Page 24 of Challenging Luke
She didn’t make him wait for her comeback.
MONICA: It’s the highlight of my day. It might just be my new favorite thing to do. Sadly, my lunch is ready and my day is too packed to eat anywhere other than my office.
LUKE: I’m just glad you got out to grab it.
He already knew she worked too much. As he was leaving, she admitted to not getting home until after eight and being just as busy which was one of the reasons she hadn’t answered him the first time. The calls after that were her rejecting him. Already today he was making progress.
MONICA: I also plan to leave on time today for once. Some big steps happening today.
LUKE: I’m proud of you. Maybe you can stop by the office after work and meet the rest of the team. Then we can grab some dinner.
He watched as the bubbles appeared and then disappeared. And then once more. He was just starting to think that maybe he had pushed things too soon when her message popped up.
MONICA: I would love that. See you a little after 5.
Yes! The breath he had been holding whooshed out. This woman was tying him up in knots, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Monica followed her GPS to Luke’s office while her two bodyguards followed closely behind. After the introduction in the café, she felt much better about having them around. Knowing that someone was watching her every movement wasn’t ideal, but she preferred to make the best of the situation. This meant putting her customer service smile on and being nice every time they interacted.
It took her all of two seconds to understand why Luke had sounded disgruntled when Ryker had attempted to charm her. The man was good looking, but he didn’t give her the same butterflies that just thinking about Luke caused. Dominic, on the other hand, was more reserved and professional.
Her GPS chimed that she had reached her location. The nondescript building wasn’t what she expected. Actually, she wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. More windows maybe. Or something that hinted at the company that was supposedly housed inside. Instead, she found a brick building that looked more like a warehouse in the middle of a shopping district. Luke and his friends probably got a killer deal because of that.
A knock on her window pulled her from her musings.
“You planning to sit here all evening or come inside?”
Ryker’s lopsided smirk likely made women all over the country swoon. If she hadn’t met Luke first, there was a good chance she too would’ve been enamored by that smile, but alas, she did, so his good looks did nothing for her.
Except cause her to roll her eyes.
“Luke’s going to punch that smirk off your face when we walk inside,” she told him after throwing the car door open.
“I’m actually looking forward to it.”
She would never understand men and their need to prove themselves against other men.
“There might be something wrong with you.”
“No might about it,” Dominic said, waving her toward the front door. “There absolutely is something wrong with him. Let’s get inside.”
Ryker’s only response to that was to waggle his eyebrows at her. She mentally shook her head. This was going to be interesting.
The inside of the building was nothing like the outside; at least inside there was furniture and paint on the walls. Although technically those walls were also concrete. It made her wonder how old the building was and why such an industrial-style building was located in this neighborhood.
“Kringle Security?” She read the name on the wall aloud. A unique name for a unique building.
“Yeah, there’s a story behind our company name.”
This time her stomach buzzed; she knew how that voice sounded in the heat of the moment, how it rumbled against her neck and against her apex when his face was buried between her legs.
Monica spun around and found the only man who made her heart speed up.
“You planning on telling me that story or are you going to leave me hanging?”
Today Luke was in jeans and a Henley. It was a sin how well the clothes hugged every part of his body. Was it normal to be jealous of a set of clothing? Because she was. Hands down jealous of a pair of jeans and a shirt.