Accidental Roommate

by Katie Kyler

  “Ideas,” he snorted. “Yeah, you seem to be full of them lately.” Behind the sarcasm in his words, I could see the pain in his green eyes. He was really hurting.

  I stepped forward, just short of reaching out for him. In a quiet voice, I asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” he sneered. “Go work on your little app.”

  This was brutal, and I didn’t have to take this kind of treatment. If any part of this conversation got back to Joshua, he’d be livid.

  I spun around and walked toward the door, but paused before leaving. When I turned to face him, he was already staring out the window again. Softly, I asked, “What happened, Jamie? What’s hurt you so bad that you’re lashing out like this?”

  He didn’t answer, but then again, I didn’t expect him to.

  * * * * *

  The ladies room was blessedly empty, and I sprinkled cool water on a paper towel and dabbed my face with it. I looked upset, and really, it was just Jamie. He couldn’t ruin what had otherwise been a stellar day, with my app idea taking off like this. I tried to forget the icky sad feeling that had washed over me in Jamie’s office. I wasn’t sure what had broken our friendship so badly, but maybe, with time, we could repair it. I sighed. If I even wanted to repair it.

  I touched up my lipstick and strutted out of the ladies room, shaking off my conversation with Jamie. I needed my wits about me to talk to Joshua and keep up professional appearances. Something about him still made me want to swoon like a fourteen-year-old with a crush, and I just couldn’t afford to be that obvious…at least not in the Scintilla offices.

  Joshua’s office door was open a crack, but I still knocked, waiting for his soft “come in,” before I entered. He sat behind his desk, the late afternoon sun streaming through the windows behind him. He looked like a Greek hero, as if he’d been blessed by the gods with good looks and a perfect physique.

  “Have a seat,” he said politely, nodding to one of the comfy chairs in front of his desk.

  “Thanks,” I said. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Oh, I always want to see you,” he murmured. His gaze roved over my body, and I felt suddenly, deliciously naked in my new outfit. “Our little moment in the elevator is only the beginning of what I want to do to you. I want to rip that blouse off of you, you look so good today.”

  I open my legs a little wider, giving him a show of my black lace panties. “Oh yeah?”

  His gazed locked onto the space between my legs. “You’re going to make me lose my control,” he growled.

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” I pressed my knees together, enjoying the disappointment that flashed over his features. “So you wanted to speak to me about…something work-related, I thought?”

  He shook his head as if trying to clear it, then stood up. As he walked around the desk to lean against it in front of me, he adjusted his pants. I couldn’t help but grin. I loved having this power over him, the most powerful businessman in the state.

  “Yes,” he said, clearing his throat. “I just wanted to thank you for your idea on the app. Your initiative in the company will bring you good things.”

  “Good things other than you?” I quipped, opening my legs slightly again.

  He leaned forward, so close I thought he was going to ravish me with his lips, but instead he stopped an inch away without touching me. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered.

  Chapter 5

  Joshua

  Allison walked out of my office with the sexiest sway in her hips. I couldn’t shake my gaze from her ass even if a parade of strippers danced through the office.

  Just as she left, Christopher approached my door and knocked on the jamb. I nodded and he came in with a couple cups of coffee.

  “Whew,” he said, watching Allison walk away. “Look what some make-up and new clothes has done for her this past week.”

  I nodded. “She seems much more confident, too.”

  “Really,” he said, passing me one of the coffees.

  I looked up and nodded my thanks, but I’d gone on high alert. His tone hadn’t been a question, and he was eyeing me skeptically.

  “Yeah,” I said, cautiously.

  “You mean you’ve noticed her? That’s not like you, man.”

  It took herculean effort to keep myself from watching her continue down the hall, but I couldn’t do it with Chris watching. Damn him.

  “I notice her just as much as I notice my other employees,” I lied.

  He snorted. “Right. So when is Anika Jones’s baby due?”

  I thought for a second. “Couple of months, right?”

  He outright laughed. I had half a mind to kick him out of my office.

  “I have actual work to do, you know,” I said.

  “Anika had her baby a month ago. You came to the baby shower. She’s been out on maternity leave. You really are an oblivious sack of shit, you know that?”

  Actually I did know that. Nothing had made it clearer than when I hadn’t noticed my own girlfriend working just down the hall from me.

  “I know,” I snapped. “I’m superficial and shallow. I also have a shitload of work to do, so if you don’t mind…”

  He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m sorry, man. I don’t think that about you. I mean, I used to. But you noticing that hottie Allison, that says something about you.”

  Sure, it said something about me. It said I was dating her. “Whatever.”

  He leaned back, trying to stare down the hallway through my office windows. “I think she’s single…I was thinking of asking her out. Do you think I’m her type?”

  “No,” I growled. It was all I could do not to throw my hot coffee on him. “Now get back to work.”

  Chris flashed me a smile and sauntered out with his coffee. It would probably be a dick move to fire my best friend, but right now it was fucking tempting. He thought he could hit on Allison? No fucking way.

  Still, he’d noticed the change in her. I’d noticed it, too. She was practically glowing, her skin declaring her happiness to the world. Nothing looked sexier than confidence. Her hair was down more often at work, too. Not every day, but once in a while she wore it in those gentle waves.

