1. Brook

1

brOOK

“Hey, Brook.”

Instantly, I tense. I know I shouldn’t. Samantha is a great person, and none of this is her fault. “Hey Sam! How you doing this morning?”

She stops at my desk with her bag and purse hanging off her arms. She’s beautiful. She’s tall and thin, with long blond hair and big blue eyes. I wanted to hate her when she first came to work here a month ago, but she makes it impossible because not only is she beautiful, but she’s smart, helpful, and extremely kind.

I blow my hair out of my face, feeling frumpy next to her. “I’m good. Already had my coffee so I’m ready for whatever life throws at me.”

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Girl, I know. I can’t even function without my coffee. Plus I was out late last night with Walker, and it was impossible to get up this morning.” She leans in and loudly whispers, “I had to get an espresso to get moving today.”

I laugh, because that’s what she expects me to do. But on the inside, I’m dying. Samantha was in the Army with Walker years ago. He just recently brought her on board, and it’s quite a sight seeing them together. Walker’s the quiet, stoic type. Nothing seems to faze him. But he’s like a different person with Sam—more open and even smiles more. I don’t even want to think about what he and Sam were up late doing last night.

I grab my purse from under my desk. “You know what, an espresso sounds great. I’m going to run get me one. Can I get you anything?”

I’m talking and moving at the same time. Sam’s forehead creases, no doubt from my quick departure, but right now, I don’t care. I just need out of here.

“Uh, no, one espresso a day is good for me.”

I put on my best smile. “Okay, I’ll be back.”

I all but run out of the building. I’m in my car and on my way to downtown before I realize I need to take a breath. I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t.

I’ve worked for Walker for five years now. Five years. Of course, I’m going to have feelings for him, how could I not? But lately it’s gotten out of hand. I know he’s never going to feel the same, and I need to stop hanging on.

I open my phone and open the dating app. I look at the profile for Jason one more time. In my attempt to move on, I set up a date for tonight, and even though I’m already regretting it, there’s no way I’m going to back out now. You have to move on, Brook .

I stop at the Sugar Glaze and grab a coffee and two boxes of doughnuts before heading back to the office.

I get to the office and find the guys in the conference room. I set the boxes down in the middle of the table and turn to go.

“You didn’t have to bring them doughnuts,” Walker mutters. He sounds almost mad about it.

“Uh, I went to grab me a coffee. I thought you’d all enjoy them.”

He looks almost bored with the conversation, and my heart shudders just a little more. “Are you not having one?” he asks.

My face turns red. The guys are all clueless to what’s going on. They’re all fighting over the doughnuts, not even paying attention to Walker and me. Well, everyone except Sam. She’s watching us closely.

“Uh, no, it’s pretty safe to say I don’t need one. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be at my desk.” I turn to go, but not before I see the scowl on his face.

It’s been like that for some time now. Walker is not happy with me. No matter what I do, he’s got a problem with it. Which I guess should make what I’m planning to do a little easier. I stop at the door and turn back to him. He’s still watching me and glowering. “Do you have time later this afternoon to talk?”

“About what?”

Don’t stutter, don’t stutter . “I just have a few things I wanted to go over with you at the end of the day.”

His eyebrows raise, and there’s no doubt he knows something is up. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve never asked to meet with him. I do my job and am perfectly capable of doing it without help or feedback. Even though things change almost daily, I can keep up. So I’m not surprised by the questioning look he’s giving me. He’s about to ask me about it when Nash walks in. “Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?”

Colt, with his mouth full, says, “Brook brought doughnuts. Thank you, Brook!”

“Yes, thank you, Brooky!” Knox says, calling me by the nickname some of the guys gave me.

Soon John, Logan, Dylan, and Jax all join in thanking me.

Even Bear grunts a thanks.

“Five o’clock in my office,” Walker says above the rest of them.

I nod and all but shoot out of the room. I can do this. There’s a part of me that really doesn’t want to do it, but I know I can. I don’t have any plans for where I’m going or what I’m going to do next, but I know I can’t stay here.

I work the rest of the day catching up on things. I usually talk to Samantha and the guys when they come out of the conference room, but today I keep my head down as if whatever I’m working on is the most important thing I’ve ever done.

It’s pretty safe to say a lot of the things I work on are very important and confidential. When I came to work for Walker, I thought I was applying for a manager’s job at the Distillery; at least that’s the ad I answered. I went through three interviews before I was requested to be interviewed at this office. I thought they were being very thorough and didn’t think any more of it.

But then I got here. I had to go through screenings and metal detectors to just get inside the door. I started to realize that this was more than just a management job I was interviewing for.

I lean back in my chair, remembering the first time I met Walker. He met me at the door, and safe to say I’ve never met a man like him before in my life. He looked as if he spent all his time in the gym. However, not two minutes into the interview, I knew he was really smart too by the questions he asked. I discovered that he owns the Whiskey Run Distillery, a few random businesses, apartments, and random empty lots. Along with this place.

This is a big warehouse-type building that on the outside looks almost deserted except for the big fencing and guards outside. It’s on a side road on the expanse of highway between downtown Whiskey Run and Jasper. “Uh, what is this place?” I’d asked him, completely curious.

He tilted his head with a smirk before shoving an NDA form across the desk for me to sign. Basically, it was a piece of paper that said anything that was said here would be kept to myself. I signed it, and from that point on, my whole life changed.

He then went on to tell me what the Ghost team does here. They’re mercenaries that save people. That’s how he explained it, but now, five years later, I know they do more than just that. Walker owns the company and does most of the recruiting. He very seldom goes on missions except I recall one time when he went to get Bear. After that mission, Bear came to work here. Nash is the commander and runs most of the missions. Dylan is the tech guy, Logan used to be a doctor, Aiden is a pilot, and I could go on. It seems all the guys have a specialty or two.

I guess Walker had already performed a background, criminal, and credit check on me. He knew things about me that some of my closest friends still don’t know. He informed me that the Distillery manager position had been filled but that he had another position he could use me in.

Instantly, my thoughts went south. How could they not when I was sitting in front of the hottest guy I’d ever seen? But obviously, he wasn’t thinking the same thing. Anyway, he gave me an opportunity to be a part of something great, and I jumped on it. He wanted to hire me as his personal assistant, and ever since that day everything has been on the up and up. He’s never once made me feel uncomfortable. He pays me well, way more than he probably should, actually. He’s a good boss, and he respects all the people that work for him. It’s a dream job really. If only I could forget about my attraction to him.

It’s gotten worse through the years, but it was okay because I could work close to him every day. He never had women around, and if he dated, no one ever mentioned it in the office. I had free rein of his house, sometimes even working there. So I was content with it all... at least until Samantha came to work here. Their closeness, her beauty – well, it’s just all too much. I’m miserable, and I can’t do it anymore. So first, I signed up on a dating app and have my first date tonight. Second, I’m turning in my notice. I’ll never find a job that gives me anything like I’ve found here, but I don’t have a choice. I have to move on.