Yes, right there. That’s it.”

I’m walking around the ground floor of our construction site with my trusty old pair of work boots and my hardhat, ducking under a steel beam as a small pulley hoists it into the air.

“We know what we’re doing, boss,” one of my contractors says to me, rolling his eyes. He’s my general contractor and he has the best team with him. “It’s not like this is the first office we’ve built out.”

He’s a rough and tumble Brooklyn guy, and he’s the guy who takes the construction side of my and Elliot’s business off our plates. He’s damn good at what he does, too.

“I want you guy to break for lunch soon,” I say, grabbing a cup of water off the conference table we’ve got set up in the center of the space.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Scarlett since I met her, and now I haven’t been able to get my cock to behave since last night.

Seeing her climb on top of me was the single hottest moment of my life. Having my best friend with me just catapulted it to another level.

Fuck, I don’t know what the hell to think. All I know is that this feels so damn right, and I have to let it continue. I have to see this thing through to the end.

I take another sip of my water and toss the paper cup into a nearby trash can filled with assorted detritus from the construction, looking around the space for Elliot.

I spot him in the corner of the room, thoughtfully flipping through a stack of plans for the space.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I say, walking over to him.

“That sounds like something an old man would say,” he says, not looking up at me.

“Damn,” I reply, looking out over our men working, “no need to be salty. Everything okay there?”

Elliot sighs deeply and looks up from the plans.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m just distracted.”

“Yeah, I know what the hell you’re talking about,” I say, clapping my hands together softly. “Last night was fucking...god, it was incredible.”

“It was incredible, yeah. Of course it was incredible. She is incredible. Everything about her is just...she’s an amazing woman.”

“I sense some hesitation in your voice,” I say.

“It’s nothing between us. You and I are fine. I am happy it happened. At least, I would be happen if it had happened in a different context.”

“So you regret it?” I ask, raising my eyebrow at him.

He can’t regret what happened. She was too good. Everything felt too real and too natural.

“No, I don’t regret it. I just wish it had been under different circumstances.”

“Listen,” I say, putting my hands on his shoulder, “it happened under perfect circumstances. If we weren’t out here with a professional interest in her, we never would have met her. Is that what you want? To have never had Scarlett walk into our lives?”

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “Not even a little. But think about this logically for a minute. We are putting everything on the line if this happens again. Once, that’s an indiscretion. Twice, that’s premeditated.”

“We can try to walk away from her, but I promise we wouldn’t be able to. Not now. And that wasn’t an indiscretion.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I like this girl. I can’t explain it to myself.”

“It’s not that hard to explain,” I say, clapping him on the back, “she is smart, gorgeous, kind, funny, and when you’re with her you feel excited. Did I miss anything?”

“You missed the part where she wants both of us.”

“That’s the beauty of it,” I say, laughing. I swear I feel crazy for saying it, but I feel totally sane for feeling it. “I don’t begrudge you anything, and if she wants both of us, that’s a boon for both of us. This is perfect.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” he says. “We just met this girl.”

“You’re right. Doesn’t change how I feel right now, though.”

“There’s something else,” Elliot says, taking his phone from his pocket. “The main office has been blowing up my phone all morning. Apparently one of the firms invested in this venture is looking for a status update on this deal.”

“Why do they care?” I ask. “We’ve always been able to deliver. And we have an understanding with them. We deliver, they stay off our backs. It’s worked out for us really damn well so far.”

“They want to know the status,” Elliot shrugs.

“So this is what has you all worried?” I ask. “It’s fine, we will take care of it. It’s not like we can twist this girl’s arm into selling, anyway. If they want an update, we will give it to them.”

“You think she’s any closer to agreeing to sell?”

I run my hand through my hair.

We want this deal, and we want it bad. But I’m starting to want her more than I want the deal. The deal is starting to recede into the background, and as I look around our half-completed office, I wonder how much longer we are going to be doing this dance with her.

“I think she will sell,” I say. “It’s the right decision for her. She knows how much power we have behind us. She knows that we have the right contacts and know the right people, and can turn her place into something she can be proud of.”

“She’s already proud of it,” Elliot says, “that’s part of the problem. She thinks of it as her baby. She’s too emotionally invested in it.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to be too emotionally invested in something, man,” I say. “She has to do what’s right for her, but I do think she will sell. Her other option is going to be closing up shop. Whether it’s in six months or a year, it doesn’t matter. That hard reality is just around the corner for her, and she’s smart enough to know it. She isn’t some naive girl. She knows what’s going to happen. And it’s not her fault what happened to the alley. I just hope she knows that as well.”

“Look,” Elliot says, glancing at his watch, “it’s almost time for our meeting with her. Let’s tell the guys to break for lunch, go pick something up for them, and then go meet with Scarlett. We can feel out how where she’s at. And, if I recall correctly, you’re going to be playing your first game of bowling.”

“For her, I’ll get my hands dirty,” I laugh, turning to the crew. “Lunch in twenty minutes, guy. Start packing it in.”

I clap Elliot on the back as we head for the door. It’s sunny outside, and the air is calm and still. I can hear the chatter of our crew cleaning up and the chirping of birds in high trees across the street, behind a row of small shops. I could get used to it here.