8. Griffin

Cora strides past me to her desk, sipping from her cup of coffee without sparing me even a glance.

She sits at her desk like every other day this week, determined to ignore me for the rest of the day.

The odd time she has had to speak to me, she's only given me short answers.

She's been completely ignoring me again since I told her about our marriage, and I'm tired of dealing with it. Today that ends.

Cora hums as she powers on her computer and looks through the stack of files I left on her desk.

She drums her red-painted nails on the oak as she reads through the schedule for next week.

"What do I have going on this coming week?" I stand at the corner of her desk with my hands tucked in the pockets of my slacks.

Cora looks at me over her shoulder before pointing at the computer screen with the end of her pen. "This. I'll forward it today after I get off a few more calls. There should be a couple more contracts added."

Her tone is clipped, and she doesn't look me in the eyes.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breath. "Why are you acting like doing your job is the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"

Cora's eyes narrow, and her full lips press into a thin line.

If looks could kill, I would be buried six feet under by now.

She reaches for her coffee and takes another sip before sighing. "I have a lot going on in my life right now, which you already know. I've been nothing but civil, and I have done my job well in the last week despite those problems."

I cross my arms. "You may have been doing your job fine, but you've been unpleasant most of the week."

The corner of her mouth twitches upward. "And you have been unpleasant most of my life, so I guess this would make us even."

I lean over, my mouth hovering close to her ear. "I thought we were moving past that, Cora."

She stiffens and turns her attention to her work. "And we are."

"This doesn't feel like moving forward. This feels like you are holding a grudge against me for some stupid shit I said to hurt you when we were young."

"The two situations have nothing to do with each other."

When the phone on the corner of her desk starts ringing, she looks relieved. Her shoulders sag forward as she reaches for the receiver. I let out a sigh and head into my office.

I know the marriage certificate came as a shock to her as it did to me, but I never guessed it would strip her down to just a shell of herself.

It's so much worse than before, and I don't like our new situation one bit. She doesn't even smile as she speaks with whoever is on the other end of the call.

The only smile I see from her is when Kaleigh comes over to Cora's desk to talk.

I get up from my desk and head over to the bookshelf near my door. I'm hidden from their line of sight, but I'll be able to see them and hear what they're saying.

If I'm being honest, I still don't fully trust Cora not to tell anyone about our marriage. She might slip her tongue at any point.

Kaleigh grins and perches herself on the edge of the desk. "I got your message. I can't believe you have a date on Friday. Who with?"

Cora smirks and pulls out her phone, bringing something up to show Kaleigh. "Theo Rhodes. And it's not a date, just to clarify. He's just an old friend from university. He plays the bass in a local band that just signed a record deal, so he invited me for a drink."

Cora has a date. She says he's a friend, but who knows what he wants?

She has a date with a man who is only going to ruin her life.

Like, I'm going to allow that to happen. With a musician, too—they're nothing but trouble, especially when they start making it big.

Kaleigh's eyebrows shoot up. "Wow. He's hot. Where's he taking you?"

Cora tucks away her phone. "I think we're going to some restaurant that just opened downtown. He wants me to come to his show. You should come with me. The lead singer is single."

Kaleigh wiggles her eyebrows. "Single and hopefully not looking for commitment. The last thing I need while building my career is a man to tie me down."

Cora laughs and crosses one long leg over the other. "I'm not into dating anyone either, but I don't know. I guess it could be fun to have somebody around from time to time. Work is busy, and it keeps me occupied, but I don't mind a distraction right now, you know?"

My blood boils as I pull away from the bookshelf and walk back to my desk.

A friend or not, I don't like the idea of her hanging out with another guy.

There is no way that my wife is going to go out on a date and humiliate me. It's not happening.

I don't care what I have to do to stop the date from happening. Cora is not going out with another man.

My stomach growls as the scent of steak and chimichurri tacos wafts through the office.

Cora strides in with my lunch in her hand and sets the food down without a word on the coffee table on the other side of my office.

