Chapter 7: Luna

Light filtered through the massive front windows that looked out on the street and shone across the tables laden with food. The scents in here drove me wild in the best way possible, and after the grueling ordeal of the presentation, I deserved a little wild even if it came in the food form rather than the sexy guy form. But oh, what a sexy guy he was. I shook my head against the inappropriate fantasy of Corban Drake.

Larissa had chosen the burger bar because she had a fetish for them. I couldn’t help but agree with her on this one.

I grabbed the massive burger in the center of my plate and lifted it. I took a bite and savored the mixture of ground beef, barbeque sauce, tomato, and Monterey Jack cheese. This place had the softest buns in existence. With butter.

“Oh my god,” I groaned around a mouthful of paradise. “This has to be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. What have you done to me? So many carbs.”

“And fat, Luna. Embrace the fat,” Larissa replied and dragged a fry through ketchup. She lifted it and wiggled it at me. “Embrace the flavor. You deserve it.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you should be in advertising?” I asked and took another bite. I’d live in this place given half a chance.

“My talents would be wasted on advertising,” Larissa said and deposited the fry into her mouth. She chewed as her brow furrowed in concentration, that oh so Larissa frown wrinkling her skin. “So, I’ve got news. I didn’t want to ruin your burger though.”

“Oh god, what is it?” I asked and put it down, my stomach squirming with sudden nerves.

“You’ve got a blob of sauce on the corner of your mouth,” she said and pointed with another fry.

I grabbed a napkin and dabbed the offending splotch. “That’s your big news? I hate to break it to you, Lar, but I’ve always been a messy eater. This is not new information.”

“Shush, shush, shush. You’re making my voices act up again.” After putting her finger to her lips, Larissa massaged her temples. “I’m talking about your journal, girl.”

My stomach dropped into the tips of my toes. “Okay, now I understand what you meant by ruining my lunch.”

“Sorry, not sorry.” Larissa gobbled down another two fries and didn’t say a word.

“Uh? Hello? Are you going to tell me this news or just leave me hanging?” Complications with the ever-gorgeous, and therefore ever-dangerous, Mr. Drake couldn’t be tolerated. I needed this job more than I needed to feel his hands on my body. Gosh, where had that thought come from?

“He’s got your journal,” Larissa said.

My stomach wobbled in my toes. “Uh? I figured he found it but can you better define that? What do you mean by he’s got it? Like he’s got it at his office?”

“I’m not sure where, but yeah, he mentioned to Ross that he found it,” Larissa said.

“Has he read it?” Surely, I would’ve lost the event if he’d read it. No way would any man in his right mind keep me on board after reading my highly inappropriate internal thoughts. Even though I couldn’t remember my exact words, I did remember that I’d referred to the timbre of his voice. The first time it had floated over me, I’d wondered about the man on the other end of the phone.

“I have no idea. But I do know that getting it back would probably be a good idea,” Larissa said. “I understand and adore your special brand of crazy. I doubt many other people would and Corban–”

“Ugh, I know. What a total screw up,” I said and smooshed the napkin into non-existence. Pounding and tearing the fragile white paper felt good. “I’ve got to get it back, somehow. Not that there’s anything illicit in there.”

The waiter arrived at the table and the conversation cut off. “Can I get you ladies anything else? A refill perhaps?”

“Uh, yeah,” I said and shoved my glass toward him. He snatched it up and rushed off again. I never understood why servers did that. Why interrupt when they could clearly see you were in the middle of a conversation?

One that happened to be more important than any other. I didn’t dare complain though. If the waiter recognized me, he’d probably spit in my drink. I knocked on wood and met my best friend’s gaze. “He read it, didn’t he?”

“Like I said, I don’t know. I seriously doubt it though. Corban’s a great guy. He’s not the kind who’d go through someone else’s journal.” Larissa leveled a look at me. “And yeah, you do need to get it back.”

I propped my chin up on my fist, the weight of my head too heavy for me to hold up any longer. “Right, so how would I do that?”

“Uh, ask him for it?”

I blinked. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because then I’d have to talk to him about something personal and that’s not happening.” Additionally, if I asked about it, and he pulled any weird faces, I’d know that he’d read it and then I’d sink through a hole in the floor and into the burning pits of hell.

