Nathan still wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he pulled out a chair for the friend. “Sit. We just ordered. I’m sure our server can deliver everything together.”
“Or we could get our own table,” Bree said.
“Yes,” I said hurriedly. “Or that.”
I could feel Bree’s eyes on me. “Or we can stay.”
I grimaced as my eyes jerked to her. “We don’t want to interrupt what is clearly a… um…” I had no idea who the other woman was to her, so I couldn’t even hazard a guess at what they were doing.
“This is Paisley,” Bree said. “She’s my assistant.”
“Really?” Nathan took Paisley’s hand and lavished an exaggerated kiss against her knuckles. “I’ve been looking for a good assistant.”
Paisley giggled. Bree, to my utter surprise, reached across the table and flicked Nathan’s ear. Hard.
“Ouch!” Nathan glared at her. “What was that for?”
“You’re smarmy,” Bree replied, not holding back. “You’ve got this way about you that is gross. Have you ever met a woman you haven’t hit on?”
The question should have offended Nathan. Instead, he smirked. “Um… I haven’t hit on you.”
“That’s because you know I’ll make you cry if you do,” Bree replied. “You flirt with people whether you find them attractive or not.”
“That’s a pretty insulting thing to say about your assistant.”
“Oh, don’t even.” Bree made a flicking motion with her hand. “I will make you cry if you turn this into a thing.”
“Ignore her,” Paisley said as she got comfortable. She had interesting tattoos up her arms. “She’s in a crabby-ass mood. She’s been this way since I got to her house this morning. She says she didn’t sleep well, but I think she needs to get laid.”
I had to duck my head at the incredulous look on Bree’s face.
“Do you want to work for him?” Bree demanded of her assistant. “If so, I can fire you right now. Just know he’ll either sexually harass you for the duration or have sex with you and then dump you in the first month.”
Nathan mock clutched at his heart. “You wound me.”
“And I’m not wrong,” Bree said. “Leave my assistant alone.”
“Fine.” Nathan shot Paisley another smile then focused on Bree. “I heard you had a run-in with a creep outside the restaurant last night. Are you okay?”
Even I was impressed with the way he asked the question. This was the Nathan I wanted to be friends with. He was not putting on an act. He genuinely cared, and despite his bravado, he would never do to a woman what had been done to Bree the previous evening.
“I’m fine,” Bree replied evasively, her eyes shifting to the big windows. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
Paisley’s keen gaze landed on her boss. “What happened last night?”
“It was nothing.” Bree waved her off. “I overreacted.”
I started shaking my head before I realized I was going to respond. “It was obvious he made you uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter if that was his intention. You’re allowed to feel what you feel, and you shouldn’t apologize for it.”
Gratitude flashed on Bree’s face. Then she lowered her chin. “Thank you, but I’ve been thinking about it. He technically didn’t do anything. He was just talking to me while I waited for an Uber.”
“He made you uncomfortable,” I argued. “We always tell people to follow their instincts on this stuff. You shouldn’t feel guilty because you did.”
“Yes, well, I appreciate you riding home with me,” she said, and I could tell she meant it. “Even though you hate me.”
I could have lied and said I didn’t hate her, but that would have been an insult to both of us. “Just because I think you’re the devil, that doesn’t mean I would let something bad happen to you.”
She laughed then looked down at the menu, clearly searching for a distraction. “What’s good here?”
