Read Playing With Power - Book 2: New Adult Office Romance for Free Online Page B

if there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
    “Thank you, Phillip,” Lauren smiled.
    Ali grabbed Laurens hand as they walked through the house to the back, their heels echoing on the tile.
    The contemporary architecture was masculine and simple. Sharp corners, dark stone, and huge expanses of windows that felt as though the house were part of the forest outside. They walked through the open plan kitchen and living room and stepped out on to the patio. A variety of seats and lounge chairs surrounded the deck side of the infinity pool. A small spread of berries, cheeses, meat, and crackers was arranged on the counter beside the clay oven. Lauren grabbed an ice cube from the chilling wine and held it against her neck, noticing that the forest was expertly cleared to provide an amazing view of the green valley below.
    “This is just...unbelievable,” Lauren said in a hushed voice. She was uncomfortable not knowing where in the house Landon was, so she kept her voice low. The girls grabbed a little food and two glasses of wine and reclined by the pool.
    “I feel like I’m in an episode of Cribs. Or Punk’d...I don’t know, something produced by MTV. I’m just saying, if Ashton Kutcher pops out somewhere, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Ali said before biting into a juicy strawberry.
    “Well, I didn’t expect this to happen when I woke up this morning. I’m literally going to sweat to death out here. I didn’t bring anything to wear for this kind of weather.” Uncomfortable, Lauren pulled her long T-shirt away from her sweaty skin.
    “You can borrow something of mine for tonight and we can do a little shopping tomorrow.”
    The girls chatted quietly for over a half an hour. The wine did a great job settling Lauren’s nerves until she heard Landon’s voice echo in the house behind them. It sounded like he was finishing up a phone call while walking towards the pool. Her heart racing, Lauren did her best impression of calm.
    “Ladies, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting.”
    He was barefoot in shorts and a white T-shirt, his blond hair tousled. She was surprised to see more than a couple tattoos, some exposed, some shadows under the shirt but all expertly placed to be hidden by business attire. The girls stood awkwardly as he approached.
    “Lauren, I’m so happy you made it,” he said shaking her hand with a quick kiss on the cheek.
    “I can’t thank you enough for inviting us. Your home is amazing. This is my friend Alanna. Everyone calls her Ali or Llama, but that’s a long story you probably don’t want to hear.” Lauren bit her tongue as she started to ramble.
    “You can just call me Ali, that’s fine,” she said sweetly, extending her hand and offering her cheek.
    “It’s a pleasure. Well, I’m glad to see you helped yourself to refreshments. I was just about to get started on dinner but I can show you to your rooms first. By the time you freshen up, dinner should be just about ready.”
    As he led the way to their rooms, down a hallway to the left, Ali silently went crazy. Mouthing hubba hubba behind his back, she pretended to swoon, to pant...generally, she looked like a Warner Bros. cartoon from the 1940’s. Luckily, Landon didn’t see her antics but Lauren cringed at the thought of an entire weekend like this.

6.
    Lauren leaned back in the deck chair with a satisfied groan. She glanced at Ali who was trying to fork up every last morsel and wondered if she would go so far as to lick the plate. Dinner was seared salmon over a bed of fresh summer vegetables and quinoa. Landon had whipped together an amazing sauce that was better than anything Lauren had ever tasted.
    “That was delicious,” she said wiping her mouth with a paper napkin. “Where did you learn to cook like that? Don’t tell me you’re a trained chef too.”
    “No, no. A little more depressing than that,” he said as he gathered the plates together. Lauren snatched hers before he could take it and