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“I work out a little bit,” I remarked, but I wasn’t really that worried about Izdor or whatever he was commenting on. I was more concerned with my girlfriend getting back to the office and organizing the luncheon. “We have so much to prepare.”
“Hang on, Andres. I want to give Izdor the number to the catering place that—”
Nope, I wasn’t going to allow her another moment with that imposter. The way he eyed her body and hung around in places where it was all too convenient to run into her made me uneasy. I kept her snug to my side as I marched off, getting back to the office in time for my phone to start going off.
“We have a lot to do,” I reasoned. “You should handle your calls in here where you won’t get distracted.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re jealous.”
Accusations weren’t my style. They pissed me off and made useless arguments. I must have been spoiled growing up with a mother who never started an argument with me. My brothers treated me similarly. We had our disagreements, but we also talked things out without much irritation.
Around Sadie, I almost felt the opposite of how I was with my family. Mom considered me a sweetheart, Xavier saw me as a joker, and Spencer knew I could be serious and light in equal parts.
But Sadie? She seemed to raise my hackles like a challenging wolf.
A lot of what she did felt like a challenge at this point. I wondered if she did it to get a rise out of me on purpose. Her attitude had changed so drastically since the proposition. Maybe I’d gone too far by inviting her into my life.
It wasn’t too late to turn back now if I wanted.
No, that was absurd. This was a fake relationship without any real feelings involved. Sure, there was plenty of lust sewn into our interactions, but I didn’t care about Sadie the same way I cared about my family.
I folded my arms over my chest and tipped my head back in a quick laugh. “You’re very funny when you want to be, Sadie.”
“Youarejealous.” Her eyes were shining like she had just discovered buried treasure. “Oh my goddess, you are just swimming in envy.”
“I’m the inspiration for envy, sweet Sadie.”
She smiled triumphantly, practically beaming with pride. “And here I did think you were some kind of robot. I’m glad to see you have emotions.”
My retort fell flat. Well, it wasn’t much of a retort at all considering I opened my mouth to speak and nothing appeared. Sadie, smug as a bug in a damn rug, sat poshly in the desk chair and scooted toward the laptop with her phone in one hand and the list in the other. She kept on smiling to herself, and she even started humming while she started ticking through the list.
Fine. She could have this victory. The future would bring plenty of moments to school her on what I had really done in the hallway.
And it hadnothingto do with jealousy.
Chapter 9 - Sadie
Three days of taking customer calls, organizing meetings, and emailing my little heart out had put me into a bit of a haze about the luncheon. Not only had I juggled Andres’ business, but I had also rearranged the table settings, called the caterer five times, and ordered enough eco-friendly balloons to make a clown faint.
I wanted so much to collapse in my childhood bedroom. The posters on the walls were tacked where I had left them, ice skating figurines dancing still on the desk near the window. Hushed conversation thrummed through the house in various accents as family from across the globe had turned up to participate in the year’s lavish event.
They were also here to find out if my parents were going to finally get a divorce.
I wasn’t sure I had any more sighs left in me, but I let one pass my lips regardless of how tired I was hearing it come out. I stared at my reflection. I ran my fingers over my verdant green silk dress with thin straps and flowers decorating the waist. Curves like these couldn’t possibly be contained, and I wanted to show them off because I knew it would piss off my mother.
Andres would probably like it too. I hoped he’d like it. Apparently, the guy got super jealous at the drop of a hat. There were quite a few family friends attending the event who wouldn’t mind seeing how I’ve grown up, and I knew that sort of ogling would probably pester Andres if the other day had been any indicator of his temperament.
I wanted to make him sweat a little bit. Just for fun. Just to get through this ridiculous luncheon and—
Ding dong.
Flash memories of my dinner with Andres sprang to mind as I darted down the stairs. Everyone else was out back by now, so that meant Andres was the one ringing the doorbell. Assuming he usually acted like he owned everything—me included—I thought he would just walk right into the house.
Good impressions were good for my folks. I silently prayed he wouldn’t try too hard to look like my boyfriend.
When I swung open the door, I was shocked to see a woman hanging on his arm. If it weren’t for the fact that the two of them shared the same eyes and nose, I would have probably been peeved.
I gasped when I realized the move he’d made. “Is this your mother?”
