Page 107 of Tell Me Something

“I didn’t come to talk to Josh. I came to apologize to you.”

“What for? You weren’t off base.” And maybe that’s what had bothered me the most. Colby had been able to read there was something between us, and yet Josh had denied it until he’d been caught.

He sighed and crossed the room. “No, but I didn’t mean to disrespect you in the process. I wasn’t trying to make it seem cheap or anything.” He looked sincere, but it didn’t matter.

“It’s all right. It is what it is, and I know what it looks like. I’m his secretary, ten years younger, and we’re sleeping together. I guess the only silver lining is that he’s single, so I won’t get the trifecta award for the cliché office romp.”

“There’s nothing cliché about the way my brother feels about you.”

I sucked in my breath and must have shown my surprise.

“You don’t know?”

I could only shake my head.

“Well, now you do. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. Although I think making it public with you instead of hiding it would go a long way to ensuring you’re both happy.”

“This is only temporary. Besides, you, of all people, know he has hang-ups regarding the general public knowing anything private about him.”

He regarded me before speaking. “He does have good reason. Not that you should be penalized for that bitch of an ex-wife he was married to, but unfortunately, he’s been burned. I guess the point I was trying to make in coming here this morning was one, to say it was really nice meeting you. Two, that I’m sorry for accosting you yesterday and embarrassing you this morning. And third, I think you’re good for him.”

“Thanks, Colby.”

We both jumped at the sound of the knock at the door.

“Speak of the devil.” Colby smirked.

I opened the door to see Josh. “Hi,” he greeted softly and then stiffened upon noting his brother over my shoulder.

“I was just leaving.” Colby moved toward the door. “See you in the lobby in an hour, Josh.”

The door closed, leaving us alone.

“What did he want?” Josh appeared irritated to have found his brother in my room.

“He wanted to apologize,” I said simply and watched Josh relax.

“Good. I’m glad he did. I was hoping to have you fly back with me today, but Colby and I have personal business for which we need to go to Florida. I should be back in New York later this week.”

I waited for an explanation of his personal business, but that was all he was willing to share. Disguising my hurt that he wasn’t confiding in me, I kept my voice light. “That’s fine. I’m heading to the airport. Safe travels, all right?”

“You too,” he responded, kissing me soundly and walking me out to the elevator.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I didn’t see or hear from Josh the rest of the week. Nigel mentioned that he’d gone to a funeral in Florida and then home to Virginia for personal reasons. It was a cruel reminder that I wasn’t really a part of his world. I even wondered if we still had plans for the upcoming weekend in Charlotte. He’d mentioned it the last night in Vegas, but he’d been drinking and that had been before Colby had discovered us the next morning.

The bright spot, however, was that by Friday I’d found out I’d been accepted to all of my top schools, including Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Yale, Columbia, and NYU. I was excited and wished Josh was with me to share the news. Meanwhile, I texted Sasha, Catherine, and Will, hoping at least one of them might be up for helping me celebrate tonight.

It was nearly six o’clock, the time I normally left work. According to Josh’s itinerary, he’d just landed back in New York. Nigel had thought he would most likely head into the office, and I was torn whether or not to wait for him. Sighing, I looked up to see Brian coming off the elevator.

He must have had the bypass code in order to come straight up. He looked amused. “It’s Friday. Why the mopey face?” He surprised me by sitting down in Nigel’s chair and scooting over towards my desk.

“Uh, Josh’s plane just landed, so if he’s coming into the office, it probably won’t be for another hour or so. I’m packing up for the evening.”

“I know. I just talked to him. He’s meeting me here, and then we’re going to dinner. Now why the mope?”

“I’m not. I was just trying to see if anyone was available to go out tonight. I wanted to share my news.”