Troublemaker (Songbird #6)

by Melissa Pearl

  Ambling past the front desk, I shot Marcia a warm smile, which she reciprocated. I had no idea why Kelly wasn’t sitting beside her, and I struggled to hide my disappointment. I’d wanted to greet both women, acting like Kelly’s vexation hadn’t bothered me.

  Holding in my sigh, I made my way toward the coffee maker but was stopped by the sound of someone humming. I paused with a grin, recognizing “Just The Girl.” I loved it when my morning song made someone sing later in the day. Poking my head into the resource room, I spied who was standing at the photocopier singing.

  My lips parted while my heart skipped around inside my chest. The grin that spread across my face was so broad, I swear it touched my earlobes.

  “Hey, Kelly.”

  She jumped and spun around, her face morphing with horror as she realized she’d been caught.

  “Great song, right?” I leaned against the doorframe.

  She pressed her lips together, her pale gaze warning me to back off.

  “Some would say it was romantic.” I grinned.

  “Or pathetic.” Her right eyebrow cocked, and her lips twitched like she was fighting a smile. She spun away before I could see it.

  So she liked to joust. Interesting.

  I banged my mug lightly on the wooden frame. “Well, I’m glad my pick of the day worked for you. It’s great to have a positive effect on people, you know? That’s why I do it, to really brighten people’s day. To make a diff—”

  “Would you shut up,” she spoke over her shoulder then pressed the photocopy button with a loud smack. It buzzed and whirred, spitting out a pile of paper. It looked like new contracts. Must be one of Bryce’s newbies, with that amount of paper involved. It was probably my cue to leave, but the view was pretty fantastic, so I decided to linger for one more minute.

  Kelly kept her eyes trained on the photocopier, which buzzed, made a loud clunk, and went still. She froze then tipped her hands to the sky. “Why did you stop working?” she said to the machine. “Why did…” Glancing over her shoulder, she saw me still standing there and pointed at the machine. “Why did it stop working?”

  “Because it’s a photocopier and they’re a pain in the ass.” I pushed off the frame and walked toward her.

  “Well, tell it to stop being mean to me and start working again. Bryce needed this stuff twenty minutes ago.”

  I bent down to the look at the screen. The letters were slightly blurry, so I pulled back until they came into better focus.

  ERROR 148

  I had no idea what that meant.

  “It’s unlike you to leave a job until the last minute,” I murmured.

  “I wouldn’t have if he’d given me a reasonable time frame. He only emailed me this half an hour ago and asked me to have it done by the time he got in, which was twenty minutes ago.”

  “Don’t stress. We’ll get it working.” The phone in my pocket buzzed. I pulled it out as it started ringing. “Hi, Mr. Torrence, how’s it going?”

  “You got a few minutes?”

  I glanced at my watch. I had to leave in an hour to meet up with Chaos. Meetings with the boss man tended to be of the long-winded variety. I winced, but nodded. I couldn’t say no. “I have to leave at noon and I’m right in the middle of something I can’t walk away from, but if you’re free in twenty minutes, I can come up to your office.”

  “Try to make it ten if you can.”

  “Will do.” I slid the phone back in my pocket and tried to ignore the double-kick my heart did every time I had a pending meeting with the CEO. Everett Torrence had a steely gaze that made me feel like a snotty-nosed kid with untied shoelaces and dirt on my knees. I’m sure he didn’t mean to make me feel that way, but he did…no matter what we were talking about. In this instance, the quick chat would no doubt be about Caris. He must have found out about the five thousand dollar bill.

  “Something you couldn’t walk away from?” Kelly tipped her head. “You made it sound like something really important.”

  I looked at her with a bemused smile. “You need my help. It is important.”

  Crouching down, I opened the door, in search of a paper jam. I didn’t spot anything obvious, so I snapped the door shut to see if that would kick-start things again. The machine buzzed but then the screen started flashing with the same message.

