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THE NERVE OF HIM, INSINUATING that I would just hop in bed with his brother at the drop of a hat! Yes, Alec was sweet and considerate, but I had a few brain cells in my head. And my point about Brad being the one to sleep on my couch was legitimate. It wasn’t Alec who’d had too much to drive that night. Maybe the two brothers were more alike than Brad wanted to think.
After the confrontation, I was crammed full of nervous energy. Slamming the door behind me was a bad idea. It sent the wrong signal to anyone who might have been listening. Nikki was one of those people, and she confronted me about an hour later.
“Is everything okay?” She lingered in the doorway as if I might bite her head off.
“Fine,” I replied tersely.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Nikki asked, taking one step closer.
“No, I’d better not,” I decided.
“He didn’t do anything, did he?” She pointed back to the hallway, indicating Brad’s door.
I pressed my lips together, unwilling to share any details. I might be angry, but I didn’t want to get him in trouble. He hadn’t touched me, and while he’d insulted me deeply, I understood that he meant well. It was likely that he had seen Alec break a few hearts. That didn’t excuse what he’d said, but it made me reluctant to tattle.
“I’m fine. Everything’s fine,” I said, diverting my attention back to the computer.
“Okay.” She threw up her hands and left.
As soon as she was gone, I put my head down in one hand. Things were going so well between me and Nikki; I really felt like I had a friend in the office. Now that was messed up too, on top of the whole conflict between me and Brad. This day was turning into a high school soap opera from hell.
I forced myself to keep working, and by the time the day was finished, I was somewhat more composed. I went home and skipped family dinner. I told Corey I needed a little space, and he made excuses to his children for me.
Tuesday was uneventful. Alec asked me out to lunch again, but I turned him down. It wasn’t that I hadn’t enjoyed our sushi date on Monday, but I just didn’t want to give the wrong impression. If Brad was paying attention (and I had every reason to think he was), I wanted to rub his face in the fact that I wasn’t such an easy target.
Whether Alec was really trying to seduce me or not, I wasn’t going to hop right in bed with him, no matter what either of them thought. And if skipping lunch was what I had to do to prove it, then so be it.
I wasn’t some kind of office slut who could be handed around from man to man. I was free to choose my own romantic partners, and I chose neither. It took some cajoling, but I was able to make Alec back off without seeming mean about it.
“I heard there’s a great Italian place around the corner,” our new finance director said around twelve-thirty.
“I’m sorry, I’m swamped,” I replied.
“Come on, he has to give you a break, doesn’t he?” Alec wheedled, giving me his most generous smile.
“I’m trying to get out of here on time,” I explained. “I’m just going to eat at my desk.”
“That’s not a healthy habit to get into,” he cautioned.
“Still.” I held my ground, gesturing to the laptop and its many tabs open.
“All right,” he said with a sigh, turning around.
I watched him walk away down the hall and felt a tiny twinge of regret. He had been a nice conversational partner in the few minutes I’d spent with him. It wasn’t any of Brad’s business who I went to lunch with. I considered running after him and telling him I’d changed my mind, but the cost of that decision was greater than I wanted to bear. It was better to just leave well enough alone. I could let the two of them duke it out without getting in between.
Brad asked me into his office only once that day, and it wasn’t for very long.
“Do you have an update on the advertising budget?” he asked curtly.
“I’m still waiting for that email,” I answered. “Would you like me to circle back to them?”
“Please.”
I studied him as he sat hunched over his computer. He didn’t even look up to say hello, much less smile or attempt friendly conversation. It seemed like everything that was good between us had evaporated.
I hesitated, on the verge of apologizing for slapping him, but knew I didn’t want to do that. He deserved everything I had done, and more. It was completely inappropriate for him to make such wild accusations, even if he thought he was protecting me. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, until I was desperate to leave the room.
“Is there anything else?” I snipped.
“No.” He finally looked up, his eyes cold.
I had a hard time reconciling the man before me with the one who shared my campfire and completely enchanted my family. How the hell could he do that? It was like a completely different person, and I realized that this was the man who had let go of ninety percent of Retro’s staff. This was the man I had sworn revenge on, and I had better get to it before I lost my nerve.
Going back to my desk, I called up all the reservations for Paris and bumped them up in price by at least twenty percent. That would show him. And if he didn’t notice, at least I would feel vindicated, soaking in a private hot tub in my own luxury suite.
The rest of the week ground by, each day as difficult as the last. Thank goodness I had a lot of work to do, so that once I was at my desk, the time passed quickly. Alec asked me out again on Wednesday, but when I turned him down again, he quit asking.
Nikki kept her distance as well, but I won her back with a free latte on Thursday morning and an offer to help her with some phone calls. She turned right back around, and we smoothed over the residual tension that my argument with Brad and Alec had created.
By Friday, I was ready for the weekend. The problem was that Saturday morning, Brad and I were flying to Paris. I didn’t know if that was a problem or not. Part of me was really looking forward to it. But there was part of me that was dreading having to spend that much time with him. What the hell were we going to talk about on a transatlantic flight in a private jet where we would likely be the only two passengers?
Corey came up to find me while I was packing. He let himself in the door without knocking, which was something I hated. I was about to complain when he pointed out that my music was too loud.
“You should have knocked!” I yelled.
“What?” he asked, going to the speaker and decreasing the volume by half. “Sorry, what?”
“You should have knocked,” I repeated.
“I did,” he said. “You’re blasting the stereo so loud I can hear it from the house.”
“Sorry,” I replied, folding a shirt and tucking it into my suitcase.
“Do you want to talk?”
At the invitation, I flopped onto the bed, all of my muscles failing me at the same time. I looked up at him like a puppy who had been kicked. I really did want to talk to someone, and no one else was available.
“I had an argument with Brad,” I said.
“Why? I thought things were going so good between you.” Corey sat down beside me, putting a hand on my knee.
“They were, up until Monday.”
“What happened Monday?”
“He basically accused me of...” I stopped. Exactly what had Brad accused me of? Going to lunch with his brother? That part was true. Being a pushover? Being a woman? “I went to lunch with his brother, and he lost it.”
“Okay,” Corey said with a nod, as if it all made sense.
“No!” I shouted. “Not okay. He doesn’t get to dictate who I go to lunch with.”
“Of course not,” Corey agreed. “So what are you going to do?”
“I upped the wow factor in Paris by a lot,” I replied with an evil genius grin.
“How?”
“I charged the most expensive rooms in the most expensive hotels, and all the amenities,” I said.
“Way to go!” Corey cheered.
“I feel a little bad about it.”
“Don’t,” he counseled me. “Wasn’t the whole point of getting this job so that you could get him back for letting everyone go?”
“No.” I threw a shirt at him.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember having that exact conversation with you.”
“It was part of the reason,” I allowed. “But not the whole reason. I also wanted to get paid.”
“Fair,” Corey agreed. “But you should enjoy your trip. As much as you can.”
“Thanks,” I said, standing up to continue packing.
It felt good to get that off my chest. Not being able to talk about it at the office was torture, especially since Brad was still being chilly toward me. Somehow, I thought that by refusing to eat with Alec, Brad would get down off his high horse. But it hadn’t worked out that way. I might have to put up with Mr. Strong and Silent for the entire weekend, but at least I would be doing it in style.
