Chapter 46
Juniper
“So, how did it go today?” Skye asks me with wide eyes, a knowing look on her face as she leans forward.
Her green eyes are sparkling as if she knows a deep, dark secret that she's dying to share.
Skye may be a new friend in my life, but it feels like we're old friends.
She's been dating Kingston, another partner at the firm, for the last couple of months, and I've never seen her happier.
In my heart of hearts, I know that I want what she has... true love.
“How did what go today?” I ask, picking up my glass of water and taking a small sip.
I avert my eyes from her gaze because I wonder if she knows that I have a crush on Remington Parker.
It's not like I'm trying to hide it, per se, but I definitely don't want to look like the loser in the office who has an unrequited crush on her boss.
Because I am not Skye. I'm not bubbly and cute, with fiery red hair.
I don't tell my boss off and then sashay out of the office.
I don't have that fire in me... other than inside of my head.
Sometimes I wish that I were a woman who could speak up more.
I wish I knew how to flirt. I wish that I had unbridled sex appeal that could bring a man to his knees.
“You know… how did it go with Remington this morning? Now that he knows he’s a dad, I was wondering if he was going to act differently.”
“Oh, actually, it went fine. I saw Canyon this morning, and she seems to be doing really well.”
“What do you mean you saw Canyon this morning? Were you at his apartment?” Her jaw drops as she slaps her hand on the table in excitement.
The cutlery jangles for a few seconds, and I see a man at the table next to us looking over.
“Dang, girl, did you spend the night there and not tell me?” She makes an O shape with her mouth. "Did you and Remington do the dirty?"
“No, Skye.” I can't help but roll my eyes. “I did not go from cleaning out his apartment and being annoyed to banging him a couple of days later."
“Well, then how did you see Canyon this morning?” She picks up her glass of water but doesn't take a sip. She is hanging on to my every word, and I wish that I had something more interesting to share with her.
“Because she came to the office with Mr. Parker.”
“With Mr. Parker?” She raises a single eyebrow and starts giggling. “Since when do you call him Mr. Parker?”
"Since he started getting on my nerves. Fine, she came to the office with Remington.” I pause. "Remington ‘the douchebag’ Parker."
“So, Remington DB Parker is letting her skip school already?” She looks taken aback. “He sounds like he’s going to be a great dad.”
“No, no, no. He didn’t let her skip school,” I say quickly.
I don’t want her judging him because, even though I do, it makes me feel bad if other people think he’s a bad father.
Because, quite frankly, I feel like he's trying to do a good job.
He's new to the role, but he's not useless.
In fact, seeing him in that role makes me like him even more.
I feel like I am stuck in a weird stasis.
Remington confuses me to no end, but I still can't help but be enamored by him.
“So, why was she at the office?” Skye looks confused. "Did he not know where she goes to school?"
"He had an early morning meeting with Liam Gallagher, you know that British guy who brings a lot of money to the firm.” I pause. “In fact, he came in today."
“Oh, yeah,” she says, nodding. There's a knowing look on her face.
“He came in to see Kingston, too. Girl, he's hot.
If I wasn't madly in love with Kingston, I'd throw my hat into the ring for a night with him.
" She giggles like a naughty schoolgirl.
"I heard he's actually going to be working in the office starting next week. All the women in HR are going to go crazy.”
“Oh, I didn't realize that,” I say, shrugging. “But yeah, anyway, he had a meeting this morning with Remington. I think Remington thought it was going to be on the phone, but Liam showed up. I guess it makes sense that he showed up if he's going to be working here now or something.”
“I don't know the details.” Skye shakes her head. “But Lila and I were talking about it, and we were saying, if we were single, we would totally go for him, because he's just so cute.” She waves her hands back and forth. "And he's a total flirt."
“He is a player if ever I saw one,” I say and start laughing loudly before lowering my voice. The man at the next table is staring at us again. I sure hope he can't actually hear our conversation.
“Aren't all the men in the office players?” Skye makes a face. "I swear to the heavens above that nearly all attorneys think they are God's gift to women. Must be all that money they make."
“That’s true. They do all seem to have egos for days,” I say, nodding. “Anyway, he had this meeting, and it was early, so he brought Canyon with him. After the meeting, he took her to school.”
“Oh, okay, I'm surprised he didn't ask you to take her to school.”
