The Attraction File (Cake Love Book 2) Read online

  Maybe that’s why I had decided a long time ago to keep any love for men at a distance.

  As I watched Tiffany go, I realized there wasn’t much I could do for her but give her a shoulder to cry on when she needed it. But there was something I could do for my friend Morgana. I grabbed my leather work bag and stood from the booth.

  “I just realized there’s some work I need to take care of. Can you get Drake to show up next week for SWIM Meet? I would ask her myself but she won’t return my calls.”

  “I can try; but she basically lives on our couch now, refusing to go outside. The two firings really got to her. She hasn’t even mentioned her birthday next week. Maybe if I bring it up she will come out for that,” Aria said.

  I could have sworn Morgana’s birthday was next month, but I didn’t have time to think about that now. Nodding, I turned toward the door. After a five-minute walk on the salt-covered sidewalks with the icy Chicago night air working hard to penetrate my winter coat, I made my way back to the Mimir building.

  Once the elevator doors opened and I emerged onto the twenty-eighth floor, I turned toward the HR department. As I made my way toward my office, I noticed something strange—my office light was still on.

  “Hello?” I said with no response.

  I never left my office light on. In order to keep track of the uncertainty life threw at you, I found that being organized and having routine helped keep things straight. Therefore, I always put things back where I got them from and turned off things when I was done.

  Placing my bag on the desk, I shook my head and wondered if I needed more sleep. First, I didn’t realize Morgana’s birthday was next week, and now I left the light on in my office? Maybe I needed a vacation.

  Taking the keys out from my bag, I open the locked filing cabinet. Thumbing through the important files, I reached for the fourth file back under the A section but it wasn’t there.

  My breathing picked up. I felt nauseous and sweaty at the same time.

  “No.” The word was a quiet exhale.

  Where could it be? I always put it back after I was done with it. No one knew of this file except me.

  Oh, God. There were things in that file that could get me fired and even worse, could destroy the company.

  Calm down, Evaleen. You just misplaced it.

  I needed to go home and sleep. But first, I had to find that folder.

  I examined the lock on the cabinet but it didn’t appear to be tampered with. Bringing my attention back to the files, I opened every one there but nothing contained the contents of it.

  Dread and possibly fatigue had me scanning the room. Did I leave it on my desk or a chair?

  I quickly checked every drawer in my desk but it wasn’t there. My eyes began to burn as I was about to give up hope. Going back to the filing cabinet, I reached in to remove some folders and that’s when I saw it.

  Laying at the bottom of the drawer was the Attraction file. It must have slipped and fallen when I put it back last time.

  I grabbed it and brought it to my desk, opening it to make sure everything was there. It was completely intact. No one was being fired and Mimir was safe.

  THREE

  Edgar

  Ashton Graham was missing.

  No one had seen him for two weeks.

  My security engineer, the man in charge of the cyber security of Mimir, was nowhere to be found. I was his boss, the head of the IT department at Mimir, and it worried me that he hadn’t shown up to work in weeks.

  Maybe he had gone on vacation and I wasn’t aware of it?

  It was after hours so the floor was vacant. I maneuvered around the dark wood cubicles and into my office. A glow came from my desk. My laptop was open as I slipped into my dark leather chair. I searched for Ashton’s name on the employee vacation calendar for the IT department on the Mimir company site—he wasn’t listed.

  I was hoping he would be on the calendar. Something about that didn’t feel right, and I had learned to trust my gut since I was a kid. My instincts helped me avoid many potential problems both in my life and for Mimir, my brother’s company.

  Did he quit? Not come back because he was unhappy here?

  I mentally went through Ashton’s two years with Mimir. He seemed content, and I always received good reports about him from his coworkers. Early on he made a few mistakes and didn’t catch some script issues, but that was to be expected from a new hire. For the past year and a half, he had been a model employee.

  Somehow, knowing he liked it here made this even worse. Something was wrong and I feared what it might be.

