Free New Beginnings by E. L. Todd Page B

professional in a suit. I hadn’t thought about her once since I last saw her. I just hoped Cassandra wouldn’t stop by in the next fifteen minutes.
    “Hey,” she said.
    “Hey.” I closed my screen then faced her.
    “You and Cassandra are back together?” She stood in front of my desk, her arms across her chest.
    “Yep.” I thought that was pretty obvious.
    “I’m happy for you.”
    I wasn’t expecting that. I thought she might be mad by the way Cassandra yelled at her. “Thank you.”
    “I hope it works out this time.”
    “It will,” I said firmly. “I’m sorry about the way she yelled at you. I—”
    “Don’t apologize,” she said immediately. “I was standing on your doorstep wearing lingerie. Her response was appropriate.”
    Wow. This conversation was going to be easy. “Yeah. It didn’t look good…”
    “So, I can put my two weeks in today.”
    “What?” I said quickly. “Why?”
    “I doubt Cassandra wants me to work with you anymore.”
    “It’s fine. She trusts me.”
    “But I don’t want to—”
    “You aren’t stripping anymore,” I said firmly. “We’re all adults here. She’ll get over it. I think it’s pretty obvious I’m in love with her.”
    “If you’re sure…”
    “Don’t worry about her. You did quit, right?”
    “Well…”
    “If you weren’t a girl, I’d slap you.”
    “I’m leaving, but my boss is having a hard time replacing me. I work a few nights here and there.”
    “You don’t owe him anything,” I said firmly.
    “But when he throws cash at me, I can’t say no.”
    “I’ll give you a raise if you quit.”
    “No,” she said quickly. “I’ll quit. Don’t worry.”
    I sighed in relief. “I really don’t want Ryan to find out. He’d rip my head off.”
    “He won’t. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to go into a strip club.”
    “Definitely not.”
    “So…was Cassandra mad about us?”
    “No. She and I weren’t together at the time. She has no right to be upset. But I do feel like shit because of it.”
    “We all make mistakes,” she said simply.
    I eyed her. “You’re really cool. I’m surprised you don’t have men swooping in after you. You’re smart, pretty, logical, and easy to get along with.”
    She shrugged. “I guess no one catches my interest.”
    “You got burned, huh?”
    “I may have…”
    I could tell she didn’t want to discuss it. That was fine.
    The door opened and Cassandra walked inside, holding a Starbucks cup. She stilled when she saw Laura by my desk. Why did she have to walk in right this second? Laura was just ab out to leave.
    Cassandra gave her a hateful glare before she marched to my desk, her heels echoing against the hardwood floor. She put the cup down. “I figured you were grumpy without your morning coffee.” She snuck another spiteful glare at Laura.
    “Thank you.” I stood up and kissed her. “That was very thoughtful of you. But I should be the one taking care of you.” I waited for her to leave but she didn’t make a move.
    This was awkward.
    Laura averted her gaze then headed for the door. “Thank you, Mr. Preston.”
    “You’re welcome, Ms. Campbell.” I hoped being professional would make Cassandra less intimidated.
    When we were finally alone, Cassandra calmed down. “How was your meeting?”
    “Boring.”
    “You always say that.”
    “Well, they are always boring.” I pulled her into my lap. “You shouldn’t wear heels anymore. Your back is already carrying a lot of stress.”
    “It’s not a big deal. I pretty much sit on my ass all day.”
    “And it’s a beautiful ass.” My hand rubbed her behind.
    “What did she want?”
    She changed the subject quick. “She and I hadn’t had a chance to talk since she…came to my apartment a few nights ago.”
    “Did you tell her to take a hike?”
    “Will you calm the hell down?” I snapped. “What do you think I said? Let’s have a thing together on the side?”
    That seemed to bring her down to