What the hell am I doing?
That was far too close a call.
I swear that woman turns me reckless every time she’s in my vicinity. And to have Scott, out of everyone, almost catch... whatever that was. The guy is gunning for her job and I’m risking everything simply because I want to flirt with her for a few minutes and hold her hand across her desk.
I have to stop. We both know that nothing can come from this, and I told her I’d stay away. As much as I hate the idea, I need to be better about keeping that promise.
I’m disappointed in my own lack of restraint as I head down the hall for the elevators, needing to get to the clubhouse. The offices are empty today with it being a Sunday, so I’m surprised to find that when the elevator doors open, someone is inside and gets off on this floor.
But it’s not just anyone. It’s the same guy Reese went on a date with a couple of weeks ago.
“Hey, it’s Monty, right?” he asks, a smile on his face when he spots me, like he’s absolutely thrilled to see me here.
I’ll tell you right now, the feeling is not reciprocated.
I want to remind him that we’re not friends, so he doesn’t need to call me by a comfortable nickname. But then again, I’ve also grown attached to only one specific person calling me by my first name.
“Yeah,” I say, studying him. “Remind me of your name again?”
“Michael.” He holds his hand out to introduce himself.
I shake it, but it’s done so hesitantly, trying to figure out what he’s doing here at the stadium, and even more so, why he got off the elevator on Reese’s floor.
She didn’t seem all that interested after their date, right? Or did I read that entirely wrong?
“Nice to meet you,” I lie. “Are you lost?”
“Nope. I’m here for the game tonight.”
I nod slowly. “Well, the box office is out front. You can get your tickets there.”
He laughs, assuming I’m just giving him a hard time.
I’m not. He can go now.
“I’m here as Reese’s guest. She invited me to watch the game from the owner’s box tonight.”
What the hell?
“Did she now?” I ask, the tension in my jaw obvious as I speak. “How... generous of her.”
“Totally. It should be a good time.” He smacks my shoulder like I’m his fucking pal. “Well, I’ll see ya. She told me to meet her in her office, so I’m just gonna...”
He steps around me, and that’s when I realize my stance. I’m taking up the majority of the hallway, legs spread and shoulders wide, as if I could stop him from getting to her simply by standing in the way.
But the reality is, I can’t do anything.
I can’t stop him.
I can’t be more than her employee.
I can’t stake some sort of claim over a woman who I can never be with.
I can’t even be seen with her in public the way he can.
“Good luck, Monty,” he calls out, and I’d like to respond by telling him to get fucked. But the dude seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Unfortunately.