  Worse still, I would have to talk about this to the one person I had been avoiding for five years—Evaleen Bechmann.

  Grabbing a pen and a blue sticky pad, I wrote a note to the head of human resources. Taking a deep breath, I pushed away my hesitation and wrote that I needed to discuss this with her first thing in the morning. Picking up the small square note, I made my way to the elevator and up to the twenty-eighth floor.

  The only good thing about any of this was I knew Evaleen wasn’t in the building. She never stayed later than six in the evening and since it was now eight thirty, I was in no danger of running into her.

  It’s not that I didn’t like Evaleen. I liked her. I really liked her. Perhaps I liked her because she never pretended to be something she wasn’t around me. Maybe I had some subconscious desire to want women who didn’t like me. All I knew was when she first met me and her hands touched my chest, I felt a shiver run through my body that made me want to do anything to feel her touch again.

  Of course, I had done the opposite. I avoided her and went after every woman but her.

  Sometimes I thought my brain and heart liked to play sick games with me.

  Despite all my flirting with women, I got the feeling Evaleen was the only one who could see through it for what it really was. And what was it?

  I wish I knew what Evaleen saw in me.

  Evaleen wasn’t the only one who didn’t find my flirting amusing. My brother, Jacob, didn’t like it at all. But it’s not like I had any chance of being perfect like him.

  He created a billion-dollar Internet retail business by the time he was in his late twenties. He married a beautiful, kind woman and had two sweet daughters. Who wouldn’t want his life?

  What had I done?

  My brother gave me a job because it’s his company. Women go home with me because I had money and looks, both of which I never worked to achieve but were handed to me. I couldn’t even help my mother when she needed me the most; that award goes to my brother. He swept in to take care of her while I struggled to graduate high school.

  Now, I’m a thirty-four-year-old man with a job bestowed on me from nepotism and only good for a one-night stand where women are concerned. And the one woman I really wanted acted as if I was a three-day-old rotting corpse and avoided me every chance she got.

  Stepping off the elevator, I hesitated.

  I knew Evaleen wasn’t in her office and yet, my heart pounded in my chest with just the thought of going there. Instead of turning left toward the HR department, I made a right to my best friend, Henrik Payne’s, office. Perhaps a night of drinks with him and finding a lady to take home would help me keep my mind off the things I could never have.

  Henrik was usually up for keeping me company. Well, sometimes he was. Hopefully, tonight was one of those nights.

  Henrik was head of Sales and Marketing and had recently lost his assistant. It’s not unusual for him to go through secretaries like he does pieces of gum due to his strict stance on work and people. But Morgana Drake was different. She seemed to understand Henrik. Mostly, she put up with his crap.

  Something about her brought back the old Henrik I knew when we first met in college. The guy that loved to laugh and made a joke any chance he could.

  I noticed his office door was ajar and light filtered out.

  Promises of a wingman tonight was looking good.

  Turning the cor
ner, I came to a stop as I entered his office. Someone was at his desk but it wasn’t Henrik.

  Grace Jensen, the receptionist, was sitting in his chair as her head leaned over the glow rising from the desk. I moved a few steps closer and realized it was a phone.

  Clearing my throat, I fought hard against my frown. Her head popped up and Grace’s brown eyes widened.

  Young Grace had a thing for Henrik. He always worried she was some sort of crazy stalker, but I brushed it off as him not knowing how to deal with attraction from women. But now I was wondering if his fears weren’t completely unfounded.

  “What are you doing here, Grace?”

  She stood. Her thick black bangs fell back into place after she swatted at them. “Oh . . . uh, hi, Mr. Mimir. I was hoping to catch Mr. Payne since I know he usually worked late.”

  Her smile appeared forced and as she moved away from his desk, she tripped and stumbled a few steps.

  “Well, I guess he is gone for the night so I’ll head out too. Bye, Mr. Mimir.” Grace scurried out into the hall.

