The Allure of Dean Harper (The Allure #2)(16)

“I actually haven’t thought about it.”

“Uh huh,” she nodded, calling my bluff. “Close your eyes.”

“Zoe, get out of my office. I have work to do.”

She stood and leaned over the table. “Humor me.”

I shook my head. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Her thin lips curled into a smirk, but she held her ground. I knew from experience that Zoe wasn’t going to leave. She’d once made me stand outside of a restaurant for thirty minutes because she’d thought she’d seen Lady Gaga walk in. Spoiler: it wasn’t her.

I huffed out a breath and closed my eyes, fully expecting her to laugh. Instead, her voice filled my office, reminding me of the one person I’d tried all day to forget about.

“Picture Lily standing at your office door. She’s patiently waiting for you to finish up your paperwork so the two of you can head out to dinner. She dressed up for you, wearing something dark, and short, and tempting. Her hair is down and wild. Blonde in a shade that can’t be bought in a bottle. Her brown eyes find you behind your desk and she smirks, knowing you’ve been waiting all day to see her. You drag your eyes down her body—”

“Zoe,” I interrupted, keeping my eyes closed. “Do you think she could be holding food? I’m really hungry and in my fantasy, I’d really love a bacon cheeseburger.”

She groaned and I opened my eyes to see her heading toward the door of my office with crossed arms. “No really, Zoe. Keep going, but now can you describe the burger?” She flipped me the bird and rounded the corner out of my office. “What kind of cheese does it have ’cause I really hate American!”

I laughed as she slammed my office door shut, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. Of course I knew Lily was gorgeous. I had every contour of her heart-shaped face memorized. Contained within it were the most kissable set of lips I’d ever seen and bright eyes that saw right through my bullshit. I replayed the scene Zoe had created for me. Lily standing in my office door in a little black dress was a fantasy too sweet to comprehend.

If only she and I could shut up for ten minutes, the sex would be the best of our lives. Angry. Hard. Fast. Not love. Not even close.

War.





Chapter Twelve


Dean





I glanced up from the resume in my hand to take in the nervous candidate sitting across from me. He’d been in my office for five minutes and already my patience was wearing thin.

“Where did you attend culinary school?”

“What school?” he asked, seemingly confused by the question.

“Cul-in-aaarrry school,” I repeated, stressing the phonetics of a word I shouldn’t have been explaining.

“Ah, yes. Well no, I didn’t go.”

“Have you worked in any upscale restaurant before?” I asked.

He shook his head, just as confused as before. I sighed and tossed his resume onto my desk. It topped the list of under-qualified applicants for the day.

“Perfect, you can see yourself out.”

His lip quivered, but I couldn’t muster an ounce of sympathy. I was looking for a consultant for my next restaurant and I’d just spent the morning interviewing a slew of idiots.

“Alright, bud, let’s go,” Zoe said, stepping into my office. She’d been hovering by the door for the last few interviews.

“Is the interview over?” he asked, glancing back and forth between us. I couldn’t confidently say he even knew what planet he was on at that point.

He stood and she directed him out of my office.

By the time I finished shredding his resume, Zoe was back at my office door, hovering on the threshold until I invited her inside.

“I cannot believe you let that guy through,” I said.

She frowned. “To be honest, we’ve had so few people send in applications, I was just hoping that by some miracle, one of them would be qualified.”

“That last guy is almost thirty and has never had a job.”

She laughed. “Point taken.”

I leaned back in my chair and dragged my hand through my hair. “I need a beer.”

“I’d buy you one but I have a hot date later.”

My brows rose.

“You know, you could have one too if only you’d admit your attraction for a certain blonde.”

“Zoe.”

She laughed. “Oh my god, it’s just too easy with you. Why can’t you admit you find her attractive? I won’t tell anyone.”

I stood and ushered her out of my office, ignoring her protests. I locked myself inside, but she was persistent.

“You’re not fooling me,” she said.

“Goodnight Zoe,” I shouted through the dark wood.

Her laughter faded down the hallway, leaving me alone with the thoughts she’d just planted in my head. It’d been three days since Zoe had first brought Lily to my attention. Since then, I couldn’t stop thinking of her full lips wrapped around me. I couldn’t stop daydreaming about her. I wasn’t proud of it, believe me. Lily would have me boiled alive if she knew I was fantasizing about her.

I reached for my phone on my desk, looking for a distraction, but there was nothing there waiting for me. I’d invited Julian to a sports bar near my house for dinner, but he’d yet to reply. I knew it was because he was walking a thin line. Lily hated me, therefore Josephine hated me, which put Julian between a rock and a hard place.