“Don’t I know it,” he said with a groan.
“That was appropriate at first, but it’s time for her to start living again.”
“But not with Lee.”
“No, not with him. The first thing we’ll need to do ishelpher go out on a few lousy dates. It’ll demonstrate how good the two ofyouare together,” Amelia said, sagely.
“What about the sabotage thing?”
“Well, don’t youwantto sabotage any date she has with Jason?” Amelia gave him a sly wink.
“Why, yes,” Dylan said with a grin. “Yes, I do.”
He stepped into Rae’s office and approached her desk wherehehad every right to be. Unlike Lee.
“Hey, Rae, I’ve got a bunch for you today.” Dylan indicated Lee should move aside and said to him, “I know you’re in a hurry.”
“What are you doing here so early?” Lee had pulled out his phone and was looking at it. “Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be, like outside spraying houses?”
“You know how it is when it rains.” Dylan sat in the chair by Rae’s desk. He pulled out his packet and tried to pretend Lee wasn’t there.
“Where did a name like Rademaker come from?” Jason’s tone had turned condescending. “If I’d been born with it, I’d have already gone to court to have it changed.”
Dylan shifted in the chair to frown at the other man and was gratified to see Rae do the same thing from her seat. He scanned Lee’s shorter frame.
“Well, a more substantial man needs a more substantial name.”
Lee bristled. He straightened to his full height and looked about to say something. Amelia coughed from the doorway.
“I really do need to get this finished,” Rae said, glancing with concern between the two men.
“We’ll talk later, love.” Lee winked at her and sauntered from the room.
Dylan heaved out a breath. He wasn’t usually confrontational, but every time that guy tried to schmooze Rae, it brought out Dylan’s inner caveman. One he hadn’t even known he had.
“You have to stop the verbal sparring,” Rae said.
“Hestarted it.” Dylan leaned forward. “Do you think I should have let him get away with mocking my name? Sure, my father’s a jerk, but he’s a prestigious jerk. He might sue for defamation of . . . I don’t know.Something. I don’t even get why they keep Lee on here.”
“You mean besides his sales numbers?”
“Who cares about money?” Dylan shook his head, feeling stupid for letting the guy get under his skin. “I know he’s the best at sales, but I don’t trust him.”
“Well, at least you don’t have to spend a lot of time around him, so don’t. Just ignore him.”
Like he could ignore the guy when he was obviously in pursuit of the woman Dylan loved.
“Except he keeps hanging around you.” Fear flooded him that she’d think he was coming on to her too, and he quickly added, “We're friends, so it’s hard to avoid a guy who’s always around.”
Crud!That hadn’t come out right at all, and Dylan gave himself a mental kick. How was he going to get Rae to see him as more than a friend if he kept reminding her that they were only friends? He needed to figure out how to do what Amelia had said, to show Rae how good they were together.
All these months, Dylan had been careful not to push her and to give her time to heal from her loss. He’d always assumed she’d naturally see there could be more between them. What if she never did? Was she not attracted to him at all? He certainly was to her and would have thought it was obvious, but what if he were wrong? What if it were one-sided, and he was the only one who felt this way?
“Were you going to hand me those receipts or just mangle them?” Rae asked tentatively.
“Oh. Sorry.” He handed over the bills first and then the papers. “He just gets to me.”
“I know, but I don’t think he’s really a bad guy. I’m kind of surprised at your animosity, to tell the truth. You usually get along with everyone. You’re one of the friendliest people I know. I’ll bet if you gave him a chance, you’d find you have a lot in common.”
