Page 28 of Abyss

Garrett turns his hands in my direction, in a‘go on’movement. “Which is why I’m waiting. I’m good at managing complications.”

“As proven by your drunken marriage to the woman you pined after for four years.” I scoff. “Only for her to cry when she woke up in bed with you the next morning.”

“Hey,” Garrett lifts his head, “I convinced her to stay, didn’t I? And that’s what matters. Anyway, this isn’t about me. I guarantee, whatever the cause of this complication, it’s your fault. Now, hurry up, I don’t have all day. Bella’s supposed to be going to lunch with Rani and Mala this afternoon,” he refers to Darian and Dean’s wives, “and needs me to take care of our girls.”

I almost argue with his accusation—it’s certainlynotmy fault—but shake my head and move forward. “Maddy referred a friend of hers to temporarily take Belinda’s job through the summer.”

Garrett’s eyes bounce between mine, trying to glean some sort of meaning behind my words. “Okay . . .” He drags out the word. “That’s good, right? You’ve been stalling on hiring someone because you’re so damn hard to please.”

I sigh. “Well, thissomeonealso happened to be a woman I fired atCarl’s Catch,” I clarify, referring to mine and Jett’s restaurant, named after our dad. “But I didn't know that until she was already hired, since I was out of town.”

Garrett runs a hand over his chin like he’s struggling with a tough math problem. “I’m not following. So you don’t think she’s competent? Then why not just fire her?”

I take a long breath. If only it were that simple.

“Because it’s not that she’s not competent; she is. She’s sharp as a whip. Plus, she’s Maddy’s friend, and . . .” Fuck, I don’t really know what I’m even saying. It all sounds like a bunch of random thoughts.

“Holy shit!” Garrett’s eyes widen, as if everything just became crystal-fucking-clear to him. Wish he’d enlighten me, because I feel like I’m trying to see through mud. “You like her!”

“What?” I reel back, speaking louder than I intended. “No, I fucking don’t! She’s . . . she’s irritating and exasperating. Wears fucking fruit paraphernalia and shit. And way too much orange.” I lean in. “Like these hideous orange combat boots.” I shake my head. “She came in late to work yesterday, wearing—”

I stop myself from elaborating, recalling her swinging breasts and how I imagine painting them with my fucking cum.Jesus Christ, I can feel the flush rising over my neck. The woman needs to be put away and locked up for good.

“—a tattered T-shirt and fuckingdemandedI apologize to her for calling her out for it in front of our team!” I gawk at him like he should be seeing exactly what I am, that the woman’s unhinged.

“And did you?”

I blink. Clearly, my best friend isn’t following my line of reasoning, given how calm he seems while I feel like I’m about to burst a coronary.

“Yes, but that’s not the point, G. The point is . . .” My mouth sets in a firm line, but my next words don’t sound convincing, even inside my head. “She’snotmy type.”

Garrett's smile widens, pissing me off. “Then what’s the problem? Why are your fucking knickers in a twist at just the thought of her?”

I exhale, frustrated, my breakfast unsettled in my stomach. I was going to finish the bacon and potatoes I’d ordered, but now they don’t even look appetizing. I silently curse the raven-haired vixen. “The problem is, our biggest clients like the work she did on some slides and want to meet her.”

“So you can’t fire her,” Garrett concludes, taking a sip ofhis orange juice.

I nod. “Bingo.” Then I wipe my hand over my mouth and murmur, hoping to bury enough of the next bit so he doesn’t hear, and later I can point out that I did, indeed, tell him. “And I asked her to move in with me.”

Garrett splutters, quickly bringing his napkin to his mouth, then coughs. The man really ought to take up theater with all his dramatics. “I’m sorry.” He clears his throat. “I could have sworn I heard you say she’smovinginwith you.”

I glower at him while his mouth hangs open. “It’s not what you think.”

“I honestly don’t knowwhatto think. You just went from telling me how she infuriates you to she’s moving in with you. Help me bridge the gap here.”

I run my hand through my hair, not quite knowing how I’ll bridge the gap myself. “She lives on the other side of the Bay and doesn’t have a functioning car, or much of a bank account from what I know. She’d need to take a couple of different subways to get to work. And given how much I demand, and the fact that she might need to be on-site at a large project here in the city, sometimes at odd times of the day, it just made sense.” I shrug, feeling less nonchalant than I’m going for. “It’s just a temporary business arrangement. Plus, it’s not like I don’t have enough rooms.”

Garrett presses his fingers against his mouth, seemingly holding back another smile. “Seems to me that you’ve got it all figured out.”

I squint at him, catching the flicker of sarcasm in his tone. “But . . .?” I prompt.

He shrugs. “No buts. I’m just wondering . . .” He pauses with his smile now in plain view. “For a man who has the means of renting any nearby apartment, or even buying her a new car, it’s interesting that you chose to move her in with you. Like it was your only option.”

I slide a hand over my scruff, not giving him a response. The bastard’s all too perceptive, but right now, as it stands, I don’t need his perceptions added to the confusion in my head.

“And you know what else I wonder?” I want to say I don’t give a shit what he wonders, but he continues, teeth flashing, “When you’ll see it as clearly as I do.”

My fingers tapa steady beat on my desk, the end of my pen pressing into my bottom lip as I eavesdrop on my sales team’s morning meeting. My physical presence isn’t always conducive or welcome in candid employee discussions, so I liked to stay in my office and listen to various department meetings to gain insight into their hurdles and understand their perspectives.

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