Chapter 3
It was odd how something so tiny managed to irk Cassie, but the sound of Drea’s typing across the otherwise silent room somehow seemed as jarring as a jackhammer.
Click. Click. Click.
Cassie took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
It wasn’t like this was her private office, but she had grown accustomed to having the space to herself after everyone had gone home each day.
The lazy evening sun cast an almost romantic haze across the desks, and she usually used the quiet to decompress while preparing everything for the next day.
Click. Click.
She glanced at the clock on her computer screen. Five thirty. She silently willed Drea to finish whatever the hell she was working on and quit encroaching on her space.
Cassie mentally shook herself. It wasn’t her space.
Drea had every right to be there. In fact, Cassie was somewhat happy to see that Drea had committed wholeheartedly to training Erin, which was probably why she was staying late.
And as much as Cassie would like to pretend that anyone’s presence in the office would have bothered her equally, it would be a lie.
She didn’t like to admit it, but Drea had an effect on her.
One that made her second-guess herself. And that scared her.
It had been several days since she had seen Drea at the club, and Drea had seeped into her thoughts more than she wanted to admit to anyone, but especially herself.
The wheels of Drea’s chair rolling across the hardwood floor snapped Cassie back to the moment.
She tried to focus on the summary she was writing from the client meeting earlier that day rather than what Drea was doing by the printer, but after a few minutes of listening to every beep possible emanating from the machine and pretending not to watch Drea open every door in an effort to remove whatever jam was halting progress, Cassie finally gave in.
She walked over to Drea, who was squinting at the LCD screen full of error messages. How could someone look so sexy in a white T-shirt and jeans? Drea pushed a button, followed by a beep, then pushed another, followed promptly by another beep.
“Can I help?”
Drea looked up, seeming shocked that Cassie stood next to her before her face returned to frustration. “Sometimes I hate this fucking machine.”
Cassie smiled. “I absolutely agree with that statement. Can I take a look?”
Drea stepped back and gestured at the machine. “Be my guest.”
As she scrolled through the error messages, she could feel Drea’s eyes on her.
Not in a creepy way. Drea had a presence about her.
You knew when she was there. And when she wasn’t.
Drea’s crisp, intoxicating perfume hung in the air between them.
Cassie wasn’t sure what it was, maybe a white musk or something like that.
It was as cool and sure as Drea, and Cassie hated to admit that the smell alone had started giving her butterflies.
Cassie’s mind kept drifting back to the image of Drea in a leather vest, so she bent down and opened a series of doors, lifted handles, and removed three different sheets of paper.
She lost herself in the workings of a machine she knew well, distracting herself, before returning everything to its normal position in an intricate order of operations that would annoy most people but made sense to her.
The machine took a moment before a new, more positive beep sounded and the printer resumed its task.
Cassie turned to Drea and smiled. “All good.”
“So you moonlight as a miracle worker?” The warmth in Drea’s voice was eclipsed only by the smile playing on her lips.
The change in Drea was so surprising that Cassie lost herself for a moment.
Those blue eyes with that smile, damn. Cassie felt herself rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but respond with a slight chuckle.
Then she felt the heat up her neck and knew she was blushing.
Oh, come on. Drea shows a little acknowledgment that you’re awesome and this is how you react?
You’re better than this. She pretended to cough and flicked her head to the side to get the bangs out of her eyes, anything to get out of this trance.
When she met Drea’s eyes again, the moment seemed to have passed.
Drea raised an eyebrow. “It must just hate me.”
Cassie laughed, feeling more like herself, and patted the machine. “We’ve worked through our issues and have reached a place of mutual respect.” She put her hand to her mouth as if sharing a secret and leaned closer, pretending to whisper. “It wasn’t always like that.”
Something passed through Drea’s eyes. And as much as Cassie wanted to know what it was, it was gone almost as quickly, replaced by Drea’s typical wall where she was concerned.
“Thanks for your help.” Drea took the crumpled pieces of paper from Cassie and the finished pages from the paper tray.
Cassie caught a glimpse of The Well on the top page in Drea’s hand. “Can I see?”
Drea nodded and handed her the pages.
The first one had a cocktail on a wooden table with a farm in the background. The second page was a bit less put-together but had similar elements. Cassie glanced at Drea. “Erin’s?”
