Tied Together (The Cade Siblings Duology #1)

12. Alana

CHAPTER 12

Alana

I hate Mondays. At some point I will write a petition to have Monday be included in the weekend and get every important person ever to sign it. Taylor Swift is at the top of my list. If I can get her behind me I’ll have an army of Swifties fighting for my cause.

Cami and I always walk to work together, save for the few times one of us is running late, but on Mondays we leave early and stop by our favorite coffee shop before we head in. It’s a bit out of the way to the office because we live so close, but we take the extra time because it’s a necessity. It makes the slap in the face of an early start to the week sting less. Except this morning, three in the morning to be exact, she sent me a text telling me she wouldn’t be able to walk with me to work because she wasn’t home.

She told me yesterday she had a date, which wasn’t surprising to me. Cami tends to date around, never staying in one place for long. Our weekly coffee trip is sacred, so it must have gone well enough that she’d stay over and skip.

I stop anyway and pick up coffee for the both of us, because I’m sure she’s worn out if her date kept her busy last night. I make my way up to the office and set hers on her desk before sitting down and firing up my computer.

I spent the weekend alone in my apartment mulling over all of the reasons why I shouldn’t go to Paris, then decided that I wasn’t going to let my anxiety win. I was doing this. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and if I’m getting an all expenses paid trip to Paris, then I’m taking it.

I also spent the weekend thinking about Alex and the fact that I feel so incredibly comfortable around him, which is totally unnerving to me. I haven’t felt that comfortable around a man that wasn’t my brother since I dated Brad, and we all know how that turned out.

I sent an email to Heather and Ian on Sunday, letting them know of my decision to go to Paris. They had both replied enthusiastically and a meeting with Heather appeared on my calendar for this morning. Alex is also invited, so I assume it’s about our trip.

Cami waltzes in wearing the same top as the one she was wearing in the selfie she sent me last night before her date. I give her a look and point to the coffee on her desk.

“You are a literal angel sent from heaven.” She takes the longest sip known to man and sighs so loud she turns heads. “Wow this is so good. Thank you, Lan, really.”

“You’re welcome. Wild night?”

“You could say that,” she says with a wink. I wait for her to give me details, but none come. Normally when Cami hooks up with someone I can’t get her to shut up. She usually tells me way more than I want to know and I have to remind her that some things aren’t meant to leave the bedroom, but today she is very tight lipped. Weird .

I look through my schedule for the day, noting meetings and tasks that need to be done. After that, I start working on a spread that one of the other editors and I started on Friday. I am startled out of my work-induced stupor by a knock knock on the wall of my cubicle.

I smell the cedar and sandalwood before I even see him. Looking up, I immediately get lost in his flirty gaze. My eyes begin their slow descent, taking in the strong set of his shoulders and the deep red collared shirt that makes his eyes pop. He’s lounged casually against the side of my cubicle wall, one foot crossed over the other and a hand in his pocket. How men can make something so simple, like leaning against a wall, sexy I will never understand. Finally, my eyes make their way back up to his and I see it. Just a slight tug of the corner of his mouth. He’s smirking at me and he is absolutely the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I want to take a photo of him right now and hang it on my fridge like a piece of artwork. I realize I’ve missed something when Alex clears his throat.

“I’m sorry,” I say, willing my voice to not betray my thoughts. “I missed that.”

“I just said good morning. Struggling to break through the weekend fog?”

“Oh yeah, something like that.” He knowingly smirks and my cheeks burn.

“Our meeting with Heather is in ten minutes. I’m going to grab some water from the break room and then head in there. Diet Coke?”

“I thought I’d taught you not to ask stupid questions,” I deadpan. “I’ll meet you in there, thanks.” He smiles at me and tosses today’s chocolate onto my desk. White chocolate caramel, yum.

As his broad shoulders disappear around the corner I take a cleansing breath and a sip of ice cold water from my bottle. What is happening to me? Alex has always been gorgeous, but something is pulling me to him now that I haven’t felt before. I don’t know what’s changed, but something has.

This is the worst possible time for this to happen, because not only am I apprehensive about being in a relationship, I am about to be forced to live with this man for at least a month. Not to mention, he doesn’t even like me like that.

I groan in frustration and finish up what I’m working on, then head into Heather’s office. Alex is already there, a Diet Coke placed in front of my chair. He and Heather are chatting about what they’ve done over the weekend and they look over at me simultaneously as I walk in.

