4. Griffin

Jake rams his spoon into the massive breakfast skillet in front of him. "You were nice to Cora on the company retreat, right?"

I've been back in Maine for less than twenty-four hours, and Jake is already up my ass about his sister. As soon as I landed, he texted me to go out for breakfast the following day.

I bite back a sharp response and instead take a sip of my coffee. "Of course I was nice. She's my assistant. What was I going to do? Take her on a retreat and then treat her like crap? Besides, it's just an extension of work for me."

Jake arches an eyebrow. "You and Cora have never been able to get along. Mostly because you have a tendency to be an ass."

"Trust me, I didn't do anything to her this weekend."

Not that I'm ever planning on admitting to Jake what I did, at least.

If he found out I kissed Cora, he would likely beat me up before ending our friendship. He would think I was using her.

All Jake would see was another woman with whom I planned on having fun before leaving.

I couldn't blame him for that, either.

My track record with relationships is quick and short. Most women in my life have only wanted to benefit from my money.

They think that dating a CEO lawyer from a reputable billionaire family will automatically bring them a life of luxury.

I don't exactly have time to invest in relationships either, and Jake knows my reasons.

But Cora… she's different. If she would just stop avoiding me, we might be able to talk about what happened the other day.

Jake is about to say something when a young boy approaches him with a baseball in his hand.

The boy rocks in front of our table for a moment, pink staining his cheeks. "Mr. Walsh, would you sign my ball?"

Jake grins and wipes his hands. "Absolutely."

Jake signs the ball and spends a few minutes taking pictures with the boy. They briefly talk about one of Jake's most recent games and the pitches he threw.

The best part about a star baseball player being my best friend is that interruptions like this happen all the time.

Jake loves speaking with his fans, especially the kids just getting into baseball.

Which means I have time to figure out how to steer the conversation away from Cora.

The boy walks away, and Jake turns back to me. He reaches for the glass of orange juice in front of him.

His gaze is locked on me as he takes a long drink. I shift in my seat, unsure why he is staring at me like that.

Did Cora tell him what happened? Does he know that I'm keeping secrets about the retreat from him?

"Griff, you look like you're on edge." Jake sets the glass down and starts picking pieces of bacon from the skillet. He pops them into his mouth, a good-natured smile on his face. "I thought the purpose of corporate retreats was to come back more refreshed than when you left."

"You'd think that's the case, but when you're the boss, you have to deal with a lot going on behind the scenes."

"Nothing happened with Cora, did it?" Jake wipes his mouth and leans forward. "I know she's only been with the company for over two months. Is she doing okay, considering she wasn't keen on working for you?"

"No. Nothing is wrong with Cora. She's… great at her job." I pick at the eggs benedict in front of me.

Except I kissed her, and she kissed me back… And that is a very big problem.

While I liked the way Cora felt in my arms, there was nothing I could do about it. She might be addictive and charming, but Jake is my best friend.

Starting something with his younger sister is out of the question.

When I get to work later, I have to make sure that she knows our kiss was nothing but a momentary lapse in judgment.

Jake drums his fingers on the table in time with soft background music. "Good. She needs the job."

"Yeah. She mentioned something about having a lot of debt to pay down." I'm fishing for information. It doesn't feel great to ask Jake instead of Cora, but she would just bite my head off. "Is she in trouble?"

Jake shakes his head, his eyes rolling to the ceiling. "No. She's just stubborn. I told her that I have more than enough money to make everything go away, and she told me to shove my money up my ass."

Chuckling, I lean back in my seat. "Yeah, that sounds like her."

Jake reaches for another piece of bacon and wags the floppy end at me. "Her problem is that she is convinced she has to face the world on her own. She's always been that way—you've seen her. I wish she would do what she wants with her life, but she insists that taking care of the debt her ex saddled with is more important right now."

It feels like my eyes are about to pop out of my head. "What did her ex do?"

"Doesn't matter. He's a scumbag. Everyone knew he was wrong for her, though there was no telling her that. She thought he was the best thing that ever happened to her. When he proposed, I knew I was losing my sister." Jake pretends to gag before stuffing the bacon in his mouth.

A slight wave of jealousy rolls through me, the same as it did when I saw Cora dancing with other men.

I don't know what's happening to me. In a matter of weeks, she's managed to worm her way under my skin. I've spent too many cold showers thinking about her.

How the hell am I going to convince us that touching her was a mistake?

I swallow down the jealousy and have another bite of my food. "I don't think I ever met this guy."

Jake snorts. "Consider yourself lucky. He's not the kind of man anyone would ever want to meet. I still don't understand how he fooled Cora."

