Page 30 of Something Unprofessional

Ev should probably react somehow, but his brain was nothing but static.

Finn laughed and stepped forward to save him. “Yep. Remy, this is my best friend, Ev. Ev, this is Remy.” He nudged Ev with his elbow and murmured, “Say hello,” in his ear.

“Hi,” Ev finally said, snapping out of his shock. “Yeah. Hi. I’m Ev. It’s great to meet you.”

There. That sounded normal, right? Ev’s insides were vibrating, so he couldn’t be sure.

Remy was suddenly closer, and oh god, he smelled really good. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you too,” he said, sounding sincere as he hugged Ev and gave him the same cheek kisses he’d given Finn and Xavier. “Finn talks about you all the time. He’s such a sweetheart.”

“He’s the best,” Ev agreed, trapped by Remy’s warm eyes and warm hands.Cheek kisses!

Remy gave him a wink and then stepped back enough for Ev to start breathing again. “So, are we ready for dinner or what?”

“Just waiting on Asher,” Xavier confirmed. Finn nudged Ev, excitement shining in his eyes.

Oh fuck. Remy Dalton was having dinner with them.

Ev ushered Finn intothe restaurant bathroom and shut and locked the door behind them. Anyone else who needed to go was going to have to wait because this was an emergency.

“What the fuck, Finny. Why didn’t you warn me that Remy Dalton was going to be here?” Ev whined, pacing between the urinals and the sinks, the wet fabric of his pants sticking to his thigh. “He probably thinks I’m a mess. I barely managed to introduce myself, and now this.” He waved at the huge stain.

“He at least thinks you’re a hot mess,” Finny, the traitor, said with a laugh. “But why does it matter what Remy thinks? I thought you and Gabe were…you know.” He tried to cut off Ev’s pacing, but Ev just dodged around him.

“Gabe and I aren’t anything,” Ev replied, his brain still tripping over the way he’d spilled his entire glass of wine across the table and into his lap when Remy had asked if he had a boyfriend. “I broke it off.”

“What? Why?” Finny asked, sounding dismayed.

“Because,” Ev said with a groan, planting his back against an empty section of wall and sliding down to sit on his heels. “I said I’m not dating my boss again, and I meant it.”

Finn bit his lip and twisted his fingers together, coming over to crouch down in front of Ev. “Gabe isn’t like your old boss, though. He wouldn’t fire you if it didn’t work out.”

Ev groaned and pressed the heels of his hands to his eye sockets. “I know. I know. But I can’t stop the ‘what-ifs.’ And it’s not like Chicago was the only time. I’m a fucking mess, and not the hot kind, when it comes to choosing a Daddy.”

Finny took his hands and pulled them away from his face. “What that producer did to you was bullshit. I wish you would have reported him.”

“For what?” Ev asked. “I was eighteen. And pretending you’re single when you’re married with three kids at home isn’t a crime. I was the idiot who believed him. Besides, he lost everything in the divorce. That’s all I needed.”

Finny heaved a sigh. “You weren’t an idiot. Just young and trusting.”

Ev waved him off. “It doesn’t matter. We aren’t in here to talk about Gabe or any of my other Daddy-fails. We’re talking about Remy and the fact that we’re having dinner with my teenage wet dream and I’m making a total fool of myself. You need to save me, Finny.”

Finn gave him a reluctant smile. “You aren’t making a fool of yourself. The wine thing could have happened to anyone.”

“But it happened to me. And it was really expensive wine.”

Finn’s expression was a mixture of concern and amusement. “I think if you wanted someone to tell you not to worry and that everything was going to be fine, you should have dragged Xavi in here. I’m supposed to be the anxious one in our friendship.”

That made Ev crack a grin. “Okay, that’s valid. Will you go get him for me?”

Finn smacked his shoulder with a laugh. “Get up. We’re going back out there and actually talking to Remy. You’ll see he’s just a normal guy—okay, he’s kind of a brat and he loves to tease me, but other than that, he’s normal. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Ev reluctantly agreed and let Finn steer him back out of the bathroom—and straight into Remy’s chest.

Remy caught him by the shoulders to steady him, chuckling. “I was just about to break the lock and make sure you two were okay in there. Did you get the wine out?” He held up a plastic bottle. “White vinegar works magic, according to Bella.”

Ev blinked at him. “Bella is…Isabella Brantford?”

Remy gave him a boyish, lopsided grin. “She’s knocked over more than one wineglass in her day. She carries a little bottle of the stuff in her purse. I got this one from the kitchen staff.”

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