Straight To You: A Novella (Taking Chances Series Book 1) Read Free Page A

had been staring at the computer monitor so long, the document on the screen had turned into a blur of black letters. “Lunch?” He turned around to face a freckle-faced man patting his stomach which bulged out from beneath a black polo shirt. “Oh, hey Bobby.”
    “Yeah, the meal between breakfast and dinner,” Bobby replied. “I think I finally digested that extra helping of turkey lasagna. I’m ready to go pump some iron.”
    Jeremy checked his watch and exhaled. “It’s a quarter past one already.” The entire morning had passed, yet he had accomplished next to nothing. “Where did the time go?”
    Bobby scratched his head. “I’m guessing you forgot about lunch. Man, how can you pass up free food? That’s one of the reasons I wanted to work here.” He gestured towards the monitor. “You must be working on something big to forget to eat.”
    “Uh, yeah, something big alright.” His friend from the legal department didn’t need to know he had been thinking about something other than costs and terms. “Come on, let’s hit the gym.” He picked up a protein bar from his desk. “I’ll eat this in the meantime.”
    “You sure? If you want to skip working out today, I’ll all for it.”
    “You’re not getting out of it that easily.”
    They headed to the next building to access the company gym. They took turns using the bench press with Bobby spotting Jeremy first. After a couple of reps, they switched places.
    “Come on, a little higher. Whoa there!” Jeremy reached over and grabbed the falling barbell before it made contact with Bobby’s neck. He raised it back onto the rack. “Nice try. You almost had it.”
    “Now I know what a bowl of jelly feels like. Wiggly and wobbly.” Bobby sat up on the bench press and wiped his forehead on the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Good thing you have fast reflexes. I almost got flattened into a pancake!”
    Jeremy chuckled and gestured at the mirror. “More like pureed tomatoes.”
    Bobby laughed at the sight of his crimson cheeks. “I’m ready for a break.”
    They grabbed their water bottles and sat down on some chairs lined up against the wall. Jeremy leaned back and took a swig of water. His mind drifted again to the image of a sweet dimpled smile, the one that had occupied his mind all morning. What kind of woman had Ashlynn become? He admitted his growing fondness for her had certainly crossed the bounds of being brotherly in nature. There was no denying the fact that he now viewed her with the curious eyes of a man.
    Bobby waved his hand in front of Jeremy’s face. “Hey, did you hear a word I just said?”
    “Sorry,” he replied. “What were you talking about?”
    “I said I bumped into Tiffany again. She was in the break room when I went to grab a soda.”
    “Is she the one who works in finance? Tall with short red hair?”
    “No, that’s Margo. I’m talking about the new HR Manager. Short with long red hair. Looks just like Amy Adams.”
    “You and your redheads. Have you ever been interested in a girl who didn’t have red hair?”
    “Hey, we gingers need to stick together,” he said, pointing to his own bright copper crew cut. “Haven’t you heard of redhead extinction? We’re a dying breed.”
    “You might want to make sure her hair color’s authentic before you make a move. You do know Amy Adams is naturally a blonde, right?”
    “What?!”
    “Sorry man, it’s true.” He laughed at the sight of Bobby’s gaping mouth. “My sister told me last week she had the same thing done to her own hair. But anyways, back to Tiffany. Sounds like you want to ask her out, assuming she’s a natural ginger?”
    “Wanting and doing are two different things. If I knew she’d say yes, I’d have done it yesterday. I’m still feeling out the situation. That’s why I first asked her to help me out with my self-evaluation.”
    “Ah, using the old Foot-in-the-Door technique. Smart move. Get her to agree to something small first, then go for