Undone

Chapter Four

'Then don't choose.'

The words floated around in Elora's mind as she readied herself for bed that night. Surely, there was only one way to interpret the statement, but thinking too far into it would only cause her to conjure up scenarios that would keep her awake all night. Although, it was definitely something she needed to consider. She never expected the suggestion to come from Leif.

She hoped she would wake up with a revelation about how exactly she could make the love triangle that she was currently in the middle of work without choosing, but no such luck. She woke up in a cold sweat, from a particularly vivid dream where she definitely didn't choose.

Elora made her way downstairs to the kitchen for coffee, hoping that she wouldn't bump into either of the men in her life along the way. But she found Lex in the kitchen, typing away at something on his laptop. He looked deep in thought, so it must be work.

"Morning." Elora's voice was heavy with sleep as she spoke.

Lex tore his attention from the computer screen, being painfully obvious as he gave Elora a once-over. "Morning, gorgeous. Sleep well?"

"Uh, yeah. Great," she wasn't going to bother opening the can of worms that was her X-rated dream, something that she'd never experienced before meeting Leif and Lex. "What are you working on?" Elora took a seat next to Lex, steaming mug of coffee in hand.

"Just work stuff." Clearly, Lex knew that elaborating would only confuse Elora. She wasn't quite sure what it was that he actually did for a living. She knew he worked with computers, but that was about it.

He worked remotely most of the time, meaning he was around the house nearly everyday. But on the rare occasion that he went into the office, Elora always noticed. He would come downstairs dressed in a crisp button-down dress shirt, pants neatly pressed and starched. It was a welcome change from the casual clothes he would normally be seen in.

But, the real sight for sore eyes was after work, when his sleeves were rolled up and his tie was loosened. That left Elora speechless and filled with desire each time.

"So, what exactly do you do for work?" She peered over at his laptop screen, which was covered in numbers that she determined to be code.

"Basically, boring computer stuff. Lots of coding and things like that."

"That doesn't sound boring." Elora responded, watching as he continued with the work that seemed like a foreign language to her.

"No?" His attention was on her again. "You know, we're always looking for administrative help. Talking with clients, answering e-mails, etcetera. I could put in a good word with the boss," he winked. Elora remembered him mentioning that he was in some sort of management role, meaning she'd likely be a shoe-in for whatever position was open, even with her lack of experience.

Although Elora wished for a career where she could be surrounded by books, she knew she needed to do something apart from moping around the house, reading trashy rom-coms or books she found lying around.

"Yeah? I guess it would be nice if I made myself useful around here, huh?" She quirked an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging the corners of her full lips.

"About time," Lex teased back, his large hand finding her knee and giving a gentle squeeze. It was a simple, friendly gesture but Elora shivered at his touch.

"You've never talked to me about your job before." She said, trying to distract herself.

"You've never asked. Besides, we've had a lot going on haven't you pretty girl, hmm?" he placed both hands back on the keyboard, pinning his eyes to the screen. He couldn't look at her right now, not when something so simple as a hand on her knee had him considering taking her right here on the table.