Play Me to Infinity (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 3) (7 page)

The following morning, Nicole was at her desk by the time I came in.  Sure, I was later than usual, but it was still before seven thirty.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Bite me!”

I see we’re back to normal.
  “Bad night?”

“All thanks to you!” she said.  “Your sister rode my ass to get details on what happened between us in Austin.  She even mentioned Dean and the hospital.  You wouldn’t happen to know how she knew about that, would you?”

“I might have said something about the hospital, but I told her to ask you if she wanted details about anything else.  After all, isn’t that what women do… gossip?”

“Maybe in high school, but what I do on my own time is my personal business, even if it does involve you.”

Leaning over, I whispered in her ear.  “You’re the one who started this game.  Go ahead, call it quits if the truth is harder to digest now that reality is setting in.”  My words ended on a sour note.

“Being played doesn’t sit right with you now, does it?”

“Don’t pretend to know what it is I’m thinking, Nicole.  We’ve already established we don’t know nearly enough about each other to pass judgment, yet here you go again.”  My tone had an edge to it.  “And if you want to discuss this further, I suggest an office with a door attached to it.” I pointed to my office and headed straight for it.

She followed.  “Well, well…”  She smirked as she shut the door.  “Looks like the player can’t handle being played.”

“Oh, I can handle
it, but let me tell you a bit about my ways, honey.  Maybe you’ll finally believe me after you have all the sordid facts, since you just love to have those, don’t you?”  I continued before she could say anything.  “That ex-fiancée you met a few days ago… she played me.”  Nicole recoiled from my admission.  “I’m no player, Nic.  I never was.  I usually find quick connections with women who know my intentions all along.  I don’t want a relationship with any of them and that’s why…” my voice trailed off.  Would she really believe me if she knew everything?  Call me chicken, call me a pansy, I don’t care. I quit while I was ahead.  “What do you care anyway?  To you, I’m talking out of my ass no matter what I say.  I don’t know why I bothered again.”

“Mike,” she started and her tone was subdued and quiet.  It made me look at her.  “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need your pity; it’s not like you had anything to do with it.  But to make sure you get it, no, I don’t enjoy being played.  I don’t mind games, but not to the point someone gets hurt.  As for our little interlude, consider it over.  You won.  Congratulations!  It was fun while it lasted, but Dani was right, someone’s going to get hurt, and I’m not willing to bet on either one of us being the victim.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“Don’t!”  I waved her off and then looked at her.  “Don’t apologize.  It was nice.”  I smiled, but it was forced.  “You can go now.”

She didn’t budge.

Ignoring her presence, I sat at my desk and began to sort through some of my mail, but she failed to take the hint and kept staring at me.  “What?”  I lifted my eyes to meet hers.

“Nothing.”  She shrugged.  “It’s just… truce?”

Truce?  She wants to call a truce now?

“Yeah… fine.”  I stuck out my hand.  She came around to my side of the desk and took it, but went one step further and sat herself sideways on my lap, pulling my held hand and wrapping it around her waist.  “What are you doing?”

“Giving you a hug.”  She smiled and wrapped her arms around my shoulders loosely. “Friends?”

“That works for me.”  I smiled to myself, tightening my hold on her as I wondered where this sweet woman had come from.  My eyes closed as I took in the scent of her hair.  It was one of my favorites, triggering memories of my mother’s gardenias.  But now, Nicole would forever be embedded in my memory with that smell too.

When she pulled away from me, the sliding of her hands down my arms sent a shiver down my spine, to my groin.  She was quick to get up, and I was thankful because my dick was beginning to swell, and as a friend, she didn’t need to be privy to the effects she had on certain parts of my anatomy.  Effects I was afraid wouldn’t fade – nor was I sure I wanted them to.

“I think I might have misjudged you just a little,” she said, turning to face me from the door to my office.

I chuckled.  “A little?”

“Just a little.”  She made a gesture, using her thumb and index finger, keeping them close together, and winked before turning to go back to her desk.  I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up.

By mid-morning, a rather incensed Danica came storming in with a baby in her arms, followed by Jake, who was holding the other twin.

“Good,” she paused to look between Nicole’s and my desks, “I have both of you here, get in there, Nikki,” she whisper-yelled so as not to wake the babies and pointed toward me.  Nicole obliged her friend, seeing as a few heads had lifted to peer over their cubicle walls.  Jake appeared aloof as to what was transpiring.  “Sit down!” she demanded, but we remained standing.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“For starters, how about you two come clean?”
she said.