  Like today. I’d ruined some of those waves on the elevator ride up. If I had my way, I’d be ruining her entire hairstyle with some good times later on.

  And in that meeting. I’d never seen her so confident, so on, so her. She’d talked about ideas, discussed the pros and cons of her ideas and other peoples’ ideas, and she’d done it in a way that was kind and built people up without tearing them down. She was exactly the kind of person I needed on the Scintilla team—someone who could see how all the pieces fit together. Her app idea was taking off; everyone had buzzed with excitement after the meeting, wanting to get it started.

  I should buy her a thank-you gift and show her how much I appreciated her.

  Hell, maybe I should promote her.

  It was five o’clock and the office was slowly emptying. With my office door slightly open, I could hear the sounds of people chatting as they zipped up briefcases and handbags and shuffled papers around at their desks. I still had one major item on my to-do list, though, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. But if I waited too much longer, he’d be gone. He certainly never stayed late at the office.

  I knocked on his door and waited for him to say, “Come in.” At least I could be courteous and respect his privacy, even though he never showed me the same consideration.

  “Jamie,” I said, closing his door behind me. No sense in making it easy for people to overhear this conversation.

  “Hey bro, what’s up?”

  His words were casual, but his tone was wary. He’d already taken off his tie and was stuffing it into the outer pocket of his briefcase while he undid the top button of his shirt with his other hand.

  “I can see you’re itching to get out of here,” I said, “so I’ll get right to the point.”

  Jami
e quit puttering around and finally looked at me. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. You’ve been telling lies to Allison. About me.”

  He snorted. “Hardly lies. I’m looking out for her, trying to help her see the real you, so she knows what she’s getting into.”

  “You don’t know the first thing about her. Or about me, for that matter.”

  “Yeah right,” he said. “I’ve been friends with Allison since she started here. You didn’t even know who she was. And as far as how well I know you, you’re saying I haven’t watched you date model after model after wannabe actress after wannabe actress? Usually more than one woman at once?”

  I shook my head. “That was before. Things are different now.”

  He started straightening piles of paperwork and folders on his desk, probably so he had an excuse to look away from me. Like I wasn’t important. I knew the tactic; I’d used it on him before.

  “You can’t possibly love a girl like Allison,” he said. “I know your type, because I’ve watched it parade through your revolving door for the last fifteen years. And Allison is too plain for you.”

  I’d stalked forward, cornering him between his desk and the long row of bookcases that lined the wall next to it. “Don’t you ever say anything bad about her again,” I growled.

  He practically cowered, leaning as far away from me as he could go. “I wasn’t—”

  “And stop talking to her about me like you have been. It’s none of your business and never will be, but I want to be with her. No one but her.”

  Jamie straightened out enough to grab his briefcase. “You done?” he asked.

  “Almost,” I said. “Step off. Just keep your nose out of our relationship.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Whatever.” He brushed past me, almost running out the door and down the hallway.

  Edge of Love

  The Edge Series, Book Six

  (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

  By

  Ellie Danes

  &

  Katie Kyler

  www.Ellie Danes.com

  www.KatieKyler.com

  Chapter 1

  Allison

  Bub snuggled under my hand, demanding extra cuddles. He’d missed me while I was away with Joshua at Bushkill Falls over the weekend. I stretched on the couch, feeling deliciously sore after all of our hiking…and other strenuous physical activities. I smiled to myself, thinking about how much things had changed over the last few months. It had been just over two months since I dove into the world of online dating, only to meet my dream man that had sat in the office less than a hundred feet away from my small cube. Too bad it was all still a big secret. Bub glared at me, as I rolled on to my side, flexing my sore legs.

  “Oh,” I said, “how dare I jostle your throne, your Majesty.”

  He flopped down from the couch to investigate his food bowl. I picked up my phone and sent Joshua a quick message. Thanks for the amazing weekend.

  He wrote back immediately. Miss u already.

  The weekend was idyllic—he’d lavished me with attention and dinners out and gifts. Lingerie. I felt a wicked smile growing on my face. The only problem was what a huge contrast the weekend had been to our local dates around Philly. Lately, he’d all but stopped taking me out, and we spent most of our time hanging out at his place. When I asked him why we weren’t dining out at our favorite restaurants anymore, he said, “Well, you know. I’m just trying to keep things low-key at work.”

  My shoulders had fallen at that; we were no closer to going public than before, and it actually seemed like he was less likely to want to let others know about our relationship. I was starting to feel like instead of being rewarded for my hard work at Scintilla, I was being punished, instead.

  Of course, I’d gotten a nice bonus for the Scintilla app. Joshua was almost too professional about it. He showed me a spreadsheet detailing other bonuses that employees had gotten for their ideas over the years, so that I could see I wasn’t getting special treatment.

  In some ways it seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me.

  Still, I’d been able to put all of the work shit out of my mind at Bushkill Falls. I flipped through my photos. There we were in front of the falls, with the water streaming down behind us in a cascade of beauty. I was staring at the camera, trying to hold it just right, but Joshua’s focus—his gaze was on me. Examining his expression now, the admiration in his eyes made fluttery things happen to my stomach. The walk itself had been perfect—we’d gone early enough in the morning that there weren’t many people around, so we talked about everything and anything that popped into our heads.