  It was probably good that I found her and not Henrik. He would have flipped. Actually, he most likely would have screamed like a banshee and maybe wet himself. I’m not exaggerating when I say he’s afraid of her.

  I was about to turn to leave too but noticed Grace forgot her phone on Henrik’s desk. As I went to pick it up, I couldn’t help but observe how similar her phone was to Henrik’s.

  She really was a stalker.

  I tapped the screen to turn it on and realized it was Henrik’s phone.

  I typed in Henrik’s code to unlock his phone. Ashton taught me a trick when he started working here on how to figure out phone codes. I first tried it on Henrik’s phone. Ever since, I could access his phone any time I wanted.

  Not that I had to. But I’ll admit when his former secretary from a year ago tried to file sexual harassment charges against him, I sneaked into his phone to see if I could find anything incriminating.

  I did find something, but it implicated her. She dropped the charges once she realized she could be sued.

  Opening Henrik’s phone, his contacts popped up.

  Why would Grace want Henrik’s contact information? Then it hit me. She wanted to find his address. I slipped the phone into my pocket and decided to stop by his place on my way home to warn him that Grace had his address.

  FOUR

  Edgar

  Once I left Henrik’s office I made my way to HR.

  There was a difference between HR and other departments, it was located in a sectioned off part of the floor. The rest of the building had an open concept. But my brother insisted there needed to be privacy for interviews and, of course, for people being fired. Since most of that occurred in the HR department, it got the walls.

  I opened the glass door that led into the main department. Evaleen’s office had a window and right now I saw something that caused me to halt my footsteps. Something round and firm bounced around in her office making my fingers curl.

  Evaleen’s ass was in the air.

  My heart rate picked up for several reasons. The first reason, that ass. For a moment, I thought my dream had come true and she was getting into position. But that reason quickly faded as she was still clothed in her oversized brown wool skirt.

  The second reason, she was in her office. I didn’t want to face her. It’s one thing to have the hots for a woman for so many years and her just think of you as a friend. It’s another thing entirely if that woman hated you. And Evaleen Bechmann loathed me.

  My body was at war with itself. I wanted to go in there and help her crawl around on the floor. Maybe even use me as the floor and crawl all over me. Just the thought of that caused my cock to twitch.

  Yet at the same time, I wanted to run home and hide out in my bathroom, imagining her like that but with no skirt on, or anything else.

  It wasn’t just the flirting and sleeping around I’ve done that bothered her. If I hadn’t messed things up a few years ago she wouldn’t hate me so much. I don’t blame her for disliking me.

  Maybe I could build a time machine?

  That would solve so many problems, except for the whole making a new timeline and not knowing how that might negatively affect the present. Maybe when I came back in time everyone would have two heads? I had thought about this a lot.

  Since Evaleen was obviously bent over, she couldn’t see me. I could back out without making any noise. Problem solved. I wouldn’t have to talk to her.

  Sure, I would have to discuss Ashton missing with her in the morning, but maybe we could do it over email.

  I took a step back as my eyes stayed glued to her plump ass. As she moved, her skirt hitched up and I got a brief moment of the unicorn. The lacy edge of her purple panties.

  I tried to stifle my groan. Closing my eyes, I made a mental note to savor that image for later, at home, in the shower.

  That’s when everything fell apart.

  Actually, it was me. I tripped. Over a trash can and rolled across a black swivel chair. My face landed on the burgundy carpet. The sound of one of the wheels spinning around on the chair took a few seconds to subside.

  It was quiet again. No footsteps or the melodic voice of Evaleen filling the air. Maybe she didn’t hear my catastrophic exit. I began to stand and then turned.

  Bright blue eyes stared back at me.

  I should talk here, yet I kept staring. Words, Edgar! Use actual words.

  “Evaleen . . . oh, you’re still here?” I said, finally hoping she hadn’t noticed how stiff my smile was.

