All Chapters of Asking for a Friend: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

LAYTONTearing my eyes away from the deep blue of hers, I looked pointedly down at the paper spread out in front of me. “Blueprints. What about you? Why are you here so late?”Marissa shrugged, the upward movement of her shoulders slightly lifting the hem of her bright purple dress. The temperature in the office was mild despite the bitter cold outside. She seemed intent on taking advantage of it, dressing in clothes that revealed more than any winter attire had the right to much less than I was partly hoping her summer attire would.“There was too much work just sitting there on my desk and staring at me when the others left,” she said. “I couldn’t leave it all until tomorrow. I’m here to do my job, so I couldn’t leave when there was so much left to do.”Something we had in common. It wasn’t a welcome realization that we might share the same work ethic or anything else, for that matter. It was bad enough that she was so physically appealing and appeared to be smart and dedicated. I d

MARISSA“Let them,” I breathed, my chest heaving as I practically panted with need. Holding him to me by resting one hand on the nape of his neck, I allowed the other to trail over the lean muscles in his back. Dirty talk wasn’t really my thing, but words just came rushing out of me under his skilled touch. “They’re all for you, Layton. Every moan, every gasp is because I can’t hold them back. Let me feel what they do to you.”Groaning loudly, he reached up to grab my hand on his neck. He brought it down roughly, his eyes wild with desire as they bore into mine. Without any shame or hesitation, he planted my hand firmly over his erection. “This is what you do to me.”I wasn’t used to a man being so assertive in the heat of the moment. There was no fumbling, no uncertainty. Every move he made was done with no doubt or reservation, yet somehow was gentle enough to let me know I could walk away if I wanted. That he would let me go even if it killed him, or more likely, doomed him to week

LAYTONFor such a big guy, Craig was surprisingly in touch with his instincts. I considered coming clean to him, but this wasn’t an episode of some girly rom-com. He didn’t need to hear me recapping my night with the sexy new employee any more than I needed to know all about the last girl he fucked at the gym. Or wherever it was the big man went to get his rocks off.The sex wasn’t really what was on my mind anyway. What really was, he might actually be able to spitball possibilities with me about. I took a breath and fisted my hands in my pockets, eyes tracking on a bird about to take a shit on a delivery truck. I wondered if that bird was my dad, and if I was the delivery truck.“Why do you think he made me hire Marissa?” I asked Craig, hoping to all that was holy he would have a better answer than my truck under the bird scenario.A line appeared between his eyebrows before he threw his arms out to the side and shrugged. “I don’t know, man. She saved you a shit ton of money on her

MARISSAAnnie and Denise were in the kitchen nibbling on a tray of freshly baked cookies that sat between them. It smelled divine in the house, like chocolate, butter and home.“My kingdom for a cookie!” I proclaimed dramatically, hanging my scarf and coat over one of the kitchen stools.Annie laughed, holding out her arms for a hug. I swept her up, spinning her around as I kissed the top of her head. Denise shook her head at us, but giggled as she held up one of their creations. “You don’t need to give us your kingdom for one, but I do want to hear all about your day later on.”As always, my bravado hadn’t fooled Denise. She saw right through my ‘buck up and believe it will be alright’ facade. Setting Annie back down, I swiped the cookie and nodded to Denise. “Fine, but later.”Casting a sidelong glance at Annie, she inclined her head and picked up the tray, wagging her finger at us. “Right then, no more cookies for either of you. You’ll spoil your dinner.”“Yes Mom,” I teased, thank

LAYTONI wondered if she would even have noticed my absence. Strangely it felt kind of good that she had. “I had to visit a couple of our sites. I like keeping my finger on the pulse, and seeing the designs come to life.”I didn’t know why I’d added that last sentence. It was out before I could even think much about it, much less stop it. Somehow, I’d felt compelled to add it. It was true, even if the site visits yesterday had largely been more about avoiding any post-sex awkwardness between us.The waiter delivered our drinks, filled our water glasses and took our food order. Marissa leaned forward, tilting her head slightly as she visibly relaxed. “I heard you liked visiting the sites, now I know why. I get it, though. The appeal of seeing what you dreamed up becoming a real part of the skyline must be incredible.”“It is.” I hadn’t expected her to get it so completely, so accurately. Knowing now that she was designer as well, albeit of a different kind, it made sense. I guess I had