Page 55 of Never To Be Mine

“Like you think this is exciting. It’s not. It’s a disaster.”

“It’s a little exciting,” she said, still grinning. “No one else has been kissing you for as long as I’ve worked for you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thank you for reminding me my love life is dead.”

“And it was good?” she prompted.

“Too good,” I said with a sigh.

“How can a kiss be too good?”

“Because I want more.”

“No shit. I want one.”

I huffed out a laugh and shook my head. “I don’t think he hands them out. Or maybe he does. He probably does. He kissed me and it wasn’t a big deal. Just a kiss.”

“If it wasn’t a big deal, why did you get wasted last night?”

“Kari, you don’t understand,” I said, crumpling the granola-bar wrapper. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask to be partnered with him. My father forced this whole thing on me. And now I’m supposed to just what? Pretend I didn’t have his tongue in my mouth?”

“You could try enjoying it,” Kari suggested, leaning against the counter with her own coffee.

“Enjoying what? The humiliation? The complete loss of professional boundaries?” I was getting worked up, my voice rising. “This is exactly what I didn’t want. I’m supposed to be evaluating his business, not evaluating his kissing skills. Which, for the record, are annoyingly excellent.”

“You mentioned that already.”

“Because it demands repeating!” I threw my hands up, nearly spilling my coffee. “Everything about this is wrong. He’s cocky and entitled and he thinks he can just smile and get whatever he wants. And the worst part? He probably can. He probably kisses women all the time and they just fall at his feet.”

“Are you falling at his feet?”

“No!” I paused. “I nearly did in that elevator, though.”

“Juno!” She laughed and looked around. “I think you might still be drunk.”

I pressed my fingers to my temples. “My brain is too pickled to think straight.”

Kari studied me for a moment, her head tilted. “Can I ask you something?”

“Can I stop you?”

“Why does he get under your skin so much?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but she held up a hand.

“And I don’t mean the kiss. I mean before that. From the very beginning, you’ve been extra hostile toward him. More than you are with other people you’re vetting.”

“Because he’s… him.”

“Hot?”

“No. I mean, duh, but no.”

“Rich?”

“That’s part of it.”

“Successful?”