Page 44 of Anti-Hero

“Thanks, Andy,” I say. “Have a nice weekend.”

“You too,” he replies, then continues down the hallway.

I head into my office, ignoring the constant buzzing in my pocket.

I’m sure it’s Flynn. I promised I’d be on time. And Iwouldhave been on time if not for Glenn’s follow-up points on every single topic during the meeting.

I shut down my computer and am adding a few papers to my briefcase when there’s a knock on my office door.

“Come in,” I call out distractedly.

“I just printed the report on—” Collins starts, then pauses. “Oh. You’re leaving?”

She sounds surprised. She’s noticed the irregular hours I keep, and I hope that means she’s also noticed how hard I work. I was too cowardly to turn the question around when she asked if I thought I deserved to be here the other night.

“I’m leaving,” I confirm. “You should too. Everything else can wait until Monday.”

“Right. Okay.” She’s still standing in the same spot, arms folded over the report she came to deliver, and for some reason, I think she’sdebating asking me where I’m going.

The longer she’s in my office, the faster my willpower is fraying. The more likely I am to mention her date tonight.

So, my tone is brusque as I ask, “Anything else?”

Her chin lifts defensively.

Fuck, that was too dismissive. I should have mentioned I’m in a rush.

“Nope, nothing else,” she says coolly. “I’ll just leave these here.” Collins strides toward my desk and drops the papers.

I’m a jerk, and she’s annoyed with me. What else is new?

I don’t know how to do this—be friendly and keep firm boundaries in place. Being around her, but notbeingwith her feels like settling for pieces when I want every part.

So, since driving her home, I’ve swallowed jokes and tamped down smiles. Done anything and everything I can think of to make the short distance between our desks a wider gulf. An effort I thought Collins would appreciate, not act offended by.

“It’s organized by financial quarter,” she tells me. “With the annual overview on top.”

Exactly how I like to review reports. Broad, then specific.

“Great. Thanks.” I clear my throat and pick the stack of papers up. I can review it on the plane. “Have a nice week?—”

“You’d better be ready, Kensington!” Flynn’s exclamation precedes his arrival in my office by approximately two seconds. He saunters in, grinning when he sees me standing with my briefcase in hand. “Sweet! Vegas, here we—” He spots Collins and immediately stops talking.

Flynn glances between me and her, eyebrows raised.

I don’t think he drank enough in the Hamptons to not remember her again.

Sure enough, the next words out of my best friend’s mouth are, “It’s Collins, right?”

“Right.” She smiles at him. “Nice to see you, Flynn.”

Flynn and I haven’t discussed the state of his relationship with his cousin recently. But I’m suddenly, irrationally irritated, picturing Collins laughing with her new boyfriend and my best friend. It might make me a terrible person, but I’m hoping Flynn’s still firmly anti-Perry.

“You’re working here?” Again, Flynn glances between me and Collins.

I’m not sure why he’s acting so surprised. He’s met Collins once—that he remembers—and he’s never asked for details about my job. Why would I have told him she’s my assistant?

“Now I get why Kit’s so hard to drag out of the office these days,” he adds.

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