“No, they did not.”
“Then why is he here?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Parker stood and pointed down at me, calling out, “She’s over here.”
I stomped on his foot, not that it did any good with his steel-toe boots, and walked over to face the music with as much dignity as I could muster. Parker, being the worst brother ever, had already slinked out the back door now that he’d outed me from my hiding spot. In all fairness, he had also given me the push I needed, but I would definitely not be thanking him. No, quite the opposite. Vengeance would be mine.
My face was flaming red as I smiled at Noble. I could feel the heat of it. “Hi, Noble. Thank you for the flowers.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” he said with fake humility, letting his eyes linger on the tropical arrangement with obvious pride. “I just felt like maybe we got off on the wrong foot with our date, and I’d like to try again. I was hoping I could take you to lunch right now. Your dad here was saying this is usually when you take your lunch break.”
“That’s very kind of you, but, no thank you. I need to get back to work.”
Noble’s eyebrows dipped. “But your dad said it was okay. He said you can go right now.”Noble had the audacity to turn to my dad, as if expecting him to over-rule me.
To my relief, Dad pointed back at me. “Noble, she’s kindly said no. If the two of you want to arrange for another time, that’s up to her.” He walked back towards his office, although I knew he’d be listening to see how this train wreck ended.
Noble took in a deep breath and blew it out. “Is there another time that works better?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, no.” I couldn’t pretend another time might work. Noble needed a clear message, not subtlety.
“But I brought you flowers,” he huffed, looking at the bouquet once again. I could see the numbers adding up in his mind. Time. Money. Ego. The investment wasn’t paying off the way he’d expected.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“They were really expensive.”
“Would you like to take them back?” I hadn’t meant it flippantly, but it still surprised me when he carefully picked up the heavy vase and held it close to his chest.
“I’ll take them to my mother.”
As he stalked out the door, I noticed one of the lilies brushed against his shoulder, leaving a smudge of orange pollen across the white of his shirt. It looked like he’d been hugged by a toddler eating Cheetos. This was not going to be his day.
“Lauren,” my dad called out from his office. “I want to talk to you.”
Apparently, it wasn’t going to be mine either. I ignored Paisley’s stare and headed to my dad’s office, shutting the door behind me.
He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t even know where to start. I’m not sure if I should apologize for setting you up with that guy, or if Melissa should.”
I sat in the chair across from his desk. “I’ll take an apology from you. They’re so rare.”
He raised an eyebrow in an I’ll-allow-it sort of way. “You know this kind of thing is exactly why I want a no-dating policy.”
“For all the employees, or is this still an ownership thing?”
“An ownership thing. The balance of power it creates is so much worse than unwanted flowers. So, are you willing to sign the no-dating-employees clause or not?”
I knew this had been coming, and I still panicked. “Did you know Parker bought a bunch of four wheelers last weekend on company money?”
Dad’s face turned red. “He did what?” He picked up his phone and dialed Parker’s extension. “Get in my office. Now.” When his eyes turned back to me, I knew I wasn’t off the hook. Actually, I had made a much bigger mess, as I wasn’t supposed to know about the four wheelers in Clay’s garage. Crap. Had I just mixed him up in all this, too?
“Stay right there.” Dad got up from his desk, and I ducked my head out after he left to see him taking over Paisley’s computer, probably to check the business account and see exactly how much money he needed to yell at Parker about.
Someone grabbed my shoulders from behind, and I jumped in shock.
Parker laughed. “Gotcha.”