“Sorry to keep you two waiting,” I say with a small smile.

“No sorry necessary, Alex here was early. Have a seat, Alana.”

I sit down and fold back the cover on my notebook. I sift through my bag and find the pink pen I’ve been using lately. I uncap it, write “Meeting with Heather - Paris” as the header, add the date and a few doodles before looking up.

Heather is busy opening her laptop and getting it set up, but I look over at Alex and find him staring at me, eyes glowing with enjoyment.

“I like your drawings. Flowers and hearts?” he asks, his voice a low whisper that causes me to shiver. I try to mask the effect his voice has on my body, but the smile in his eyes tells me I wasn’t successful.

“Thanks. It makes the page happier,” I whisper back. His quiet laugh and the sparkle in his eyes at my response catches me off guard.

“Alright, let’s get started,” Heather says, bringing us back to the present. “I just wanted to chat with you two about your trip and the logistics of everything. You fly out in two weeks on Thursday.” I can feel my palms getting sweaty just thinking about flying. “Because of this one’s flying anxiety,” Heather nudges Alex and the color drains from his face. “ Impress has decided to put you two in first class. The seats in coach are quite small for the seven hour flight. You will be much more comfortable there anyways.”

I school my features before my jaw hits the floor. First class flights are not cheap. I know because a few years ago Cami and I wanted to take a girls trip to Cancun and I looked at the tickets, thinking it would be the only way I could get over my fear.

We couldn’t afford them at the time so we ended up driving to Florida.

Not to mention, this one’s flying anxiety ? Alex doesn’t have flying anxiety, I do. Did he lie to her and blame it on himself so they’d get us better seats that would help me be more comfortable?

While I understand he was trying to help, it feels invasive and sneaky and I don’t like it. I give him a look that I hope communicates ‘we will be talking about this later’ and he glances away. He looks embarrassed, an emotion I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear.

I turn my attention back to Heather, nodding along as she shares more details.

“We are thankful that the two of you are uprooting your lives for a month or so to help us.”

That or so makes the anxiety return and I wipe my sweaty palms on the material of my skirt and restlessly stroke the arm of the chair. There is a proposed end date to this trip, but each time there is always mention of a possible extension. The control freak inside of me rears her ugly head and I desperately try to tame her, while listening to what Heather has to say.

I haven’t noticed that my left knee is bouncing until I feel a warm but firm hand press it down to still it. From where we are sitting, Heather can’t see either of our laps or legs. His hand resting on my knee isn’t visible to her, but it’s currently burning a fire through me.

I know he can tell I’m frustrated with him, but he still can’t help but try to calm my anxious fidgeting. The ratcheting up of my anxiety this week has been extremely frustrating, because I thought I had it under control, but his ability to ease it is almost more startling. Against my better judgment, I realize I miss the warmth of his hand when he pulls it away

“Thank you, Heather, for switching our seats,” he says. “I am immensely grateful.”

“Enough thank you’s,” she replies, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Back to the plans.”

Oh good. I love plans.

“Each of you will likely be assigned something different when you arrive at the office. Amélie is wonderful and will guide you well.”

“What is it that they are needing the most help with right now?” Alex asks.

“Mostly hiring and catching up on the work the editors left behind when they jumped ship.”

I begin taking notes in my notebook, and it’s like the scratch of my pen on paper is a natural form of anxiety medication. With every swipe of ink, my heart rate lowers.

“Your flight will be overnight. You’ll depart from JFK on Friday evening and arrive in Paris early the next morning. Your driver will pick you up at the airport and take you to your flat. His name is Marco and he will be with you through the duration of your time in Paris.”

The more Heather speaks, the more excited I become. My pen moves feverishly over the paper, jotting down each important detail she mentions and adding questions that come up as she speaks.

She stops to take a phone call and Alex glances over at me.

“I’m mad at you,” I whisper.

“I know. We’ll talk about it.”

“You better believe we’ll talk about it.”

“Careful, you’re going to burn a hole through that paper,” he says playfully.

I stick my tongue out at him and continue writing as Heather hangs up the phone.

“My apologies, where was I?”

“The driver will take us to our flat,” Alex supplies.

“Oh yes, so you will be staying in an apartment that has two rooms and an office. The office has two desks in case you both have a need to work in there. Obviously you can each take a room and then you will share the living spaces and kitchen.”

My pulse quickens as she talks about how close we will be while we are there and I can’t determine if it’s from excitement or nerves.

