That’s it! I’m going over there.
He grabbed his car keys and stopped.
That’s a dumb idea! The plan is to get Trisha back and Jordan was just the means to do it. Three dinners and a few games of pool doesn’t mean anything. I don’t even like her…maybe I kinda like her– but that’s not the point! She’s a single woman and if she wants to date, she can. Of course, she can…even if it is that slimeball. That’s fine. It’s totally fine. It is incredibly fine! I am so…fine with it…so fine with it. If they went out to dinner, that’s fine, too. And if he takes her home…and he gets a little frisky and she—That’s it! I’m going over there!
*****
Tyler knocked on her door repeatedly, rang the bell three times, and resumed knocking. He still wasn’t sure what he would do once she opened the door, nor did he know what his reaction would be if he saw Timothy there, but he knocked and knocked until he heard the locks being undone on the other side.
“Tyler?”
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. They were heavy with exhaustion. She’d replaced her beige knee-length skirt with a pair of blue jeans, but still wore the white shirt she had onearlier, though now it was wrinkled and the collar was lopsided. Her dark hair was tousled and haphazardly tied up atop her head, stray curls hanging about her face. She looked unkempt and untidy and so exquisitely…real.
He’d dated Trisha for three years and not once had he ever seen her look anything other than perfect. Yet there was something so refreshing about seeing the imperfections of a woman. In the space of a few weeks, he had seen professional Jordan, casual Jordan, sexy Jordan, messy Jordan, but imperfect Jordan…imperfect Jordan was something to behold.
“What are you doing here?” she asked tiredly. “It’s eleven o’ clock.”
Is it really that late? This is awkwardly inappropriate.“May I come in?”
She sighed her annoyance, moved aside and allowed him to enter. It was then that he noticed the bunny slippers on her feet.
Bunny slippers! Timothy Coldwell clearly isn’t here, so now what?“Where’s your roommate?”
“She’s staying at her parents’ house tonight. She’ll be back tomorrow.” She closed the door behind him and walked with him to the living room. “What’s so important?” she asked irritably. “Because unless you’re here to tell me that you’ve decided to give me a percentage of the thirty million I saved you as a bonus, anything else can wait ’til Monday.”
“Well…a bonus is in order…but I…just came by…to…to say thank you.”
“Thank you? Really?Thank you?”
Her scathing tone didn’t go unnoticed. “You’re upset.”
“Of course, I’m upset! Let’s just recall the events, shall we?”
He wasn’t really keen to recall anything, but the expression on her face told him it would be dangerous not to hear her out.
“You rope me into this two days before we have to make the presentation and I worked my ass off to get it to you on time.”
She turned on her heel, marched past the kitchen and down the corridor.
“Where are you going?” he shouted.
“To change into my pajamas.” She returned without the bunny slippers. “Because as soon as I say what I need to say, you’re going to leave and I’m going to bed.”
He nodded his agreement and she continued with the one-sided argument.
“So I get everything done for you, right down to the last PowerPoint slide and all I asked was that you show up at seven o’ clock.” She started unbuttoning her shirt and he had to force himself to keep listening to what she was saying. “But you don’t show up at seven o’ clock and you don’t even bother to call me and tell me that you’re going to be late.” She walked back down the corridor, talking louder so he could still hear her. “So I’m sitting there, panicking like an idiot and when you do finally decide to make an appearance, you and Matthew drop this fucking bomb on me!”
“Language,” he muttered to himself.
She returned in a different state of undress. The white shirt was gone and a thin, white lace camisole was left behind, one that exposed every feminine part of her in averyflattering way. His eyes caressed the soft contours of her shoulders before moving slightly lower.
Focus, Tyler.
“And even though you knew that I had never done anything like that before, you didn’t help me once. Alex Partridge was spitting venom at me and you did nothing. You didn’t stand up for me.”
Tyler forced the thoughts of her supple breasts trapped beneath the white camisole out of his head and allowed his eyes to move up to meet her livid scowl. “Jordan, standing up for youwould’ve made him think you’re weak and you’re not. I knew you could handle him.”
“Okay, and when Timothy asked me for the counter-offer? You said nothing.”
