Free The Hookup Hoax by Heather Thurmeier

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    “Want to grab a quick bite with me? I’m not sure what’s close by.”
    “Can’t. Too much to do.”
    “Where’s your favorite place?”
    He chewed the end of a pen for a moment before answering. “You know, I can’t remember the last place I had lunch where I wasn’t at a business meeting uptown. Candace is really your best bet for insider information on places to eat.”
    “You should take a break. It’s not good for your body to sit and chug coffee all day.” Seriously, did he leave his desk for more than bathroom breaks and coffee refills?
    “I don’t chug my coffee. And I get all the exercise I need playing soccer in the evenings. After work.”
    She narrowed her eyes at his stubbornness. Maybe he was more like his father than she realized—workaholic to the extreme. “I’m merely suggesting that you take care of yourself as well as you take care of your clients. I thought with your family history, you’d realize how important it is.”
    “My family history is not your concern. Besides, you can’t fight your fate. Genes are genes.” His tone was stiff and his comment seemed stilted. Then, in the next instant, his entire demeanor changed, relaxed. “But if you’re insisting, I’d love it if you’d bring me back a bite to eat. Thanks so much for taking care of me, sugar.”
    Sugar? He hadn’t called her that since their family dinner. Apparently the pet name would be making appearance at work, too.
    “Matt,” Sawyer said, his voice filled with confident professionalism again. “What can I do for you?”
    Matt strode through the doorway and sat in the chair next to hers. So the “sugar” comment was part of the act.
    “I need to run through some numbers with you.”
    “Sure, no problem. Olivia was just running out to lunch. Have you two met yet?”
    “We have,” Olivia said. “We met in the break room earlier, when Candace showed me how to work the coffee machine.”
    “Never used one before?” The comment felt like a dig to her inadequacies in the workplace. Or maybe she was overly sensitive.
    “No. Unfortunately, I had to grab whatever I could find, wherever I was. I have to say, I much prefer this method of getting my caffeine fix.”
    “I’m sure you had all kinds of amazing local delicacies. I can’t wait to hear about them sometime.” Matt flipped open the file folder in his lap.
    “Why don’t I leave you to it?” Olivia was at the door when Sawyer spoke again.
    “Aidan texted me earlier. He wants us to join him for dinner. We don’t have anything planned, do we, sugar?”
    There it was again. The first time he’d “sugared” her, she’d been too surprised to soak it in. But this time the endearment settled over her like a warm blanket on a cold night. It heated her skin, making her feel lightheaded. Not the response she was supposed to feel for Sawyer, at the office or anywhere else.
    “Dinner sounds great.” She hoped it came off as natural because it certainly didn’t feel that way.
    She dropped off the papers at her desk and grabbed her handbag. Sawyer might put work before everything else, but if she was in charge of his lunch, then damn it, he would be eating something healthy. Maybe next time he’d take a short break to join her. This time, though, a quiet lunch alone would help her think of some ideas for the Marcus project.

Chapter Six
    Sawyer ordered a pint of the beer on tap and closed his menu. Tonight was definitely a steak kind of night. He needed the spike of energy the red meat would give him after the long day at work.
    “I wonder where Aidan is,” Olivia said setting her menu on top of his.
    “It’s not like him to be late. Maybe he got held up at work.”
    “Or maybe he’s ditched us for better company.” Olivia’s smile told him she was joking.
    He liked hanging out with someone who wasn’t serious all the time. So many of the girls he’d been with in the past were pretty lackluster once the alcohol stopped flowing. Olivia