3 9. SARA

I’ve barely been able to focus on work this morning, and now Chance wants to see me in his office. Like that’s going to help me get anything done .

Still, maybe we could do a little… dictation while I’m there .

Jesus, girl, snap out of it! It’s barely been twelve hours since Chance popped your cherry and you’re already running over porno scenarios in your mind. Settle down !

I smile at Karen as I approach the foyer of his office .

“Hi, Sara,” she smiles back. “He’s just in with Tre right now. I’m sure he won’t be long .”

I can’t help but flash back to this same scene at Quentin Pearce’s office yesterday and marvel at the difference: that was like waiting for a root canal. This is like waiting for Christmas .

Thinking about that day reminds me of the conversation I eavesdropped on. What the hell was he on about? I can only assume he was talking to whoever he has lined up to buy Atlas if he manages to take it over. But who was it ?

And why was their relationship so antagonistic? Maybe it’s just the fact Quentin just brings the worst out of people. But maybe there’s more to it …

Suddenly the door to Chance’s office slams open and Tre comes stalking out. He looks terrible – well, as terrible as he could possibly look, anyway .

“You’re out of your fucking mind, man,” he barks as he passes Karen’s desk. “Count me out .”

Just then he notices I’m there. Then he turns to Karen and shakes his head .

“My apologies, ladies. That wasn’t meant for your ears .”

Karen smiles. “I’ll expect a bonus on my next check,” she giggles .

He turns to me. “I’m also sorry about last night,” he says sheepishly. “I don’t usually go overboard like that .”

“Grace has that effect on people sometimes,” I grin, laying a hand on his arm. “I’ve been on the receiving end myself a time or twelve. She loved seeing you again .”

“I enjoyed seeing her, too,” he says. “Tell her I said that, okay ?”

“I will.” I glance into Chance’s office and see the look on his face. “What was that all about ?”

Tre glowers and shakes his head. “Nothing you need to worry about. I’ve been dealing with this kind of stuff for years. Let’s just say that sometimes Chance thinks he’s a lot smarter than he really is, and I end up being the one who has to fix things .”

Yikes. It’s the first time I’ve seen this side of their relationship since we reconnected. They used to fight occasionally when we were kids, but that’s normal between brothers. A lot of the time, it was because Chance was jealous of what Tre had. Again, pretty normal for a kid in Chance’s circumstances. Even I wished Tre’s mom was my mom once in a while .

“Anything I can do to help?” I ask .

He stares at me for a few moments before answering .

“Tell him to smarten up,” he says. Then he shakes his head. “No, forget I said that. This doesn’t have anything to do with you .”

As I watch him stalk back toward his office, I can’t help but think he was lying to me .

Chance motions me into his office. “It’s good to see you,” he says as I shut the door behind me .

“You too,” I say. “Everything okay with you and Tre ?”

He frowns. “Nothing that I haven’t dealt with before. Sometimes Tre oversteps his authority and forgets that I’m the CEO .”

“Hm,” I say .

He cocks an eyebrow. “What ?”

“Just that you two used to squabble a lot when we were kids, and it usually turned out Tre was right .”

“Don’t you start on me, too,” he says, rolling his eyes .

He’s right. We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend – are we? We’re definitely not at the stage where I can start second-guessing him about anything, especially when, technically, he’s letting me actively work against him .

God, this is such a crazy situation .

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean anything, and I don’t know anything about this. I know you guys will eventually rise above it, so I’ll keep my mouth shut .”

He smiles and takes my arms, pulling me close .

“You don’t have to go that far,” he says, parting my lips with his and touching his tongue to the tip of mine .

Suddenly my mind is flashing back to dictation fantasies again, and I forget all about Tre .