Mine to Lose by T. K. Rapp Page A

wayward thoughts.
    “I’ve got it,” I say, referring to my
bag. “My mom always said ‘If you’re on time, you’re late,’ so I guess you’re
just fine.”
    Why did I just quote my mom? And why
did she ever use that line; she’s never been early a day in her life. I shake off my thoughts with a laugh and try to
refocus.
    He smiles and I look back to Callie, who
seems to be picking up on my awkwardness. “Can you let Cam know I’ll be back in
a little?” Trey walks off ahead of me, and Callie’s gaze follow him. “Callie?”
    “Oh yeah, not a problem,” she says
looking at me. Then she, not so subtly mouths, “Damn! He’s hot!”
    * * *
    During the drive to the restaurant, I
wrestle with what to say, if anything, but fortunately for me Trey makes light
conversation that was easy to reciprocate. By the time we make it to Café
Cellar, I have become comfortable with his presence. The maître d shows us a
table in the back and I immediately begin to pull out the file containing the
information I wished to discuss with him.
    “Relax, Emogen,” he says. “Let’s order
and then you can open that oversized bag of tricks.”
    I laugh at his description of my
briefcase and exhale, hoping he doesn’t hear. We order our drinks and food and
it’s then that I start running my mouth, as though I have never heard of a
filter. “I’ve told Ryan I wanted to try this place, but we just haven’t had
time since we’re both so busy.”
    “I’ve been here a few times, the food is
great. I think you’ll like it,” he says with an easy smile.
    “Ryan can be a food snob sometimes, so
unless they serve the ‘best burger ever,’ we haven’t tried it.”
    “That doesn’t sound like a snob, sounds
like he just knows what he wants,” he counters. “Not that I blame him.” When I
look up he’s eyeing me, with a beautiful grin, as if we are more than
colleagues.
    I feel my face flush and I begin to
stammer like an idiot. “Well, Ryan and I haven’t lived here for long, so we
still have lots to check out,” I say, trying to ignore his last comment.
“Hopefully we can check them out when he comes to town.”
    “Emogen,” he leans forward, placing his
hand over mine. He lowers his voice and waits for my eyes to meet his. “I think Ryan is lucky to have you.”
    My head is swimming in confusion. His
words say one thing, but the way he looks at me says something completely
different. I feel like he’s trying to convince me that he’s not interested, so
perhaps he should refrain from looking at me the way he is right now. Maybe
he’s like this with everyone, and I can’t help the twinge of disappointment I
feel at the notion that maybe I’m reading more into the gestures than he means.
It’s not like I want Trey to be interested in me, but the moment he
assures me he’s not, I will want it.
    “No,” I bite out a little harsher than I
intend. “I’m the lucky one.” I rush to make a mental list of the reasons why
I’m so lucky to have Ryan in my life, but Trey interrupts my thoughts.
    “So what do you have to show me?”
    I pull out his file and begin my
presentation for his event. He seems impressed with the rough layout I have created
based on Lisa’s floor plan. When I give him the options of a theme, he is quick
to eliminate a few of them, which makes my job a little easier.
    “Mr. Miller.” I rush to correct myself,
“Trey. Can I ask why you increased your budget?”
    He doesn’t hesitate when he responds,
“Emogen- I’m sorry, can I call you, Em? Emogen seems a little too formal.”
    Thrown off guard by that question, I nod,
unsure what defenses I have just let down. “Yeah, that’s fine. Ryan calls me that all the time.”
    He huffs a short laugh and shakes his
head. “The thing is, I have many clients, but there are others with my
competition that I would like to acquire. So that being said, I want to
increase my guest list. But more importantly, I believe you are very capable.
You