Page 24 of Roommate Wars
Her mouth twisted. “I really suck at picking men. You should screen my dating app choices too. I’m especially bad at finding good dates on there.”
I squeezed my forehead. “Elise—”
No telling what I would have said if Thalia hadn’t grabbed my arm and yanked me closer to her.
“What do you think, Jack? Pub crawl? The gang is talking about heading over to North Beach.”
My arm tingled where Thalia gripped it, and not in a positive way. In a bee sting/Taser sort of way. I wasn’t attracted to my CEO, and even if I was, there was no way I’d date a subordinate; that shit was messed up. But Thalia wasn’t the type to give up easily. Which left me in a bind and reaching for the first solution that came to mind.
I straightened, creating distance between us, and dropped my arm over the back of Elise’s chair while she scanned the crowd, presumably scouting out her next target. I frowned, dropped my hand lower around her waist, and tugged her chair closer to mine. “Elise and I should get going.”
Elise looked up in surprise. “Huh? I was just about to—”
I didn’t wait for her to finish that sentence. She was probably going to complain about leaving before she could find another man I’d need to kill at a later time.
“My girlfriend is tired.” I squeezed Elise’s waist firmly, and she squeaked.
ChapterEleven
Elise
I gaveThalia a fake smile and yawned. “Yes—umm, long day.” I didn’t know what Jack was up to, calling me his girlfriend, but I figured I’d go along with it. For now.
But not before I pinched him hard in his muscular flank. How dare he drop a fake-dating scheme on me without consulting me first?
He flinched and gave me a closed-mouth grin, squeezing me tighter.
He knew how I felt about committing to anyone, least of all him! Even if it was only fake dating.
I’d been a wreck for months after our hookup. So much so I’d had to leave the country to get back on track via an internship opportunity that had fallen in my lap at the time. That was why even faking dating Jack was a dangerous proposition.
He grabbed my purse and handed it to me, said a hasty goodbye to the group, who were staring in mild confusion—probably because Jack had never introduced me as his girlfriend—then we stumbled out of the glitzy bar on Grant Avenue with him holding my waist and pushing me forward at the same time.
Once outside, I shoved him away. “What was that?”
He scratched his jaw. “Sorry, I panicked.”
“What in the world made you panic? You were having a blast vetoing my potential dates.” Sadly, Jack proved to possess a discerning eye when it came to other men. He’d point out some awful characteristic about a guy I hadn’t noticed, and then that was all I could see. It was super annoying, but likely spared me in the long run.
He grinned. “Thatwasfun. But no, that’s not why. I was getting vibes from Thalia.”
“Oh, that,” I said and straightened my purse across my body. “She was all over your tip.”
He grimaced. “Do you have to put it like that?”
“She wants a slice of the Jackson salami. Wants to be the bun for your hot dog. Wants to be the ass in the tapping. Wants to slime the banana…”
He winced, and I inwardly smiled. Irritating Jack was the best part of my day.
“Must you put it that way?” He looked green around the gills.
“Am I wrong?”
“No,” he said grudgingly and flagged a passing taxi, going old-school instead of using a ride app.
I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked away. “She’s wanted you from the start, you know.” I glanced over, and he was staring at me in shock. “You didn’t know?”
Jack might be able to sniff out the secret desires of my prospective dates, but I was highly attuned to Thalia. She seemed nice enough, and she must be whip-smart or Jack wouldn’t have hired her. But that woman had a thing for him. The touching of his arm, the giggles in his bedroom when she’d come over the one time… Oh yeah, she wanted him.