I get up and head over, opening the box and looking down at the tacos I've been craving all day.

My eyebrows pinch together when I open the box to see chicken enchiladas. "Cora, you didn't bring the right food."

The corner of her mouth twitches, and amusement flashes in her eyes. "It must have been my mistake. Maybe you should have gone to the staff lunch and got your own food instead of pulling me away from my lunch break."

I step closer to her, invading her personal space. Her chin juts out, and she glares up at me.

Cora doesn't waver as I glare. Instead, she stands taller and takes a step closer.

It's clear that she's not the girl I used to intimidate anymore.

All that's running through my mind now is how the taste of her soft, plump lips lingered on mine, a bittersweet reminder of the moment we shared that night.

The closer I get to her, the more my heart races with a burning desire.

When we're this close, can she feel how fast my heart is racing?

Is she thinking about how easy it would be to kiss right now?

The scent of her perfume wraps around me, making me feel like an addict wanting more.

I'm beginning to embrace the idea that she's legally bound to me… that she may not want me yet, but she's already mine.

I'm not afraid to admit I want her, even if it's the worst idea ever.

I've never been able to commit to a relationship, and Cora is far too good for the likes of me in that sense, and it's a fact I'm deeply aware of. If I start something and end up hurting her…

I sigh and take a step back. "Cora, do you know what a personal assistant does?"

She arches her eyebrow, looking ready to lunge at me.

I would be okay with that if it meant pinning her up against a wall and kissing her until she forgot her own name.

"Griffin, if you keep talking down to me, I swear I'll put soy sauce in your coffee Monday morning."

I shudder at the mention of her tainting my coffee.

I remember once when I was in high school, she had put soy sauce in my coffee—a lot of it. I didn't know until I went to school and chugged half of it.

Throwing up all over my desk in physics hadn't been the ideal way to start a day, but Cora had laughed about it until she cried when she found out.

I roll my shoulders back, trying to relieve some of the tension. "I'm asking you because you seem to forget that as my personal assistant, it is your job to assist me. That means you bring me the right lunch if I ask you to get my lunch."

A pink flush crawls across her cheeks as she glares daggers at me. "I have a lunch break, too. I asked you if there was anything else you needed before I left. You said no. And then you waited until I was in the middle of eating my lunch to demand that I get you food."

She may never again make me another cup of coffee without soy sauce in it.

It's a risk I'm willing to take as I waver between how much worse I'm about to make this entire situation.

"I'm going to need you to work late Friday. I have to be in court on Monday, and a lot of prep work still needs to be done."

Cora's mouth drops open before her gaze turns suspicious. "Why does it have to be Friday? Can't we meet up during the weekend or something?"

"No, we can't. I have other plans for the weekend, so I need to get everything done by Friday."

She shifts her weight to one side, cocking her hip and crossing her arms. "I can't. I have plans that night. I'll ask one of the associates to stay late and help you prep."

There is no reason that an associate couldn't stay back and help me prep… but I want her to stay.

"Cora, I don't want an associate to help me. You know the cases. You've spent time setting up meetings and skimming through contracts before they reached my desk. You're more valuable to me and my prep than an associate."

She rakes a hand through her hair. "I told you—I have plans. I can't just cancel them because you want to be stubborn about who works with you."

Sometimes, I hate how well she knows me.

I never thought she would do that until she started working here. Before, I thought we were two people who had been around each other a lot when we were younger but weren't overly fond of each other.

Since she started working here, it's become clear that she pays more attention to me than I've ever given her credit for.

"I'll pay you triple whatever your hourly rate is for the day."

Cora wavers for a second before dipping her head. She doesn't hesitate much longer at my offer. "Fine. I'll be here Friday night."

Though this may be taking advantage of her financial difficulties, I don't care. I'll spend the damn money and more to keep her from going on a date that day.

My wife and I have things to discuss, and she will stay late Friday with me one way or another.