  “Do you know where the manual is?” I looked up at her, not missing how close her legs were to my face. I could rub my nose against her thigh if I wanted to. Not that I would, but she smelled so good. The perfume she wore up top didn’t overpower the sweet scent of her skin. She must have washed or moisturized with vanilla or something, because her legs smelled lick-able. The image of my tongue coasting the smooth terrains of her body twisted my stomach into a hard ball of desire.

  I stood and hitched my pants while Kelly searched the shelves for the photocopier manual.

  “Shit, I can’t see it.”

  “No problem. We’ll figure it out.” I walked around the machine and noticed a narrow panel that looked like it could open. I ran my fingers around the edge until I found a small catch. Behind the mini door was a green lever that I figured I needed to spin. I started turning it and slowly pumped out a rumpled sheet of paper.

  “Why doesn’t it just say paper jam on the screen instead of being all cryptic with a number?” Kelly tapped her finger on her arm while I cranked the lever.

  “I told you, photocopiers pride themselves on being annoying.”

  Her lips flashed with a smile, but she pulled it into line before it could bloom. I stood and yanked out the offending sheet, balling it up and throwing it into the recycling box.

  “Okay, let’s see if it works now.” I snapped the door shut and pressed the green button with a hopeful smile. The machine whirred then paused.

  We both held our breath, staring down at the display screen until the copier buzzed and started spitting out paper.

  Kelly let out a sigh. I smiled at her relief then leaned my elbow on top of the copier and looked up at her.

  “So, I’m going out to lunch with Chaos. Do you want to come?”

  Her glare was dry and unimpressed.

  I put on my best “innocent” smile. “Didn’t you say Scarlett was a die-hard fan? You could get their autograph for her.”

  “Don’t try to woo me with good-looking rock stars,” she clipped.

  “I’m not.” I grinned. “I’m trying to give you ‘world’s best friend’ status. If memory serves me right, Scarlett will flip out if she gets something she really wants. She’s still excitable, right?”

  The corner of her mouth rose, but she brushed her finger over it, pushing it back down. “It’s not going to work. I’m not going out with you.”

  Her eyes sparkled a little, like she was somehow enjoying our banter. I used to feel that way in high school sometimes. If I ever asked her out when no one else was around, her eyes would glimmer as she sent me on my way, like if I stopped trying she’d be disappointed.

  Maybe that’s what kept me coming back for more…maybe that’s what kept driving me five years later. “Kelly, come on. Don’t think of it like a date. It’ll be a business lunch.”

  She shook her head and pressed her lips together. The little dimple on her chin was accentuated by the expression. Was she fighting a smile again?

  I opened my mouth to continue the small repartee we had going, but I was interrupted by a deep voice coming from the doorway.

  “Kelly.” We both spun to see Bryce standing there. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked particularly annoying in his expensive suit. He eyed the small gap between us before putting on his dazzling smile and being the perfect asshole.

  “I’m nearly done.” Kelly’s cheeks flushed and my insides turned brittle.

  “Great.” He ambled over with a cocky grin. His long fingers rested on her lower back as he gazed down at the pile of pages spitting out of the machine. “Hey, so I was thinking I should take you out for dinner tonight.”

  Kelly stil
led then looked up at him. I couldn’t see her face from where I was standing, but the triumph in his expression told me all I needed to know.

  “Sorry, Bryce.” I tipped my head. “Kelly doesn’t date guys from work.”

  Her head snapped in my direction, her dark expression warning me not to embarrass her. I was about to say, “It’s what you told me,” when she turned back to the towering guy and said, “I’d love to.”

  I tasted sawdust and then a little bile before swallowing down a mouthful of acid. It burned through my guts.

  The way Bryce was eyeing her made me want to punch his face in. I spotted the clock on the wall. Everett Torrence was waiting. I didn’t care. I wasn’t leaving Kelly’s side until I’d warned her about the consequences of dating Bryce. I’d found too many girls crying in the lunchroom over that chauvinistic ass-face. I wasn’t letting Kelly become another one of his victims.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kelly

  I felt a mixture of guilt and jubilation.