  “Yes, I couldn’t find the Attraction F . . . uh, I mean I forgot about some paperwork and came back to work on it.” Her beautiful eyes darted to the side for only a moment before returning to my face.

  Folding her arms in front of her, I knew what came next.

  The scowl.

  Her eyes and lips always thinned, almost disappearing, whenever she had to talk to me. I hated that she felt she had to be on the defense around me. But, who could blame her. Despite her body doing the equivalent of a flashing neon sign that said, “fuck off,” I did the thing she hated me the most for. I flirted.

  It’s a nervous habit. I had a theory I was the reincarnation of a seventies porn star.

  “Maybe I can help you with that . . . paperwork.” My voice was low and my eyebrows wiggled. Like two out of control caterpillars who also believed they were porn stars.

  I tensed preparing for her usual sigh of discontent, followed by the explanation of how she’s busy. But what happened next was unexpected.

  She chewed on her lower lip forcing my eyes to eat it up. For that moment, I wanted to be her teeth.

  Evaleen Bechmann was nervous.

  “That’s quite all right, Edgar. I’ve got everything under control.”

  It wasn’t so much her voice moving up an octave that had me crossing my arms in suspicion, but her laugh, which was actually more of a giggle.

  I had never heard Evaleen giggle.

  It was odd but with her flushed cheeks and golden hair softly falling over her shoulders, it made me want to wrap her in my arms.

  But I didn’t. I stood tall and cleared my throat. “Okay. Just wanted to help. Oh, hey, did you send Grace into Henrik’s office a few minutes ago?”

  The subject needed to be changed. Not for Evaleen but for me. If she kept acting adorable and chewing on that delicious lip, I was liable to touch her. Where I would touch her, I didn’t know. But I swear this woman was made to be caressed by my fingers.

  It worked. Evaleen straightened as she glanced toward the door. “No, I didn’t. Why?”

  “Just saw her there and Henrik wasn’t there. Which, you know how Grace is.” I scratched at my trimmed beard and wondered if it was possible to get turned on by someone the more they hated you?

  She nodded with a small smile on her face, “Yes, Grace. She’s odd and in a way, I feel sorry that she has been hypnotized by Payne.” Evaleen’s grin began to fade and sh
e glanced back toward her office before mumbling, “I wonder.”

  “What?” I asked.

  She jumped. Nervous about something.

  “Office sex!”” Her voice went up again. “Uh, I mean office desk . . . the paperwork. It’s in my office desk.”

  That was weird.

  She giggled. Only stopping to have her lip for dinner.

  Did she want me to have office sex with her? Because I would. I so would. Maybe I should touch her?

  But I didn’t have to touch her because she placed her hand on my arm. Heat prickled and soared up my arm, my neck, until I thought my ears would burn up into ash.

  Oh man, this was happening. I’d finally see her in her lacey underthings. My fingers could skim and tug at everything I had only imagined until now.

  “Did you need to ask me something?” Evaleen said.

  Yes, a million times yes. I need to ask you to remove your clothes. To kiss you. Maybe even ask what your favorite position is, but we could get to that later.

  What she said next made any hope I had dissolve into ash.

  “Edgar?”

  My name. A reminder of how much she hated me. Evaleen never used people’s first names. Henrik was Payne; his assistant, Morgana, was Drake; she even called my brother Mr. Mimir. But I was Edgar.

  It’s my own fault. I asked her to call me Edgar once and she never let me forget that.

  I cleared my throat. “Yes, actually. Have you heard from Ashton Graham? I haven’t seen him in two weeks.”

  “Let me check.”

  She walked back into her office and I followed. My gaze drifted to her ass as it swayed back and forth. It was hypnotic, but I managed to look up before Evaleen got into her seat. She opened her laptop and clicked a few times. One eyebrow hitched up and those shocking sapphire eyes lifted to find me across her desk.