Page 11 of Never Going to Care

“You don’t need a reason to fire someone in New York,” his voice is bland, but I can feel the fire behind his words.

“Yes, but my company has its own set of rules and I’m bound to go by those beyond the state laws,” I sound snappy because he’s questioning my ability to do my damn job.

Piper pipes up, “Celeste works in HR, she knows what she can and can’t do.”

When Hale looks over at her, his eyes soften slightly. “Of course,” he concedes with a nod. When his eyes come back to mine, my body lights on fire. Am I blushing right now? I can’t remember the last time I blushed. “If you need me to have a little,” he pauses as if searching for the right word, “chat with him. Let me know.”

Yeah, I don’t think he wants to chat with Joe, more like beat him to a pulp. For a moment, the thought of it sends a thrill through me, but I shove that reaction down deep. I can’t get turned on by this man offering to take care of my problems. That would be dangerous as hell.

I shake my head and try and infuse confidence in my words, “I got it under control.”

Hale’s gaze rakes over my body and I swear the tips of his lips twitch as if he’s fighting a smile. “I’m sure you do, but the offer stands.”

I narrow my eyes at him and I’m about a second from snarking at him, something about lace and wedding and his rude ass behavior the last time I saw him. Before I get the chance Landon walks into the reception area, barely sparing me a look as he stalks straight to Piper. Out of the corner of my eye I watch him embrace her and kiss her hard. The way her body melts into his makes me flush even more.

I glance at Hale to find him still staring at me, daring me to tell him I don’t want him or need his help or maybe a million other things. His muscles are coiled tight as if he’s fighting himself from walking up to me. Which can’t be right; can it?

It was clear we annoyed each other from the moment we met. He was rude as fuck. I was snarky. It paints a pretty clear picture.

Yeah, the picture of you two having hot as hell sex which would leave you boneless for days.

I arch an eyebrow at Hale in challenge. I’m not prepared for him to grin at me, showing me a dimple. My knees go a little weak, but before I can succumb to the way this man affects me, Landon lets go of Piper and they step away from each other.

Landon’s voice is deep, “Have fun checking out the florist Owen suggested. Ella seems to like the flowers from there.”

Before there can be more awkwardness, as if avoiding looking at Hale isn’t awkward enough, I grab Piper and give a wave over my shoulder. “We’ll be just fine. I’ll have Piper back to you before she turns into a pumpkin.”

Landon snorts out a laugh, but I don’t look back. I barely want to turn when we get in the elevator, but that would be even stranger. Just before the doors close, Hale steps into sight, his eyes boring into mine. The door closing fully is the only thing which saves me from being lost in his gaze.

Piper fans herself and giggles. When I snap my head around to her, I glare at her. It does not have the effect I’m hoping for because it only makes her giggle more.

I scoff, “What is so funny?” I pin her with a gaze, “You better be fanning yourself because your fiancé almost made you spontaneously combust.”

“Right,” she snorts. “It couldn’t have anything to do with the heavy sexual tension between you and Hale.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I respond far too quickly. I might as well put a giant neon sign above me that says I want him to dick me down like I’ve never had before.

She rolls her eyes, “Sure.” There’s a thoughtful look on her face which makes me shift from one foot to the other. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it that first time in the conference room. It’s so obvious now.”

“What’s obvious? That he’s annoying as fuck and too grumpy for anyone to tolerate?”

Piper fucking laughs and doesn’t stop until the door opens in the lobby, causing me to practically drag her out of the elevator and to the entrance of the building. When we’re on the sidewalk I stomp my foot like I’m three years old and let out a huff as I drop her hand and cross my arms. Yeah, I don’t look defensive at all. Sure.

“I wish I had popcorn for that show,” she teases me.

“Nothing to see here,” I mumble before pulling her to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a taxi.

I love driving, but not in Manhattan. No thank you. Having a car is an expense I don’t need, especially when there’s barely any parking as it is. What a pain in the ass it would be to try and navigate the whole thing. It’s why I only drive when I go to visit my family outside the city.

“Sure,” Piper holds the word out like we’re in elementary school again.

When I look at her, I swear we’re back in second grade and I remember why we’ve been friends for so long. She’s not messing with me to be mean. She’s messing with me because we’re sisters. It just so happens we don’t share blood.

“Come on,” I roll my eyes. “Let’s go look at flower arrangements,” I force some cheer into my voice.

It’s not that I’m not happy to be doing this with her, I am, but I swear, even though he’s floors above us and probably isn’t looking down here at all, I can still feel Hale’s eyes on me. It sends a shiver down my spine no matter how much I wish it wasn’t true. Once this wedding is done, I probably won’t see him again anyway.

Why does the thought make me so damn sad?

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