COREY: TODAY

(Present Day)

San Francisco, California

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“ARE YOU OKAY, MR. WALTERS?” My secretary set a new cup of coffee on my desk early one morning.

“I’m fine, Tillie.” I picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp, letting the liquid scald my throat. “Why are you asking?”

“Well, for one,” she said, “That’s your fifth cup of coffee this morning.”

“Okay, and? I drink multiple cups of coffee every day.”

“We’ve only been here for thirty minutes.” She crossed her arms. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll break your record of fifteen cups from yesterday.”

“It’s been a hectic week. That’s all.”

“Has it really?” She raised her eyebrow. “Everything has seemed pretty normal to me.”

I handed her a file. “Could you make sure the A-team knows about the next meeting at my house? Tell them it’ll be laid back and casual.”

“This is also the fourth week in a row that you’ve arrived here at eight in the morning,” she said, ignoring my desire to change the subject. “You’ve never arrived here that early or this consistently before, so has something changed recently?”

“Am I committing a crime by changing my habits?”

“No, but as your secretary and executive assistant, it’s my job to be concerned.” She tapped her lip. “Should I assume that you’re going to stay until ten o’clock at night again as well?”

Seeing as though that’s when my new, sexy roommate goes to bed, yes. “Depends on if I get done with the Harding files.”

“Those have been done for months.”

“I meant the Carter files.”

“You signed off on those two weeks ago.”

“Who works for who here?” I looked at her. “I know what the hell I’m doing.”

“Okay.” She shrugged and headed toward the door. “Well, just in case you’re interested, you should also know that I’ve taken the liberty of making you a psychiatrist’s appointment for next week.”

“Why do you think I need a psychiatrist’s appointment, Tillie?”

“Because for the past few weeks, you’ve excused yourself to your private suite to take random showers after every meeting for no reason at all.” She looked genuinely concerned. “I figured that you’re using that as a coping mechanism for something you’re dealing with outside of the office.”

If only you knew. “Thank you, Tillie.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Walters.” She left my office, and I leaned back in my chair.

It’d only been a few weeks since Hayley moved in, and I was ready for her to move out. The sexual tension between us increased to dizzying levels with each passing day, and it was so thick and palpable whenever we were in the same room that I was convinced anyone around us could notice. No matter what I did to get her off my mind, images of her face and sounds of her raspy laughter seeped into my morning coffee, my dreams, and every waking thought.

I’d even texted her friend Kelly myself and asked when the hell she was finally coming to San Francisco. Her response? LOL! Is this Corey? Can you send me a pic so I can get a visual of who she’s been telling me about?

I had yet to text her back.

Shaking my head, I opened my laptop and tried to find something that could distract me for a few hours. I opened my inbox and spotted an email from my lead engineer, Andrea.

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SUBJECT: URGENT: PERSONAL Stuff

Corey,

Can you come to my office for a few minutes, please?

Andrea Dawson

Lead Engineer, Cyber-Security Division

Statham Industries

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SUBJECT: RE: URGENT: Personal Stuff

I’m on my way.

Corey Walters

Chief of Cybersecurity

Cyber Security, Data Protection, & Trusts

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I LOCKED MY LAPTOP in a drawer and walked down the hall to her office. To my surprise, she was sitting on the edge of her desk in a bright red dress and matching stiletto heels, smiling at me as if she had big news to share.

I glanced at her left hand, noticing it was still bare, so I held back on saying congratulations.

“What’s going on, Andrea?” I asked.

“A lot!” She slid off her desk and shut the door. “It’s been six, long months.”

“Was Delaney late on filing our business status with the secretary of state?” I scrambled my mind, trying to figure out what she was talking about. “Or, did Sean forget to submit our patent for the J-system? If not, don’t worry, I submitted that day anyway so we’ll just be billed twice for a double entry.”

“No.” She shook her head and smiled. “I said this was personal in the email. Think personal.”

I blinked.

Before I could tell her to just reveal what the hell she wanted to say, a light knock came to her door.

“It’s open!” Andrea called.

Seconds later, the door opened, and from the corner of my eye, I saw the light blue dress that Hayley had worn in my car this morning.

“Thank you, Miss Smith.” Andrea smiled at her. “These comments are directly from Mr. Statham, correct?”

“Yes, Miss Dawson.”

“Corey, have you met Hayley, Mr. Statham’s newest liaison, yet?”

“No, I haven’t.” I turned around, and the moment her eyes met mine, I instantly regretted looking at her again. She was still stunning as hell. The type of woman who left an imprint so deep on your mind that you simply learned to accept she’d always be a part of you in some way.

I need to figure out a way to get rid of you...

“Pleasure to meet you.” I extended my hand to Hayley, and the simple feel of her hand against mine signaled another cold shower. “I’m Corey Walters.”

“Hayley Smith. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

“Miss Smith has been causing quite a frenzy at the café during lunch hours.” Andrea smiled. “The baristas down there let her create her own version of their specialty drinks, and I must say, they taste better than the originals. You should definitely get a taste, Corey.”

“I’ve tasted her before.”

“What?”

I cleared my throat. “Nothing. I’ll be sure to stop by at some point this week and try your drinks, Miss Smith.”

She gave us both a smile and left the room. And just like that, the rest of my day was shot to hell.

“Is it me or does she resemble Mr. Statham, just a bit?” Andrea asked.

I didn’t answer that. “What’s the personal thing you wanted to discuss with me?”

“Us.”

“Come again?”

“You said that it would take you six months to get through the first phase of transitioning for Walters, Inc.,” she said. “You also said you wanted someone by your side when you officially launched your company and that the someone would be your ideal girlfriend or life partner.”

There’s no fucking way I ever said that. “Was I drunk at the time?”

“You might’ve been slightly intoxicated. But, the next day you weren’t, and I told you that I’ve always admired you and am highly attracted to you. You said you’d need time to think about it and I think six months is enough, right?”

I drew a blank. I hardly ever spoke to Andrea about anything other than work, and as attractive as she was, I’d never looked at her as anything more than my colleague.

“I’m not ready for a committed relationship, Andrea,” I said. “I think it’s best if we remain colleagues, and I apologize if I ever led you into believing we’d become more.”

“Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “What a completely different turnaround from what you were saying before. You said I was sexy.”

“You are sexy.”

“You said I was one of the smartest women you’d ever met.”

“You definitely are.”

She frowned, letting out a long breath. “You even said I was enchanting.”

“I’ve never used that word to describe anyone.” I looked at my watch. “I really do apologize if I led you on about the possibility of there ever being an ‘us’ Andrea. There won’t be. Ever.”

“Fuck your apology, Corey.” She rolled her eyes. “Just be honest with me. We’ve been working side by side for all this time, and whether you remember what you said or not, I do. You all but explicitly said that once we get done with the transition from here to Walters, Inc. that I would be more than your partner. You said I would be your girlfriend.”

“I said that, or you assumed that?”

“It was implied.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “So, the least you can do right now is tell me the truth. Is there someone else?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” She looked like she was about to explode. “YES?”

“Yes, Andrea.” I stood up, finally admitting the truth to myself, even though I was determined to continue fighting it.  “Unfortunately, there’s always been someone else.”