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Drake’s order arrived a minute later—they were fast here.
"You didn't answer my email," he said.
I sighed. "No, I was putting it off on purpose. Then I forgot about it, but I'll get to it."
"On purpose?" he asked, setting his sandwich down.
"Yes, there was no 'please' or 'thank you' in your email, so I let you sweat a bit."
He jerked his head back. "Is that how you conduct business?"
"No, but I'm usually not at odds with someone the way I am with you."
He straightened up, leaning slightly over the table. "I see. So I'm special."
"Yes. You have a special talent for getting a rise out of me."
What am I doing?We were working together. I couldn't antagonize him. I was still reeling from last night, but that had to stop.
Clearing my throat, I said, "Okay, here's the deal. You agreed this morning to a clean slate. I'm going to try my best."
"Finally, you talk some sense."
"And you’re going to try very hard not to rile me. These are my terms."
He swallowed hard, lowering his gaze. For a split second, I couldn't breathe. I was 99 percent sure he was looking at my mouth. No, scratch that. I was 100 percent sure. I didn't know if he did that out of instinct or because I had something smeared on my face.
"Fine, we have a deal," he said.
"Good."
"But on one condition."
"Here we go," I said.
"You don't attempt to guess anything about me at all."
I winced. I'd realized last night that I'd struck a chord when I ran my mouth, but I'd been too emotional to stop.
"I’m sorry. I was out of line. Why did you move to Chicago?" I asked him carefully.
His eyes turned cold. "It's a private matter."
"Fair enough."
My phone beeped, startling me. It was on the table, as usual; sometimes I ate and scrolled through social media when I was by myself.
"I can't believe it. Well, obviously you’re not as impressive as you think." I grinned, looking up at Drake and turning my phone so he could see.
Patrick: Hey, Kimberly. I felt last night went well, although the ending was surprising. I’m sorry that I overreacted. It's your right to date whoever you want. We didn't speak about exclusivity yet. When are you available again for dinner?
Drake shook his head. "The guy is confident, but it's disturbing that he can't read the room at all.”
"I'm going to think of a way to let him down gently later."
"Gently? The guy needs you to hammer the point home.”
"That's not how I operate."
