Page 74 of Flirting with 40

“I have to go,” I say and start walking across the grassy area toward the meeting room.

“And lastly,” she says as if she didn’t hear me, “it’s normal to wonder what happens next because something attracted the two of you to each other. If it truly is a rebound, then it’ll run its course, and you’ll rebound off him and bounce even higher. If it’s something more, then only time will tell. It’s been days, stop freaking.”

The problem isn’t that I’m freaking out, it’s because I’m not. It has been days, and parts of me swoon way too much at things Slade says, and I know my feelings are involved when they have no business being involved yet.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Blakely

“Are you having a good time?” I look over to Oversharing Olivia. Her smile is wide, and I don’t one hundred percent trust its sincerity.

“Yes, and you?” I ask.

“Between you, me, and the fencepost, we need to be doing less activities and more drinking. I feel like this is all staged. Too set-up. We get enough of this at work.” I glance around to make sure no one is paying attention. “I mean, how are we supposed to bond if every activity has us paired with our men? That defeats the purpose of bonding. It tells me Heather didn’t really plan this out.” She glances to the doorway Heather just walked through. “Either that, or just like this late entrance, she gets off on all of us waiting for her to make her grand entrance.”

I open my mouth to say something, but I hesitate, still not trusting that she’s being genuine.

It’s better if I just smile and nod and toe the company line that I support Heather instead of publicly questioning her.

“Hey. Hi,” Gemma says, her cheeks flush.

“Hey, Gemma,” I say as Olivia smiles at her.

“I was wondering if maybe you’d be my partner in the canoeing challenge we have later. I mean, that’s if Slade isn’t participating in this one, and—”

“Hal’s sitting that one out,” Olivia says.

“Sure,” I tell Gemma, knowing Slade won’t mind. He’s more excited for the fishing challenge than the canoeing one anyway.

“You’re a lot of fun to talk to and—”

“What’s the point of all of us team bonding and bullshit if we’re only doing challenges with our boyfriends?” Olivia interrupts Gemma again and repeats herself. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of learning to trust each other as coworkers when we’re never exactly challenged to work together?” She snorts and rolls her eyes in a way that has me actually thinking she isn’t in as much love with Heather as I thought.

It’s the second time Olivia’s brought this up in the conversation. She’s either looking for an affirmation or is waiting to see if I’ll badmouth Heather so she can run and tell her.

I gauge how to respond and opt for a cautious approach.

“True,” I muse as Olivia nods and lifts her eyebrows as if to see if I’m going to do something about it. “Slade and I discussed the same thing last night.”

“It wouldn’t take much—”

“Good morning, friends,” Heather says as she strolls into the room, thrilled with all of the attention angled her way. “I’m so excited to spend another wonderful day cementing our bonds and intertwining our thoughts,” she says and does the Namaste gesture with her hands.

Did she drink a cup of kindness this morning, because this does not sound like her.

“A few things before we start. I guess, last night there was a bear roaming through camp,” she says as everyone at the table looks back and forth at one another with annoying, excited chatter as I sit still, rooted in my chair. “What’s wrong, Blakely?”

I clear my throat. “Nothing.”

“You seriously aren’t worried about there being a bear out there are you?” Her voice is akin to microblading. It leaves tiny cuts across my skin over and over, and no matter how uncomfortable it gets, I always tell myself they are worth it when I know they aren’t.

“Well, the camp staff wouldn’t have asked you to mention it to us if it weren’t a concern.”

“Blakely Foxx scared over a bear. How cute is that?” She laughs and waves a hand my way. “You should probably be more scared of me than of a bear.”

“It doesn’t concern you at all?” I ask.

“No. But if it did, I’m the team leader, and I wouldn’t show it because I am a firm believer in leading by example. Showing your fear isn’t exactly doing that, now is it? She would buck-up and take one for the team.” She stares at me, that smirk I hate toying at the corners of her mouth, taunting me to question her. “If you have any hopes of advancing, you best figure out how to put on a braver face.”