The special ring that was reserved for social faux pas and a serious lack of etiquette. I wouldn’t handle rejection well in this instance.

Larissa picked up her burger and took a bite. “You like him, don’t you? Not that I’d blame you. He is hot enough to make Satan sigh. If it weren’t for my epic love for Ross, I’d go for him.”

I watched her chew, mind churning about how to deflect. Corban Drake still had my journal. He’d been impressed with my presentation, and that was great, but there was the off chance he’d read the journal and realize that I was a total loon, fawning over the voice of someone I’d had one call with. But the longer Corban had my journal, the higher the risk became that he’d get curious and go through it.

I came dangerously close to biting my fingernails. “And I’m not into him, even though he is hot. We have a strictly business relationship. But my journal…I’ve got to get it back today.”

“Whoa.” Larissa put down her burger. “Today?”

“Yeah, and you’ve got to help me plan how I’m going to do it. You’re the one who’s good at subterfuge. All that addiction to Forensic Files and stuff.”

“Are you kidding?” Larissa asked. “I can’t hide the remote from Ross during Real Housewives. You really think I’ll be able to–”

“Lar!”

She exhaled for so long I worried about her lungs. “Fine, fine, I’ll help.”

I straightened in my chair and focused on her – laser precision, locked in my sights. “So,” I said. “What do I do?”

“I said I’d help, not plan a heist for you. You tell me what you’re going to do. I’ll tell you if it’s feasible.”

I pushed my plate to one side. “Okay, so he’s going to be at his office today. He has to be because the meeting is done and the Twins obviously aren’t his only potential account.”

“Yeah, I heard he’s helping out with branding for one of the local boutiques. Some fashion store or whatever,” Lar replied. “He’s having trouble with it. Another thing you could help with if this current project goes well.”

My heart tripped at the prospect. That would be right up my alley. “Did he mention anything else?”

“Nothing super in detail. Just that he’s spent the last couple weeks working late on it and he needs the Twins event to go down super smooth. I think he’s really stressed.”

I buried the pang of concern for the man I barely knew. The man who might not express that same concern for me if he read my innermost thoughts. Apart from concern for my shoddy degree of professionalism.

“Okay, so he should be at the office after lunch. Oh wait, do you know how long his lunches are?”

“Hmm.” Larissa ate another ketchup-doused fry. “He came to eat with us at our house the other day, and he was there for, oh say, an hour and fifteen? He’s a big shot. I don’t think he has to worry about punching a clock.”

I checked my watch. “Okay, so I’ve got forty-five minutes to plan my heist, as you put it.”

“Right.”

“I need to get into his office without him there and search for the journal, then hightail it outta the building before he spots me.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my napkin. “Oh shoot, maybe I should go now while he’s at lunch.”

Larissa chewed her bottom lip in thought. “He’s eating lunch with Ross today, and I guarantee you he’s locked his office. Lunchtime espionage is a no-go. Unless you want to do this tomorrow. No, wait, he spends most lunch times at his desk. That wouldn’t work either.”

“Yeah, and I want to do this today. Get it over and done with. Then I can focus on the event and stop worrying that he’ll fire me for wondering whether he was a Baldwin.”

“You what?” Larissa burst out laughing and bits of fry dropped from her lips to the plate.

“Ew, say it, don’t spray it.”

“You wrote that down? That you thought he might be one of the Baldwin brothers?”

I rolled my eyes, my face flaming in shame. I could feel the heat crawl from my neck up to the top of my head. It was embarrassing to admit even to my bestie. “I’d had a glass of wine, okay? Maybe two. He sounded super dreamy. I might’ve exaggerated my affections for his voice a little too.”

“You are special,” Larissa said and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“Not since yesterday,” I whined. “Okay, so I’ll need a distraction. Something that will drive him out of the office, so I get my golden window of opportunity.”

“Why don’t you call him a Baldwin and flash your tits? That might work.”

I whacked the back of my friend’s arm. “Focus. I’m serious about this.”

