Page 86 of Hidden Goal

“Would you bet on that?”

A smile as easy as loving him is crosses my face.

“Yeah, I would,” I say. “Betting on you is as safe as betting on the sun rising.”

Is there a pep in my step? Am I bouncing? The hostess at the diner gives me a double take and I scratch my head, concerned that this might be the first time she's ever seen me smile. My annoyingly happy mood doesn’t even diminish when I find Leo in our usual booth with his arm draped over the shoulders of a cute brunette.

“Mini me!” He beams up at me.

“Hi. I’m Savannah.” I ignore him, extending my hand to who I assume is his girlfriend.

She has a cute little button nose and a warm, nervous smile. “Hi. I’m Paige. It’s nice to meet you.”

She shakes my hand and rubs her hands over her bouncing legs when I let go. I shoot silent daggers at my brother because he clearly described me as some kind of bogeyman to her.

“What?” He shrugs. “I just told her you’re a bit of a cactus.”

Her face falls in shock as she whips her head in his direction. “No. No, he didn’t.” She shakes her head, slightly frantic, but Leo just chuckles from beside her. “He’s really only said nice things about you. I promise.”

“That feels like a lie.” I eye her suspiciously, and even though I meant it as a joke, I almost feel bad when I begin to sense her panic.

Leo's hand falls to her thigh and her shoulders drop.

“Even if it was, I think I’d still want to meet you.”

She’s so sweet that it’s ridiculous. The crazy part is that everything about her screams that she’s genuine.

“Bold. Most people need a signed waiver before meetingSav.” Leo laughs, and without ever taking my eyes off Paige, I kick his shin under the table.

“Ow! I just meant that you’re a little prickly, but after some time, you know…” He waves a hand around. “People like your vibe.”

“Maybe that’s why I like her,” Paige responds to Leo but keeps her eyes on me. “She puts herself out there and doesn’t try to hide the thorns.”

I nod my head as a slow smile tugs on my lips, and I don’t know if Paige is just special or if this is what happens when you stop being entirely closed off to people, but I can’t help but like her.

She elbows Leo and he falls over dramatically. If today's conversation doesn’t go the way I envision, maybe I’ll at least have Paige on my side. I look over my shoulder toward the front door. Normally, my dad being a minute or two late wouldn’t have me so on edge, but I’m currently a mixture of nerves and excitement, and it’s causing my head to be on a swivel.

“So I hear congratulations are in order, yeah? You think they have champagne here?” Leo asks, looking around.

I bite my top lip and quirk a brow. There's not a chance in hell he knows about Noah and me yet. It’s not like we’ve been avoiding each other in public or anything, but I thought I’ve been fairly cautious.

“And what are we celebrating?”

“Your new internship,” he says before biting down on his straw.

“My…?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Congratulations!” Paige smiles.

“H—How did you know about that?”

“Dad told me.” Leo shrugs, oblivious to my full-on confusion.

My fingernails dig into my palms, cutting tiny crescent moon shapes into my skin. There’s a simmering ragetraveling through my tense jaw and up to the backs of my eyes, beginning to burn. I assumed the rescheduled interview was out of pity, and while getting the internship after the utter failure that was said interview didn’t make any sense, I just assumed they were desperate.

I never told my dad that I got the job.

It never occurred to me that he would go behind my back and talk to the head of the department for me. It never occurred to me because he knew I wanted to do this on my own. He knew I didn’t want him involved. Now what? I have an internship waiting for me, one my dad used his connections to secure? Everyone in that building is going to know I’m a joke—that I only landed the spot because of who my dad is. He might not know it, but he’s made me out to be the person I despise the most. He’s turned me into the person that uses him to get ahead.

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