Frisson

04 | office affairs

Chace rolls his eyes. "We both know you love being on top."

"Not as much as you."

He just shakes his head and digs into his salad. "We're not having sex in this office again."

"Sure, we aren't."

He says that every time.

I grab my drink from the carrier (the best strawberry lemonade I've had the pleasure of tasting in my life), and he does the same. He drives his straw into his desk until the plastic bursts from the wrapper. He pulls it out between his teeth before dropping it into his iced tea and taking a sip. "So, how's your week been?"

"Pretty chill. Trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer before it's back to the books and dying from mental torture."

"Sounds fun." He takes a loaded fork of salad between his full, pink lips. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Anxiety drops straight to my stomach. "Like hell I am! You're taking me to meet your family. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to act? The dress I picked out is probably going to get me sued."

"First" —Chace slides his hand over mine and squeezes— "calm down. Don't be nervous. I know you're going to roll your eyes, but just be your natural, charming self."

"My natural self?" I frown. "Have you met me?"

"I have! You're an intelligent, funny, beautiful woman. I can tell you what my parents do and don't like all day, but don't change yourself. Just tone it down in front of them like you would any new person. More so, my dad. He's traditional. Image is everything to him."

"Mhm." My skimpy, lavender dress floats in the back of my mind.

"Caroline, Tyler's mom, is going to try and be your best friend no matter what. If you say you've been in the Russian mafia, she'll go, where do I sign up?"

I snort and slap my hand over my mouth. "Your mom sounds pretty cool."

"She's super sweet. Overreaching at times, but sweet."

"So, you have a badass brother, traditional dad, and sweet stepmother."

"Basically." Chase chomps another clump of salad then wields his fork casually. "My parents are in New York right now. They're meeting with a family by the name of Hyeong Rhee, and they'll be flying them in on their private jet by tomorrow morning. We're going to have a long weekend at the mansion and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I drop my fork and hold my hands up. "Several things. First, private jet? Second, we're staying over? Third, a mansion?" The walls of my throat close in. I rethink my dress for the millionth time. I know Chace's family is rich. I didn't know they were private jet and mansion rich. His house is a modest two floors, two bedrooms in a quiet suburban neighborhood. The closest I've ever been to a mansion are the ones on TV.

"Yeah." He nods obliviously. "My parents invest in established businesses. My dad is the part-owner of my gym, helped me get it off the ground."

My mouth drops. Hunger bubbles into fear in the pit of my stomach. "I mean, I knew they invested in brands and such. I didn't know they could afford to invest in so much that they're so well off."

"Number one tip in the business world is to invest intelligently. Land is almost always your best bet if you know what you're getting into."

"Is that what he taught you?"

"Yep. Along with other things."

"Like what?"

A mask shifts his expression, a shadow casting over his light. It disappears too fast for me to draw attention to. "Things that aren't so important or interesting," he says. He's sitting so close, but those words breathe a silent distance between us.