a standoff.

“Shit, Sofie. What was that about?” Della said, looking confused as she stared at me.

“Nothing,” I said testily, still angered by the exchange.

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