Page 20 of Just The Way You Aren't

I groan. “He’s not my man.”

“But you’re going to see him anyway,” she says with a knowing grin.

“Ugh. How do you all know these things?”

Juana taps her temple. “Didn’t they tell you? When you get old, you get psychic powers.”

I laugh. “I think I believe you. All right, off I go. Wish me luck!”

“You are a beautiful, competent, caring young woman. You don’t need luck,” she tells me.

“Thanks, Juana.” She kisses me on both cheeks and sends me out the door with a pat on the back.

I pull the van into the alley behind Silver Hearts early.Early.In fact, if my phone isn’t broken, I’m here seven minutes before our appointment. A now-familiar, deep voice greets me as I step into the office.

“It’s nice to see you—and right on time, even.” Despite the tinge of condescension, Damien’s voice makes me tingle to my toes.

I consider making another loop in the van just to piss him off. I grin instead. “I’m actually early.”

He looks down at his phone with raised eyebrows. “So you are.”

I open the door to my office. “Please, come in.”

Damien walks into my office and stops, staring around him.

I quickly go to one of the two chairs in front of my desk and remove a pile of files. The upholstery is pilling, but this is the sturdy one. I think. “Go ahead and sit down.”

He frowns at the chair as though it might bite him, then lowers himself into it. It gives an ominous creak.

I move another pile of files from my chair and clear some more space between us so we’re not looking over papers trying to see each other. “There’s a system,” I inform him.

“Clearly.”

I can’t believe I’ve been thinking about this grouch all day. I put on my best megawatt smile. “So, I was thinking…”

Before I can go on, Damien pulls an iPad out of a case he brought with him. He lays it on the desktop between us, turning it to face me. “The Plaza Hotel has agreed to donate a ballroom for the fundraising event,” he says, showing me the e-mail confirming the arrangement. “I’ve also taken the liberty of finding a caterer who is also an ‘influencer’ and is interested in catering the event for just the cost of food as long as they get to post pictures on their Instagram and TikTok. And Facebook. And God only knows what else. I told her she would need individual people’s permission to post their photos, but she says she’ll bring her own general release forms.”

My mouth drops open. Damien solved my biggest problems without spending a dime, just as I’d challenged him to do. “I… I…”

“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you,’” he prompts me.

I close my mouth and nod. “Yes.” I smile at him. “Thank you, Mr. Langley. And... thank you as well for the van. Zippy is just perfect in every way. I mean, Bessie was still chuggingalong, and we would have made it work, but... Zippy is a dream.”

“Zippy?” he echoes, giving me an incredulous stare. He presses his lips together. “You don’t have to thank me. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“It was a big deal to us, Mr. Langley,” I point out.

He seems uncomfortable with my gratitude. “I think you should just call me Damien. We’re going to be working together a lot up until this fundraiser.”

“True. All right, then you have to call me Willow,” I tell him.

“Willow.” A soft, slight smile crosses his lips.

I try not to blush at the sound of my name rolling off his lips. “So,” I say jovially, poking at the iPad. “What else do you have in there? Nuclear launch codes?”

He laughs and it’s genuine. His real smile makes my heart pound. “Hardly,” he replies. “I have a few more ideas about the fundraiser, if you want to look them over. They’re in the folder marked Silver Hearts Fundraiser.”

“I suppose printing it out would have overwhelmed Alfred,” I tease him.

---