  Bryce asking me out had been providential. It served so many purposes. The main one being to get Marcus Chapman off my back.

  The problem was, after Bryce eyed me hungrily, he strolled out of the photocopier room and Marcus stayed put.

  “So, you changed your stance on the no dating office guys, huh?”

  My shoulders tensed and I leaned against the photocopier, spitting out the truth in yet another attempt to deter him. “I never had a stance. I just said that to try to put you off as nicely as I could.”

  His pale eyebrows dipped together. “Have you guys gone out before?”

  “No, I’ve been waiting for him to ask.” I couldn’t look at Marcus while I spoke. I didn’t know why. I should have been eyeballing him with a vanquishing simper on my face, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He had, after all, helped me with the photocopier, which was making him late for an important meeting. “Mr. Torrence is waiting for you.”

  He ignored my murmur and just stared at me like I hadn’t spoken at all. “You can do so much better than a guy like Bryce.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Meaning you?”

  He scratched the hard plastic top of the machine, his lips pursing to the side as he shrugged. “Yeah.” He looked up at me, his hazel eyes beaming with an honest assurance that was held together by a touching modesty. “I can definitely treat you better than he will.”

  I turned to face him properly and placed my hand on my hip. “And what makes you so confident of that?”

  “I know who I am. I’m not one of those guys who dates the pretty girls just to get them into bed. Bryce is.”

  His calm warning threw me a little. I knew men like that all too well, but I wasn’t about to let Marcus get the upper hand. I was grateful for my four-inch heels. Sparring with him was kind of fun, and the added height somehow made it easier to drive home the fact he was wasting his time pursuing me. I raised my neck and looked down at him. “Maybe I want that kind of guy, or maybe I’m the kind of girl who flicks them off.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized my expression. I kept it as unreadable as I could, yet I still felt bare when he whispered, “I don’t think you are.”

  “Marcus.” I clasped my hands together and took a step away from him. “We may have gone to high school together, but you don’t know me.”

  “I’d like to get to know you.” He stepped forward.

  I took another step back and rolled my eyes. “Would you please quit while you’re ahead?”

  “I’m not ahead. You’ve never given me a chance to be anything more than a loser.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “But I don’t want to make your work life hell, so just tell me why you said yes so quickly to Bryce. One hundred percent, honest answer.”

  It was the last thing I expected him to say. One hundred percent honesty wasn’t my forte, but if it meant he’d leave me alone, I’d give it a shot.

  “Fine. I think he’s very good-looking. He’ll probably take me out, buy me some expensive wine and feed me some delicious food.”

  Marcus scoffed and shook his head like that was lame.

  I pierced him with a steely glare. “In my book, that’s a guy worth dating.”

  Marcus gently placed his hands on my shoulders and looked straight up at me. “Bryce Fisher will take you out and buy you nice wine with the sole intent of getting you naked in his bed.”

  His touch was disconcerting—the soft pressure of his fingers kind of warm and inviting. That sweet, tempting sensation washed through me again. It put me on the back foot, so I shook him off me and forced a teasing smile. “Naked in his bed doesn’t sound too bad to me.”

  “And then he’ll dump you.” Marcus’s tone was scathing, and it made me bristle.

  “I’m Kelly DeMarco. Guys don’t dump me, especially after getting me naked in their bed.”

  His face pinched tight with disgust. “That’s pretty arrogant.”

  “It’s the truth.” I crossed my arms and raised my chin, the way my mother did when she wanted to make me feel small and admonished.

  Marcus didn’t shy away from my haughty-rich-girl routine. Instead, he rubbed his hand across his mouth and stared at me like he was that micro-expression expert from that TV show, Lie to Me.

  “You know, Kelly, I think you’re lying.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off by raising his finger.

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll leave you alone. I won’t ask you out again, but if you sleep with Bryce and he dumps you, then I’m allowed one date.”

