Chapter 1
Allison
Joshua wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in for a kiss in the elevator. His lips sent waves of electricity through my body, and I moaned softly.
It had been a month since we’d finally gone public, and the office still seemed to approve of our relationship. I loved that Joshua would give me little kisses throughout the day, no longer afraid of people catching us. Of course, we kept it professional overall—no make-out sessions in front of the coffee machine, and, so far, no sex in his office. I smiled to myself. At least, not during business hours.
“I thought about you in the shower this morning,” he whispered against my neck.
I stroked his chest through his crisp button-down shirt. “Did you? Should I ask for details?”
“Mm, probably not. I’ll show you, instead. How about Friday night?” he asked. “Chinese take-out at my place, and a movie we won’t see the end of?”
“That sounds great,” I murmured, “except it’s going to have to wait until Saturday. I have girls’ night out with Jess on Friday, remember?”
“Damn.” His fingers played with the waistband of my skirt. “Can I come, too?”
I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of my throat. “Are you that desperate to spend time with me?”
“Maybe.”
“That would defeat the whole idea of girls night out. Skirts only, sorry.” I smirked at the visual of Joshua in a skirt—it was so at odds with his hot alpha male look. But I wouldn’t have minded seeing him in a kilt, maybe. Visions of him starring in The Outlander series sent a flush creeping through my face.
“I want to know what you’re thinking right this second,” he said, touching my burning cheek.
The elevator beeped softly, signaling our floor, and the doors slid open.
“Maybe later,” I said with a relieved smile. I could just imagine the teasing. He’d insist on watching the show with me, and I’d never hear the end of it.
He laughed. “I’ll hold you to that.”
The staff barely spared us a second glance when we got off the elevator. Joshua walked me to my new office and gave me a lingering kiss on the lips. “See you later, VP,” he murmured.
I opened my office door and stepped inside. Like my old cubicle, there were inspirational quotes on the walls, although these were written out in delicate fonts and sported matching frames. I smiled, remembering when Joshua had given them to me. “An office-warming gift,” he’d said. “I want you to feel at home here.”
Unlike my old cubicle, this was an actual office, with a door, and windows, and a full-sized desk. It had taken me a long time to feel like I belonged in here, but Joshua had assured me that the work I was doing needed the space.
The position of Vice President suited me, although it had taken me awhile to come to terms with that. I’d worried that the other employees would think I was getting special treatment. I could remember arguing with Joshua about it. “I’m fine working where I am,” I’d said.
He’d raked his hands through his hair in frustration. “Dammit, Allison, a bonus isn’t enough. You’re showing huge initiative here, and it’s not just because you’re my girlfriend. You have the brains and the creativity to take this company to the next level, and I want you in this place. You deserve this position.”
Even though it had taken me awhile to get confident enough to see myself as he did, now I knew he was right—I did deserve this position. As soon as the app had been launched, it quickly became one of the top dating apps in the country, and Joshua declared I should have this new position in the company. Every day I was coming up with new ideas and managing the app as well…despite the fact that Jamie glowered at me from time to time, as he was doing now.
I sighed and closed the blinds to my office. It was easier to work when I didn’t feel like he was out there, scowling at me.
My phone chimed in my purse and I pulled it out to glance at the screen. Joshua had sent me a text with a link. Have you seen this one?
I clicked the link. The article that popped up was on a popular news site and titled: “Billionaire Finds Love with His Own Dating Site.” It went on to list many of the same details that had been shared by various news sites over the past few weeks, such as how we’d been frustrated with our love lives and had signed up on a whim, only to find each other on our first try. Joshua received most of the focus in the articles, because it was his company and he was so handsome and well-off.
I remembered how one of the in-person interviews had gone. “Joshua,” the reporter had simpered, “you’ve long been considered one of Philadelphia’s most eligible bachelors. Surely you weren’t hurting for a date.”
“A date, no,” Joshua had replied. “But love, yes. It was hard to find someone who wasn’t blinded by my status…I was craving connection on a deeper level.” He’d pulled me tight next to him then. “Scintilla introduced me to Allison and finally allowed me to do that.”
“But you’d already been introduced, hadn’t you?” the reporter asked. “Wasn’t Allison—isn’t Allison still—one of your employees?”
“The truth of it is, I’d overlooked her,” Joshua responded with a sheepish grin.
The reporter had turned to me for confirmation.
“It’s true,” I said. “We barely knew each other except to exchange banal pleasantries. I wasn’t even on his radar.”
“I bet it was a pleasant surprise when you learned your Scintilla match was someone you worked with!” the reporter said with a smile. Joshua and I both laughed, hiding the fact that it hadn’t been nearly that pleasant. Overall, though, each interview had gone really well, and each had accomplished what we’d wanted them to do: highlight our site and the services it offers.
This new article was close to the same as the others, although this site had somehow gotten a new photo of the two of us…one in which Joshua was caressing my shoulder, if I remembered correctly, but the angle of the shot made it look as if he was palming my breast. I texted back, Nice catch, grabby.
He texted back a smiley face.
I didn’t mind the photo. It was an awkward angle, and no one would really think he was grabbing my breasts in public. Besides, this was more publicity, and publicity, where Scintilla was concerned, had only been a good thing. In the past month, with every article that came out about me and Joshua, the site’s usage had skyrocketed, and the number and frequency of app downloads had exceeded my wildest dreams. Although plenty of people were using the free version of the app, which came with limited capabilities, many, many more had signed up for matchmaking services and had access to the deluxe version of the app.
I closed the browser window and started up my computer. There were at least a hundred company emails demanding my attention. I’d need some more coffee to deal with it all. Through my nearly-closed blinds, I caught sight of a dark head of hair at Joshua’s height heading in the direction of the break room. Maybe Joshua was getting coffee, too. I smiled and left my office, headed in his direction.
I whirled through the break room door. “Hey, sexy,” I said, a smile on my lips.
He turned around, a look of disgust on his face. It wasn’t Joshua getting coffee—it was Jamie. Our last interaction played through my head—his ugly words, the way he’d swiped my stacked papers from the conference table. When had things gone so wrong between us? How had it happened?
“Oh, sorry,” I said, cautiously. “Good morning.”
He grunted.
Mature. Real mature. My emotions were a mixture of anger and hurt. We used to get along so well, joking around. While I hadn’t lived for his smiles or anything, I’d genuinely enjoyed his company. I thought of turning right around and leaving the break room, hiding out in my office. But this was my break room, too. Why should I have to hide? And why should I step down from confrontation and pretend nothing was wrong? Something was obviously wrong with him, and I was tired of hiding out. Maybe it was time to speak plainly.
I cleared my throat and smoothed down my skirt. “You know, you never did congratulate me for the VP position.”
He didn’t turn around. He just spoke to the coffee machine. “At least I approved it.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes. His approval would’ve been token, anyway—Joshua’s position as CEO counted for more than Jamie’s as co-owner.
“I would’ve hoped for more than that,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “I would’ve hoped you’d be happy for me, since we’re friends.”
He spun around and fixed me with a glare. “Congratulations.”
Coffee in hand, he marched from the room.
The expression on his face looked way too familiar. It felt familiar, because the expression mirrored my own. He was hurt and angry, just like I was.
Maybe he missed me, too, just like I missed him.
It made me think that there was some hope, a chance, maybe, to make this better. If I could fix this between us, maybe I could get my friend back. And if I could do that, the man I loved wouldn’t be alienated from his brother anymore.