My jaw drops as I stare at his smiling face. God, that’s such a generous offer. But Jesus Christ! Share withJames and his girlfriend? I want to laugh out loud. My unfortunate crush on him would be so obvious. And I couldn’t afford a place like Des’s. It’s in the Financial District,the tip of Manhattan.
My eyes drift to James as he shifts in his chair, a frown crinkling his forehead … Oh God, he doesn’t want to do this either!
“Oh, I couldn’t intrude on you and your girlfriend, James. I’m sure you guys will love living there and ...”
Des’s eyes slide over to James as red creeps up James’s neck. “Actually, it’s just me there. Jane and I ...” He clears his throat. “… aren’t together anymore. Though I haven’t shared that with many people.” He gestures toward the desks outside as his eyes tighten at the corners.
Whaaatttt?They’re childhood sweethearts, aren’t they? The perfect couple? I’ve listened to all the office chatter about how they finish each other’s sentences, about how they’re made for each other. What the hell happened?
“God, I’m so sorry, James.”
He blinks behind his glasses, and his blue eyes meet mine for a beat before he looks away, swallowing. Wrong thing to say, Sadie! Will the mistakes of the last twenty-four hours never end?
Des exhales sharply and nods. “Anyway, if you could keep that quiet for a little bit, that would be great.” He gives me a tight smile. “So, what do you say?”
And shit! This is worse. Living on myownwith James? I can’t even look at him most of the time, though I seem to have forgotten about that during this whole conversation … But …no fucking way.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly, Des. It’s so kind of you, but …”
“Yeah, it would be awkward, I guess,” James says quickly, and cold swamps my body as he places his hands on the table and pushes himself up. “If it’s okay, then I need to get back and …”
“Sure,” Des says as he spins his pen over his fingers and then turns and watches James leave the room. The door clangs shut behind him.
My stomach churns, some strange clamping sensation taking over my lungs like I can’t breathe. I’ve dodged a bullet, but something about his closed-off expression, how quickly he jumped in there … James really doesn’t want me to move in with him, does he? … I’m a quiet, mousey girl from the projects who reads fantasy books so she can avoid real life. I know I’m awkward, but I didn’t think James had a problem with me. I’m not a bad person, am I? I was hoping for tolerance.Shit.James is leading the team when Des goes to Korea. If he’s got an issue, then …
When my eyes flash to Des, his face is creased into an awful grimace, and my gut drops out.
“Are you okay?” I choke out.
He gets up and paces to the window that overlooks Water Street, and I turn in my seat. Then he moves back to the table and runs a hand over his short blond hair.
“I’m not sure …” He chews his cheek.
What the hell is going on? I peer out at where James has returned to his desk, the top of his dark curls just visible over the edge of his monitor.
Des slumps back down in his chair and clears his throat. “James has had some problems over the last few months.” Then he mutters, “No, no, I can’t start there.” He reaches over the table suddenly and squeezes my hand. “Would youpleasemove in with him?”
His fingers are warm around mine, and I blink at him. “What? Why?”
He purses his lips. “I’m worried about him, Sadie. I’d give my left nut to have someone here keeping an eye on him when I leave. This split with Jane …” He blows out a long breath. “He’s not taking it well. You could live there for free.”
Free?Is he high? This whole thing is escalating like … How bad are things between James and Jane? As far as I understand, they’re both smart, self-contained, organized people. People who have their shit together, unlike me.
“I can’t live with James, Des.”
“Why not?”
“He didn’t want me there. You saw his face.”He clearly dislikes me, I don’t add.
“He’s just down about Jane. It’s not you, it’s him. I promise. I’ll persuade him.” He gazes out across the expanse of the office. “You’d be doing me a huge favor,” he adds.
Oh, goddamn him, he’s just done me a huge favor with my pay, hasn’t he?
“What happened with Jane?”
“She’s found someone else. I don’t think she gives a shit about James, if I’m being honest.”
Now this whole conversation has headed into surreal territory. Jane went off with another guy when she had James? He’s sohandsome, a nice person, and a superstar at work … Any woman would be falling over themselves. I’ve seen some of them do it with James, too. The girls in the coffee room are always talking about him when I do my fade-into-the-wallpaper routine and they think I’m not listening.
