by Mia Ford
I pulled up in front of the restaurant and hopped out, pulling my coat closed and shivering. The weather had taken a turn and the air was almost frigid. I loved New York, but the winters could sometimes be brutal on the senses. Shockingly, it was only October but felt more like December than anything else. I pulled the door open and approached the hostess.
“Hi,” I said smiling. “I’m meeting a woman named Tiffany.”
“Yes,” the hostess smiled. “Right this way.”
I looked up as we moved through the restaurant, spotting Tiffany in the back corner. She was looking down at her hands and seemed nervous. She looked absolutely beautiful in a warm, off-white sweater, jeans, and flats. Her hair was pulled halfway up with curls cascading over her shoulders. Her fair skin was offset by her rosy cheeks, and her eyes glimmered as she looked up and saw me walking toward her. She smiled wide and waved as I approached. I leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek, lingering longer than I probably should have. I took off my coat and hung it on the chair, thanking the hostess and sitting down.
“You haven’t waited long have you?”
“No,” she said. “I just got here, too. See my hands are still cold.”
She reached up and put her fragile, sweet hand against my cheek. She smiled and held it there as we stared at each other across the table. As if noticing we’d held gazes a little too long, she blushed and pulled her hand back into her lap. We looked over the menus and ordered some coffee to warm us up. I watched Tiffany as she poured cream and sugar into her coffee, stirring it and then licking the spoon. Her pink lips were drawing me in, and I had to take a deep breath and clear my throat to get my mind back on track. We started talking about our day, and she listened intently as I talked about work, forgetting that she worked there, too.
Her laugh was intoxicating, and I soon lost myself in our conversation, not paying any attention to the time. She told me about her parents and their problems, about her brother and how he had made it out safely from his time in Iraq. She spoke about her brother like I hoped she talked about me, with warmth, love, and admiration. The fire in the restaurant’s fireplace crackled as we ate and continued talking for about an hour after our lunch was done. I couldn’t tear myself away from this woman, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, my phone cut into the conversation, and I apologized, looking at the text message. It was from my father, letting me know I missed the last meeting and that everyone was headed home. He wanted to make sure I was okay. I stared blankly at the message. Why was everyone heading home? Then, I saw the time. Wow, three o’clock.
“Wow,” I said laughing. “It’s almost three.”
“Oh, no,” she said, panicked. “Did you miss anything important at work?”
“Nah.” I laughed. “Just that normal marketing meeting that puts everyone to sleep. No big deal.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to work,” she said smiling. “I have some things I need to take care of in town before heading home, anyway.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.” I stood and came around the table to pull her chair out.
As she put her coat on, I placed cash in the bill holder and turned to her, entranced by the way her hair swished around her as she buttoned her jacket. She was stunning, and I didn’t want the date to be over yet. I walked next to her through the restaurant, my hand on her lower back as we moved toward the door. We stepped out into the cold air, and we both pulled our collars closed around our necks.
“Gosh,” she said, shivering. “Winter just got here out of nowhere. Pretty early for these types of temps. I’m going to have to turn on the heat at home.”
“I know. I’m used to this weather in December, not October,” I replied.
We continued talking about the weather as we took the elevator up the parking garage to her floor. I followed her out and across the garage to her car parked in one of the spots. The place was pretty much empty, and I watched her standing next to her car and got the impression she didn’t want to part ways either. She pulled her keys out and looked up at me, a shy smile on her lips.
“Thank you for lunch, “ she said kindly. “It was really good seeing you again.”
I looked at her for a moment, and though I knew better, I stepped forward, framed her face with my hands, and pressed my lips firmly against hers. She stood tense for just a moment before her body released, and she leaned into me. Her hands pulled around my waist, and she stepped closer, opening her mouth and allowing me to taste her. Passionately, we kissed for several moments before she opened her eyes and pulled away, running her fingers over her lips.
“I’m sorry,” she said, putting the keys in the door. “I just don’t know if I can do this.”
Chapter 8
Tiffany
The last place I wanted to be was anywhere near the office or Jordan for that matter. John had sent me a text, begging me for help. Their agency temp was not cutting it—well, at least not in the way I always got the work done. I had woken to the text notification and seriously thought about going back to bed. I knew Jordan didn’t know anything about this because he would have never let them ask me for help. He would have taken everything on his own shoulders, even if it meant he slept at the office. His pride was always one of those things that caused way too many fights in our relationship. The man just could not let go.
On top of all of that, I couldn’t get Jason off my mind. We had an amazing lunch and everything was perfect, even the kiss. That was the problem, though. It was perfect. Kissing my now ex-husband’s brother should not feel so right, without any of the wrong. No, I didn’t think I was ready to jump into another relationship, but at the same time, I couldn’t seem to get Jason out of my head. It had been the first time in forever that anyone had listened to me, really listened. Jordan had always seemed to be waiting for his turn to talk or to have half his attention on other matters. Ultimately, I blamed my relationship fears on bolting from the parking garage, but I had to admit, I was worried about whether I could resist Jason or not. One touch of his lips and I was a damn puddle on the ground. The last thing I needed was another playboy in my life who would dump me when I became an inconvenience to his lifestyle.
