COMMAND

Thirty Four

A few hours after Pete left, I was still reeling from his visit. I still felt there was something he wasn't saying and I couldn't for the life of me figure what it was about him that got me so uncomfortable. I debated on talking to Rogue about his visit, but I decided not to make it an issue. I didn't want to make this a big deal and have him think I was trying to ruin his friendship with his best friend, so I decided not to say anything.

"You better be thinking about me," Rogue said, interrupting my daydreams.

I looked up to see him standing in the doorway of Hanna's office, a little shocked to see him and kinda excited because I had been thinking about him and he just appeared as if I had a button that summoned him.

When I stared into his eyes, dark and vague, the corner of his mouth tilted up a little. "Were you thinking about me?"

I had heard he was in the building, having a meeting with Robert. I had been confused but slightly relieved that Pete had left an hour before he had walked in; although, people would still talk about seeing him twice and with different clothes. I wondered if anyone had asked him that. I wondered if he knew Pete was here. Twenty minutes ago when I saw him around the office, we had brushed past each other and he gave me a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"Hey." Fingers snapped in front of my face and I returned to reality when I realized when he was standing a few feet away from me. My eyes widened when I registered that he was really here, and I rushed to see if anyone had noticed him sneaking into the office.

"Did anyone see you come in?" I asked, quickly dimming the windows so we couldn't be seen. Rogue was behind me when I turned around, caging me against the wall and kept steady hands pressed against the wall behind me. I sucked in a breath.

He raised a brow. "Is that the first thing you're going to say to me? Very well, then." He drew back, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I came in here to invite you to lunch and don't worry, no one saw me coming in here." Cocking his head, he added, "And don't you think people would notice the windows and be a little suspicious? It's certainly not the brightest move if you're trying to make it look like nothing is happening between us."

"Ah, shit." I huffed out a breath and banged my head back against the wall. "When you put it like that, it's actually true."

"Well, I try to make it a habit of stating facts." His fingers were playing with mine, but my eyes were on his smirk. "Have lunch with me."

"What business would I have with Rogue Slade to have lunch with him?" I arched my brows slightly. "It's what people will ask."

He didn't have to think before replying, "We got to know each other so well after our companies collaborated, and if you haven't forgotten, I did your photoshoot. And of course, after that, we realized we both have something in common."

"Which is?"

"We like each other."

I snorted. "Be serious. If we have lunch together, people will talk."

"Then let them. In case you haven't noticed, people love talking a lot. I'm a man who has been in the spotlight for years. Anything I do, people talk about it, and eventually, they will move on to better things. It's nothing that should scare you."

"But—"

"Don't you have lunch with friends?" he probed, now walking around Hanna's office, poking at the papers on her desk.

I straightened and crossed my arms, leveling my breath. "None of them are Rogue Slade," I countered lamely, enjoying looking at his taut ass in those pants that were directly in my line of sight.