Hot off the press. And hot in my head.

Goddammit. I smack my hand on the table and almost scream out, but when I notice my coworkers eyeing me, I stop and force myself to control my anger.

“Calm down. He’s just your stepbrother. Your annoyingly dead-sexy asshole of a stepbrother,” I whisper to myself.

I blow out a few breaths before picking up my mobile phone and dialing his number. But then I realize that he’ll probably just avoid the questions that I have. Plus, he doesn’t even know about this picture yet. He’s still sitting there with her, pretending nobody will notice.

Well, I noticed. He can’t just go around having drinks with everyone. Soon, they’ll think they’re dating, or worse, having random, steamy sex in a hotel room every night. I can already imagine his strong arms pinning her down on the bed, kissing her lips with fervor, growling into her mouth, licking her neck … oh, god. Why am I even thinking of this?

It’s wrong, so wrong, and yet I can’t stop inserting myself into thoughts about Chris.

I have to stop him from humping every girl he can find because it damages his image, which is already at a historical low. He’s been dubbed the next bad boy in town, the one who gets girls to do things they’ll regret later. And I can tell from personal experience that’s exactly what happens when you fall for his charms.

“What are you doing?” Alyssa asks as I tuck away my cell phone.

I look up, surprised to see her there, even though I shouldn’t because this is the freaking office. When I’m in my mind, I just tend to forget there are people around me.

“Ah … nothing.”

She gives me a small nudge. “Oh, c’mon. I can tell you’re hiding something.”

An awkward laugh leaves my mouth. “Well … it’s kind of embarrassing.”

“What? Tell me!” She sits down beside me.

I roll my eyes. “My …stepbrother is my client, which is problem number one. I’m supposed to help him with his problematic reputation, but I just got this picture sent to me.” I show her the email.

“Oh, my … wait, is he grabbing her butt?”

She points at the second picture I hadn’t even dared to look at.

“Oh, my god,” I say, staring up close. My face is almost hitting the screen, and Alyssa laughs at me. With a flush, I lean back.

“I see you’re involved,” she says with a snicker.

“No, I’m just trying to contain this.”

“I can see that.” She muffles another laugh.

“Stop laughing,” I whisper-yell.

“What? It’s funny to see you get so worked up over this guy.”

“What? No, I’m not worked up. He’s just making it so hard on me.”

“I think there’s more to it than that,” she says, winking at me.

“Uh … right.”

She smiles. “I know you. I also know you never act this way around a guy. Or even remotely talk about them like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re embarrassed … confused … maybe a little jealous.”

My jaw drops. “I am not jealous!”

“Don’t tell me,” she says, getting up from her seat. “I’m not the one who needs convincing.”

“Fine, maybe I am, but so what? This is still not what he’s supposed to be doing to keep his reputation intact. Before you know it, she’ll go to the tabloids with some crazy-ass story, and then shit really hits the fan.”

“Or you just want him for yourself,” she muses.

I give her a playful shove. “Shut up.”

She giggles. “I can tell you like him, so there is no use in hiding it.”

“When? How? What are you, some kind of magician?” I say.

“No, but I’ve seen enough. He’s been here, and you’ve talked about him. One plus one … ahh, you get it.”

I shrug. “I don’t like like him. We just have … history …”

“Uh-huh …” She nods as if she just doesn’t believe me. “Whatever you say. Let’s just go get him, shall we?”

I frown as she wraps her arm around my shoulder. “We?”

“Yeah, I’m backing you up, girl,” she says with a grin. “I know when I’m needed.”

I’m still not sure if there’s anything that can be done. I mean, I’m supposed to help Chris, but I’m not doing a great job. He’s so stubborn and cocky all the time; it just gets on my nerves. That, and him flaunting all his goods in my face isn’t helping.

I think I’ll have to flaunt his own actions in his face. Maybe that’ll wake him up. If anything, at least this picture will show that girl to be careful around him. She might not want all the attention. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself when we walk out of the office, determined to tell him what I really think.

***

30 minutes later

Of course, he’s already gone by the time we arrive. I shouldn’t have expected anything different, but I guess I was hoping I could catch him in the act and confront him. Too bad it’ll have to wait, but he can sure as hell expect me to talk about this with him.

“Wanna go grab a coffee then, since we’re here anyway?” she asks.

“Nah, I just had one. Besides, I’m not really feeling well right now.”

“Oh … heartbreak troubles.”

I roll my eyes at her. “My heart isn’t breaking and especially not over him.”

“I understand,” she says, but I know she’s being sarcastic. “But I still think we should do something fun to take your mind off him. Hey, I know! Let’s go out tonight.”

“I don’t need a distraction or your pity, Alyssa,” I say, sighing.

“It’s not pity! It’s to celebrate my birthday,” she says. “I said I’d think about it, and I have. I wanna go out and party!”

“You’re sure?” I squint. “This isn’t about me, right? You’re doing this for you, okay?”

“Yes, of course. Now, are you coming or what?”

“Of course,” I say with a big smile. “We’ll have something to look forward to tonight.”

“And if all goes well, you might even forget about that big asshole. What’s his name, Chris?”

Of course, I can’t forget about him after she says that, which is exactly what she wanted to happen. I shove her, making her laugh like crazy. “I’m just messing with you.”

“I know you are. That’s why you’re such a bitch,” I growl playfully.

“That’s me, the incredibly helpful bitch, at your service.”

***

Later that night …

Alyssa has picked one of the best places in town to celebrate her birthday. This place serves my favorite drinks, and they have the craziest music. Just what I need to forget everything and focus on the good life.

“I love this place!” I tell her.

The music is blaring so loud that we have to scream in each other’s ears.

“I know! Me, too,” she says. “Let’s go grab a drink and hit the dance floor.”

“Margaritas?” I say with a smirk.

“You got it,” she says, walking to the bar with me.

We each get one and sip them while looking around for hot dudes we can include in our small party. Nothing like ogling some man-meat on a Friday night.

Right when I take another sip from my margarita, I spot a familiar body in the crowd. Specifically because his tattoos match those of Chris.

“Motherfucker …” I mutter.

“What?” Alyssa says.

“Look!” I grab her chin and make her look at him. “What is he doing here?”

“Oh …” She smashes her lips together as if she’s hiding a smile, so I turn toward her and put down my margarita.

“You don’t seem the least bit surprised,” I say.

“No … I’m not, really.”

I narrow my eyes. “You know something, don’t you?”

She shrugs, but her eyes tell me that she’s lying. Tapping my foot, I say, “Spill it.”

“Hey, it’s my birthday, and I don’t have to do shit,” she muses, laughing a bit.

I sigh. “Fine, I’ll go find out myself.”

When I turn around, I notice he’s dancing with a girl … the same one who served us coffee. Damn him.

I chug back my margarita and take a deep breath.

“You go, girl!” Alyssa yells after me as I walk toward him.

The moment he spots me, a devious smile appears on his face, but I just want to smack it off him. I don’t know why I’m so pissed, but I’m sure as hell blaming it on the fact that anyone could photograph him here, and when they do, the newspapers will eat it up.