I rubbed my jaw, thrown by her strange obsession with laminating things. And just how many certificates did she have?
“I’m sorry again about the mix-up,” Ellie said with a wince. “I’ll alert my boss, and hopefully he can find the person responsible.”
“No need.” I waved a dismissive hand. “My security team will take care of it.”
“Oh. Okay, that works.” She bit down on her lip, eyeing the door before bracing herself and facing me fully.
I waited patiently for her to work up her nerve.
“Um, I usually give a little spiel to new clients about leaving a review on the app, but this feels like an exception. So, I’ll just get changed in your guest room and go.” She drummed her fingers against her thighs, and my amusement only grew as she inched closer to the exit. “And, um, I guess I already know my way out. So…bye!”
She ducked out of the room without another word, rainbow tail swinging behind her.
I got out of bed and changed into a fresh shirt, still mulling over what’d happened, when Mac reappeared in the doorway. “Want to tell me what the hell that was about?”
I coughed into my elbow to hide a grin. “Relax. She wasn’t here to stab me with a poisoned knife after all.”
Any humor was lost on him, and he stared back like he didn’t even recognize me.
“You banged the window washer,” he accused.
“I didn’t bang her.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I walked around him and through the door. “And she’s not a window washer.”
He fell into step beside me. “Who is she, then?”
“A joke someone sent. I don’t know who, but they hired her from an app. I’ll send you the details to look into.”
Mac’s head jerked back. “Someone ordered you a hooker?”
“She’s not a hooker.” I lowered my voice as we passed the closed door of the guest room, then didn’t speak again until we reached the living room. “She’s a…cuddler.”
His blank stare echoed how I’d felt when Ellie told me. “A cuddler? What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know, but she gets paid to cuddle people for a living. Apparently, there’s a demand for that.”
“…So, a random girl showed up while you were sleeping,” he said slowly, squinting at me. “And instead of alerting me or the team, you invited her into your bed?”
“I had it handled. Besides, I’m not the one who let her in the door.”
He scowled. “She was supposed to be with Steve’s!”
“Just see that she makes it off the property without any more trouble,” I ordered as we reached my office door.
Mac stalked off, cursing under his breath.
It wasn’t until I took a seat at my desk that I could admit to myself how stupid I’d acted today.
…What the hell was I thinking letting a random person climb into my bed and cuddle up to me?
But the strange blue-haired girl was right.
That was the best sleep I’d ever had in my life.
brotherly competition
. . .
Cade
