Page 35 of Single Girl in the City
“And we’re okay with that?” he asked, wondering what the hell was going on. His brother was more protective of their mom than Owen. “You do remember their shared breakfast on the patio?”
“Ah, that.” Josh waved him off. “Clay put the fear of God into the guy. I doubt he’d even hold her hand after that.”
Clay was a running back for the Seattle Seahawks and not much smaller than Owen. Which meant he was built like a rhino with bricks for fists. Owen knew because he’d experienced them firsthand. Clay was also living with and in love with Eddie’s great-grand-niece and her eight-year-old son, Sammy. So if anyone had the upper hand, it was Eddie. Sex made men do stupid things, like overlook what alone time could transpire into.
Just look at him and his little do-gooder. A single ride to the senior center and he couldn’t stop thinking about her—or kissing her.
A month sounded like just the right amount of time to get her out of his system. Had she not applied. Whether she got the job or not, it could be seen as personal preference playing into his decision. It wasn’t just a great way to get sued, it was unethical.
“How’s the interviewing going?” Josh asked
Owen didn’t bother to reply, just pointed to the never-ending stack of résumés.
“Who prints out applications?” Rhett asked.
Dinosaurs, he thought, his mind flashing back to Abi. And that kiss. Two days later and he could smell her perfume on his skin, feel her lips on his.
Damn, he was in trouble.
“I did. It’s easier to see the whole picture.”
“Who’s this?” Rhett asked, picking up the résumé that sat in a pile of its own on the upper corner of his desk. It was also in a class of its own. “Wait. Is this the girl from the other night? The one who offered to be your date and you choked.”
“Put it back.” Owen grabbed for the paper, but Rhett held it out of reach. He handed it to Josh and laughed.
Josh looked it over. “It is. You’ve always had a soft spot for Southern girls.”
“Just because I dated a few in college doesn’t mean that’s my type.”
Correction. There was one Southern girl who had redefined his type right down to the sweet, sexy drawl. And while he’d brought only one Southern girl home, he’d dated his fair share of debutantes. Although most of them were just looking for a fun time with a bad boy. And who was he to disappoint? So he played the part, which had a ninety-nine percent chance of his getting laid. It also had a ninety-nine percent chance that they weren’t looking for anything serious.
At first, it hadn’t bothered him. Hell, he was a horny college guy looking to hook up and head on to other pastures. But the older he got, the older playing the field became. Then he’d met Elena and fell fast and hard, so fast he didn’t see the red flags.
It wasn’t until she’d called him by another dude’s name while in bed that he realized there was a problem. He hadn’t even gotten off her before she’d turned it around on him.
“What did you expect?” she’d said. “You’re at the bar all the time. You work all the time. There’s barely room for us in your life let alone room for me.”
“But Luke?” he spat, referring to the only guy who, besides Owen’s brothers, he’d trusted with his life. He and Luke had gone back so far, he was like another brother to Owen.
Owen confronted Luke—with his fist—and by the time he got home to talk with Elena, to admit to his part in their problems, she had already packed up and moved out—moved on. To Luke.
Six months later they were married and three months after that they’d had a baby. Now they lived in Denver in a family-ready house with a white picket fence.
It had taken a broken heart and four more years before Owen had learned his lesson. And there he was, searching for red flags in every woman he met. Although he hadn’t been able to find a single thing in Abi that gave him pause. She was all the things she’d said the other day and he’d be an idiot to miss an opportunity to get to know her better.
“Wow, impressive.” Josh paused for a moment, recognition flickering in his expression.
Owen stilled. “What?”
“Nothing, just that you’d be an idiot to pass.”
Truer words had never been spoken. She was not only the most qualified person for the job, she was smart and sharp, and had the right temperament to train a new manager. Plus, he trusted her. Only she wasn’t sticking around more than a couple months, just long enough to get under his skin and then be on her way. While that worked great for the bar, he wasn’t so sure how that would affect him. Or his next steps.
Owen’s first rule of business was never mix the two Ps. Professional and personal. He took it as far as passing on social events with his employees. Oh, they occasionally invited him to some after-hours fun, but he always declined. It was a bad decision to cross that line. And he worked hard to avoid bad decisions.
Rhett flashed a grin. “You don’t want to hire her because you like her.”
He didn’t want to hire her because then he couldn’t sleep with her. And when he looked at it that way, he was a jackass. He knew she needed the money and he needed a manager, even if it was just a temporary fix.