I picked up the phone and dialed John’s number, not wanting to take the chance of Jordan intercepting my call on the office line. We hadn’t spoken since we finalized the divorce, but I knew him all too well. If I caught him at a moment where he no one else to charm, he would get on the phone and make me feel so small. He had a way of doing that without making himself the obvious bad guy. It was part of his gifts, I guess, if you considered it a gift to be an underhanded kind of asshole. Part of me hoped John wouldn’t answer the phone. I had agreed to do a little bit of work, but even that made me feel bogged down and heavy. Sadly, to my dismay, John answered.
“It’s so good to hear your voice,” he said kindly. I could hear his personality in his tone, and instantly, I missed the family.
“It’s good to hear yours as well,” I replied with a smile. “So, you have some work for me.”
“I do and thank you so much for helping. I have arranged a car to pick you up in an hour if that’s okay,” he said wearily.
“That’s fine,” I replied.
“I’ve also arranged for Jordan to be out of the office at that time,” he said. “I didn’t want things to be harder on you than they already were.”
“Thank you, John. I really appreciate that ” I said with a relieved sigh. “It was what I was worried about the most right now.”
“Not a problem,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon.” I ended the call, a little relieved to know John had thought about my working conditions in advance. Knowing Jordan wouldn’t be there lifted some of the weight of my fears.
No matter what happened between Jordan and me, I would never stop loving his mother and father. They were always welcoming, but when they found out my parents had been neglectful junkies and I didn’t have an
ything to do with them, they doubled down on making me feel like part of the family. I was really treated like how I’d always imagined a daughter would be treated, including shopping trips with mom, fishing trips and days on the golf course with John, the whole nine yards. They hadn’t forgetten me during Christmas from the get-go, even before Jordan and I were married. I was part of that family from the first word, something that was going to take a lot of time to get past. When you break up with someone, you’re not just mourning the loss of that specific person but the entire world you built around that person and everyone in it. For me, it was like losing the family I always wanted. Maybe the fact that I’d been so absorbed with his family was one of the reasons I’d been so blind to who Jordan really was. Either way, I needed to get over it and move forward, and maybe a little work was the thing I needed to do that.
When the car arrived to pick me up, I was ready to go, my coat pulled on tightly, my bag over my arm, and my nerves simmering in my chest. These nerves weren’t for Jordan, though. They were for Jason, who I knew would be there today. It had been two days since our lunch date, and I hadn’t called or texted him. I knew he was giving me space, but I couldn’t tell whether the butterflies in my stomach were nerves or excitement. When I pulled up out front, I took a deep breath, not ready to walk back into my old life. The guard greeted me kindly, always remembering me, before I hopped in the elevator and made my way up to the floor my office was on. Everyone greeted me equally kindly, but I could see the look of pity on their faces. Great. Apparently, everyone had heard about the divorce. I made my way swiftly to John’s office, grinning as I knocked on the doorframe.
“Hey there, mister,” I said in a friendly tone.
“Tiffany.” John hurried over and hugged me tightly. “Come, sit down.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking a seat and looking around.
“How are you?”
“I’m doing okay,” I said with a sigh. “Just putting things back together.”
“Lily and I want to say how sorry we are for the way Jordan handled all of this,” he said diplomatically but with feeling.
“Everyone needs to stop apologizing for him,” I replied. “He is the only one who hasn’t apologized for himself. It will be okay. We just didn’t work out.”
“May I ask what happened? He isn’t really talking to anyone about it.” John didn’t sound very surprised about Jordan’s lack of communication. I wanted to push Jordan in front of that train he was avoiding, but I also didn’t want to sink to his level.
“It’s personal,” I said with a smile.
“Understood,” John said shaking his head. “I’ll never ask again.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
“No. Thank you for not leaving. No one would blame you if you had.” He walked around his desk and sat on the edge. “This place wouldn’t run the same without you, as you can see. The temp is good, but she’s not you. We have gotten behind on these client marketing workups, and I want to take some stress off the poor girl before she has a mental breakdown.”
“I understand,” I chuckled. “It definitely takes a different kind of person to handle this position.”
“Well, I just want you to get back to feeling good,” John replied. “We miss you here and don’t know what we would do if we lost you.”
I smiled. It would have been nice if Jordan had taken that approach during their marriage. Things would be a lot different if he hadn’t thought of me as disposable when I didn’t turn out to be that “perfect wife” he was looking for. At that point, though, it didn’t seem like it was all that important to me anymore, especially with Jason on my mind.
“We put the files on your desk,” John said, interrupting my thoughts. “Let me know if I can get you anything or if you have any questions.”
