“Um . . .” I swallowed. She’d had to come see me many times last week. We hadn’t had another moment the way we did the first day, but I kept hoping. The problem was I kept freezing and my brain couldn’t come up with the words, and the silence became awkward.
“There have been a lot of glitches with the machine,” I said, the words lame.
“Glitches?” Maddox laughed. “I work across the hall from the two of you. She is in here daily with a problem, or you’re trotting down the hall to her office to help fix something. If the machine has that many problems, we should simply get a new one.”
“No! I’ve got it handled.”
Aiden stroked his chin. “Strangest thing too, I can’t find a single ticket in the system about Becca’s constant computer trouble.”
“Oh yeah, well . . .” I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s easier to help her out, rather than crowd the system with tickets.”
Aiden’s head fell back, his laughter booming out in my office. “Crowd the system? Reid, since you came on board, we have no tickets. No downtime. No errors.” He wiped his eyes. “Fess up, boy. What are you doing?”
I sighed. “I send little viruses to freeze her computer so she has to come see me. I wanted to take the time she’s here to talk to her.”
“And how’s that working for you?”
I tossed my glasses onto my desk. “It’s not.”
Maddox leaned forward. “You are such a wimp.”
“I know.”
“You talk to Sandy. You talk to Liv. All the other females in the office. Why can’t you talk to Becca?”
“I can talk to the rest of them because I’m not imagining their mouths wrapped around my dick every second of the conversation! I don’t think about how I want to throw them on their desk and bury myself inside of them to see if it would be as fucking awesome as I dream it would be!” I burst out, slamming my hand on my desk.
They both gaped at me. Maddox glanced down, fighting his smile, but Aiden’s grin was wide. “You are so fucked.”
“Well, I want to be,” I muttered.
“You got it bad.”
“Tell me about it. My fucking hand is sore, and I keep running out of lotion.”
“TMI,” Maddox drawled.
Aiden hunched closer. “Okay. Listen up. Maddox is going to tell Becca he wants to install the system at her place. You’re going to arrange a time suitable to her. You are going to show up and bring her a coffee. Smile at her. Chat as you’re working, the way you chatted with Cami while you set up my place. Think with your big head, not the little one.”
I met his eyes. “It’s not little. Trust me.”
He groaned. “Whatever.”
Maddox snorted. “The point here is, be yourself. She likes you. You like her. Get to know her as a person. Let her see Reid outside the office.”
“How do you know she likes me?”
Maddox rolled his eyes. “Why do I feel as if we’re twelve and passing notes at school? She asked me about you once. I got the feeling she was interested. But she’s a cautious young woman. So unless she thinks you feel the same way, she is not going to approach you.” He stood. “Man up. I’ll go let her know, and the rest is up to you.”
He walked out of the office, leaving me with Aiden.
“He’s right. Stop playing around. You want this girl? Go for it. I know this is all new to you, but the fact is, only you can do this, Reid.”
“You’re right. I’ve been an idiot.”
“Yep.” He walked to my door. “Now, go get your girl.”
A few hours later, I stopped in the doorway of Becca’s office. She was busy, her attention on her screen, her hand using the mouse to create some visual. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and the tip of her tongue peeked out between her lips. I had to swallow, imagining how much I wanted her tongue in my mouth.
I studied her quietly, taking in her professional appearance. Not a hair out of place, her suit unwrinkled, her makeup light. Her office was organized, her desk precise. She even had a coaster under her cup of coffee. She wore a pair of reading glasses, the half-moon frames highlighting her bright blue eyes, making her even prettier.
Not to mention sexy. She was so sexy it made my heart race.
I glanced down at my black jeans and blue button-down. Self-consciously, I patted down my hair. I knew it was all over the place. Compared to her, I resembled an unmade bed, as Bentley often referred to me. Could she possibly be interested in someone like me?
I raised my hand to knock when she glanced up. Her eyes met mine, and for a moment, nothing existed but her and the hypnotic spell she had on me. She smiled, wide and sweet, the dimple in her chin clear.
“Hi.”
I shook my head to clear it. “Um, yeah. Hi.”
She leaned back, the movement causing her blouse to tighten across her chest. I tried not to stare at her breasts.
I failed.
She cleared her throat, and I snapped my gaze back to her face.
“So Maddox asked me to install the security system at your place?” I asked. I was shocked to hear how steady my voice sounded.
She nodded. “He told me you would be coming by.”
I stepped in, edging my way to her desk. “Is that good for you?”
Let it be good for you, I pleaded silently.
“How long do you need?”
I shrugged. I could easily drag it out to a day or two. “I need to scope out the apartment first. Check the door and windows for the right layout. See what would work best. Map it all out and make sure I bring all the right equipment. The install is only a few hours, barring any complications.”
I planned on there being lots of complications.
“Okay. So you need to drop by one night and do the install another day?”
“Yeah. How about tonight? I could swing by and get any info I need, and we’ll go from there?” I faltered, remembering it was Friday. “Unless, of course, you have plans.”
Please don’t have plans.
Relief flooded through me when she shook her head. “Nope. Tonight is good.”
“Great.”
“You don’t, ah, have a date?”
I wanted to snort. I hadn’t had a date in a couple of years. The last one was such a disaster that I decided to stop trying.
“No.”
“Okay, so tonight works. What day is best for the install?”
“Once I figure out what the best setup is for you, I have to get all the pieces ordered in. Next weekend should work. Saturday is best,” I stated firmly. I could have her all to myself for the day if I played my cards right. “I like to come early in the morning.”
Her eyes grew round.
Realizing what I had said, I grabbed the back of my hair, yanking on it in frustration. “I mean, I prefer to start early.” I gripped my hair again. “In case there are any issues,” I finished lamely.
I expected her to laugh. Or throw me out of her office. Instead, she smiled. “Saturday is fine.”
“Okay, great.” I began to leave her office. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Reid.” Her voice stopped me.
“Yeah?”