AllFreeNovel
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“Working.”
“Yes—Isee that, and I’ll get to that in a second. But more specifically, I mean what are you doing saying you’re going to sleep on the couch?”
“The truth is, Derek, I have a serious lack of faith in anyone else’s ability to really appreciate the importance of a great couch. I want to make sure the furniture in this suite is all treated fairly. It’s equal opportunity or bust in my hotel rooms.”
His head tilts, giving me an unamused look. “You’re making sure the inanimate objects have a shot at equality?”
I run my hands over the sofa like I’m searching for its ears. “Shh. You never know when this could turn into aBeauty and the Beastsituation, and all this furniture might come to life. You want to be on their good side.”
Derek pinches his eyes closed and rubs them with his thumb and forefinger. His bicep does that comet thing again. “Nora…I can’t let you sleep on the couch.”
“Why not? Do you want to sleep here? Tell you what, I’ll play you for it. We can both balance on our left foot and the first one to drop their other foot has to sleep in the boring bed.” I continue to type type type while carrying on a conversation like I’ve watched Nicoledo successfully dozens of times. But it’s harder than it looks. I’ve just written one long line of gibberish.
“Because—can you stop working for a second?”
“Why?” I frown up at him. “The bird that catches the worm never sleeps.”
“That’s not the phrase.”
“It should be.” I continue typing.
“Nora, put down your laptop,” Derek commands, but it barely pierces my consciousness because now I’m eyeballs-deep in emails and feeling my purpose in the world restored. But then something slips past his lips that has me looking up.“Please.”
I meet his tired eyes and then gently close the laptop.
He watches me move it aside. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but there’s a big elephant in the room.” He moves to perch on the edge of the bed.
“Of course I’ve noticed. She’s bedazzled herself and is shooting off fireworks. Frankly, that elephant is an attention hog.”
Derek fights a smile with all of his heart and loses the battle right there in the corners. I love it. I’m a glutton for that smile ever since seeing it in the lobby.Give it to me, Pender.
“Please answer honestly, Nora. I’m too tired for anything else right now.”
“Okay. The truth is, I’m working because I don’t know how to act around you anymore. I don’t know how to breathe normal when you and I are married and sharing the same air in a room with a king-size bed. I don’t know how to make eye contact with you ever since you said you understand why we broke up, but now you don’t want to be friends. Because how the hell do we do that? I’m your agent, who was also fired, who is also your ex-girlfriend, who is now your wife, but we also have this long list of rules to follow. There’s too much overlap and confusion here. The Venn diagram looks like ahypnotic swirl!” I glance longingly at my laptop and pat the top. “But in my emails, I’m still just your agent for the time being. And that’s not confusing at all so I’d rather live there.”
He nods slowly. “It’s good you brought it up. I’m unfiring you.”
I glance sidelong at Derek, all suspicion now. “Why? I don’t want to be your agent if I’m only getting the position because we’re accidentally married and you feel bad about it.”
“That’s not even close to the reason. I want you to be my agent because you’re resourceful and creative. Because you somehow managed to still cut killer deals for me even when I was running you into the ground with busywork. Because you stood up to me and told me to quit being an ass—something no one else would have done in your situation.Because you’re the best one for the job.”
I’m not convinced, and I have a chronic need to earn my place in life. “If all those reasons are true, then why did you fire me in the first place?”
He holds my gaze, his jaw ticking once. “Honestly? I thought it would be too difficult between us in the long run. But I’m ready to get over it now and work together. I’m really sorry, Nora, and hoping you can forgive me for it. All of it.”
“Oh.”
“You’re speechless?”
“For the first time in history, yes.”
“Then I’ll take advantage of it.” He pushes the sleeves of his lightweight hoodie up his forearms and then leans over to rest them on his knees. “I really do want you to be my agent, but not this week. This week, I think you should close your laptop and take your vacation days.”
My mouth falls open. “It’s time to clean your ears out because clearly you heard nothing I said about needing my work to keep myself grounded during all of this.”
He leans back, pressing his hands into the mattress behind him and—dammit—his chest grows again. “It’s too weird if you’re working and we’re acting married. For this week only, let’s just be Derek and Nora. There’re too many spinning plates in this scenario and it’s a mess for both of us. So I propose—”
“Ironic word choice.”
