A Friendly Flirtation (Friends First #3)

by Christine Warner

  And I’m not in love now.

  The softness in Nick’s face hardened in an instant. “I should’ve known better. Fuck.” He swiped his hand down his face. “I thought I saw something there, but apparently not.”

  “Nick—”

  Nick shook his head, holding up his hand. “I recommend you take the advice I’m dishing out.”

  Jared lifted his chin, the air between them stretched taut. “What’s that?”

  “For the last time, stay away from her. She needs a man in her life who will be there for her. For. Her. You got that? Whatever game you’re playing with my sister stops now.”

  “I’m not playing any fucking games.” He didn’t want to stand in the way of Al’s happiness. If she wanted Roy, he’d look the other way, even if it killed him. But he didn’t appreciate Nick going all caveman on him.

  “Bullshit. You can’t even answer my simple question. You’re not the guy for Al. She’s a one-man woman, and you’re not a one-woman man.”

  “You don’t even fucking—”

  Nick grabbed him by the shoulder and squeezed. “I’ve known you long enough to feel confident in what I’m saying. Stay away from Allison. I can see the way you’re watching her. Roy’s a nice guy. He told me that he’d like to get to know her better, and from the looks of things she feels the same. Leave her alone.”

  “And if I don’t?” He didn’t even know why he asked. Did he like pushing Nick’s buttons? Or did he want his friend to punch him in the face to ease some of the pain in his heart?

  “If you don’t you can consider our partnership dissolved. I’ve already talked to our lawyer. I’ll either buy your ass out, or take leave myself, start up my own company, and run you into the dirt.” Nick poked him in the chest, his eyes gleaming steel. “Friendship is one thing, but family is another. Got me?”

  Jared shoved his hand off his chest and thumped his knuckles on Nick’s chest. “Oh, I got you, bud. Don’t worry about that. Now you listen to me. I’ll leave Allison alone, if that’s what she wants, and if you dissolve our partnership that’s your choice, but I will not just shrivel up and blow away. I’ll give you the biggest fucking run for your money, and if anyone will be eating dirt, it’ll be you.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  From the corner of her eye, Allison saw the exchange between Nick and Jared, and it didn’t look pretty. What she wouldn’t give for a pocket with at least one chocolate Kiss.

  “Will you excuse me a minute, Roy?”

  “Sure. Sure.” But he didn’t sound sure. He sounded deflated.

  She liked Roy. They had everything in common. He was just the type of guy she was looking for—at least he should be. But she couldn’t get Jared out of her head.

  And now an urgency filled her. What the heck had just happened between him and her brother? She had to find out.

  She hurried across the floor as Jared grabbed a longneck from the bartender and made his way through one of the doors to the outdoor balcony.

  Allison pushed her way outside and glanced from right to left, spotting him in the deep shadows, a sliver of moonlight illuminating his profile.

  As she approached, she could almost feel the tension rolling off the straight lines of his shoulders and the stiff posture of his back. She touched his arm, and he jumped, spinning around to face her.

  “Hey. You okay?”

  “Never better.” His words came out clipped and tight.

  “You don’t sound ‘never better.’” She grinned, her smile wavering when he didn’t meet her eyes, instead looking past her and over her shoulder. “Talk to me.”

  He sucked in a breath and studied her face intently. She’d never seen the stress lines around his mouth so pronounced. Not even when he was working on a difficult contract.

  “This is between you and me. Got it?”

  Her gut tightened. “Got it.”

  “My business partner, best friend of fifteen years, your brother, just informed me that if I don’t leave you alone, he’ll dissolve our partnership and make my life hell. At least in the business sense.”

  She stepped back, her heart skipping a beat. “He what?” But she didn’t need him to repeat what he said, and he must’ve known that, because he didn’t even try.

  All the anger and annoyance of a lifetime settled in her chest. As usual, Nick had decided he’d play decision-maker in her life.

  She was so over his controlling ways. He might mean well, but he needed to let her live her own life. Complete with her own decisions and choices. No matter if they meshed with his or not.

  “I’m sorry, Jared. I’m sorry for the way my brother is acting. And I’m sorrier still that I got you involved in all of this.”

  “Al—”

  “No. I need to make a few more changes. And these don’t have anything to do with my confidence or my looks.” She touched his cheek, letting her fingers slide over his jaw.

  At that moment she knew she loved him. She’d do whatever it took to make him happy, even if it didn’t make her happy.

  “We need to talk.” Allison gripped Nick’s upper arm. After she’d left Jared, she made her way back into the reception area to find him. Thankfully, the task had been easy, because he’d found his way back over to Roy.

  He glanced at her from over his shoulder. “Give me a minute, I’m going to—”

  “You’re going to come with me right now, Nick.”

  His mouth hung open, and he narrowed his gaze, then pasted on a smile before turning toward Roy and the others. “Excuse me, gentlemen, it looks like my sister has something urgent to share.”

  She smiled at the group she’d left minutes ago, and then tugged Nick through the lobby and out the front door. She rounded on him, pushing him in the chest. Not that it had much effect, but it made her feel better. “What the hell are you thinking, Nick?”

