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Chapter 26
Apparently ‘beer’ isn’t a ‘helpful reply’ when asked how to improve team meetings.
Hailey parks herself on my desk the next day. I push her off. “I don’t want your butt cooties on my desk.”
“I’m wearing jeans. Besides, cooties aren’t real.”
Phoebe enters with a tray of coffees and a box of donuts. Uh oh. Alert! Alert! An ambush is impending. It doesn’t take a genius to know what this little ambush is about. They want to talk about Grayson. I am not discussing my non-existent relationship with the soldier with them.
I open the bottom drawer where I keep my purse, intent on making a run for it.
Hailey dangles my bag in front of me. “Looking for this?”
I make a grab for it, but she lifts her hand over her head – a place I can’t reach. Stupid, obnoxiously tall woman. “You’ll get it back as soon as we’re finished.”
I collapse in my chair. It goes flying backwards and hits the wall with a bang! Shit. I rub my lower back where it got jarred by the collision. My back is already annoyed with me after a night of tossing and turning. Sleep eluded me as my mind conjured up image after image of Saturday and all the delicious things Grayson did to my body.
Thinking of Grayson’s magical tongue causes my body to heat and my cheeks to catch fire.
“Your look right now,” Hailey’s finger circles my face, “is why we’re having this conversation.”
Phoebe hands me a coffee. “It’s only fair since you wouldn’t leave me alone about giving Ryker a second chance.”
“And I was right. You’re now happily living together and engaged to be married.” I pat myself on the back.
“What’s to say you can’t get your own happily ever after?” Phoebe asks.
Ryker walks in but comes to a halt when he notices the group of us drinking coffee at my desk. He shakes his head. “Call me whenever whatever this is, is done,” he says and does an about-face.
“Don’t you want a donut?” Phoebe yells after him.
“Babe,” is his only response as he marches down the hallway toward the elevator.
Phoebe giggles. “He doesn’t eat sugary stuff.” She snags a chocolate glazed donut and takes a bite. She moans. “Yummy.”
“You used to not eat sugary stuff either,” I remind her.
“Nuh-uh.” Hailey snaps her fingers in my face. “You are not changing the subject.”
“Subject? I didn’t realize this little meet and greet had an agenda. Do you want me to take notes?”
“Stop being a smartass,” Hailey grumbles.
“I learned from the best.”
She smirks. “I am the best, aren’t I?”
“Neither one of you can keep to an agenda,” Phoebe mumbles around another bite of donut.
“Excuse us for not being Ms. Richer Than God who grew up having board meetings at the breakfast table.”
“No.” Phoebe wiggles her finger at me. “I’m not letting you get away with getting off topic. Now, back to the matter at hand.”
I don’t want to. I really don’t. But I ask anyway. “And what is the matter at hand?”
“You and Grayson,” Hailey supplies.
I figured as much. “I told you. Nothing is going on between me and Grayson.” But my body betrays me, and I feel my cheeks warm. Stupid cheeks need to stop betraying me!
