Playing with Power - Book 3: New Adult Office Romance by Adele Huxley Page A

calling Nick just to hear his voice but decided she didn’t want to risk tipping the scales just yet. They’d only just found a nice balance and it wasn’t like she could really tell him what was wrong.
    Without looking at the fare, she tossed a twenty to the cab driver and jogged to the front door. Jamming her thumb into the call button on the elevator with one hand, Lauren was still trying to contact someone, anyone, who could tell her what was happening upstairs. By the time the elevator doors opened to the office, she’d managed to convince herself that Parker would be standing there with his attorneys, lawsuit in hand.
    Of all the scenarios she’d imagined, the scene she entered was nothing she could’ve anticipated. Music was blasting from Brian’s computer, the large subwoofer under his desk reverberating through the large room. She heard laughing and talking from the kitchen where she found Dennis, Brian, and Lev huddled around a couple packages. The juxtaposition of Dennis’ frantic call and the seemingly joyful scene in front of her left Lauren beyond confused.
    “Hey!” she shouted over the music. All three spun, Dennis with an expensive looking bottle of whiskey in his hand.
    “Surprise!” Brian cheered, throwing his hands in the air.
    Despite the lingering anxiety and sensing no immediate danger, Lauren smiled suspiciously at his enthusiasm. With Brian’s sense of humor, she could see him celebrating during the Apocalypse. “Dennis, what the hell is going on?”
    “You need to call Landon!” he yelled over the music.
    “I already tried, he isn’t picking up.”
    “No, go call him on Skype. He’s waiting for you.”
    Not a fan of surprises in the first place, Lauren wasn’t recovering well from the panic Dennis had injected in her. Her patience drawing dangerously thin, she stormed back to the main room and turned off the thumping music to a chorus of disappointed groans from the kitchen. Sitting at her desk, she opened Skype clicked his name.
    After two rings his face appeared, pixelated at first but clearing as the connection strengthened. He sat in a bright, clean room she didn’t recognize. Looking very casual in a gray cotton polo, she assumed he was at his home in San Francisco.
    “Hey,” he said. The familiarity in that one word, the effect it had on her, nearly quenched the scared frustration she was feeling. Nearly.
    “Landon, what the fuck is going on?”
    His eyebrows shot up as he tipped back in his chair. “Whoa there! Where’s this coming from?”
    “Dennis just called me at my job panicking, telling me I needed to get down here as soon as possible. You didn’t pick up any of my calls and I can’t get anyone to tell me what’s happening. I walk in here and it’s a madhouse—”
    Landon groaned and wiped a hand across his face. “Lauren, I’m sorry. I told him to call you, to get you to come to the office immediately but I didn’t ask him to freak you out like that. I’ll have a word with him.” Even through the screen she could see the warmth and concern in his eyes. “Take a deep breath, everything is alright.”
    Feeling less than impressed, she leaned back and crossed her arms, her jaw clenching. “Alright. I’m listening.”
    “We just got seed funding.”
    Speechless, Lauren’s arms dropped to her lap. “How much?” she whispered.
    “More than I thought. $900,000. I convinced the angel investor to keep it under a million. He was happy to go over but anything beyond that number would make raising Series A more difficult for us. What do you think?”
    “I think I could kiss you,” she said instantly. The smirk he gave her brought a hint of color to her cheeks but she quickly pushed the thought away. Almost a million dollars...for my silly little company. It was hard to wrap her head around.
    “I wanted to be the first person to tell you. I’m sorry Dennis gave you such a scare. I ordered a few things so you all could have a celebration. Did you guys