Wildest Dreams (Dreamers Series Book 1) (6 page)

Ember caught a glimpse of Blake and the tall blond as he was getting into his Corvette. She tried to give him a kiss goodbye, but finally, just stormed off toward her car and slammed the door. Ember opened her car door and climbed in, still trying to process what she had just seen.
Why didn't he kiss her goodbye?
Oh well, she remembered she was supposed to try to avoid him anyway, so it didn’t matter. Right?

Ridge was explaining some of the dynamics of his company on the drive to work. The ride wasn’t very long, and as much as Ember hated to admit it, she was glad because she was going to end up falling asleep if she had to hear much more. Ember wanted to support her brother’s work but not have to listen to the details. She thought maybe she would tell him a story about helping patients to the bedside commodes and suppressed a grin. She was pretty sure that the discussion of work wouldn’t come up again.

When they arrived, Ember noticed the security guard, Kevin, standing off to the side watching as people filed into the building. She grabbed Ridge’s arm and walked over to him.

“Ridge, this is Kevin. He’s the security guard I was telling you about,” she said with a serious expression. Kevin’s eyes grew wide.

Ridge was quick to pick up on her ruse and played along. “Right, the one who was going to kick you out of the tower.” He tried to sound like he was offended.

“Yes, the one I said deserves a raise.” She grinned, and Ridge laughed. Kevin looked confused, though.

I'm sorry, Mr. Tatum. Sir, if I had known that she really was your sister I never—”

Ridge laughed again. “No worries, Kevin. If I hadn’t heard her voice before I saw her, I probably would have kicked her out too.” He smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes. Kevin relaxed a little and even grinned.

“Are you working here now?” he asked Ember curiously.

“No, I’m just here to work on some papers for the day. Have a great day, Kevin.” She gave him a big smile and headed toward the elevator, following Ridge, who had already started that way.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blake coming out of the café with a coffee and newspaper in hand. He had stopped at the lobby desk to talk to someone, but he hadn’t noticed her.

When the elevator dinged for the twenty-fifth floor, she opened her eyes, and the spiteful receptionist was there, glaring again. Ember wondered what the woman thought now that she was walking off the elevator with Ridge this time instead of Blake. She almost laughed. She wasn't a hateful person, but it was so hard to be nice to mean people.

Ridge opened the door to the office she was using and let her in. Before he walked out, she stopped him.

“Did you tell the receptionist that I’m your sister?”

Puzzled he said, “Carla? No. Why?”

“She keeps glaring at me, but that might explain it.” She shrugged.

“She’ll get over it.” But as he was leaving he noticed Carla watching, and he turned to give Ember a kiss on the cheek. They both started laughing. When Blake stepped off the elevator, they caught his attention, and he walked over to them.

“Sounds like a party in here,” he said.

“Yeah, we think Carla is jealous of Ember, so I gave her a kiss on the cheek to give her something to talk about.”

“Really? Why do you always get to have all the fun?” He winked at Ember.

“You could kiss me too. That would have her going crazy.” Immediately feeling the flush,
What was I thinking? Why did I say that out loud?
Ember smiled shyly. She had been laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. Blake stepped in front of her to wipe one away gently. The touch was like an electric shock.

Leaning down, he said, “If I kissed you it wouldn’t be your cheek, but it would be something everyone in the building would be talking about.” His smoky voice was soft, keeping Ridge from hearing it. He stepped back and slapped Ridge on the back. “We need to get together today and go over some plans.”

Glancing at Ember with a concerned look but talking to Blake, Ridge said, “Yeah, I have a meeting at nine, but I’m free after that.”

They continued talking as they walked out of the office, leaving Ember standing there with her mouth hanging open like a fool.

When Ember noticed Carla staring at her, she just smiled and closed the door, but once it was closed, she turned around to lean against it, touching her cheek.

Get a grip,
she said to herself;
he has a woman, it was just for show.
Even though she could still feel the place where he had touched her.

She sat down at the desk and while the computer was loading, she took her phone out. There was already a text from Reece. She just sighed and unlocked the phone to call Kaylen to make sure she was still okay with Jade. After talking to her, Ember was relieved she was going to get some work done without having to worry about her.

When she got off the phone with Kaylen, she looked at the text from Reece:

Hi, beautiful. I hope you have a

great day. Do you think I can take

you to dinner sometime soon?

She locked her phone back and pulled up an empty Word document to start her resume. She wasn’t ready to see Reece, but she also knew him well enough to know he wasn’t going to accept no for an answer. Not wanting to start her day off with a fight, she decided to text him back later.

It was noon when Ridge came in and talked her into going to lunch. She was usually so busy that she would forget to eat. She had eaten three meals straight, and couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

The restaurant they went to was pretty busy during lunch. It was an Italian place near the tower so they could just walk. It was a chilly day but perfect with her long sleeves.

They ordered their lunch, but Ridge remained distant until their food came. Ember wondered if the thought of having her and Kaylen living with him was starting to wear on him. Afraid of the answer she bit the bullet, “Hey Ridge, you haven’t said a word since we sat down. Is everything okay?”

“I have to travel to Africa,” he said flatly.

“Oh, okay.

"That's what the meeting with Blake was about." He looked so young when he pouted.

"For how long?” She asked.

“I’ll be gone for at least a week, if not two.”

“When do you have to leave?”

“Saturday morning. I have to be at the airport at four o’clock.” He shook his head as if in disbelief. He hated to travel. He had told her that once when they were on the phone, and he was getting ready to go to Saudi Arabia.

