“I will do that!” I said happily. It was a new dawn, a new day. My nether regions didn’t feel like a fire ants’ nest. I was totally ready for Parker. I made up a fresh batch of biscuits and took them with me to the office.
“Deputy Mayor Loring is coming into the office today, don’t forget,” I announced when I arrived. “We’re going to win her over about the Rural Trust and the ThinkX offices.”
Parker grunted when I walked into the office. He didn’t seem all that happy to see me.
“I have a presentation and packets to print,” I added. “And I made biscuits and gravy.”
Another grunt.
Crap.
As soon as I was at my desk, I sent the presentation to the printer then texted my friends while I walked to pick them up.
Sadie:Help! Erika was right. I ruined things with Parker because I’m a fraidy-cat.
Jasmine:Then dump him and move on! You just paid for lawn maintenance. Don’t waste it because of him.
Erika:I’m on your Tinder account. I’ve tagged five guys. Look on your app, see if any of them tickles your clit and then we’ll set something up.
I didn’t want to dump Parker. I really liked him. After I returned with the prints and stapled them, I opened the Tinder app guiltily and looked at the guys Erika had picked. None of them was Parker. I scrolled through their profiles, reading the messages they’d sent.
At least there weren’t any poorly shot dick picks.
Bang!
I jerked up. Parker was at the glass wall between our offices.
“We need to be in there early to prep,” he said. His eyes were narrow, his expression frosty. I suddenly felt guilty for looking at Tinder. Then I was angry. He and I weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. I could hook up with guys if I wanted to. Except I didn’t want to. I just wanted him.
I gathered up the papers and my laptop then hurried out of the room. Parker seemed impatient. I could barely keep up with him as he stalked down the hall. But I refused to ask him to slow down. I also cursed myself for never exercising. The silence between us was tense, punctuated only by the sound of my wheezing.
“Are all of your brothers going to be at the meeting?” I huffed, refusing to be cowed by Parker’s bad attitude. I might be a virgin, but I still had two college degrees, could cook my own dinner, and was gainfully employed—for the time being, at least. I was an adult-ish. Parker was acting like a little boy who’d had his toy taken away.
“Yes. Unfortunately, Hunter’s going to be at the meeting, so of course Meghan is going to be impossible to deal with.”
“Can’t you just lock up your brother?”
Parker grimaced. “Believe it or not, it’s been tried. Hunter’s like a moth to a flame. He’s perfectly willing to set himself on fire if it means he gets to be near Meghan.”
“What happened?”
“Long story. Short version is he screwed up and didn’t properly apologize. Greg is under the impression that if he would just apologize, this problem would solve itself. I don’t think she would even accept an apology from him now, even if he got on his knees and begged.”
He scowled and opened the door to the A Building, where we would be meeting with Meghan.
“If Meghan wants to be difficult, she could just make it a city policy that any foundation work is to be disregarded when any corporation tries to make capital improvements or investments in the city.”
My phone dinged as we walked down an upper-floor hallway. I recognized the sound as the Tinder app notification. Parker looked over his shoulder at me. I squared myself. We were going to have this out. My clock was ticking. My waxing wouldn’t be good after a few more days, and I didn’t want to have endured all that pain for nothing.
“Look, Parker, about last night—”
I was cut off by the sound of two people screaming at each other from the conference room down the hall.
37
Parker
Iwasn’t sure how to act toward Sadie. I didn’t want to be like my father, who railroaded women into doing whatever he wanted. Maybe she was going with the flow because I was her boss. Maybe she didn’t want anything to do with me at all. Was that why she had been on Tinder? I had seen it through the glass wall. Still, how could anything she found on Tinder be better than me?