“Come clean?” Jake asked aloud.

“Yeah!” Danica said.  “These two have been frolicking.”

I snorted.  “Frolicking,
Dani?”

“We’re friends!”
Nicole said.

“That’s not what I heard,” Danica said, “but you hung up on me before answering those questions last night, didn’t you, Nikki?”  I looked at Nicole who turned to look at me and shrugged her shoulders.

“You too?”  I laughed when she nodded in response.  “It explains why she’s here.”

“You’re damn right it’s why I’m here!  Now explain.  I’m not buying this ‘friend’ business one bit.  You two have been at each other’s throats for the last year and before then, you,” she looked at me, “tormented my friend in high school and you,” she looked from me to Nicole, “were smitten with him despite his jackass ways.”

“Smitten?”  I turned and found a blushing Nicole.  One glimpse in my brother-in-law’s direction and we both cracked up at her reaction.

“A simple school-girl crush is all it was, so check your ego at the door, jackass.”

“So we’re back to that again?  I thought we were friends as of,” I looked down at my watch, “oh… about an hour ago.  Your words pain me.”  I clutched at my chest in a dramatic fashion.

“And what were you two before an hour ago?” Jake asked in obvious amusement.

“Uh…” I turned to look at Nicole whose blush had returned. 
Fuck!

“What was that?” Danica asked.  “Nikki, you’ve got some serious explaining to do!”

“It was harmless,” she told my sister.

“Nothing is harmless!” Danica said.  “If you two were serious about starting something, then I’d be fine with it, but I know you both.  There’s no way you’d put aside your stubbornness, not to mention your hang-ups, long enough to make something happen.”

“I think it’s time for you to leave, Dani.”  My sister was treading too close to divulging my interest in her best friend.

“Hold on a sec.” Nicole held up her hand and turned to look at me.  “Why are you so uncomfortable all of a sudden when my dirty laundry was the one being aired out?”  She took the few steps to stand in front of me, her gaze assessing.  “Mike?” She put a hand palm down on my chest.  My eyes were fused to hers and I heard Jake let out a laugh followed by an “ouch” which meant that my sister must have smacked him.  Her eyes widened as she seemed to have concluded something.  “You like me?” My eyes averted themselves from hers, but landed where it made it all look the more incriminating.  Her lips.  Those lips turned into a smile.   “Yeah, didn’t think so.”  She moved away from me and turned to my sister and her husband.  “See?  There’s nothing here!”

“Holy shit you’re blind, woman!” Jake said.

“I think they’re definitely interested in one another.” Danica was grinning from ear to ear.  “They’re just too busy playing stupid to accept it.”

Jake nodded his agreement with his wife.

“Yeah, for a good fuck, maybe!” Nicole said.

“Hey!”  I said, insulted.

“Nikki!”  Danica looked shocked at her friend’s choice of words.

“What?”  Nicole looked at me.

My brows furrowed.  This woman was confusing.  “What happened to…”

“The player stuff?” I nodded.  “I admit, it did hold its appeal but…”

“But?”  It was my turn to approach her.  We stood toe-to-toe.

“But like I said earlier, I was wrong about you.”  She looked away from me before meeting my gaze again.

“Thank you.” I smiled down at her and she smiled back.  “It must have been hard for you to admit that to more than just me.”  She shrugged her shoulders.  “For a woman who doesn’t play around, I do have to say that you have it down to a science.”

When I started to move closer, she said,
“Not alone.”

I halted.  “Huh?”

“You’re not alone,” Danica interrupted, “and you two are so busted!  Friends, my ass!”

Fuck!
  Thanks to those emerald eyes of Nicole’s, I’d forgotten we had an audience.

In the span of half an hour we had managed to impress my brother-in-law, piss off my sister, and learn a few things about one another.  Upon Danica’s and Jake’s departure, Nicole and I were beside ourselves with mirth.

“I suppose we should get back to work,” she said, trying hard to regain her composure.  She made a start for the door.

“Hey, Nic?”

She turned to face me.  “Why do you call me that?”

I shrugged my shoulders in response.  “I like it, or do you prefer Ice Queen?”  I grinned.

“I have to admit, it was growing on me.”  She laughed.  “I like Nic too.  No one else calls me that.  What was it you were going to ask?”

“Do you really think I’d be a good fuck?”  I bit my lip to stifle another bout of laughter.

She shook her head smiling.  “You’re unbelievable!” she added as she dropped into her desk chair.

“So I’ve been told!”

All hell broke loose in the office by early afternoon, the next day, and emergency team meetings took place to smooth things over for an irate client.

