Chapter 21

Later that afternoon, Cole knocked on Cassidy’s door.

“Boss. You wanted to see me?”

Cassidy glanced up from his computer. “Yeah. Cole, come in.”

Cole came into the office, planting himself in the chair across from Cassidy as he had dozens of times in the past.

“What’s up?”

Cassidy leaned back in his chair. “Just wanted to see how things are going. I think I talk to you less since you’ve become my employee than when you were a contractor.”

“That’s because you work your employees to the bone,” Cole said. “I barely find time to eat.”

“Hmm,” Cassidy said, folding his hands, resting them against his lips, and staring at Cole. “And yet you do find time to have sex with your co-editor.”

Shit.

“Ahhhhh—”

Cassidy let out a rare laugh. “I wish I had a camera. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever caught you at a loss for words.”

“How the hell did you find out so fast?” Cole said, unable to keep the slightly sheepish note out of his voice. As he’d told Pen this morning, he wasn’t ashamed of sleeping with her, but he didn’t exactly love the fact that their boss knew about it.

“Please. Everyone knew about thirty seconds after Julie got back from her run,” Jake Malone said from the doorway.

Cole mentally calculated how painfully slow Julie Greene’s running pace was. “So, noon?” he asked.

Jake entered the office and plopped into the chair beside Cole. It was a familiar scene. How many times had he and Jake sat in this exact spot, giving Cassidy shit about anything and everything?

But this time, it wasn’t Cassidy getting the shit. Judging from the smirks on both of his friends’ faces, they were gearing up to make Cole’s life miserable.

And not just them.

A strange wheeling noise sounded from the hallway, and Cole shifted to see Lincoln scoot his way into Cassidy’s office while still seated in his office chair.

“Seriously, dude?” Jake asked. “You wheeled in here? Nobody does that past the age of eight on Take Your Kid to Work Day.”

Lincoln shrugged as he shuffled his feet, scooting forward until his chair was on the other side of Cole’s. “What? Cassidy only has two chairs, so I brought my own.”

“For what?” Cole asked. “Group therapy? Why do I get the feeling this doesn’t have to do with my work on the actual magazine?”

“Because that would be boring,” Lincoln said.

Cole glanced to his right and gave Lincoln a once-over. “Dude, are you wearing a pink tie?”

Lincoln glanced down. “I rock it. You know I do.”

Cole rolled his eyes. Lincoln did kind of rock it. When you’re built like Superman, you could get away with wearing just about whatever the fuck you wanted.

“So, you’re sleeping with Penelope,” Jake said in a soothing, therapist kind of voice.

Cole glanced around. “Everyone knows, huh?”

“Definitely,” Lincoln said. “I’d say it became common knowledge that you wanted her right about the time you bit my head off for kissing her—”

“No, before that,” Cassidy broke in. “He definitely wanted to sleep with her that first night he saw her at the Yankees game. He just didn’t know it yet.”

Cole settled back in his chair, and wiggled his fingers in a Come on motion. “Keep this coming, all good stuff. Very helpful to know who I want to sleep with, and when.”

“Lincoln, shut the door,” Cassidy said.

Lincoln rolled backward, still refusing to get off the chair.

“I can’t imagine why Penelope chose me over you,” Cole muttered. “You’re so mature.”

Cassidy cleared his throat. “Our boy Cole here’s put us in a weird position by hitting on one of our colleagues. And I know you all respect Penelope as a co-worker as much as I respect her as my employee.”

Everyone nodded, even as Cole tensed for what Cassidy’s next words were going to be.

“But for the next five minutes, all discussion of Penelope Pope is as our friend, and Cole’s girlfriend—”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not my—”

Cassidy cut him with a glance. “Save it, Sharpe. After those five minutes are up, we go back to thinking of her as co-editor of the sports section. Understood? Respectful-like.”

“Roger,” Lincoln said. “Copy that.”

“Okay, so here’s the deal,” Jake said, leaning forward. “Penelope has an, um, friend coming into town this weekend.”

Cole’s head whipped around. “What?”

How did Jake know this, and he didn’t? Also, this weekend? That was supposed to be their time to, well…get naked.

And what friend? She’d mentioned a handful of girlfriends from back in Chicago, but why would these guys care about that?

“It’s a former co-worker,” Cassidy added.

“And you knew about this too?” Cole said, unable to hold back a glare at his boss.

Lincoln spun around in a circle in his chair. “Penelope had lunch with Julie. Julie went back to the Stiletto office and filled in Grace, so Jake knows, and Emma, so Cassidy knows.”

Jake, Cassidy, and Cole all stared at Lincoln. “And how do you know this?”

“Because I was also in the Stiletto offices,” Lincoln said, as though it were obvious that he’d been hanging out in the offices of a women’s magazine.

“Explain?” Jake asked Lincoln.

“I’m hooking up with one of the girls in the Beauty department. I saw Julie and Riley whispering, and they filled me in.”

Cole scratched his nose. “You know this whole thing is fucked up, right? Jake being married to a Stiletto gal, Cassidy being almost married to one…Lincoln sleeping with everyone who’s left over…”

“Yes, well, you’re hardly one to talk about mixing relationships and the workplace,” Cassidy said. “But back to the point—”

“So there is a point?” Cole asked.

“Can I be the one to tell him?” Lincoln asked, raising his hand.

Cassidy nodded and muttered Your funeral under his breath.

“So,” Lincoln said to Cole. “Penelope’s friend is of the male variety.”

Cole froze. “Don’t tell me it’s Ivan. No, Eric. No—”

“Evan,” Jake said.

Cole felt a flash of rage followed by a stab of glee that the man who’d stolen Penelope’s job was going to be within arm’s reach so that Cole could kick his ass.

But immediately following the rush of masculine protectiveness was a surge of jealousy.

Cole thought back to his and Penelope’s first conversation about this Evan guy. It hadn’t just been about the job. She’d had feelings for him.

Back then, he’d barely known her, and hadn’t really cared.

But Cole sure as fuck cared now.

“When?” Cole ground out. “When does he get here exactly?”

“Friday,” Lincoln said. “And according to Riley, who talked to Grace, who talked to Julie, she’s freaking out about it.”

“Which is where you come in,” Jake said.

Cole gave them all a wary glance. “Am I going to like this?”

“Well, now, that depends,” Cassidy said, giving a quick study to his cuticles. “Exactly how serious were you when you said Penelope isn’t your girlfriend?”