The Design(47)

“Thanks for doing that errand for me during lunch,” he spoke with a formal, impersonal tone. “I figured you didn’t have time to eat.”

Like mine the night before, his acting was mediocre at best, but Peter and Mark were both busy on the phone and Alan was too preoccupied to care that Grayson was giving me lunch. Still, it made me smile all the same.

“Thanks. That errand worked up my appetite,” I said.

He nodded and turned toward his office while I examined the brown paper bag.

“Lawry’s Deli” was printed in black cursive and when I opened the top of the bag, there was a note scribbled on one of the deli’s napkins.

“I ordered you my favorite sandwich. Hope you like it. PS You left your jacket in my car. I think I already know a way that you could earn it back. - G”





Chapter Eighteen


I was at my desk on Wednesday morning, brainstorming ideas for my secret design submission, when my work phone rang so unexpectedly that I almost jumped out of my skin.

I stared down at it with wide eyes. Someone was calling my work phone. The last person that had called my work phone was Grayson’s mom. So, chances were Grayson’s mom would be on the other end of the line.

The phone rang again and Alan’s beady little eyes sliced over to me.

“Are you going to answer that phone or let the client get your voicemail? Jesus Christ.”

“Oh, right.”

I reached for the receiver and crossed my fingers beneath my desk. Please don’t be Grayson’s mom. Please don’t be Grayson’s mom. I liked her, but the only update I actually had for her was that I was currently doing the horizontal tango with her son.

“Hello?” I asked hesitantly.

“There you are slutasaurus rex. You didn’t answer your cell phone so I thought I’d try you at work.”

Brooklyn. Oh, thank God.

“Is that annoying boss beside you right now? Is that why you aren’t talking?” Brooklyn asked when I didn’t respond.

I peered over at Alan from beneath my lashes and slyly lowered the receiver volume a few notches.

“Oh hello, Mr. Duncan,” I spoke on a whim. Mr. Duncan? I didn’t know a single person with the last name Duncan.

Brooklyn laughed.

“Cough once if you want me to kill him. Cough twice if you want me to get Jason to kill him.”

“I'm not sure about either of those options, Mr. Duncan,” I droned, peering over again to see if Alan could hear her.

“Sorry, those are your only choices. Oh, wait, hold on.” I heard Jason mumbling in the background and then Brooklyn dropped the phone into a box of tin foil—or so I assumed since it felt like my ears were were going to fall off from the loud scraping sounds.

“What are you doing? Jeez, that’s so loud.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m doing the dishes. Jason wanted me to ask you about going to get a drink tonight. Could you come after work?”

I glanced down at my pile of work and sighed. The work would be waiting for me tomorrow. I deserved a night of fun and I hadn’t seen Brooklyn in a few days.

“Yeah, just send me the details.”

I hung up the phone as inconspicuously as possible. Alan cleared this throat.

“Was that a personal call, Cammie?” he asked with a shrewd glance.

I had a brief moment of panic before composing myself. “Yes. It was my gynecologist. He wanted to discuss my latest pap smear. Do you want to know how the cells on my cervix are doing?”

Alan visibly blanched, as most guys tend to do at the mention of the dreaded pap.

“No. That’s all right. Just get back to work.”

“Okay, but I can’t stay late tonight. I have another pap smear after work.”

He grumbled and nodded, scooting a half inch away from me.

Well that was easy.

How many pap smears could one person conceivably get in one month? Fifteen, twenty? "Dammit, inconclusive again! Well Alan, it looks like it's just pap smears through June."

…



Later that afternoon, I asked Beatrice if Grayson was available. His office door was closed and he was probably deep into his design work, but I hadn’t seen him all day. I just needed a few minutes, just to assure myself that whatever was happening between us wasn’t over yet. A vision of our lunch the day before flashed through my mind and I blushed.

“Oh, let me see,” she answered, picking up her phone and buzzing through to him.

“Mr. Cole do you have a moment?”

I couldn’t hear what he asked on the other end, but she looked up at me and replied, “Cammie.”

I twisted my hands together, knowing I wouldn’t handle his rejection well, but then Beatrice hung up and waved me forward.

“Go on back,” she said with a smile before turning back to her work.

I stepped forward and turned the knob, aware of my pulse thumping wildly as I pushed the door open. Grayson was behind his desk, encased in the light streaming through the window behind him. His lips were twisted into a smirk that did nothing but pull me in closer.

I made sure the door was secured behind me, twisting the lock so that the audible click punctuated Grayson’s steps toward me.

“I was just about to ask you to come in,” Grayson said as he approached me. One hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer, and the other tilted my head so that he could dip down to steal a quick kiss.