“You will have the weekend to adjust to the time difference, settle in and do a little sightseeing if you’d like to. Then you will both start at the office on Monday morning.” She takes a sip of her coffee and leans forward, as if to emphasize that what she says next is important.

“Now, the situation at Impress Europe is a bit touchy. One of their top editors was in contact with the editor-in-chief of a French magazine called Fameux . They offered her a nice amount of money and a higher paying job if she left Impress Europe and brought all of the other editors with her. There are two that chose to stay, but other than those two they have no one else.”

“Yikes. That had to hurt,” I say, stunned. Editors have a huge role and I couldn’t imagine our magazine functioning without that vital branch of our company. I knew the majority of their editors had left, but I wasn’t aware of the circumstances surrounding it.

“Exactly, which is where you two come in. Your job will be to help interview and hire a new team of editors, then train them to work as fabulously as the two of you.”

That sounds like an overwhelming task, but I know Alex and I can tackle it.

“What about the other two editors who stayed? Did the magazine consider having them help with the hiring and training?” Alex asks.

“Great question, Alex.” Heather taps her fingernails on the top of her wooden desk and seems to be thinking about how to answer. “Let’s just say, there was a reason these two weren’t welcomed in the mass exodus of employees. They aren’t the most popular in the crowd and can tend to be a bit snide. You will have to have some tough skin, I’m afraid. I’ve interacted with them on only one occasion and could feel the ice through the computer screen.”

Alex and I share a look of apprehension.

“Lanie will just share a bit of her sunshine. That should warm them right up.” The comment would usually make me cringe, but for some reason it doesn’t.

I don’t know about sunshine, though. I think about my work family here and how I always feel so supported and championed. I guess that isn’t what I should expect at Impress Europe . I want that promotion, though, so I push past the worried thoughts of workplace mean girls and straighten my shoulders.

“It’s nothing we can’t handle,” I say as a sense of strength flows through me.

“Right, that’s why we asked you two. We knew you were perfect for the job.” Heather begins clicking around on her computer, our half hour with her almost up. “Let me know if either of you have any questions, I know you will both get everything in order here before you go.”

I tell her I will follow up with my questions in an email and we say our goodbyes.

Before heading back to our cubicles, I pull Alex by the elbow into a vacant office and shut the door behind him.

“What the hell was that?” I ask. “Why did you tell her you have anxiety?”

He reaches up and rubs the back of his neck in a move of apprehension.

“I just wanted to make it better for you. I didn’t want to break your trust and tell her about your anxiety, but I knew you wouldn’t ask for it yourself.”

“You’re damn right I wouldn’t have. I’m a big girl Alex. I can take care of myself.”

“You’re absolutely right. I know you can and I’m sorry I took it upon myself to fix a problem that you didn’t ask for help with.”

I take a deep breath in and do my best to breathe out the frustration.

“Thank you. I know you were just trying to help and I appreciate the fact that you care enough to want me to be okay. I just want to be in on the conversations about how we’re going to accomplish that.”

“Completely fair.”

After a heavy pause, I decide to move on. I’ve made my desires and issues known and if he crosses that boundary again, I’ll say something.

“Well, Ashford, looks like we’re going to be living together for a month.”

He stares at me with a half smile on his face.

“Looks like we are, sunshine. I can’t wait to find out if you snore loud enough to hear it from the next room.”

I smile at him and shove his shoulder playfully. He laughs and we head back to our desks. Instead of separating and going to his, he grabs his chair and pulls it into my space. He points to my notebook.

“Why don’t you pull that bad boy out and we can debrief that meeting.”

I appreciate that he doesn’t make fun of my obsessive note taking. Doing as he says, I take out my notes and we talk for the next hour about our excitements and worries. For the first time in a while, I feel this bubbling of anticipation of the future. After my ex, I really didn’t know what to do with myself. I wasn’t able to see the good in anything and I couldn’t get myself to feel excitement over even the small things. That all seems to be changing and it’s a really good feeling.

Over the next two weeks we will be running at one hundred miles per hour getting everything here settled so we can go to Paris, and as we plan how to accomplish everything, I find myself becoming more and more enthralled by him.

No matter how intriguing I find him or how good he makes me feel, I keep reminding myself that I cannot go there. He might be a great guy, but in my experience, relationships and men only lead to pain and heartbreak.

I repeat the mantra to myself.

I will not fall for Alex Ashford.