Nobody's Obligation (Swimming Upstream #2) by Rebecca Barber

be made, but they were getting nowhere. When Amanda daringly stuck her head through the door, John snapped.
    A frustrated growl escaped John’s throat, thankfully only loud enough so Ava was the only one to hear it. “Yes, Amanda?” he snapped irritably, rubbing the back of his neck.
    “Sorry to interrupt but there is someone here to see you,” she squeaked timidly.
    Rising to her feet, Ava began scooping up the notebooks, pens, and papers that were scattered between them. “I guess now’s as good a time as any to call it a day. Seems like other people need you.”
    “Sounds like it,” John agreed as his stomach let out a loud rumble, causing both of them to chuckle. “Just in time too, by the sounds of that.”
    “Am I interrupting something?” a smooth, husky voice asked, sending vibrations through Ava.
    Ava spun around quickly, and was instantly captured by Tyler’s piercing gaze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and goose pimples covered her entire body. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was about this man, but he had her acting like a bumbling idiot without even blinking. Ava couldn’t move. Instead she was trapped, like a deer caught in the headlights. Moments later she was coughing and spluttering, pushing at her chest as she gasped for breath.
    “Shit, Ava, you okay?” John asked, stepping towards her, slapping her on the back.
    Gulping, Ava tried to steady her breathing to regain control. “Yeah.”
    “What happened?” John asked, sincerely worried.
    “Nothing.”
    “Ava?”
    “Nothing, okay. I just—I just forgot to breathe,” she snapped, still spluttering.
    Silently, John stepped around Ava, unable to hide his complete amusement at her obvious discomfort in Tyler’s presence. “Hi, I’m John Murphy.” John grinned knowingly, extending his hand. “I’m Ava’s boss,” he added.
    “Ah! Tyler Andrews.” Tyler grinned, his eyes never leaving Ava, causing her to shiver involuntarily. “So, I guess you’re the guy I need to talk to about letting me steal Ava for the afternoon,” Tyler pronounced confidently as he winked at Ava.
    Unable to contain her shock, Ava stepped back, tripping over her own feet, causing the pile of papers in her hands to flutter to the ground. No one moved. All three just stood there dumbfounded and watched as they hit the ground before John and Tyler both broke out in a deep, hearty chuckle. Ava wanted to disappear indefinitely. Quickly she stepped behind John as she tried to use him as a shield, a barrier from her complete humiliation, a support beam, and protection—mainly from herself. Ava dropped to her knees and scooped up the papers and pens, which seem to have scattered in every direction. As she reached out a shaky finger to grab the blue highlighter that rested against John’s impeccably shined shoes, he turned to look at her on her hands and knees as she tried to pull it all together, including her dignity. “You know what, Tyler? Ava is all yours for the rest of the day!”
    “What?” Tyler and Ava both managed to blurt out in unison.
    “Yep! I can’t seem to hold her attention today anyway, so you might as well take a shot.” John smirked, looking at Ava, who flushed an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible.
    “Sounds good to me.” Tyler smirked, raising his eyebrows at Ava, which caused her stomach to dance.
    It took a moment before Ava managed to find her voice. “Do I even get a say?” She grimaced as John helped her up from the floor and removed the bundle of papers from her trembling fingers.
    “Nope.” John and Tyler laughed together.
    Ava pouted as she folded her arms across her chest and chewed on her bottom lip.
    Tyler smirked his infamous panty-dropping smirk. “I’ll meet you out front, Ava.”
    “Good to meet you, Tyler,” John agreed, shaking his hand before watching as Tyler stalked out of his office. John’s gaze danced around the office. Glass walls had its advantages. Every one of his twelve