“We can stay at Mom and Dad’s if you need us to until you get back.” She didn’t want him to worry about asking them to leave while he was gone if that was it.

“What? No. Why would you need to do that?” He looked at her like she had three heads.

“I just thought maybe you were feeling bad about wanting to kick us out right after we got here, so I just wanted to let you know it’s okay. I understand if you want us to.”

“That’s just silly. I honestly hate traveling. You’re staying in the apartment. Besides, at least this way I know there won’t be any cobwebs when I get home.”

CHAPTER 8

A few hours after getting back to the office there was a soft knock at the door. Ember looked up surprised. She didn’t know anyone here besides Ridge, Blake and her cousin Lance, and didn't think there was a reason for any of them to come by.

“Come in,” Ember called out putting her face in her hands. This resume was like a job in itself.

A stunning young lady stuck her head in the door. “Hi, my name is Jenna.” Her voice was relaxing as she stepped inside.

Ember looked up, “Hi, I’m Ember.”

“Yes, I know. Carla was telling some of the girls on our floor about you, and I just wanted to come and introduce myself.” She spoke fast with an excited energy about her. Ember guessed she was close to the same age as her. She had bright aqua blue eyes and a lovely smile. Ember got the feeling that she would be hard to dislike.

“Carla was talking about me?” She just shook her head. The thought made her aggravated even though she knew that this would happen especially after this morning.

“I know she has a big mouth, but I wouldn’t have known you were here if she hadn’t said anything. There’s a competition at the new karaoke bar tomorrow night, and I just wanted to see if you would like to go with a few of us. There's a small cover charge since it is a competition, but it’s not much. Of course, none of us can actually sing, but it’s fun to watch. We go out once and a while hoping to find our prince charming. Don’t worry; Carla isn’t ever invited.” She smiled as she twisted a lock of her long curly black hair.

“What exactly was she saying?” Ember’s curiosity got the best of her, and she pointed to the chair in front of the desk. Jenna closed the office door and took a seat.

“The same thing she says about anyone new who comes around. You're pretty cozy with not just Mr. O’Neil, but Mr. Tatum too. And she’s so jealous she can’t stand it. Oh, she didn’t say that last part, but it’s true. She is. Of course, most of the single women in the tower are jealous when it comes to those two. Mr. Tatum has never had a woman near his office, though, so that alone has everyone talking.”

“He’s never brought anyone up here?” Ember knew this was probably true, and she wasn’t surprised by it, but to hear someone else say it aloud just made her feel sad for him. He really needed to find someone special.

“No. He is definitely all business when it comes to the office. Well, until you showed up.” She grinned at Ember. “Some people around the offices would have bet a month’s salary that he was gay. I never agreed with that, though. I hope that it’s not true anyway.” She was looking down at her hands and apparently realized what she had just said and looked up, horrified, and Ember just grinned. “I mean I know he’s not gay since…”

Ember laughed. “He’s not gay, but he’s not with me either,” she said.

“He's not?” Ember could tell she was a little skeptical.

“He’s my brother.” She grinned as she watched Jenna go from relieved to perplexed.

“Oh my, I’m not really sure that’s better,” Ember smiled, and Jenna relaxed. Ember could tell she had been right about her first impression of Jenna: she liked her. “Now, what about tomorrow night? Do you think you can get away and come hang out with us?”

Ember grinned. “I would love to go, but I won’t be able to make it tomorrow. I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Well, you're invited anytime. It would be great to hang out with someone new. Take my card and give me a call or text sometime when you can join us.” She handed Ember her card.

“Thank you, I will.” Ember took the card from her putting the number in her phone.

“See you soon!” Jenna smiled and turned to walk out.

“Hi, Mr. O’Neil,” she heard Jenna say as she walked into the lobby. Ember was surprised that Jenna was able to talk to him so casually and not sound like a nervous teenager.

She looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but she found him staring at her instead. He turned back to Jenna as soon as Ember looked up. He answered her with a friendly greeting as they walked into the elevator together.

As she watched them step out of view, she realized Jenna had mentioned Ridge had never brought anyone up to his office but did that mean Blake had, or had Jenna been focusing on Ridge because she evidently had a crush on him? She decided she would wait to get to know Jenna just a little better before she asked her anything about Blake. She liked her, but she didn’t know her well enough to trust she wouldn’t be the next one to run out and spread rumors.

She looked at the computer monitor and was just about to start typing again when her cell phone buzzed with a text. She looked down at it and saw that it was Reece again.

Ok, I know I’m rushing things I

just miss you. We'll wait for

dinner just don’t ignore me pls

I love you, Ember

Sighing, she laid her head on her arms, trying to think of what to say.

“Sleeping again?” His deep voice made her heart skip a beat.

She looked up and quickly went to push her hair out of her face almost knocking over the cup on her desk. He grabbed it out of the way just in time.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” She covered her face with her hands, and he chuckled.

“Hey, it’s your drink. You spill it; you’re the one who has to do without.”

“I didn’t have a drink.” She looked at him, slightly confused, then realized he was holding two cups.

“Just an afternoon pick-me-up. I wasn’t sure if you like coffee, but I took a chance.” He shrugged and set her cup back down. "If you're anything like Ridge, you can drink it all day."

“I love coffee, and yes, I could drink it all day.” She smiled at him. "Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Before he started out of the office, he said, “You should probably answer that text soon.” He sounded a little annoyed.

Ember’s mouth dropped open when she noticed her phone was sitting in front of her with the text from Reece on the screen. She groaned and laid her head back on her arms. Finally picking the phone back up, she hit reply: