Page 26 of Deception and New Direction

He grinned at me, setting his water glass down in the sink. “Interesting.I’llhave to remember that for whenIhave a wife.”

I knew he was just teasing me back, but hearing him talk about having a wife, someone who no doubt would be gorgeous, and nice, andnotme, just rubbed me the wrong way.Ihated it even more that my gut reaction to that comment was jealousy and envy of someoneIdidn’t even know.

“You okay?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned, perhaps seeing the look on my face.

I chose not to answer his question but move forward. “I’llbe ready to leave in twenty minutes.”

I turned and exited the kitchen, making my way back to my room.Pullingthe top half of my hair into a clip and brushing some dry shampoo through the rest sinceIdidn’t have enough time for a full shower right now,Igot dressed and ready for work and was out in the kitchen with three minutes to spare.

WhenImade it out to the kitchen area,Jackwas walking back inside withDash.

I wasn’t bringingDashto work with me today becauseIhad planned to have dinner over at the pub with the girls after work.Vincewas headed over to meet a contractor at his future property—conveniently located next toJack’s—so he offered to letDashout for a little bit so he wasn’t cooped up all day untilJackgot home.

“Are you ready to leave now, or doIneed to order a rideshare to take me to get a coffee beforeIget cranky?”Ishot back at him, and he just grinned.

“Before?”Jackquipped.

I growled in response.Blast, this man irked me.

Eighty-four years later, we finally made it to the office, and my anger had calmed slightly thanks to a super-large coffee.AndIonly thought of killing him twice more on the drive over, soIconsidered that an accomplishment.

Cat could tellIwas upset whenIgot to the office, soIgave her the shorter version of what had happened today.Mostlythe parts that madeJacklook bad and me look good.

So, sue me.

She just chuckled, shook her head, and smiled at me.

Midway through the morning,Vincecame down to our area to seeCat.Aftera sufficient make-out session, he walked over to my desk to ask me aboutDash.

“Does he need to be walked on a leash, or doIjust let him out inJack’sbackyard?”

“You can just let him loose in the backyard,”Itold him. “It’sfenced in, and he likes to roam.”

“Speaking of which,”Jacksaid as he walked into the room from the back stairwell. “Whenyou’re done, leave the back door unlocked.Archeris gonna come over and letDashout after work becauseI’llbe late coming home tonight.”

“You doing late recon or something?”Iasked, because this was the firstIwas hearing of this.

He stared at me a bit, as though he was debating whether to answer me. “Umm, no.”Hepaused. “I’mmeeting up with someone after work.”

Meeting up with someone?OhGod.Hewas meeting up with a woman and didn’t want to tell me.Mystomach dropped.

I had noticed over the last few weeksI’dbeen staying with him that he hadn’t asked me out to dinner.Heused to ask me out at least once a week,Iwould politely turn him down—okay semi-politely—he would then laugh and do it again the next week.

Not thatIwas upset, per se, becauseIknew it shouldn’t happen, but still.Hewas so persistent for so long, and now just nothing.Maybeit was because we were roommates now, he didn’t want it to be weird?Ormaybe it was because of the kiss last night—Ithought the kiss was great, but maybe he hadn’t felt the same.Regardless, he had obviously lost interest and was going elsewhere.

This was on me sinceIhad been the one to turn him down so much.

This was also good.Becausewe couldn’t get involved.

“Oh.Okay.Well, umm, have fun,”Itold him, turning back to my desk, pretending to be really busy on my computer, and not feeling like my heart was being squished.

No one said anything else, andIcontinued on with my day just like any other.

By the time five o’clock rolled around and it was time forCatand me to head next door to theWateringHolePub,Iwas strung tight.Ihad been distracted the last few hours trying to get work done, while simultaneously thinking about whatJack’sdate looked like.

I needed a margarita.

We walked over to the pub next door.Itwas part of the same building asRangerShield, which was nice because it meantIdidn’t have to walk far in my crutches.

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