  “What?” I squeaked.

  “One date.”

  “Forget it.” My eyebrows rose. “This is like sexual harassment in the workplace,” I snapped, not really meaning it.

  He rolled his eyes. “You know it’s not like that. I’d never force you to do anything. All I’m asking is if you’re brave enough to play my game.” His eyes sparkled. “If you’re as confident as you seem to be, it’ll never happen anyway, right? Because you’re Kelly DeMarco and guys don’t dump you.” He put on a mocking voice, but then followed it up with a wink, so it was really hard to get mad at him.

  I bit back my smile and shook my head. Why did he have to be so charming? There had always been a sweet playfulness about him. I didn’t want to like it.

  Marcus kept watching me as I gritted my teeth and fought a little war inside myself. “And in case you’re wondering, I’m not asking you because you’re drop-dead gorgeous. All I’ve ever wanted to do was hang out with you and make you smile.”

  My heart tripped up for a second, confused by the sweet look on his face.

  He stuck out his hand. “One date.”

  I gazed down at his fingers, my jaw clenching tight as I resisted the urge to turn and walk out the door. With a short sigh, I snatched his hand and shook. “If by some miracle this does happen, I want to be clear that it is one date, and after that you never, ever ask me out again.”

  Marcus gripped my hand. “Not unless you want me to.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Okay.” Marcus grinned like he didn’t believe me then let my hand go. Closing the gap between us, he whispered in my ear, “Enjoy your expensive wine.”

  He sauntered out of the room before I could formulate a comeback. My senses were too busy tingling and trying to find themselves again after a luscious whiff of Marcus’s aftershave.

  He was wearing Sovereign for Men by Echelon.

  *****

  Bryce took me to Devil May Care—a chic restaurant in Hollywood with fine dining and expensive wine. He ordered a rare steak while I picked at the salmon fillet with steamed vegetables. It was delicious. We finished off the meal with a shared bowl of Baileys ice cream. It was all very civilized, and my mother would have been highly impressed.

  I could foresee myself mentioning the date to her on Thursday. She’d ask for details, and I’d spin the story to make it sound like everything she’d need it to be. Bryce was tall, good-looking, and had an a
loof class about him…just like Fletcher did.

  I’d never forget the first time I saw Fletcher Winslow. I was a college freshman. Evangeline and I had just finished setting up our room, our parents had left, and we were heading out to explore campus. I’d spotted Fletcher across an open quad, and my heart had thrummed like it never had before. He was this tall, gorgeous guy with a chiseled face and this perfectly straight nose. Dark blue eyes, light brown hair parted on the side and swept up, away from his forehead—he was the perfect combination of class and sensuality. Designer jeans hugged his perfect butt and a pale gray button-down shirt couldn’t hide the sinewy muscle covering his torso. The moment our eyes connected, I knew something was going to happen between us. It was seriously love at first sight for me. He took my breath away.

  For two years, he’d owned me and I had willingly given him every beat of my heart.

  Memories were making the ice cream taste sour. I placed my spoon in the bowl. “You finish it,” I murmured.

  Bryce smiled at me and scraped the bowl clean while my mind continued to race with the hellish year that followed our initial break-up. If I’d known why he’d ended it, I wouldn’t have kept trying to win him back. If he’d only held his ground and stopped letting me back into his bed, I wouldn’t have had my hopes rising and falling like the waves that make you seasick.

  “Should we get going?” Bryce wiped his mouth on the white cloth napkin and smiled at me again. He’d been smiling at me a lot since we’d left the office, and with each hour that passed his gaze grew hungrier.

  I nodded and stood, trying to decide how to play it.

  I hadn’t had sex in a while. It was almost tempting, but if I slipped my panties off for this guy, I was worried my brain would be massacred with reminders of Fletcher. I would never forget the way his tongue felt in my mouth and the power of his muscles as he lay on top of me, thrusting and panting. I missed the way he groaned into my ear when he came.