It’ll be fine,I tell myself. Emmett seems to like his brother. There’s warmth is his eyes, and even though I don’t know him very well, I trust his judgment.
We reach a corner office. From its location, it’s going to be a mirror image of Emmett’s in layout. Emmett stands by the door, blocking the plaque on the wall with the name of my real boss. He knocks a couple of times.
“Come in!” comes a slightly distracted voice.
Emmett opens the door and gestures at me. “After you.”
“Okay.” I start to walk inside, with him following closely behind.
My new boss is standing behind his desk, poring over some documents. He lifts his head.
For an instant it’s like there’s a human-sized snake in the suit. I stop cold, right in my tracks. All the blood in my skull seems to drain, and I feel lightheaded. I blink to clear the spots in my vision, praying I’m seeing things.
Emmett bumps into my back hard enough to knock me forward, but catches me fast, thank God. It’d be humiliating to end up on my knees, looking up atGrant fucking Lasker, the asshole I was dumb enough to fall in love with.
He looks good. More than good. His body has filled out with more lean muscle, and his shoulders are broader than I remember. The V of his back muscles is also wider on top and narrower as it slopes down. Meanwhile, his face is even more chiseled and refined, his clean-shaven jaw stubborn, the high cheekbones sharp enough to cut. His dark eyebrows slant furiously as his aquamarine eyes flare with old resentment and anger.
That reaction, more than anything else, stiffens my spine. What the hell doeshehave to be mad about? I’m the one who was used and betrayed. He lied to me to take my virginity, chortled behind my back with his rich friends and turned me into a campus laughingstock. I wanted my first time to be with somebody special, somebody who cared. I thought I had found that in him. What a fool I was.
I hate it that he isn’t a beach bum like I thought he’d become. He’s the epitome of success in a slick suit and a watch that costs more than what most people make in a year, while I’m a mess in cheap clothes I bought on clearance years ago, and my shoes are so old the soles are too thin to provide any arch support.
Our difference in status couldn’t be starker. The world is truly unfair, and everything about the situation slips underneath my armor and leaves a deep cut.
Since I left Napa Aquinas College, I thought I’d rebuilt that armor. Guess it isn’t as strong as it used to be. But then, it was broken before. It might never give me the protection it once did. It’s up to me to be a little bit tougher, paste on a smile like I’m not hurt.
Grant stares at me for a moment, then glares at Emmett. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Uh…no.” Emmett walks around me to face Grant. “This is Aspen. The new hire I told you about.”
Grant opens his mouth, then closes it, placing a fist over his lips. Tendons stand out on the back of his hand, while his eyes are shooting death at me.
Fuck you very much. I’m not happy to see you, either.
But I keep the words inside. Not because Grant deserves my consideration, but because I need the money for Grandpa.
In addition, I’m beginning to feel sorry for Emmett. He obviously doesn’t know what kind of asshole his brother is. Grant’s been fooling him just like he did me.
“We need to talk,” Grant says to Emmett.
“Okay.”
“You.” Grant points at me. “Out.”
Emmett’s eyes widen with shock.
I, on the other hand, am not fazed. I should’ve expected this.How rude. But I guess he doesn’t need to hide his true nature from me. He doesn’t have another bet to win. The memory makes my blood boil again.
Grant gives me a look. “If you don’t like it, quit.”
“I don’t think so.” Now that I know it’s Grant, I’m even more determined to stay. He took everything from me, and now he can damn well pay for my grandfather’s care. He owes me that much.
Emmett clears his throat. “What’s going on here?”
“I don’t need an assistant who’s going to ghost me in a couple of weeks,” Grant says.
“Don’t worry, I plan to stay here as long as possible. As a matter of fact, maybe I’ll work here for the rest of my life,” I shoot back.Grandpa will be with me forever.Of course, proclaiming the possibility of lifetime employment is absurd, but no more than Grant’s idea that I’m going to ghost this job. I’m not the irresponsible asshole here.
“Okay, uh… I’m getting the impression that you guys know each other,” Emmett says.