“I think he probably wanted to, but he took one look at my face, and he knew that there was no way that I was going to be doing his fatherly duties for him.” I grin at her. "I may be a doormat, but I'm starting to stick up for myself.”
“Really?” she says. “Are you sure about that? I mean, you did give up like two days already to help him out.”
“I didn’t give up two days to help him out.”
“Didn’t you tell me that you canceled plans with your dad just so that you could go over and help him tidy up his apartment?”
“Yeah, but it was a mess, and I’m glad that I did. I didn't do it for him. I did it for Canyon. Plus, I see my dad almost every weekend. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” I feign nonchalance.
“Uh-huh,” she says, winking at me. "You did it for Canyon."
“Why do you say it like that?”
“I don't know. Maybe because you think Remington is cute. And I'm going to get you to admit it one way or another.”
"I'm not going to lie and say I don't think he's cute, because I think we can all tell he's very, very cute.
But I'm not into him. He's my boss,” I say defensively.
I want to tell her that I do have a thing for him, but saying it would make it true, and I'm not sure that I want to put that out into the universe just yet.
Not until I'm ready to open up my heart to heartbreak.
“So what?” she says. “You know I’m dating my boss. And Lila is dating Max, who was and still is her boss. And—”
“And I’m not dating my boss, and I never will be.” I stick my tongue out at her like a petulant little kid. I am not her or Lila.
“We’ll see about that.” She grins like she doesn't believe me.
“No, I’m telling you, I will never date Remington Parker. He’s not interested in me like that.”
“How do you know he isn’t?”
“Because he is into models and actresses and opera singers.”
“Opera singers? What?" She looks taken aback. "What Opera singer is he into?”
“I don’t know, some glamorous Italian lady that he had me send flowers to.
I looked her up online. And apparently, she is the belle of the ball in Milan or something.
” I tap my fingers against the table. "Members of different royal families in Europe will do anything for tickets.
One prince even paid $100,000 for a box last year. "
“Wow. So, you’re a stalker.”
“I’m not a stalker,” I say, giggling. “I just wonder sometimes who these women are that I'm sending flowers to.”
“True. I mean, if I worked for him, I would look up all his hoes, as well."
"They aren't hoes."
"Fine, the women he dates. You have to admit that he does get around. But I suppose that’s better than him being engaged to some absolute stunner. At least you know he is basically single.”
“And he wants to stay single for the rest of his life." I give her a pointed look. "So, no, I'm not going to become his next target. Plus, I don’t know he’s for me even if he did want me.”
“What do you mean you don’t know if he is for you?”
“I feel like…” I pause and look around the restaurant to make sure no one is listening to me. “I feel like he may be a dominant.”
“You what?” she says loudly and then she bursts out laughing. Her hand quickly goes to her mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so loud.”
“I know, but keep it down. What if someone hears us?" I peek at the man at the next table. "I said I think he may be a dominant.”
"Juniper, you have to tell me, one, why you think he may be a dominant?
Two, why that doesn't turn you on. And three, how do you know this?” Her eyes are glittering, and I can tell she's more excited than she's been during the entire conversation.
She's practically buzzing, and I feel slightly guilty.
I regret bringing up the topic, but I wanted to talk to someone about it.
And seeing as my best friend was overseas and we hadn't spoken in a couple of weeks, I hadn't been able to get Poppy's advice and feedback.
I lean forward and whisper, “So, the other day, Remington and I were having a discussion. I can’t even remember what the conversation was about right now.
But we kinda drifted from topic to topic, and out of nowhere, he asked me a question. "
"What question?" She frowns. "Did she ask you if you wanted to be his sub?"
"No, goofy.
"What did he ask you?" She pauses. "Did he ask you to step on him in stilettos?"
"No... plus wouldn't that hurt?"
"That's the point, right?"
"I guess so, but no, he didn't ask me that."
"Did he ask you to pee on him?"
"Skye! What are you talking about?"
"I'm just trying to guess. Tell me."
"Well, we were chatting, and then out of nowhere, he was like, ‘Do you prefer the hand or the belt?’” I press my lips together as my heart races. I don't know why I'm feeling so hot and bothered, but anytime I think of Remington, I get slightly turned on.
“The what or the what?” It's her turn to look confused. "You said that so fast that I didn't understand you."