The best part of working at For the Record is the location. It’s close to Front Street, which happens to be where my favorite bar, Last Call, is. But better than that, I have the best boss and coworkers I could have ever hoped for. Mr. Monohan pretends to be tough, but we all know he’s nothing but a big teddy bear underneath the loud voice and rough exterior. He’s also brilliant, which is why he promoted me to news editor when we all left Priority News and he started up his own paper. He brought the best of Priority News with him, too. Nate and Aria aren’t just great at their jobs—they’re great people. A lot of fun to hang out with after work.

My favorite coworker, though, has to be Emily. Emily Richards. She’s a hot twenty-three-year-old who can flirt like the best of them. For two weeks, I called her my girlfriend. But a woman like Emily isn’t easy to keep. I have no ill feelings toward her at all. I knew asking her out was a long shot. I couldn’t help myself, though. And she should win an award for how she broke things off with me. She was sweet about it, and she’s remained my partner in crime at the paper. Monohan made her the opinions editor, which is the perfect job for her since her opinions are worth their weight in gold. Monohan’s always been about giving people chances and advancing people’s careers. At twenty-seven, I’ve put in my time as a staff writer. But Emily wasn’t even at Priority News for a year, and already she’s an editor at For the Record. She’s good too, making Monohan look like a freakin’ genius. My guess is she feels she has something to prove. Either way, I get to spend every workday with her.

I get off the elevator and step into the newsroom. “Morning, people,” I say, raising my paper coffee to-go cup in the air in greeting.

Nate nods and waves a hand in the air, already hard at work. Aria’s office door is open, and I can hear her voice. She must be on the phone. These people are all workaholics. But Aria is the managing editor of the paper, so she has more on her plate than the rest of us.

Emily comes walking in behind me, but she’s not her usually-smiling self.

“Hey, beautiful. Where’s your smile this morning?” I bump her with my hip as she walks by.

“Hi, David. Rough night,” she says, keeping her head down.

For a moment I think she must have had a late date, but I doubt she’d look so miserable if that were the case. Unless the guy was a dick to her. I follow her to her cubicle, which happens to be right next to mine. Monohan arranged our cubicles in groups of four, allowing everyone to talk at will. I fling my messenger bag over the partition and onto my desk.

“Talk to me,” I say as she sits down.

She swivels her chair so she’s facing me. “First, I had an awful date.” She rolls her eyes.

I take a sip of coffee to suppress my smile. Not that I think Emily should date me again, given the four-year age difference between us, but I don’t exactly want our workplace flirting to end, so it’s good that she’s not serious about anyone.

“Then I come home to find out my roommate got engaged and wants me to move out of the apartment. So now I have to find a new place to live by next week.” She sits back, looking completely defeated.

I lean against her desk, crossing one foot over the other. “Okay, so do you have any friends who have spare bedrooms?” I want to add “female friends,” but I keep the thought to myself.

She shakes her head. “And I really don’t want to have to sleep on someone’s couch until I find a single in this town.”

Single-bedroom apartments are tough to come by in Priority. The place is like a smaller version of New York City. It’s not cheap either. Most people room with others to save on rent and other living costs.

“Everyone, meeting in the conference room,” Aria says, stepping out of her office and circling her finger in the air in a signal for “round ’em up.” Nate loops his arm around her waist and walks with her. I watch as he kisses her right under her left earlobe and she laughs. Those two are the epitome of the perfect couple. They started out as friends for some insane number of years, neither wanting to risk their friendship to see what it could turn into. But that all changed a couple months ago, and now they can’t keep their hands off each other. They aren’t fooling anyone by closing Aria’s office door for “meetings” either.

Emily gets up and walks past me. I follow her, taking in the short length of her skirt. She has great legs. Long, lean—and I can attest to their flexibility, too. God, those were a great two weeks we shared. Her hair is long and falls in soft waves halfway down her back. She glances over her shoulder at me, knowing full well that I’m checking her out. She smiles at me and gives her ass a little shake for my benefit. Yes, she makes working at this paper the highlight of my day.

I take a seat next to her at the conference table and note that there’s no spread for us today. When Monohan first started the paper, we got coffee, bagels, and donuts. Now, we have itemized lists in front of us.

Monohan stands at the head of the table with Aria sitting directly to his right. “Okay, everyone. It’s Monday. You know what that means.”

“Come on, Mr. M.,” Emily says, her lower lip jutting out in a pout. My eyes linger on her mouth as I resist the urge to nibble that lip. “You can’t expect us to work on empty stomachs. What happened to the donuts and coffee you used to bring us?”

“You all consumed them. They’re gone, and now it’s time to work.” He winks at Emily before laying out the details of what needs to be accomplished to get this week’s paper out on time. The man has a way with words, which I guess is why he runs his own newspaper. He sort of reminds me of my dad. He’s a ball buster, but he has a heart.

Once we all have our assignments, Monohan dismisses us. I need to email the news reporters and give them their story assignments. At first I thought I’d miss being in the field, but I have to admit I love working in the office and reading all the stories the staff writers put together. And I didn’t even mind the switch from features to news. I spend my morning matching the stories with the staff writers I think would enjoy them best. It’s a trick I picked up from Aria when she was the features editor at Priority News. She knew we worked best when we enjoyed the stories we covered. She’s smart, which could be why she’s second-in-command at twenty-six. I do miss working next to her, though. I also miss how Emily and I used to share a cubicle when we joined forces on a story. Sometimes we’d even share the same chair.

“Do you have a minute?”

I look up from my computer screen to see Emily standing in my cubicle.

“For you? Always.” I swivel around to face her.

