Bereft (Seven Year Itch #2)(39)

“I know. Me too. Let’s hope we all find resolution soon.”

“I do.” She clapped her hands together. “Well, since I’m here, do you mind if I tag along? I mean, I’d like to be able to come spend the night, so of course I need to have a say in which place you choose.”

“It’s only two or three properties. It’s hard to find something on the spot, especially in the city. People have waiting lists. It’s crazy.”

After agreeing she should be a part of my decision, Steph and I headed out to look for the new apartment I’d be living in.

The first two places were one bedroom units. The kitchens were small, but manageable. The second one had an additional bedroom. It was one-hundred more dollars a month, but worth it to know Steph would have a place to stay when she visited. It also gave me room to have a home office without making the living room area cluttered. Sometimes my paperwork could get out of hand, and I knew with the new position I’d be bombarded with take-home work.

I wrote a check for the down-payment, and waited as she called a company they used for a credit check. When I left, three hours later, I had the keys to my new place. It wasn’t furnished, but at least I had something to call my own.

Stephanie didn’t come back to the office with me. We said our goodbyes on the street outside before I headed in to get caught up. I’d no sooner walked in my office when Chad whisked in the room, closing the door behind him. “Who was that?”

“My daughter, why?”

“Your step-daughter?”

“Yes, why?”

“She’s cute.”

I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. “Did you come in here to try and make me jealous?”

He leaned his palms down on my desk and came forward so our faces were closer, but not nearly enough to touch. “No. Why? Are you jealous?”

“You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“Maybe that’s my goal. When you’re uncomfortable you put up your imaginary guard. I like breaking it down.”

I folded my hands together on the desk. “About that. We need to stop messing around, Chad. It’s making me feel terrible. I’ve got a lot on my plate, and this is confusing me. I need to be able to focus on everything else.”

“I get it. It’s cool. We can be professional acquaintances again. Just because I’ve seen you naked doesn’t mean I can’t act normal around you. Sure, I’ll never forget the way you smell, or how you taste when my tongue is soaked in your * juices, but hey, nothing lasts forever.”

The mere mention of him doing that to me got me flustered. Immediately, I wanted to retract my statement and let him bend me over so he was able to f*ck me into Sunday. When I was with Chad everything disappeared. I didn’t have struggles in my life, because I was temporarily overwhelmed in ecstasy.

“What did you want earlier?”

“I wanted to eat.” He corrected. “Food. I was hungry for lunch and wanted a companion to join me. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“I had to go look at apartments.”

He raised his brow. “Really? Did you find anything close?”

“Actually, I found a two bedroom off the bypass. It’s over by that pizza place your grandfather likes to order from.”

“No shit? I live a couple blocks from there.”

“You don’t live with your grandfather?”

“Hell no. I just stay there a lot. They have more amenities, like the pool, hot tub, sauna, gym.”

“I get it. I’ve been there before.” His grandfather lived in a beautiful mansion. I expected Chad to stay there until he inherited the property.

“Yeah, it’s nothing huge. It’s enough for me, and it’s close to work. Plus, I have a garage to keep my car in.”

“A garage. Impressive. I don’t even have a couch.”

Chad paced around the room and finally turned to face me. “How’s the tax situation coming along?”

He was turning our conversation into a professional matter, instead of personal. “It’s good. I think by next week we’ll have some permanent papers to sign. Are we still good with the same plan?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well, I’ve told you I can’t be with you again. I didn’t want you to get bitter about it.”

“Jesus, Rach, I’m not an *. You’re going through hell. I get it.”

“Thank you. I didn’t want to have to worry about something else.”

“We’re good. So, how about some dinner and a bit of couch shopping?”

“I need to save up some money before I buy furniture.”

Chad reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, chucking a plastic card in my direction. “Get whatever you want. It’s the business account. You can pay it back in payments out of your checks. If you don’t, we’ll use it as a business expense and write it off.”

“What? I can’t do that.”

“I own the company. Don’t make me force your hand.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the card. “Fine.”

“Good. Now, what would you like to eat? I’m f*cking starving.”

“I don’t care. Let’s do something close to our places. I might not have furniture, but I’ll pick up some blankets and sleep on the floor until it’s delivered.”