Page 40 of The Most Perfect Wrong

It’s Wednesday, and we leave for Austin in less than a week. I’m on my way to the lounge to meet Cooper. We were supposed to meet the last two nights, but both days I had meetings and things to catch up on. By the time I got out here, she’d already left. Feels like she left early on purpose—avoiding me. She’s been nothing short of hostile since the Christmas party, and I have no idea why.

Maybe someone said something, or maybe it’s Brad. He seems like a conceited asshole—the possessive, jealous type. Who knows? But something changed, and now she won’t speak to me unless she absolutely has to, and when she does, it’s always with an edge in her voice—like she’s pissed at me.

I called her into my office yesterday to ask if something was wrong. She just looked at me tight-lipped, and said, “Nope. Can I get back to work now?”

Either way, I need to figure out what’s going on, and today’s my chance. She’s already in our booth, waiting for me. I set my things down across from her, ready to get to work. We have a lot to get through before our trip.

“Do you mind working somewhere else?” she asks, not bothering to look away from her computer.

“I do mind, actually. We need to do this together, so whatever your problem is, you’re going to have to bury it for a few hours. We have work to do.”

“Fine,” she says, snapping her laptop shut. “Then I’ll move.” She starts gathering her things, standing to leave.

I chuckle despite myself, even though it’s not funny. Not even a little. “Cooper, sit down. I don’t like pulling rank, but I’m still your superior. We have a project to finish, and that means working together. So, please… sit.”

She exhales loudly. “Sure, you don’t,” she mutters under her breath.

My patience is wearing thin, but I try to keep my voice steady. “You’re walking a fine line right now. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but let’s keep work and personal separate, alright? Can you do that?”

“Oh, God, please.” She laughs, a harsh, bitter sound. “It’s not like we have some kind of personal relationship at stake. I fucked you one time to get back at my boyfriend. Period. Let’s not pretend there’s something more here.” She glares at me. “What do you want to work on first, Mr. Vice President?”

I feel a mix of irritation and something else I can’t quite name—a pang of… what? Resentment? Regret? I push it down, trying to regain control. If I don’t get a handle on this, we’ll never get anything done.

What’s even more infuriating is that ever since the Christmas party, I can’t help but picture her naked—and often. That dress she wore had me imagining things no one in the workplace should. And since I’ve seen her naked—felt her body pressed up against mine, those incredible tits in my hands, the way she rode me—it’s damn near impossible to get the images out of my head. It bothers me that she has this hold on me—sexual, physical, whatever it is. If I didn’t want to push her up against a wall every time I saw her, I’d have a lot less patience for her attitude.

I snap back to the present as she sits down with an annoyed exhale, but at least she’s staying. I cut straight to business;there’s no time for tiptoeing around whatever’s going on with her.

“Alright, we’ve got a lot to get through,” I say, pulling out the project file. “First up, we need to finalize the site visit itinerary for Austin. I don’t want to waste any time traveling between properties.”

She doesn’t look at me, but I notice her eyes narrow slightly as she stares at her screen. “I already sent over a draft itinerary this morning. Did you not see it?”

I didn’t, but I’m not about to admit that. “I glanced at it. I think we need to reorder the site visits. Start with the downtown properties before heading to the outskirts. We want to hit the most competitive locations first.”

“Fine,” she says, her tone clipped. “I’ll adjust it. What about the budget breakdown? Have you reviewed the cost comparisons I pulled together?”

She’s trying to be all business, and maybe I should be grateful for that. But the way she’s ignoring me—like I’m just a voice in the background—is grating.

“Yeah, about that. I noticed some inconsistencies with the construction cost estimates for a couple of the sites. We need to get those nailed down before we go, or we risk looking like idiots in front of the executive team.”

Her lips tighten, and I see her back straighten. “There are no inconsistencies. Those are estimates directly from the contractors we’re meeting with. If you want different numbers, maybe you should talk to them yourself.”

I take a deep breath, trying to reel in my frustration. “Look, Cooper, I’m not questioning your work. I’m saying we need to have all our facts straight. We can’t afford to have errors in our presentation.”

She finally looks up at me, her eyes cold but focused. “Then why don’t you tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it?”

“How about we go through it together? Start with the sites that need the most attention.”

“Fine.”

“Do you want to come sit over here so it’s easier to see?”

“No. I can see just fine from here.”

Jesus Christ.How can someone so beautiful be such a pain in the ass?

We work for a good ninety minutes with no breaks, going over cost comparisons and each site listing. The tension is thick, but we manage. Now, we’re on our itinerary.

“What time is our flight on Tuesday, and when do we land?” She looks to me for the answer.

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