  “Are you kidding me? Did Jared come crying to you?”

  “No, I saw you two arguing and went after him.” She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears of frustration that burned her eyelids. “After all these years, how could you threaten him like that? How could you let his interest in me, my interest in him, come between you two?”

  “He’s going to hurt you.”

  “The only one hurting me is you.”

  Nick stepped toward her, reaching out to take her in a hug, but she slapped his hand away.

  “I love you, Nick, but sometimes you’re an idiot. Don’t you dare give up your best friend, your business, for something as ridiculous as Jared and me…” She couldn’t continue, didn’t know how to describe whatever had taken place between her and Jared. But whatever it had been, this feud between them ended it.

  “You and Jared, what?” Nick’s eyes turned to steel again.

  She punched him in the shoulder. “You know, Nick. It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know how I run my life, who is in my life, anything about my life. Unless I decide to share. You need to take care of yourself, your friendships, and your business.”

  “Al.” His voice held a stern warning, but she was done listening.

  “I’m not going to sit by and watch you and Jared destroy each other. If I hadn’t asked for his help, none of this would be happening.” She flung her hair over her shoulder. “You know, I’d have thought you’d want me to hook up with your best friend. Fuck, you love him. Our entire family loves him—”

  “Do you love him?” His jaw softened, and he touched her shoulder with the first show of warmth she’d seen from him in weeks.

  She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve come to a decision.”

  “And that is?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. I owe Jared the same courtesy. Tomorrow, meeting in your office. Ten a.m. You’ll find out then.”

  She turned on her heel, brushing his hand off her shoulder when he tried to stop her. “No spoilers, Nick. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Allison stared down at Jared and Nick as they sat in the two chairs before her. She purpose
ly remained standing because it seemed the only source of power she had when it came to these two. “I’m glad you both can be in the same room long enough to hear me out.”

  “Al—”

  She raised her hand as they both spoke in unison. “I’m not here for either of you. I’m here for me. I have something to say, you can listen, and then it’s over. No questions, no attempts to change my mind. Because my mind is made up.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Nick demanded, his gaze locked with Jared’s as if he were to blame.

  “Why don’t you give her a minute to explain before you start jumping down her throat?” Jared snapped.

  “Why don’t you—”

  “Both of you shut the hell up. Did either of you hear what I said? I’m here to tell you something, and I don’t need a fight to break out. I’m giving you the courtesy of being the first to know. Since you are both technically my bosses.”

  Their heavy breaths filled the gap of silence, and Allison ran her palm down the front pleat of her skirt. “Now, are you going to stay quiet long enough so that I can speak my piece?”

  They nodded, but she didn’t miss the black glare they exchanged. The look shriveled her heart, but also gave her the courage to continue, knowing she’d made the right decision.

  She cleared her throat. “I miss you two getting along. I miss your jokes, teasing, and laughter. I miss seeing you work toward a goal. I miss you being friends.”

  “Allison—”

  She silenced Nick with her hand and shook her head. “You two have been at each other’s throats, all because of me. It made me realize that if I hadn’t forced Jared into helping me, if I wasn’t around, you two would still be fast friends. You could remain in the same room long enough to run your business. The break room wouldn’t be buzzing with trouble brewing in upper management, employees wouldn’t be in fear that some big changes are coming down the pipeline that might shake up their livelihoods.”

  “People are talking?” Nick actually sounded bewildered, and she furrowed her brow.

  “Of course they are. See, you two used to be on top of things in this company, but your stupid feud has clouded both your heads. And it’s all my fault.”

  She raised her hand again when Nick opened his mouth, refusing to make eye contact with Jared because she feared she might back out of her decision. For certain he’d be looking at her with those soft eyes that weakened her knees.

  Her strength didn’t quite extend to the point where she could handle that. Not right now.

  “I’ve decided that I’m resigning my position here at Firstline.”

  Jared shifted in his seat, and Nick stood. Allison pushed him down none to gently with her hands on his chest.

  “Because of Jared. You son of—” Nick twisted in his seat, making a grab for Jared, who shoved his hands off his chest.

  “Listen to me,” she yelled. Her heart pounded against her ribs as they both locked eyes on her. “Jared had nothing to do with my decision and is hearing it for the first time, too. He can’t make me do anything any more than you can. I decided this on my own. I refuse to come between you two. If I’m not around, you’ll both have a chance to mend your friendship. Your partnership.”

  “Al, I don’t—”

  She shook her head. Jared’s soft voice became more than she could handle. She closed her eyes, swallowing down the tears burning a path up the back of her throat.

  “This is for the best. Not only can you two patch things up, but I need a change. I’m becoming stagnant here. I need to keep my mind moving forward. Learn something new. Change my surroundings. Take on more responsibility.” She tried to make her voice sound bright, excited, but deep down most of what she was saying wasn’t anywhere near how she felt. She’d been happy at Firstline. Sure, she wanted to do some side work, but she’d never planned to leave her job.

  But if it would help Jared and her brother rebuild their friendship, she’d move to another country if need be.

  “Are you going to work for Roy?” Jared’s clipped tone cut at her chest.