"Well, she's out of that relationship now."

Jake nods and scrubs a hand down his face. "I hope she keeps it that way for a while. She lost a lot of herself when she was with him, and I'm just starting to get my sister back. She's always had so much she wanted to accomplish, and then he seemed to steal that light from her."

I swallow hard, knowing that I definitely have to speak to Cora about what happened between us.

I'm not going to kiss her again. I won't be the man that steals her light.

Jake keeps eating as I figure out what to say to Cora at work.

This is not going to be pretty.

When I walk into the office after breakfast with Jake, Cora is already sitting at the desk just outside my office. She looks up with a cool and professional smile as I walk by.

"Morning." She glances back down at the stack of papers in front of her. "I've been sorting through the contract for Garfield Homes and their acquisition of Lakeland Interiors. You might want to take a second look over some clauses."

I nod and open the glass door to my office. "Why don't you come in for a moment? I have a couple of things that we need to clear up."

She sighs, tucking her hair behind one ear. "I'm sure there's nothing we need to speak about."

My hand tightens on the gold handle. "Cora. Office. Now."

Her blue eyes flash with irritation as she stands. My gaze drops to how her matte faux leather pants hug her thighs. I throw up a mental wall to avoid the thought of having her bent over my desk in those pants.

Cora strides into my office and starts opening the curtains that cover the windows lining two walls. Bright light floods the room as she opens the last one and heads to the beige suede couches near the bookshelves.

She sits down, crossing one leg over the other. "What did you want to talk about?"

I sigh and sit in one of the matching armchairs across from her. "I want to talk about what happened on the retreat. I'm sure that you know drinking at the bar together was a mistake, and it never should have happened."

Her mauve-painted lips flatten into a straight line. "I'm aware of that."

I shift in my seat. Her stare makes me feel like I'm in court under the watch of a well-respected judge.

I don't want her to go back to hating me after this. We just agreed to try getting along, and I would hate to ruin that.

My heart slams against my chest. "Well then, I'm glad we agree it won't happen again."

Cora nods, strands of her dark hair falling around her face. The corner of her mouth twitches up into the ghost of her saucy smile. "Griffin, if you're worried about me trying to kiss you, that's the last thing you need to worry about."

"Good." I clear my throat, but annoyance flows through me. I cross my arms, my hands curling into fists. "You're the last person that I would want to kiss. I was drinking a lot, and I wasn't in my right mind. For that, I apologize."

Liar. You want to kiss her again. You might even do it right now if your office door weren't made of glass.

Cora laughs and leans back into the cushions. "I'm glad we're on the same page then. You're not my type anyway. And even if you were, you're an ass. I've already kissed enough of those for a lifetime."

My body tenses as I watch her. She sits perfectly still, that amused smile still on her face.

It would be lying to say that her words didn't sting.

Cora stands up and adjusts her white silk blouse. I think I catch a flash of her nude bra visible beneath the fabric before she goes over to my desk and scoops up the files waiting for her.

"If that's all, Griffin, I need to get back to my desk and review these. I've got a few messages to forward to you, so I suggest not going too far from your desk."

The petulant child in me wants to demand that she stay in my office and speak to me longer. I want her to be as unsettled by this conversation as I am, but she seems content.

Fuck, she is acting like she already had this conversation with me.

And I guess she did. Waking up alone should have sent a pretty clear message.

I thought she would still be there when I woke up on the couch that night. Every woman I'd slept with before stayed until I woke up. But Cora is not every other woman…

Here she is, acting like the kiss meant nothing to her.

Maybe I was the only one who thought it felt right to kiss her.

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "I was expecting this conversation would go differently."

Cora shrugs and balances the stack of paperwork on one arm. "I don't know why you would think that. We were both drinking, and we were the most incompatible people on earth. Add in being my boss, and we're nothing but a trainwreck waiting to happen."

My words get caught in my throat at her casual tone.

Cora is too relaxed about this entire situation. She's acting like it was just another kiss with a stranger in the bar. One that she means to forget as quickly as possible.

Though this is for the best, I want her to admit that she enjoyed being with me.

Cora pulls open the door. "Now that we've talked about that night, there's no need to discuss it again. Honestly, I've put it behind me."

She leaves, the door swinging shut behind her.

Cora strides across the office, dropping the files on her desk and heading into Kaleigh's office. A few moments later, laughter echoes from there before Cora comes back out and takes a seat at her desk.

Annoyance gnaws at me as she settles into work like nothing happened at all between the two of us.

If that's how she wants to handle things, then so be it. It's better this way.

I think.