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“No, you’re not. You’re taking all your anger out on that cabinet and soon we’ll have to get a new one. You might as well tell me what’s going on because I’ll figure it out anyway.”
James huffed. If she thought he was upset about Brielle, there was no way Chloe would put two and two together. She hadn’t figured out that he was interested in Constance now.
Boy, if she figured that out, she would be having a lot more to say than pointing out his abuse of a large piece of metal. He yanked a file out without looking at its contents and shut the drawer. “There,” he lied, “found it.”
Chloe’s gaze dipped to the folder, then up to his face. “I can tell when you’re lying. You might as well just tell me so I can give you some advice and we can get past this whole thing.”
He moved through the reception area and toward his office. “The day is over. You can go home, Chloe.”
But instead of hearing her get up from her seat and move toward the door, he heard the chair creak and her shoes following him across the commercial tile. The tightness in his body returned and he spun around to face her. “What do you want?”
She folded her arms, her features set in a hard line. “You’re my boss, and yes, technically you can tell me when I should leave and when I should arrive. But you’re also my friend, and if you’re going to let whatever is bothering you mess with our workday, then I’m going to make sure that you get it figured out. I refuse to work in an environment where you’re going to sulk over a girl.”
“I said it wasn’t—”
“Fine. It might not be Brielle. But it’ssomeone. I’ve never seen you this riled up before.”
He let out a harsh breath. “We haven’t been working at this clinic for very long. You don’t have much to compare it to.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Stop making excuses and just tell me what’s going on.”
James tightened his jaw, then turned and marched into his office. He threw the file down on his desk and whirled around to face Chloe where she now stood in the doorway. “Fine. If I say it’s Brielle, then what? Give me advice for something you know nothing about.”
The corners of her lips twitched, and she leaned one shoulder against the door jamb. “I’d say that if she’s making you feel this bad about something, then you obviously care more for her than you’re willing to admit to yourself.”
She made a good point. However, it wasn’t Brielle he was worked up over. It was Constance, and he didn’t really know her at all. How could this mean so much to him if he didn’t know what he was missing?
Chloe continued. “So tell me what happened. Is she trying to hide your relationship again?”
“No,” he muttered. “How do you even know about that? We were really good at keeping our relationship a secret. Not even her family knows.”
This time Chloe ducked her head and her cheeks colored.
He took a step toward her. “You said that it was obvious that we were together, but that doesn’t make sense if no one else noticed.”
She peeked at him and the coloring in her cheeks deepened. “I might have had a crush on you in high school.” She blew out a harsh breath. “Don’t worry. I don’t anymore. But I always thought that Brielle didn’t know how precarious her relationship with you was. I could tell you weren’t happy then. And you definitely aren’t happy now. Why would you even want to go back to her?”
He ran a hand through his hair, trailing it back to his neck then he let out a resigned sigh. “I’m not trying to get back with Brielle.”
Confusion flitted across her face. “But youareinterested in someone who doesn’t return your feelings.”
“I don’t know. And this conversation is highly inappropriate to be having with my employee.”
She frowned. “I’m your friend, too, James. I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, thank you for your help, but I’d rather figure this out on my own.”
Chloe threw her hands up into the air and stormed away. His muscles relaxed as he settled back on the edge of his desk. There was only one thing that came from this conversation. If Chloe had figured out that he had feelings for someone just by the way he was acting, then maybe she was right.
But having feelings for someone didn’t mean he was in love. He was frustrated that he couldn’t act on what was probably just a glorified crush. Constance was literally in the same position that Brielle had been when he’d dated her. She was unavailable and unwilling to do anything about it.
Right now, she was probably sitting in a fancy restaurant across from Shane while a waiter asked them what kind of wine they wanted to go with their expensive meal. Shane would treat her like a princess, James was sure of it. And once she got a taste of being with him, she wouldn’t ever give James a second look.
12
Constance
Constance stared at her phone. The text message she’d sent Shane had been brief and apologetic. She just couldn’t bring herself to go on a date with a stranger when she saw the person she really wanted to spend her time with every single day.