  If we were being open about our relationship, this photo would’ve been my new profile picture. Everyone would be able to see how happy we were, and I could talk about all the amazing trips I’d been going on.

  I slid over to the next photo on my phone. He’d taken it when we were about to leave for a rustic lodge dinner. I’d worn a pale green eyelet sundress, a cream shrug, and wedge sandals. He’d said it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen me in, “except maybe for that silver bikini. And that dark blue lace dress is a good runner-up. And that gown you wore on our first date…” Then he’d snapped the photo of me with my phone. My face was a mixture of self-conscious embarrassment, and adoration.

  Was I that obvious? Could he tell—could everyone tell—that I was falling for him?

  And was it possible he was falling for me, too?

  It had been one of the most romantic weekends of my life. We didn’t just have sex, we really connected in new ways. And positions. I felt a grin form on my face. It was a good thing Jess was out of town again, or she’d make me explain what I was smiling about.

  I flipped back to a selfie we’d taken at the falls, our faces mashed together. I could still feel the way his light stubble felt on my cheek. Damn. I still couldn’t believe, sometimes, how lucky I was.

  I’d just saved the photo to be the background on my screen, when my phone started buzzing for an incoming call.

  “Jess!” I shouted.

  “Alls!” She laughed. “How was your trip?”

  “Oh, you know. Freaking amazing.”

  She giggled. “So? Details?”

  “It doesn’t sound like much, certainly not like la belle Paris, but we went on some hikes, ate at little restaurants, and, you know.”

  “No, I don’t know, but I can guess,” she said with a smile in her voice.

  “Shut up.” But I knew she’d hear the smile in my voice, too. “So how’s Paris?”

  She’d gone back to Paris to be with Jeremy and take on some more modeling gigs. “Score some extra clothes,” I’d told her when she left. “I’m getting used to my hot new wardrobe.”

  “Oh, you know,” she said, in her obnoxious Allison voice. “Freaking amazing.”

  I used my obnoxious Jess voice. “So? Details?”

  “The modeling is so much fun,” she said, “and I’ve got so much material for my blog it isn’t even funny. And Alls—”

  Her voice went hushed and whispery. Had Jeremy proposed to her? He was a great guy, and I tried to stifle the jealousy I was feeling. Would Joshua ever feel that way about me—as a wife? But I’d come so far from the lonely, trying-not-to-be-bitter single best friend. Now I had a great guy who took me on amazing trips and told me he wanted to show me the whole world someday. Nope, I shook my head. I had nothing to be jealous about.

  Jess still hadn’t finished her sentence. “What?” I exclaimed. “What is it?”

  “I’m getting into design.”

  “Design?” It was such a far cry from a proposal that I nearly laughed with relief. But she’d take it the wrong way, thinking that I was laughing at her. “That’s amazing, Jess! I can totally see you doing that.”

  “It’s incredible. Creativity is in the air here, I swear it. I just have to walk down the Boulevard Saint-Michel and these ideas start flowing through my head. I have to take a
sketchbook with me everywhere.”

  “Sounds amazing,” I said, a little wistfully. “I’m so proud of you.”

  She’d always been more of a free spirit, not able to settle on a major until the last possible second in college. She’d ended up in journalism after rolling a die, for crying out loud. Once out, she drifted from job to job, usually in clothing retail, since anything to do with fashion was what she gravitated toward.

  No longer content with his food bowl, Bub ambled back to the couch for some love. He purred against my hand.

  “How’s Jeremy?” I asked.

  “He’s really great.” Her voice went soft and girly, and I could imagine her goofy smile. She had it bad for that guy. Probably as bad as I had it for Joshua.

  “Tell me about your work,” she prompted. “Did anything happen with your app idea?”

  “Yeah, Joshua’s been running with it! It should be out in a week or so.”

  “That’s awesome!”

  “Now he’s trusting me with all kinds of new things, like he’s having me sit in on brainstorming meetings, and hang out with the marketing department while they figure out which direction they want to go with advertising and audience.”

  “Is he paying you for all of that? Your brains don’t come cheap.”

  “Yes, he’s paying me for all of this. As soon as Scintilla started building the app, Joshua gave me a huge bonus. I overheard him talking about creating a new position, just for me.”

  She giggled. “A new position, huh? Just for you?”

  “Not that kind of position,” I said, laughing.

  “Well, good, I’m glad he recognizes your worth.”

  “He definitely does.” I thought back to one of our nights at Bushkill Falls. He’d picked up dinner from a fancy restaurant and brought it back to the cabin we’d stayed in. He lit candles and prepared the table, then waited on me himself. “I feel like a princess, Jess. He just…lavishes me with attention.”

  “Even at the office?”

  I sighed and scratched Bub behind the ears. “Uh, no.”

  “Oh, sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to bring you down.”

  “No,” I laughed, “it’s okay. He still doesn’t want us to go public with our relationship, and lately, with my new status at Scintilla, I mostly agree with him.”