I ended up having to take over the project, which required Nicole and I to stay behind to work on a presentation the client had demanded for first thing tomorrow morning, or else they’d pull out of their contract.

It was near eight at night and my focus was far from sound, thanks to the brainstorming we’d done to resolve the issues at hand.  We had about an
hour left
of work to fine-tune things.

Thank God Nicole majored in business.  She’d picked up on discrepancies and oversights where I hadn’t – proof that two pairs of eyes were sometimes better than one – and had made recommendations that I knew the client would be pleased with.  To be honest, I was impressed and even a little bit jealous that she’d come up with those resolutions.

I ran my hands through my hair and sighed.

“Why don’t we take a break?” Nicole suggested, looking up from the latest printout of the presentation, holding a red pen.  “We can step out for dinner and then come back with a fresh mind.”

“Maybe you’re right.” I got up and stretched.  “Where to?”

“How about the bistro across the street?”

“Perfect!”  I grabbed my jacket, my stomach rumbling with hunger.

“Sounds like great timing.”  She giggled, then proceeded toward the office door.  “Come on, Mr. Withers.”

I groaned.  “I hate it when people call me that, it makes me feel old.”

“You are old,” she said as she pushed the down button.

“I’m a year older than you.”

“Nearly two,” she stated. “I was bumped up a grade after first.”

“Full of surprises aren’t you?”  I nudged her with my elbow as the elevator arrived.

“Not my fault you never took the time to get to know me while we were growing up.”

“I guess we’re both at fault there, aren’t we?  You’re pretty good at hiding things.”

She shrugged.  “I suppose.”

I was following a fast-walking Nicole into the bistro when she slammed on the breaks and I wound up plowing into her back.  In an effort to prevent her small frame from toppling over, I wrapped my arm around her waist, bringing her flush with my chest.

“What the hell, Nic!”

“Dean,” she whispered which made me look up.

“Fancy seeing you here.”  The man smirked as he approached us.

“How’s Lisa?” Nicole’s tone was hostile.

“She’s out of town.  You up for me dropping by later?”

What the hell was this guy on about?  My blood simmered and my mouth ran away from me.  “Seriously!” I kept my arm around Nicole.

“Come on!  You don’t expect me to believe that you two are really together?” he said.  “I’ve seen you around, she’s too frigid for a guy like you.”

Nicole flinched and it reminded me of the time I’d called her just that in Austin.  Boy did I know different now.

“Excuse me?”  I gave him an incredulous look.

“Come on, Mike.” Nicole tried to pull me away by the hand.  “Let’s just go somewhere else.”

“No!” My eyes never left the man.  “This guy owes you an apology.”

She put a hand on my arm.  “It’s fine.”

“Trust me, it’s not.”  I held her eyes momentarily and then narrowed my gaze on Dean.  “He’s out of line.”

“Out of line?  Let me guess… she hasn’t-?”

“Dean, that’s enough!” Nicole told him.

“Is
it really?”  He looked at her.  “So you trade me in for him or is he like the others, temporary replacements until you realize you can’t get better and come begging for me all over again?  What’s this guy got that makes it so different this time?”

“Well,” she toiled with finding some semblance of her legs, and must have, because she kept going, “for starters, he’s single, he respects me, appreciates me, praises what I do, and he’s sexy as hell.”  She took it one step further and turned to face me.  When I saw a lascivious smile grace her face, I knew she was up to no good.  “And he’s got one hell of a package that dwarfs yours in comparison. I guess it just took the right man to make me forget you.”  Her hands rubbed up my chest and both my arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her in.  It may have been an act, but I couldn’t help but to react to her words.  She had to have been either one hell of an actress who’d missed her calling, or she was genuine about most of what she’d just said.

“Does he know how much you like to get around?” Her eyes flashed with panic and my arms dropped to my sides with his revelation.  “Hear this-”

“You know what… I’ve heard just about enough.”  Stepping back from Nicole and closer to Dean, I pulled my arm back and let one fly into the idiot’s jaw. I gave Nicole a fleeting look.  “I’m out of here.”

“Mike?”

I turned my back to both of them.  “Go home, Nicole. I’m going back to the office.”

“Mike!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.  Just… go home.”

I left before any of them could say or do anything to stop me.  The fucker had one hard jaw.  Shaking my fist, I was convinced it would be bruised and sore come morning.

The bistro’s door chimed as I pushed it open.  I registered the sound of a slap and a rather heated dialect from Nicole, followed by heels clicking behind me.