“Thank you, John.” I stood and hugged him one last time. “I’ll be in touch with updates.”
I walked out of John’s office and down the hall to mine. They had put the temp up in another location, leaving my office calm and quiet. I walked over to the desk and reached to pick up the files, seeing the picture of Jordan and me on the desk from our wedding day. I shook my head and grabbed the picture, tossing it into the garbage bin next to my desk. There were quite a few folders with loose papers, so I walked across the hall to the lounge to grab an empty box. As I rounded the corner, I ran straight into Jason, surprising myself at how happy I was to see him.
“Hey,” he said with an awkward smile. “How are you?”
“Good.” I grabbed a box and motioned toward my office. “Just picking up a little work to help you guys out.”
“I know. My dad told me,” he said. “You look great.”
“Thanks.” I tossed the files in the box and lifted it up. We stared at each other for several moments before Jason took a deep breath, breaking our gaze.
“Can I walk you to your car?”
“Sure, whatever,” I said nonchalantly. He took the box from my hands, and we walked quietly to the elevator. Once the doors closed, I turned toward Jason. The intensity inside that small space was overwhelming. Jason dropped the box and moved toward me, matching my needy steps toward him. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth to his, feeling the heat between us. Immediately our mouths ravaged each other, as our hands moved over one another’s bodies. His tongue slipped into my mouth, and I moaned quietly, feeling him searching for something, something I felt the exact same need to search for. Jason’s hands slid around my waist, and he pulled me close, rubbing his hard cock against my body. I could feel every inch of him slide against me, and instantly, I wished the elevator ride was a lot longer.
I pulled my hands down his chest and over his stomach, holding back from reaching down and taking him into my hands. His kiss began to slow as the floors ticked past. I pulled back and stared deeply into his eyes, our breath matching, and our arousal more than heated. As the elevator hit the bottom floor, I pushed back, reaching down and picking up the box. I wiped my lip gloss from the corners of my mouth and giggled to myself as he straightened his clothes, reaching down and groaning lightly as he shifted his hard erection into the band of his pants. As the doors opened, I stopped, wiping the smile from my face as I stared directly at Jordan. He was looking at the two of us suspiciously, and I just rolled my eyes at him, turning to Jason.
“Thanks for walking me this far,” I said before turning and pushing past Jordan.
“Good to see you, too,” Jordan yelled after me. I put my hand up in the air and considered flipping him the bird but just waved it condescendingly instead.
As if on a mission, I headed straight for the car without slowing my pace as I’d sped from the elevator. I set the box down on the trunk and clicked the button to unlock it. Opening the trunk, I realized I hadn’t looked in it since I had moved everything back into the house. However, where there would normally be a sinking feeling when staring at the things remaining from my marriage with Jordan, there was something else this time. I shifted the contents of the trunk and put the box in, glad to be getting out of there before Jordan had me cornered in the office. As I unlocked the other doors and reached out to grab the handle, I stopped, butterflies whirling around in my chest. I couldn’t help the smile that instantly curled at the edge of my lips just thinking about my encounter with Jason in the elevator. My knees were still shaking, and my heart was beating like crazy.
I don’t know what I had gotten myself into, but at that moment, I liked it.
Chapter 9
Jason
Seriously, if I had to sit through Jordan’s rambling and accusatory questioning for one more minute, I swore I was going to knock him out and take off. I knew what he saw was exactly what he thought it was, but I couldn’t tell him that. Shit, I could barely recognize what happened myself. It was all so sudden, so natural, and I didn’t even think twice about dropping that box and grabbing onto her. Tiffany had come into the office to pick up work, and we had sent Jordan out to avoid any discom
fort for her. Well, it seemed that he happened to walk in on the tail end of the most exciting part of her visit to the office. I looked down at my phone and held back a grin. It was Tiffany. We had been texting since she left the day before, and what started as simple, coy flirting had become a full-fledged sexting session. In all reality, it had become that by nightfall and now had carried over into the next day. I did not have a problem opening my phone to erotic pictures of Tiffany’s sexy ass body, but it was only slightly nerve racking when I was standing in front of Jordan, trying to pay attention to his incessant whining.
“So, what was going on in that elevator?” He was being so persistent.
“For the thousandth time, Jordan, nothing. I was helping her carry her stuff down to her car,” I replied. “You spooked her so bad I didn’t even make it to her car.”
And there he went again, off on another rant, another speech about brotherhood, something he hasn’t thought about one day in his entire life. Sure, it was probably taboo and wrong as his brother to be getting naked pics from his ex-wife, but there was something about this girl that I couldn’t shake. She was sexy, curvy, bright, and those lips made my dick twitch. Every single picture she sent was crazy hot, but I really couldn’t wait to see it all in person, put it right in front of me so that I could put my hands on her, feel her breathing heavily, watch her face as I pleasured her. I shifted in my chair, my cock getting harder by the minute. It was yet another awkward thing to add to the list of awkward moments in this office today.
