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“You’ve been great,” he responded.
Oh, I bet she had. Now I wanted to attend the conference Armstrong Labs held every year even less. This year it was being held at the Porsche Experience Center. No surprise there. Apparently, Porsche had opened a venue where you could not only drive their cars on different tracks but also host corporate functions.
Trying my best to ignore the pair, I reached for a hot cup on the shelf above the coffee machine, and, of course, a hundred of them came tumbling down.
Jaycie and Kane rushed over to help me pick them up.
That was the last thing I needed. “I’ve got it. Thank you.”
“Don’t be silly. We love to help.” Jaycie bent over, and let’s just say I got very well acquainted with her and her breasts. I wondered how well Kane knew them. She did just say, “we.”
I scrambled to pick up the cups while my cheeks burned. At least this made my decision easy. Kane had found his new sex kitten. Meow.
“Jaycie, why don’t you get the conference room ready for my eleven o’clock meeting, and I’ll help Scarlett.”
“Are you sure?” she sang in an angelic voice.
“Yes. Thank you.”
She popped up. “Okay. See you later. Scarlett, we still need to do lunch.”
“Uh, yeah. Maybe next week. My schedule is full this week.” Or at least it was going to be.
“Sounds great. I made sure to place us at the same table during the conference on Friday. I’m so excited.”
Someone please, shoot me. “Wow. Me too,” I said through gritted teeth.
Kane chuckled under his breath.
“Bye, y’all.” She waved as she sashayed out the door, swinging her hips like she was in a salsa class.
I stood with an armful of white, hot cups and set them on the counter. “She’s quite the find.”
Kane set a stack of cups next to mine. “She’s almost as good as Randall.”
“I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes.
“Are you judging her because she’s beautiful? How very sexist of you, Dr. Armstrong.” His eyes danced with amusement.
“So, you think she’s beautiful?” I asked nonchalantly.
He leaned in, enveloping me in his intoxicating scent. “Not as beautiful as you.”
“Right.” I began putting the cups back on the shelf. “I bet she does a lot of overtime in your office.”
“I’m not that kind of man.” His curt words put me in my place.
I dropped the cups I was holding, feeling ashamed of my insinuation. More like my jealousy.
Kane swiftly picked up the cups and handed them to me. “How was your date with Landon?” he hissed his name.
I blew out enough breath to make my bangs ruffle. “Fine, until he wanted to take me back to his hotel room.”
Kane’s face flashed red. “That scumbag. I knew it.”
“You knew what?”
“Men like him think they can get whatever they want because they have a little notoriety. He damn well knew we were together, but he had the gall to ask you out in front of my face.”
“We’re not together.” Those words hurt in the depths of my soul.
“So, you keep reminding me,” he growled.
“I am sorry for calling you my stepbrother.” I offered an olive branch. I couldn’t stand being his adversary anymore. It wasn’t who I was.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I suppose I can forgive you.”
“I’m glad. Actually, I’ve been thinking.” Lots and lots of thinking. I had come to the conclusion that there were too many feelings between us to just walk away. And I’d decided that when you receive new information, like that someone loves you or that perhaps they had good intentions, you can’t ignore it. You have to process it, add it into the equation, and see what it amounts to. Even if I knew it would be painful and had no idea what the outcome would be.
He stepped closer. Hope shone in his eyes.
“I’ve been thinking . . . maybe . . . we could be friends.” After what Naomi had said to me yesterday, it was the only viable choice in my mind right now. It would give me a safe space to explore all the new data he’d thrown at me and process all the feelings I’d been running away from for a long time.
His chin hit his chest.
“You did offer me friendship as an option,” I gently reminded him.
He lifted his head. “I was hoping you would choose the other option.”
“I know. But things are complicated right now. I mean, I’m going to be your boss soon.” I smirked.
He grabbed his midsection and laughed. “Darlin’, you keep telling yourself that.”
“Oh, I will. Don’t discount me.”
“Scarlett, I never have. But I will fight you for this.”
I stood tall. “And I’ll be ready.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I like nothing better than a good fight. It makes the making up so much sexier.” He wagged his brows.
“Who says we’ll be making up?” I stuttered.