“Do you know anyone who’s looking for a roommate? I mean, I could run an ad in the paper, but by the time it was posted, I’d have to already be out of my place.” She’s fidgeting with the last button on her blouse, giving me the mental image of her undressing. This is the downside to knowing what she looks like naked. It’s hard not to see that when I look at her.

I shake my head and stand up, taking her hand in mine to stop her from putting any more suggestive images in my head. “I have an extra bedroom.” The words slip out of my mouth before I have time to think about what I’m actually saying. I can’t ask my ex to move in with me, can I?

Her eyes light up. “You do?”

“Yeah. My roommate moved out last month. I was planning to find someone else, but with this paper starting up, I never got around to it.”

“And you don’t mind living with a woman?”

I’ve lived with a woman before, but that was my sister. Dear God, what am I thinking? I couldn’t handle knowing Emily was in the next bedroom every night. Or in my shower. But my brain must not be communicating these thoughts with my mouth because I say, “No sweat. You’d be doing me a favor.”

She grips my hand. “You’re serious? Because I don’t want you to say you are if you’re not. You don’t have to do me any favors. I won’t hold it against you if you change your mind. I mean, we work together. You might get sick of me if you have to see me at work and at home.” She looks away, and I’m positive she’s trying not to bring up the fact that we used to share a bed.

The truth is, there’s no way I’d get sick of a face like Emily’s. Never in my life have I remained friends with an ex, yet look at us. “Are you kidding me? Look at how well we’ve gotten along since the moment we started working together. This will be great. You’ll see.”

“David, you are...” She shakes her head and smiles at me. “I could kiss you. Ah, what the hell.” She grabs my shoulders and kisses my cheek. “When do you want me?”

Right now. On this desk.

Her eyes volley back and forth between mine. She’s so excited.

“Whenever you’re ready,” I say, letting her interpret that however she will.

“Great. I’ll start packing my things tonight. It should only take me a day or two to get everything together. Would it be okay if I moved in on Wednesday?”

Wednesday. Two days from now, I’ll be living with Emily. Waking up to her. Watching late-night television cuddled up on the couch with her.

“David?” She cocks her head. “Is Wednesday too soon? Do you need more time to get ready for me?”

I’ve been ready for her since the first moment I laid eyes on her. I’m sure that was what drove her away, though. I was ready for a commitment, and she wasn’t. “No. Wednesday is fine. Do you need me to help you bring everything?”

“No. I don’t have any furniture since Sharonda had the place furnished when I moved in. It’s mostly clothing, shoes—lots of shoes.” She laughs. “Toiletries, that sort of stuff.”

“Okay, then I guess after work on Wednesday, I’ll bring you home. The room is already furnished and move-in ready.”

“Great. Should I get a key made? I don’t want you to have to pay for it.” Her words are rushed, like she’s afraid of forgetting something in the hasty move.

“No, I have a spare from my last roommate.”

She smiles and then pulls me in for a hug. “You’re the best, David. This is going to be great.”

I bury my nose in her hair and inhale deeply, letting the scent of her lavender shampoo fill my senses. Nate notices and narrows his eyes at me.

Emily pulls away and rushes to the conference room. I’m assuming for a meeting with her opinion writers.

Nate wheels his chair to the edge of our joined cubicles. “So...”

“She smells good. Sue me.” I shrug like it’s no big deal.

“I’ve watched you and Emily flirt for months. That’s not what I’m talking about.”

How much did he overhear? I shrug again. “What, then?”

“You are asking for trouble, my friend.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I go back to my emails, trying to ignore Nate and his knowing glances for the rest of the day.

* * *

“Why on earth did you ask her to move in with you? Do you get off on torturing yourself?” Dom shakes his head before slugging down the rest of his beer.

“She needed a place to stay. What was I supposed to do? My place is plenty big enough. That second bedroom has been sitting empty since Monica moved out.”

“How is Monica?” Dom asks, and the corners of his mouth curve into a slight smile.

“Still off-limits. She’s my twin sister, man. It’s not happening, so don’t even go there.”

“She’s sexy as hell. Thank God you two are fraternal twins.”

“You can say that again. I don’t need you hitting on me, too.”

Dom punches my arm. “Just for that, I’m leaving you with the tab. I have an early day tomorrow.”

“Your workday never starts before eleven.” He’s a cook at his family’s restaurant, Bella Noche.

“Like I said, early.” He claps his hand on my shoulder as he gets up and leaves.

I flag down Caleb, who’s serving a redhead with a huge rack at the other end of the bar. The woman has the attention of all the men around her, but she’s not my type. I prefer brunettes. Flirty brunettes who have a little edge.

Caleb walks over and reaches for my empty pint glass. “Another lager?”

I remove my wallet from my back pocket. “No. Just the check.”

“Dom stuck you with the bill again, huh?” Caleb laughs as he presses some buttons on the register screen in front of him and prints my check.

“You know him.” Caleb knows all the locals, mostly because Last Call is the place to be just about every night.

“Word on the street is that you asked Emily Richards to move in with you,” Caleb says, passing the bill to me and leaning his forearms on the bar top.

No doubt he heard it from Nate, his best friend. “Tell Nate I said he has a big mouth and he should stop eavesdropping on private conversations.” I slap a twenty and a ten on top of my check and slide it back to Caleb before standing.

“Hey, before you go.”

I stop, curious what he’s going to say. Caleb’s a great bartender, not only because his service is good, but because he gives excellent advice.

“Watch yourself. A woman like Emily can be dangerous. She’s still young. If you get involved with her again, it might not mean the same thing to both of you, if you get what I’m saying.”

I nod, well aware of what he’s saying because I’ve already lived through it. Messing around with my roommate would most likely end with me living on my own again and with one fewer friend at work.