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“Peyton, this is good. Like really good,” Penny says, holding up the scribble I spent the past six hours on.
After Penny took me on the grand tour, she showed me to our desk, where we’ve remained. I ensured I was head down, butt up because the sight of Darla flirting with Cayden is still singed into my brain, and I’m not keen for a repeat performance.
This shouldn’t get to me, but it does. A fierce wave of possession rolled over me, and all I could envision was ripping out Darla’s red fingernails, one by one. But Cayden gave me this job to work, and work I did. I even surprised myself with how well I took to Penny’s instructions.
I thought I’d be lost in translation, but I have never felt more in my element than I am right now. It could just be because Penny is a good teacher, but as I look at the sketch she holds up proudly, I know it’s a joint effort.
“Are you sure you didn’t go to Yale or something?” she gushes, shaking her head in awe. I told her briefly about my amnesia, but I spared her the gory details. I refuse to taint this workplace with my past. “We have to go out and celebrate.”
“We do?” I ask, arching a brow.
“Damn straight we do.” She thumps her cast playfully on the table to stress her point.
“We’re going out?” says a voice behind me. Turning in my swivel chair, I see a handsome man packing up his desk. He looks smart yet casual in white trousers, a navy button-down shirt, and a light blue blazer. As he stuffs sketches into his tan leather briefcase, I figure he’s an architect too.
“Yes, Ronnie, Peyton, and I are going out. I don’t remember inviting you, though,” Penny says, tongue in cheek.
“But who’s going to hold your hair back after one too many gin and tonics?” Ronnie jokes, fastening the loops on his bag.
“Don’t let this cast fool you.” Penny holds up her arm while I bite back my smile, enjoying their banter.
Ronnie reaches across the space between us, extending his hand. “I’m Ronnie.”
“Peyton.” We shake, and he holds my hand a little longer than needed. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. So where are you girls headed?”
I look up at Penny and shrug. “I don’t know. I’m new to town…”
Ronnie’s eyes light up, and Penny claps excitedly. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Ronnie nods, and I suddenly get the sense this isn’t up for negotiation.
I was thinking of going home and doing some serious cramming on everything there is to know about architecture. I really enjoyed today, and I figure the more I know, the better it’ll be for me in the long run if I want to make this a full-time gig.
But when Cayden descends the stairs with Darla trailing behind, I suddenly feel like a martini. Or two. Ronnie notices me staring and scoffs when he sees Cayden. I don’t know why, but I get the sense Cayden’s charm is lost on him. “So you ready to have your world blown?” Ronnie says when Cayden is in earshot.
My cheeks instantly flush because I can’t deny the innuendo behind his words. Cayden is by my side in a heartbeat. “Anyone would think I pay you to work. Crazy, hey?” he playfully says to the three of us. But the twitch beneath his right eye exposes a different picture.
I don’t have time to dissect it, however, because Darla decides to add to the awkwardness when she addresses us. “Penny. Ronnie. New girl.”
New girl?
Penny scrunches up her nose, appearing just as disgusted as I am. “My name is Peyton,” I correct, coming to a stand. She’s half shielded by Cayden, which annoys me more so than I already am. If she wants to be catty, the least she can do is do it face-to-face.
Speaking of annoyed. Cayden and Ronnie are having this weird, territorial pissing contest, and I have no idea why. “You ready?” Ronnie says, directing his question my way. When I make it clear I have no idea what he means, he clarifies, “For our date.”
I actually recoil when Cayden steps forward, a low rumble escaping him.
“Did you want to come too, Coach? Ronnie and I were planning on taking Peyton out to celebrate her first day of work.” Penny’s quick to intervene as she too can sense something weird brewing.
Cayden is making zero eye contact with me because he’s currently eyeballing the hell out of Ronnie. But Ronnie isn’t intimated in the slightest. When Darla’s glossy lips tip into a sly grin, I suddenly put two and two together.
Ronnie is sweet on her. Maybe they were once a thing. But she clearly has eyes for someone else. My someone else. A feral sound oozes from me. She has just become public enemy number one.
“Thanks, Penn. I’d love to.”
I almost pull a muscle in my neck as I snap my head to look at Cayden. He folds his arms across his chest, daring me to argue. “I didn’t take you for the…socializing type,” I say, which is the truth. I’d imagine going out for drinks with work colleagues would be as appealing to Cayden as catching the bubonic plague.
