Julian

 

 

"You're killing two birds with one stone." Sebastian draws a pull from the beer in front of him. He rarely drinks, so I know he's on edge.

"That's irony." Griffin sits on the arm of my sofa. "Sebastian talking about killing with a stone. Isn't that how…"

"Shut up." Sebastian throws him a look. "I'm behind you, Julian. You know that. I don't like that you're doing favors for Isadora or that asshole, but I get it. You want her out and this is the way to make it happen."

I do want her out of the business. I want her out of my life period, but that's a process. She's behaved herself over the course of the past few days since she's come back to work. I avoid her and she only bothers me if it's a work-related matter.

She still has no idea that I'm seeing Maya. I haven't told her because I want to spare Maya her wrath. There's zero doubt in my mind that Isadora would seek Maya out and give her an earful if she knew how I felt about her.

"It's brilliant." Griffin stands. "I'm all about this. I have no idea how you pulled this out of your hat, Julian, but it's impressive."

It is but only if every piece falls into place. So far, it's worked out beautifully and as soon as I'm certain that Isadora has signed her new employment contract, I can tell Maya.

"We should celebrate the fact that one of us has a woman worth all of this." Griffin picks up his empty beer bottle. "Julian's in love. He's actually in fucking love this time."

"She has twin sisters," Sebastian quips. "Twins, Griffin. One for me and one for you."

"Do they look like her?" Griffin cocks a brow. "I checked out Maya's profile on her work website and that's a beautiful woman."

I smile. "She's gorgeous, inside and out."

"Introduce us to these twins." Griffin squares his shoulders. "Make that happen."

"One is married. She lives back in San Francisco. She has two kids."

He rolls his hand in the air. "Get to the other one. Where can I find her?"

I tell him everything I know about Matilda Baker. I gleaned that from searching online late last night when I was craving more information about Maya's life before she met me. Social media can reveal a person's soul if they're not careful.

"She's eighteen months younger than Maya. She works at Premier Pet Care here in Manhattan."

"I'm out." Griffin taps his chest. "I'm allergic to animals."

Sebastian laughs. "I'll meet her when I meet her. Work is a bitch right now. When the fuck do I have time for a woman?"

 

***

 

"To what do I owe this surprise?" Maya stares at my hands as I stand in the doorway of her office. "Is this a flower delivery?"

"It is." I move forward with the bouquet of two dozen pink roses in my hand. "It's for Maya Baker."

She pushes back from her desk and stands. The sight of her body wrapped in a hot pink dress almost drops me on the spot. "I'm Maya. I suppose you're expecting a tip."

I smile. "The last delivery I made was pizza and I don't know if you can top that tip."

Her tongue flicks over her bottom lip. "I can top it."

"If only I had the time right now." I rub the front of my trousers over my hardness. "I can't look at you and not get hard."

She moves closer and reaches for the flowers. "You say that as if it's a problem, Julian."

A grin floats over my lips. "It's never going to be a problem. If we could somehow run our businesses naked, in bed, I'd be a happy man."

"I love these." She lifts the flowers to her nose and inhales. "They're breathtaking. Is it a special occasion?"

"I wanted to see your smile. I thought these would do the trick."

She peppers my cheek with light kisses before she goes in for a long, lingering kiss on my lips. "Your face does the trick. I can't look at you and not smile."

"You're an angel." I kiss her again before I let her go. "Tell me about your day."

She takes the flowers to her desk and gingerly places them down. "There's a vase in the breakroom. I'm going to steal it and put these in water."

"Before you do that," I begin as I step to block her exit from her office. "Have you had any new interest in the penthouse?"

She blows out a huff of air. "I know that I only have a few days left. I'm still trying. I want this sale."

I clear my throat, wishing I could tell her right now what I'm planning on doing. It would take the weight of the world off her shoulders. "There's still time."

"I wish it would stop for a few days." She rubs her forehead. "I've worked so hard for this and I've invested so much."

She has, in so many ways. This project has consumed her life for the past month. In addition to that, she's sold the Warton place and jumped headfirst into a relationship with me.

"It's not over until it's over, right?" she asks in a lighter tone. "I'm not giving up until the clock strikes midnight on the very last day."