Page 26 of One Last Time?
“What do you want to know?” I asked.
“About the ex you compared to an ax murderer.”
“I caught him cheating on me with his girlfriend,” I began.
He narrowed his eyes. “Girlfriend?”
“Yes, he had a girlfriend.”
“Did you know about her?”
“No, not until I caught them in bed and she told me.”
“What?” He raised his brows. “You actually caught him in action?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Great, right?”
“That really sucks. Sorry that happened to you.”
“It’s okay. I’m over it.” I said that like I really was over it. The thing was, I actually was over the part about my feelings for Brody. The hurt was still, however, there. It would sting for a while.
“Really?” He narrowed his gaze at me. “Just like that? All that drinking, and just over a week later, you’re fine?”
“I’m not fine. I just think there are certain things in this world that people do, and once it’s done, everything you felt for them goes with it.”
“Didn’t you love him?”
He’d already asked more questions than my sisters had. Maybe because they knew the only guy I’d truly ever given my heart to was Nick. My relationship with him didn’t end that long ago. If I were to say that I loved anyone, it would have been him. I’d been more careful since. I dated two guys before Brody, then, when he came along, I just kept my heart on a leash.
“I didn’t get to that stage. I was serious though. I wanted to be with someone who wanted a relationship.” It was strange talking about my feelings for Brody to Dylan when only nights ago, I’d kissed him like I wanted to consume him.
“Is that what you want, a nice relationship guy?” He quirked a brow.
“No, I don’t care about that anymore.”
He laughed like I’d said something funny. “What does Taylor Cartwright care about?” He stopped and looked me over.
I stopped too, and the wind picked up my hair.
“I don’t know. I’m not perfect like you, with my life figured out. Right now, I don’t even have a handle on my job.” I folded my arms.
“You don’t have to worry about your job. I told you I’ll fix it.” He nodded. I wasn’t sure how the hell he planned to fix the situation because I knew what Dad was like. But I’d let him try. “And I’m not perfect.”
I looked at him and mentally disagreed. “Dylan Patterson of Patterson Inc. So, family business.” I hadn’t looked up Patterson Inc. and done the background checks I would have normally done if I were in my usual state of mind. Dad picked them, so that was enough. They had to be above the rim good. “I’m guessing your father owns the company, or a relative, and you’re the pompous face of the organization making sure every single cent is accounted for.God,maybe it’s you who owns the company. So, you could be one of these guys who made his first million at eighteen, and you plan to increase your net worth tenfold by the end of the year. I’m guessing you went to an Ivy League university, were an ace at everything, and God forbid if you ever got drunk and were a minute late for work. In fact, I peg you for drinking orange soda or something like that. Never alcohol. And you probably don’t have a girlfriend because your parents want you to be with some Jackie O. Stepford-wife type.”
I thought I was right. Completely right. Nothing was wrong with any of it, but it meant that when mingling with someone like me, he’d come across as an asshole who wanted to change everything.
At first, he just looked at me, but then he started laughing. Really laughing. It was a good sound. A sound I could have gotten used to.
“Am I right?” I widened my eyes at him. “And I’d bet you went to Princeton or Harvard. Didn’t you?”
“Columbia, and I barely made it to graduation. You couldn’t be more wrong about me if you tried. Not that long ago, a night wouldn’t pass without seeing me drunk out of my mind and turning up for work looking it. I don’t have a girlfriend because I’m the perpetual bachelor who believes in-no-strings attached relationships, and yes, my father owns Patterson Inc., but I’m definitely not the face of it. This job with you is… a chance. A chance to redeem myself and show I can be trusted.”
This was very interesting and piqued my interest even more. I couldn’t imagine him being the way he described, him having to show he could be trusted. That sounded like he’d done something.
“Why would you need to show you can be trusted?” I giggled.
“This is completely off the record because I shouldn’t be telling you this.” He got this half-uneasy, half-cunning look on his face that raised my curiosity even more.
