10. Double Trouble - Jules
Cash put me to work after I returned from HR. He gave me a quick tour of the thirty-eighth floor before showing me the office I’d be working in for the foreseeable future…assuming my employment here works out.
That was four days ago, and so far, I’ve managed to do my job without tripping all over myself. My workspace is the next room over from his corner office, and knowing he’s on the other side of that wall has been more distracting than is good for productivity.
Thank God it’s Friday. A little distance is exactly what I need to get ahold of myself after this whirlwind week. Once I’m finished handling his schedule, fielding phone calls, and running errands, I spend the remainder of the day sorting emails and coordinating travel plans. The fact that he’s going to Oklahoma City soon squeezes my heart a little—it’s an unwanted reminder of the heartbreak I left behind in Whiskey Flats.
The end of the day arrives quicker than I expect it to, and I’m heading toward the door to Cash’s office when I spot him exiting the elevator. The sight of him is still a shock to my system, and I let my attention fall to the file in my hands.
“I compiled the info you wanted,” I say, holding out the folder. “Is there anything else you want me to do before I go?”
He doesn’t say anything at first, and that prompts me to raise my eyes to his. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was silently laughing at me.
“I’m sure I can come up with a few ideas,” he says, his teasing tone throwing me off.
“Um…okay. I can stick around if you need…” I trail off, taking in his black T-shirt. “You changed your clothes.” The words tumble from my mouth before I can stop them. Cheeks flaming, I shoot a surreptitious glance around us, thankful that most people have already gone home, no doubt eager to begin the weekend.
“You seem like an observant girl,” he says, his mouth curving into a grin that puts that irresistible dimple on display, “but I’m pretty sure this is the same shirt and jeans I put on this morning.”
Is he fucking with me?
I narrow my eyes and study him. Something is definitely off. No, something is missing.
Widening his grin, he holds out a hand. “I’m Kaden, the boss man’s brother, and you must be new.”
I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open, so I force it shut as I slide my hand into his. And that’s the instant I know; he’s definitely not Cash because the electric shock I get from touching my new boss is absent.
“I’m sorry,” I say, breaking the handshake. “I didn’t know he had a twin brother.”
“No need to apologize. It’s a mistake people often make.”
“Well, I can see that happening a lot. The two of you are nearly identical.” Identical except for the way they each affect me.
“Nearly…as in I’m better looking?” He’s still smiling, obviously teasing, but I’m struck with how different he is from Cash. He’s openly playful, where his brother’s sense of humor is hidden under layers of intensity and a serious demeanor.
And Kaden’s eyes might be the same stormy color as Cash’s, but they don’t smolder. They don’t send my heart into palpitations with a single glance.
Footsteps sound behind me, and I sense Cash before he speaks. “You wish you were better looking,” he ribs his brother, and I wonder if the presence of him will ever stop tingling down my spine. “I see you’ve met Jules.” His palm grazes my lower back, and the contact is light and brief—the type of touch acquaintances share without a second thought. The fleeting warmth of Cash’s hand shouldn’t make me clench my thighs together, but that’s what the brush of his fingers does to me. Even worse, I’m not sure if he realized he touched me at all.
“We haven’t met officially, but I’m sure she’d like to stab me since I let her think I was you for a minute. Sorry, little brother. Couldn’t help myself.”
I turn to my boss, folder in hand. “I was on my way to give this to you.”
“Thank you.” His voice is deep and soft all at once, and I swallow hard as he takes the file from me.
“I figured you’d want to approve it before I fax it over.”
“I trust your judgment,” he says, handing me the file without taking a single peek. “You’ve done great this week, Jules.”
The air is thick with tension, and I sense there is so much more he wants to say. But neither of us are able to go there. Not now. Not ever.
“I’ll just send it off then,” I say before heading down the hall. Their voices fade, but I make out Kaden mentioning a birthday dinner coming up at their parents place. As I insert the documents into the fax machine, tapping my nails on the counter as I wait for the papers to go through, I wonder when his birthday is, and how old Cash will be. I’d put him in his late twenties.
By the time I reach the reception area again, Cash and his brother are nowhere in sight. I’m not sure why I’m disappointed. The less of him I see, the better. Especially if he’s going to touch me every time we come into contact—which is going to be a lot. There’s no getting around that. Interacting with the man is part of the job.
But damn, the heat of his touch is still burning the small of my back. I escape into the safety of my office and stand against the door for a few moments, one hand on my chest as my heart flutters out of control.
