Law #2: Don't Play with a Player: A Sweet Office Romance Story (Laws of Love) by Agnes Canestri (web ebook reader .txt) 📕

“Perfect.” Ellie grins at Laia. “Then I’ll take you to Phoenix’s best jazz venue. It’s called Jimmy’z Jazz Haven.”

“Great,” Laia answers with a bright smile. “I don’t usually go out. My roomie loves to go to dance clubs, but those aren’t my thing. I’m not a dancer. This place, however, sounds fun.”

I clear my throat loudly, in lack of a better way to signal to Ellie that she needs to abort her insane plan.

Ellie, mistakenly or deliberately—the latter knowing her—takes my gesture as a sign that I want her to inform Laia that I will also be present.

“Oh…” She pats Laia’s arm. “I almost forgot to mention. Dev will also be there with a buddy of his. I hope that’s okay.”

Laia’s eyes dart to me, then move back to my sister. She chews shortly on her lower lip, before saying, “Of course, yes. No problem at all.”

Put like that, what could Laia say?

I’m her boss, after all. She can’t back out on an invite she accepted after learning I would be there. And my foxy sister knows this.

Which becomes evident when Ellie claps her hands. “Super, I’m glad it all works out. I’ve been looking forward to chatting with Pete, too.” She winks at me.

We both know it’s a fib. There’s only one reason she would say what she just did. She’s planning to get Laia and me alone somehow.

Panic fills my stomach. I can’t allow Ellie to bring Laia to Jimmy’z.

I’ve already decided that Laia and I need to stay in a strict business relationship. I can’t become her friend or hang out with her.

It’s hard enough adhering to this, due to the elemental craving I feel for Laia. But it might become near to impossible if Ellie deliberately tries to bring us together.

And in my favorite jazz club no less.

I’ll have no choice but to cancel on Pete.

Oh, snap, except I can’t. I’ve already agreed to jump in for that missing pianist. The owner would be disappointed if I bailed on him when he needed me.

My eyes wander to Laia, who is speaking about the logistic details of the evening with Ellie. My throat thickens as I watch her smile and nod to my sister.

I suddenly realize that if Laia comes, she’ll hear me play the piano.

My sister once told me that luring out enticing music from any instrument is a man’s most attractive trait.

The vision is tempting. Maybe if Laia saw me on stage, she would reassess her opinion of me.

D’oh, my obsession with Laia is getting out of hand. 

Ellie gives a thumbs-up to Laia, then turns to me. “I’ve cleared everything with Laia, so I’ll go now. If not earlier, then see you on Friday.”

“Okay, it was good to see you, sis,” I mumble.

Even if you put me into a mess that you can’t even imagine.

As if she heard my unspoken thought, Ellie gives me a peck on my cheek and whispers, “It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”

She kneels and picks up Cat, who has been rolling back and forth on the tile between us. She snuggles her cheek to the animal’s fur. “Keep being a good girl with Dev, okay?”

Cat gives out a treacherous meow, which we both know can’t count as a promise.

Ellie lowers the animal back to the ground. She waves to us, then rushes to the entrance. Before disappearing, she yells back, “By the way, in case you missed it during your reverie, I told Laia you would drive her to Jimmy’z. I’ll be coming straight from work, ‘kay?”

She doesn’t wait for my answer but slams the door shut.

I gape at the empty corridor, shaking my head. Ellie is more astute than I gave her credit for. She used my moment of distraction to her advantage. If I didn’t like her as much as I do, I would surely come up with a plan to torture her.

Laia touches my shoulder. “Do you have my files?”

“I left the folder in my living room. I’ll go and get it.”

Laia waits for me in the corridor. She’s saying good-bye to Cat by tickling her below her ear as I return.

My furry companion purrs in sheer pleasure, and I can’t suppress the pathetic wish of trading places with my pet.

Before my fantasy can get any weirder, I step over to the door and open it. “Let’s go, I’m all set.”

Chapter 24

(Laia)

As I stroll toward the printing room, only the faint murmur of a vacuum cleaner interrupts the silence.

No sounds of fingers tapping against keyboards.

No clicking of staplers.

I’m not surprised by this quietude. Most employees, including Katja, are long gone, even if it’s only six o’clock in the evening. The cleaning staff must have taken advantage of this particular Friday to begin their work sooner.

Despite their earlier shift, I know I’ll stay undisturbed for a while. Bill, the janitor responsible for the top floors, knows I tend to stay later than the other employees—the price I pay for working in close contact with our CEO.

Even if not so close this week.

These past few days, I’ve seen much less of Devon than I would have wished.

Which is a pretty shameful truth to admit, but it’s true.

Devon rarely left his office, and when he did, he didn’t ask me to accompany him to meetings or brainstorm about client projects.

Instead, he ordered me to spend entire days at the creative hub, in accounting, and even at HR, shadowing the respective department heads.

When I asked him why this was necessary, he told me I needed to gain insights and hands-on experiences in every area of the company so I could perform my duties better.

Though his explanation sounds logical, I still can’t shake the suspicion that Devon regretted spending Sunday with me and has decided to re-establish boss-employee boundaries.

Which is probably for the best.

Ever since Ellie told me about Devon as a young boy, my thoughts have been swirling around him even more.

His sister gave me a very different angle on his character. Though her interpretation could be flawed, something in