Page 25 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“You can’t boss me around. If this is how it’s going to be, I’m canceling our deal.”

“Your loss, Hello Kitty. It’s not me who has their future riding on a badly damaged building.” He pushed himself off the doorframe and headed toward the stairs. “Best of luck, Godspeed, and all the rest of it.”

Damn him, because he was right. Whether I liked it or not, I needed his help.

I slammed the door, ignoring his evil chuckle from the other side.

As if being abruptly woken up at the crack of dawn wasn’t bad enough, the car ride to the shop was even more excruciating. Alec had put on a podcast about the construction industry that droned on and on about the importance of workforce management. No amount of tea, energy drink, or even coffee would ever be enough to help me endure this kind of mind-numbingly dull talk so early in the day.

“Do you seriously listen to this on your way to work? Every day?”

His reply was a grunt, his eyes focused on the busy morning traffic.

“This is awful. No wonder you’re so grumpy and annoying.”

There was atskbefore he replied. “I’m not grumpy, and this is how I start my day. It pays to keep myself up-to-date with the latest changes in the industry.”

“I mean, I’d probably be grumpy, too, if I had to listen to this every morning. What about some upbeat songs to boost your mood and start the day right?”

“My mood and my days are just fine.”

Was it wrong that I felt a perverse satisfaction in riling him up? “Have you ever heard of BTS? That super popular K-pop boy band? They’ve got some catchy songs to cure your crankiness. You don’t even have to understand Korean.”

“Anyone ever told you your taste in music is appalling?”

“Beyoncé? John Legend? Old Dominion?” I went on, knowing full well that he was getting annoyed. “Michael Bublé? You can’t go wrong with easy, jazzy Bublé.”

“Look, Hello Kitty.” He let out an extra-long sigh. “Whenwe’re in your car, you’re free to play any songs you want. K-pop, rock, country, operatic arias, I don’t care. When we’re in mine,thisis what we listen to.”

“You’re being very close-minded.” He was so easy to tease, and I might have found my new favorite pastime. “There’s a whole world outside of construction podcasts, you know. You should open yourself up to new possibilities.”

“Goddamn it, Ellie. If you keep this up, one of us isn’t going to survive the next few weeks. And yes, by that I meant me.”

He turned into the shopping complex and found an empty spot not far from the shop, then leaned around to grab his jacket from the back seat, his arm brushing mine. His now-familiar smell of citrus and spice made its way into my nose, and I closed my eyes, discreetly taking a deep, greedy inhale. The construction podcast might be torture, but this more than made up for it.

“Everything okay?”

My eyes snapped open. He was watching me, with a smirk on his face.

So much for being discreet.

Without warning, the next few weeks flashed before my eyes. I was practically snorting him into my nostrils after a short ten-minute car ride. How on Earth could I pretend to be his loving, devoted girlfriend without driving myself up the wall? If I kept this up,I’dbe the one who wouldn’t survive.

Well, should’ve thought about that before offering to be his fake girlfriend.

I suppressed a shudder, regretting my reckless suggestion.

But as I unlocked the door to the shop, the awful sight slapped me back to reality: however hard it would be, I had to suck it up because my entire future hinged on this deal.

“I tried to jump-start your car this morning,” Alec said as we walked in. “It’s not the battery, so I’ll give you the contact detailsof my mechanic. He can get the car fixed in no time. And I’ll pick you up at six for dinner.”

“Dinner?” I flicked on the lights. “What makes you think I’m going to have dinner with you, Sir Grouchiness?”

He bristled. “It’s business, not a date. We need to hash out the details of our deal. And I’m only picking you up so you don’t have to walk, and possibly die on my watch, because Eric would never forgive me.”

This time, it was my turn to stiffen. “I’m perfectly capable of getting to wherever I need to without your help. Besides, if I had to listen to another second of your boring podcast, my brain cells would probably shrivel up and die.”

“Hey, Alec.” A deep voice interrupted his reply, and I turned to see a hazel-eyed, brown-haired man dressed in a fluorescent orange vest striding into the shop. The two of them performed one of those bro-handshake-slash-hugs that guys do to make them seem cooler than they really are.

---