“I can see that.” Larissa rubbed the sore spot. “Look, hon, I’m not going to argue down on this one, but I just don’t see this journal deal as that big of a tragedy. So what if he reads it? He’s a good guy. He won’t judge you even if he did. Most likely, he’d be flattered like all the other overworked and undersexed executives in Minneapolis. Corban doesn’t get out much. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen him with a woman.”

“There are–” I cut off and looked down at the table. “Lar, there are private thoughts in there I don’t want to share with anybody. Stuff about loneliness and what happened at the wedding. If he only read the part about him, that would be mortifying but not earth-shattering. If he happens to go further back…”

It was Larissa’s turn to push her plate away. “I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Private thoughts are meant to stay private.”

We fell into an uneasy silence. The waiter arrived with our refills and placed the sodas, brimming with ice, in the center of the table.

I grabbed one and probed its depths with my straw. Nope, no saliva in evidence. The guy clearly didn’t know who I was. I slurped some of the fizzy drink up and rolled it around in my mouth, welcoming the prickly burn down the back of my throat.

“Tell him you need to see your contract,” Larissa said.

“Huh?”

“You know, your contract for the job. Tell him that you lost yours, and you need a copy of it. There’s something you wanted to go over, or you just need another one for your files.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great, that’s exactly what I need… another chance to show my ineptitude. All he’s seen is my clumsy, nervous side.” Usually, I was organized and on point, but being around a handsome, powerful man like Corban had driven the usual competence right out of the window. “You know the one? That part of me that hasn’t seen the light of day since Thorn. It’s back. With a vengeance.”

I had my awkward moments in everyday life, sure, but nothing like what I’d experienced in that boardroom. Or in his office when we first met. After a year of hiding out in my Summit Avenue home – or should I say Thorn’s Summit Avenue home – it’d been totally overwhelming to step into the corporate setting with Corban as a witness to that.

“That’s the most solid plan I can think of,” Lar said. “Be totally professional, and then when he goes to get it sorted out, sneak right into his office and get that damn journal back. I know you. If you’re worried that he’s going to turn into a hater because of Thorn, you won’t relax into the brilliant event planner I know and love. But if it makes you feel any better, Corban isn’t a huge baseball fan, and he’s never mentioned you or the incident.”

“Awesome. That’s perfect.”

“Yes, and once you have the journal back, we can finally relax and enjoy our lunches instead of obsessing over your new boss’s reading habits.” Larissa’s lips curled at the corners. “Although, I get the feeling that Corban might become a regular topic of conversation for us.”

“Meaning what?”

“Oh, come on,” Larissa said. “You didn’t just jot down that he was a potential Baldwin brother because you had a glass of wine. Honey, I wasn’t born yesterday. You are into him.”

I gulped down soda and clinked the ice against the side of the glass.

“You can’t even look at me. And you’re blushing. You never blush unless I’ve hit the nail on the head.”

“I am not into him,” I said at last. “He’s gorgeous and everything, but I don’t think I’m ready for anything after what happened.”

“It’s been a year, Luna. An entire year. I understand that it was painful, and you’ve been through a lot, but you can’t continue handling this on your own.” She reached out and squeezed my hand. “Corban’s a good guy. One of the best. You could do worse.”

“I don’t have a choice but to stay on my own.” I fought back tears and waves of emotion because I couldn’t tell Larissa the cold, hard truth. “Corban might not know about Thorn now, but he will soon enough, and once he finds out, any romantic aspirations will fly right out the window. I can’t get my hopes up. I can’t think of him that way. It will only end in pain.”

Larissa shook her head. She took my hand and squeezed tight. “Corban is tremendous, and he was raised with Midwestern values. If anyone would understand what happened, it’s him.”

“How could he? I wouldn’t be able to tell him the truth no matter how much I wanted to,” I whispered. “And I can’t lie my way through a relationship. That’s just not me.” I grabbed another napkin from the dispenser and wiped my nose. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t feel that way about Corban, and he certainly doesn’t about me. How could he? I’ve done nothing but flounder in his presence.”

Larissa didn’t refute the claim, but she’d known me long enough to identify my lying face. I did have a crush on my new boss, but it was one that’d fade soon enough. All the others had. And if I had to chase this one away with a steel bristled broom, I would. I had to.

It helped when they realized who I was. That way, they could destroy my hopes before I got the chance to let them gallop out of control.