Chapter 4
Laurel
I slept like crap. Not the kind of bad sleep where you wake up once or twice and roll over.
The kind where your brain refuses to shut up all night long.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Mason leaning against my desk.
You think this is one-sided? Then I'd remember the wedding ring on his finger and immediately hate myself for even entertaining the thought. And god knows I’ve entertained it a lot over the years.
Around five in the morning, I finally gave up.
If I’m going to be miserable, I might as well be productive.
Which is how I find myself walking through SINsual headquarters while the rest of the city is still half asleep.
The building feels different this early.
No executives rushing to meetings. No sales teams arguing over forecasts.
No Opal running an illegal gambling empire from her desk. Just silence.
I bypass my office completely and head straight for the research lab.
If there's one person guaranteed to already be here, it's Jack.
Sure enough, the moment I step through the doors, I find him hunched over a workstation studying a series of test reports.
Jack is one of our lead scientists and one of my favorite people in the building.
He's close to my age, tall and blond, with an easy smile and ridiculous dimples that make him look trustworthy even when he's explaining the mechanics behind vibrating silicone.
He glances up when he hears me enter.
“You’re here early.”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
His gaze sharpens immediately. “Bad night?”
“Terrible.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
Jack laughs. “Definitely a bad night then.”
I steal the stool beside his workstation and glance at the samples spread across the table.
Prototype casings and internal testing reports.
Things that normally make me happy. Today they just remind me of Napa.
Which reminds me of Mason. Which reminds me that I may actually throw myself into traffic before next week arrives.
Jack studies me for a second.
“This have anything to do with yesterday's board meeting?”
I groan. “Everybody knows?”
“Laurel.”
“Right. Stupid question.”
The Sinclair family is basically the office version of a reality television show. Of course everybody knows that I challenged Mason.
Jack spins slowly in his chair.
“So.” His grin appears. “How badly did you scare the executives this time?”
“I told Mason Sinclair we don't sell toothbrushes.”
Jack immediately bursts out laughing. “Oh my God.”
“I stand by it.”
“You challenged the CEO in front of the board?”
“He challenged me first.”
His laughter only gets worse. When he finally recovers, he wipes at his eyes.
“You're insane.”
“Thank you.”
“I meant it as an insult.”
“Still accepting it as a compliment.”
Jack shakes his head. Then his expression turns curious.
“So what's really bothering you?”
I stare at a prototype on the table. Nothing.
Everything. The way Mason looks at me. The way I look back.
The fact that he is very, very married. The fact that I have to spend a week traveling with him.
The fact that apparently my body has decided now is a fantastic time to develop a debilitating crush on my boss.
“Just worried that this one won’t get approved.” I give him a tight smile. “But I know we’ll figure out the perfect concept for Lust.”
He hums under his breath and says, “I’ll let it go because I’ll get the truth out of you at lunch.”
I roll my eyes and move closer. “Okay. What do you need help with?”
I lose myself in work. Thankfully, Jack is exactly the distraction I need.
The two of us spend the entire morning buried in prototypes, testing reports, packaging concepts, and manufacturing timelines.
Hours disappear while we argue over materials, tweak design specs, and debate whether consumers care about matte finishes as much as I insist they do.
They do. I will die on that hill.
For the first time since yesterday's board meeting, my brain stops replaying every interaction I've ever had with Mason Sinclair and I just work. By noon, we're both exhausted and starving.
Jack stretches his arms over his head and groans. “Please tell me we're getting food.”
“Obviously.” I gather my notebook. “I should probably stop by Mr. Sinclair's office before lunch.”
Jack's grin immediately returns.
“I'll meet you in the cafeteria.”
“You're the worst.”
“Yet somehow still your favorite scientist.”
“Debatable.”
His dimples appear. With a dramatic sigh, I leave the lab and head for the elevators. The ride to the executive floor feels longer than usual. Maybe because I'm still annoyed with him. Or maybe because some pathetic little piece of me is looking forward to seeing him.
I hate that possibility most of all.
When the elevator doors slide open, I immediately notice how quiet everything is.
Normally the executive floor hums with activity.
Assistants moving between offices. Executives rushing to meetings.
Phones ringing. Today it feels oddly still.
I make my way down the hallway toward Mason's office. The door is closed. The lights are off.
Frowning, I stop at his assistant's desk.
“Is Mr. Sinclair in?”
His assistant looks up from her computer.
“Haven't you heard?”
“Heard what?”
“He called off for the next two months.”
My brain completely stalls.
“What?”
She nods enthusiastically. “Yep. Mr. Sinclair took a leave of absence.”
I stare at her. No, that doesn't make sense. Yesterday he practically strong-armed himself onto my project.
“Tate and Blaze are covering his responsibilities while he's gone.” She lowers her voice conspiratorially. “I heard Blaze saying Mr. Sinclair is taking a vacation with his wife.”
A vacation with his wife for two months?
“How romantic is that?” she gushes.
Romantic? I can think of several other words and none of them are romantic.
I force a smile. “Is Tate in?”
“Yep.”
“Thanks.”
I turn immediately and head in the opposite direction. Tate's office door is open. Unlike his brother, Tate actually enjoys interacting with other humans.
He looks up from his desk when I appear. The second he sees my face, he winces.
“Oh.”
I step inside. “Oh?”
“I'm guessing by that expression you've heard.”
I shut the door behind me.
“Who in the hell takes two months off in the middle of a project?”
Tate leans back in his chair. Normally he'd laugh or make some smartass comment. Instead, his expression turns surprisingly serious.
“It was important.”
I fold my arms.
“More important than a project he insisted on personally overseeing twenty-four hours ago?”
Tate sighs. “Apparently.”
The answer only irritates me more.
“That's unbelievable.”
Finally he says, “Laurel, you seem awfully upset about this. I thought you’d be happy to not be working with him.”
Heat immediately crawls up my neck.
“I’m upset because it's unprofessional.”
One blond eyebrow rises. “That's your reason? Look, between me and Blaze, we'll keep your project moving.”
“I don't want Blaze.”
“Nobody wants Blaze.”
That earns the smallest laugh out of me.
Tate smiles. “But you'll survive.”
“You’re right.” I stand. “Okay, I’m off to meet Jack for lunch. You’re invited, too, of course.”
He shakes his head. “I have work to do.”
Right. Because his brother dumped all his work on him at the last minute.
“See you later.”
As I leave his office a few minutes later, something feels off.
Mason Sinclair doesn't disappear. He doesn't walk away from projects.
He certainly doesn't volunteer to oversee something personally and then vanish less than a day later.
The whole thing feels wrong. And for reasons I absolutely refuse to examine too closely...
I'm disappointed I won’t be working with him.
I meet Jack in the cafeteria and sit in the empty seat across from him.
“Well?”
“Change of plans. Mr. Sinclair has taken a leave of absence, so we won’t have to worry about him vetoing all of our ideas.”
Jack lifts his water glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
I smile, but I still can’t help but wonder what is going on with Mason.