I nodded.
“Thank you,” she said, and her eyes sparkled. “This is going to be great. I can just feel it!”
She hugged me quickly before she hurried to the front door. I let her out and watched her as she rocked back on her heels, waiting for the elevator. When the doors pinged open, she stepped into them and offered me a small wave.
“It’s going to be great!” she said as the doors closed, and the elevator took her away.
I leaned against the doorpost.
It was going to be great—I was sure of that. Emily knew what she was doing. She had just as much passion for what she did as her brother. The Jenkins twins had a zest for life, a spunk that was intoxicating. But Emily had that something extra, that something that made her addictive.
I would see more of her in the next couple of weeks. Which was great because I couldn’t get enough of her.
Not that anything would happen between us. She was Ryan’s sister. And I doubted she’d be interested in me anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like I was looking for anything.
So really, this was a good thing. Someone off-limits meant I couldn’t do something stupid. And I needed that kind of protection. God forbid I should fall in love again.
There was no fucking way I wanted to walk that road a second time. It was safe to say Brooke had cured me from wanting the fairytale happily ever after.
Emily was the perfect girl to hang out with because no matter how much I wanted her, I couldn’t sleep with her. And when I couldn’t sleep with her, nothing else between us would happen either.
And I’d get a beautiful apartment out of it. The pictures she’d shown me were great—I could actually envision this space becoming more than the bland, boring, shitty space it was now.
It was a win for everyone.
I just had to figure out how not to dream about her again. Or think about her curves. Or the way she smiled.
And the way her eyes drew me in.
5
EMILY
“Whataweek,”Isaid to Mia on Friday afternoon after Richmond had left the office.
“You did great with him,” Mia said. “I thought he was going to leave for real.”
“I think he’s threatening us to keep us on our toes. He can’t go to another designer now. He’ll have to start all over again, and he’s hosting that event in less than a month.”
“I hope you’re right,” Mia said and shrugged into her coat. “All I know is this weekend I’m not doing anything but recovering. You’re doing the same right?”
I nodded. “Sure. I just want to take care of one last thing, and then I’m out of here.”
Mia sighed. “Don’t stay too late. You know what they say about all work and no play.”
I chuckled. “I won’t stay too long.”
Mia left the office, followed by my receptionist and accountant, and then I was alone in the office.
Again.
But I liked being here alone. It gave me the peace and quiet to really think about what I was doing. Now that design was my job, it wasn’t always so easy to be creative on demand. It was different than pouring something out on paper because I felt inspired. I had to get used to the time crunch too.
But this was how I learned. By doing it, by failing, learning what not to do, and trying again.
I sincerely hoped I was right about Tony Richmond only threatening us to get what he wanted faster. I didn’t know for a fact he wouldn’t leave us—I needed him to stay until the end. Having Tony Richmond as a customer was a good start. Losing him would be bad for business.
I wanted to be known as the business that helped Tony Richmond, not the business that lost him.