It’s then I admit I’ve been fooling myself all week. There’s no way this will work.
He gets under my skin like no other man. Not Chris. Not Perry. There’s something about Cash that annihilates my will to do the right thing. When I look into his eyes, the world fades away. Professionalism and propriety are fruitless.
And that wedding band on his finger doesn’t matter to the furious pace of my heartbeat. But it matters to the side of me that isn’t led around by my treacherous heart. Taking a deep breath, I force my feet to move to my desk. After I file away the folder and grab my purse, I head for the door.
This will get easier with time. It’s only been a few days. Eventually, the butterflies will stop. They have to, because wanting a man I can’t have absolutely sucks, and I swore to myself I wouldn’t do this again.
I open the door and halt in my tracks. Cash is exiting his office, alone. The shadows of emerging twilight have seeped into the building, and no one else is around to offer a buffer between us. We both freeze for a few seconds, as if cast under a spell.
Cash breaks it by tilting his head toward the elevator. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out.”
Giving a slight nod, I follow him. “I would have never guessed you were a twin,” I say as we wait.
“Guilty as charged.” His smile puts me at ease, and I finally relax in his presence.
Maybe this won’t be so bad. Maybe we can set aside this insane attraction and find solid ground.
Ground that doesn’t involve us rolling around on it naked.
The ding of the lift evaporates that dangerous fantasy. “You guys must be really close.” There’s a bit of envy in my tone. I’ve tried for years to relate to Brit, but Mom pretty much brought a hammer down on any chance of that happening. They’re the tight duo, and I’ve never been allowed inside their world of shopping, hair, and all things fashion. Mom gave up trying to groom me for “greater things” a long time ago. And in her language, greater things meant a rich husband and a size two figure.
Cash gestures for me to go first. “We were close growing up, but the last few years we’ve followed separate paths. That’s life, I guess.”
“Did you ever switch places when you were younger?”
“No,” he says with a laugh. “We were tempted a couple of times, but Kaden and I worked too hard at differentiating ourselves to blow it by confusing people.”
“That makes sense. The resemblance is astonishing.”
As the elevator starts to descend, Cash gives me a heated look. “Did you really think he was me?”
I nibble on my lip, thinking back to that initial, strange encounter with Kaden. “I thought you changed clothes at first, but something was…different.”
“Different how?” He’s leaning against the other side of the elevator, holding onto the grab-handle behind him with both hands. I watch as his fingers flex around the metal bar, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s holding on so tightly because he wants to close the distance between us. God knows I do.
I force my gaze to his. “We promised we wouldn’t do this.”
“Do what, Jules?”
God, please stop saying my name like that.
I’m convinced he can make a woman come with words alone.
“Cross the line.”
Dragging a hand through his hair, he mumbles something that sounds like a curse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
I bite my tongue, because I’m too close to telling him that I’m far from uncomfortable. If anything, I’m blazing from the inside out in the most delicious of ways. I eye him for a second as the numbers count down above the doors. Part of me wishes we can stay in here alone for hours.
“I saw your wife today.” Bringing her up is like claws on a chalkboard to my sanity, but considering the sexual tension between us, a dose of reality is much-needed.
“That would make one of us.”
“She seems very busy.” I’ve only spotted her a handful of times all week.
“She is. We barely see each other at all, at work or at home.” His steely gaze is pinning me to the wall. “But I see you.”
Line crossed.
My pounding heart doesn’t seem to give a shit. A ding announces our arrival on the atrium level, and I’m saved from having to reply. Ever the gentlemen, he allows me to go first.
“How are you getting home?” he asks as we weave a path to the front entrance.
“My friend is picking me up.” Lesley’s been giving me a ride all week, but hopefully that will change soon, since I’ve begun hunting for apartments in the downtown area.
He follows me through the sliding doors of Mont Center, and we come to a stop on the sidewalk out front. Lesley is idling in a no parking zone, texting while she waits.
“That’s my ride.” I point to the shiny red Bug.
“I guess I’ll see you on Monday then.”
“Yeah,” I say as he takes a step toward me, and I’m reminded of that moment in the airport when he kissed me on the cheek. But instead of reaching for me, he shoves his hands into his pockets and says goodbye with a simple nod.
Truth is, he doesn’t have to say a word. We want each other, and that’s not going to go away, no matter how much I kid myself it will. As I slide into the passenger seat of Lesley’s car, I mentally kick myself for accepting the job.
Wanting what I can’t have sucks, all right; it’s sucking away my resolve to do the right thing.