  She nodded. “He’s made a wonderful offer. One that I really can’t refuse. He’s going to exceed my current salary, I’ll have my own team—that’s right, I’ll be the boss of a department—and my benefit package is pretty much comparable.”

  Jared pushed himself out of his seat. “Allison, you don’t—”

  “I do.” She gave them each a stiff smile.

  “I don’t want you to leave.” Nick still sat in his chair, but defeat lined his face. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, dropping his face into his hands. He jerked his attention back to her after dispelling a long breath. “Listen, you made a decision in the heat of the moment last night. I never wanted any of this”—he spread his arms out to his sides—“to result in something so drastic.”

  “My mind’s made up. I can’t work here anymore. Consider this my notice.” As the words left her lips, the weight she’d carried on her shoulders for the last several weeks dropped off. But what she needed to say next almost killed her. “And as for our friendship, Jared, I appreciate all your help. You’ll never know how much. But in order for you and Nick to rebuild your friendship, ours has to be over.”

  “We don’t want to lose you,” Jared mumbled.

  Her chest ached as if her heart had broken into a thousand pieces. If he’d said the magic words—he didn’t want to lose her—she’d have stayed.

  Allison took a swallow of her wine as she made her way to her apartment door. Whoever was on the other side knocked again, this time more insistently.

  “I’m coming.” Geesh, hold your horses. She wasn’t expecting anyone. And if truth be told, she didn’t want to see anyone. Today had been one of the hardest days of her life.

  She pressed her face up against the door and looked through the peephole. The label from her favorite bottle of wine filled her view, and she laughed, pulling open the door.

  “Nicely done, Coll. How did you know I needed wine?”

  “Because when I called you sounded like you were about two Hersheys shy of a meltdown. What’s going on?” She sauntered past and headed straight for the corkscrew in the kitchen.

  Allison lifted her glass. “I already opened a bottle.”

  “And I have a feeling this is a two-bottle kind of night.”

  “But I work tomorrow.”

  “So do I.” Colleen pulled the corkscrew out of the bottle with such force she stepped back, bumping her butt on the counter behind her. “How damn strong do you gotta be to pull out a corkscrew?”

  “It might work to your advantage if you weighed more than a hundred pounds and stood a few more inches over five feet.”

  Colleen flipped her off good-naturedly. She’d always been teased about her size but managed to take it in stride. Just like she took everything in stride.

  “Okay”—she pushed aside the wineglasses and went straight for a twenty-four-ounce tumbler—“tell Aunt Colleen your troubles. Not that I can imagine you having any. You’ve done a complete one-eighty when it comes to your wardrobe and makeup. You look fine. And when I say fine, I mean fine. I know you weren’t interested in the friend of Jerry’s I wanted to fix you up with a few months ago, but even if you were, you are now so far out of his league you might as well be on another planet.”

  Allison laughed. After the vendor appreciation fiasco, and then giving her notice this morning, she wasn’t sure she had a laugh in her anymore.

  “I quit my job.”

  “Whoa. Thanks for not leading into it. I like how this new self-assuredness of yours has you laying things on the line.”

  “I’m glad someone likes it.”

  “Are you telling me someone doesn’t?” Colleen came around the bar and plopped down onto the stool beside her.

  “Nick.”

  Colleen rolled her eyes. “No surprise there. He doesn’t like a lot of things. Did you finally get tired of him trying to run your life?”

  Allison no
dded. “It’s a long story.”

  “I got all night, sista.” She spun her barstool around and propped her feet on the back of one of the dining room chairs.

  Colleen stayed uncharacteristically quiet, and Allison relayed the entire story, from A to Z. When she’d finished, she downed her entire glass of wine and groaned. “I’ll regret that later.”

  “Life is all about regret.”

  Allison snort-laughed. “You’re drunk.”

  Colleen waved her words away. “So, you and Jared, eh?”

  She nodded, the sip of her wine turning bittersweet.

  “I can definitely see you two together. I mean, he’s a looker, you’re a looker, he’s funny, you’re funny, and—”

  “And you can forget about seeing us together, because it’s not happening.”

  The silence stretched between them, and then Colleen cleared her throat, fluffing her hair. “What you’re saying is that you’re changing your job, basically your life, so that the man you love will be happy.” Colleen gushed as she held her hand to her heart. “You know I’m not huge into romance, but that kind of grabs my heart.”

  “Don’t forget I’m doing this for Nick, too.”

  Colleen rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I like the romantic version better. I get that you don’t see a future with Jared, and I’m sorry, but what are you going to do about this Roy guy? I mean, he’s interested…”

  “I’ll take it one day at a time. It’s not like I’m going to just get over Jared in a day.” Or a week, month, or year. Years?

  She might have changed her looks, but her change of heart had her seeking a new environment. Heck, a new employer. Someplace away from her overprotective brother. Someplace away from having to see a man she’d let herself grow attached to when she knew better. Someplace away from the man who’d never see her as anything more than his partner’s little sister, a friend, an employee—

  Someplace away from the man she’d fallen in love with.

  But all that mattered was that it’d be worth it if Jared and Nick didn’t hate each other because of what she’d done.