Drea nodded.
She flipped to the final page in her hands and paused. The watercolor effect was different from the company’s typical design aesthetic, but the artistry and color were breathtaking.
“You made this?” Cassie asked.
Apparently Drea noticed the shock in her voice because a blush formed on her olive skin. “I did.”
Cassie wasn’t sure which surprised her more, the bold and artistic move from Drea or that she seemed almost shy about it.
“I knew you were good, but this is, like, gallery level.”
Drea’s eyebrows raised briefly at the compliment before she shook her head, brushing it off. “You think they’d go for it?”
Cassie felt like she had entered a parallel universe for a moment, finally breaking through Drea’s wall. There was a vulnerability there and a seriousness that she had never experienced with her. “There’s only one way to find out, but I definitely think you should pitch it to them.”
Drea nodded again, seeming to ponder the words, before shrugging and taking the designs from Cassie. “Well, have a good night.”
“Good night.” Cassie watched as Drea walked back to her desk, put on her leather jacket, and slung her messenger bag over her head. She couldn’t help but stand there for a moment after Drea was gone wondering if something important had just happened.
Drea was excited to hang out with Jake and eagerly opened the door when Sam stopped by to drop him off so she and Ash could have a rare date night.
Though Drea was glad that Sam had found Ash and seemed happy, now that Ash had moved in with Sam and Jake, along with the chaos of Sam opening her company, Drea wasn’t sure where she fit.
Or if she did. Their usual Friday drinks at Charlie’s had all but disappeared.
It might not have been an issue if they had just been friends, but Sam and Jake had always felt like family.
This was especially true after Sam’s partner, Anna, who was a friend and coworker of Drea’s, had passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm right in front of Drea.
By the time Sam had made it to the hospital, Anna was already gone.
Drea had stayed by Sam’s side through it all.
She was the steady force when Sam could barely function, and she cared for Jake until Sam was able to again.
She and Jake had been close before Anna passed, but being thrust into a maternal role, or cool aunt role as Drea preferred to think of it, sealed him into her heart forever.
She and Sam never talked about what Drea had witnessed the day Anna died, and Sam never knew how much it still haunted her.
“Hey, little guy,” Drea said as Jake jumped forward and hugged her around the waist. She tousled his shaggy hair and noticed he wasn’t struggling to reach her waist like he used to.
How had he grown so much? She hadn’t seen Jake in longer than she cared to remember and had been missing their TV nights, but seeing the little growth spurt, small as it was for a six-year-old, tugged at her heart.
“Thanks again for watching him,” Sam said, smiling. “It’s been so long since we’ve been here, I was afraid your doorman wouldn’t recognize us.”
“He remembered us,” Jake said. “He even let me press the buzzer!”
“Always.” The warmth in Drea’s voice was sincere. She adored Jake.
“All right, be good, bud,” Sam said as she knelt down and hugged her son.
“Bye, Mom.” As soon as Jake was released, he ran inside to see Pickles.
Just as Sam started to walk away, she turned back to Drea, her face turning stern. “No scary Halloween movies. I mean it.”
Drea raised her hands innocently. “Of course.”
A look of doubt passed through Sam’s eyes, probably knowing her best friend excelled at saying what people wanted to hear but usually doing quite the opposite.
“All right, well, I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“Have fun.” Drea hoped that Sam would enjoy herself tonight. She was working so hard with the new company, but Drea knew Sam needed to refresh soon or she was going to burn herself out.
Drea found Jake kneeling on one of the tall chairs around the kitchen island, petting Pickles’ belly as the cat sprawled across the marble countertop, purring contentedly.
Like many cats, Pickles wasn’t fond of small children, but he had always been different with Jake.
Jake was mature for his age, for sure, and lacked the frantic movements of many kids.
An image of a demon child chasing a frightened cat passed through Drea’s mind.
No, Jake was chill and calm with Pickles.
And Pickles, well, he was the master of chill.
“Shall we dine, my lord?”
Jake looked up as Drea grabbed the popcorn bowl from the cabinet, a mischievous smile quickly filling his face. “Aye, my lady.”
“Please accompany Lord Pickles to his throne, good sir.”