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“And how does he think that she’d be good for you?” Max asks after a beat from where he’s seated across the room, his elbows resting on his knees as he leans forward, looking intrigued. I sigh, scrubbing my face with my hands.
“She’s supposed to teach me how to be a good person.”
Beau snickers. “You’re the best of the lot of us.”
“I guess you’re all beyond redemption then.”
He flips me off with a grin, shaking his head and relaxing back onto the second couch. David opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it quickly as the door behind me opens again. Turning to see who it is, my stomach clenches. Angie stands in the doorway, looking embarrassed and unsure of herself.
She’s dressed in tight jeans, black leather boots with a flat heel, and a cream woolen sweater which hugs her curves. Her luscious brown locks are tied back in a ponytail and she’s holding her navy coat. Ryan is the first one to move. Shoving out of his easy chair, he crosses to her, standing awkwardly in front of her, rubbing the back of his head.
“Uh. I wanted to apologize for my behavior toward you,” he sounds as awkward as he looks. “It was unprofessional and disrespectful and there is no excuse for it. I hope you can find it in you to accept my apology.”
Angie blinks up at him in surprise, her mouth popping open as she gawks at him, flushing bright red.
“Oh. Really, don’t even worry about it. I’ve had a lot worse over the years.” Angie’s hand waves dismissively, her eyes wide and her voice as awkward as Ryan’s.
“Still, it was unacceptable,” Ryan persists, determined to drive the apology home.
Angie’s eyes dart toward me, a plea in them. A smirk tugs at the corners of my lips. Holy shit. She’s embarrassed that he feels he needs to apologize. Holding her gaze, I point at the back of Ryan’s head and mouth “apology accepted”. Angie’s eyes dart back to Ryan, and she addresses his chest.
“Apology accepted,” she mumbles as the tension bleeds out of Ryan’s shoulders. He nods, offering her a small smile as he wanders back and drops into his chair again.
“Did you want to join us, Angie?” Beau pipes up, gesturing to the couch cushion beside him. Angie flushes bright red again, staring at the ground near her feet.
“Uh, Bill said that Tim was looking for me?”
I glance over at her in surprise. I am? News to me.
“He said Tim had to go to Oxford today and wanted me to accompany him.”
Oxford? What the fuck? David senses me floundering and pipes up, “You’re going to Oxford? And you didn’t think to invite us? Rude.”
I stare at Angie for a moment before my brain catches up. Right. I’m supposed to show her how to have fun. Uncle Bill thinks I can do that in Oxford. Right. Shoving out of my chair, I flip David off and walk over to Angie.
“Are you ready to go? I have to grab my coat.”
Angie’s hands tighten on the coat she’s holding, and she nods, staring at my feet.
“I’m ready to go,” she whispers, turning to precede me out of the room. I catch David’s grin and flip him off again. Oh, he’s so paying for that. As soon as I get back from Oxford.
I duck upstairs to grab my coat, running through all the places to “have fun.” There are a few that bring a smirk to my face, imagining Angie trying to relax. This is going to be fun.
Angela
Breakfast in bed was an unexpected surprise this morning, though it was a nice one. Less of a nice surprise was being called into Bill’s office, where he smirked and told me he knew about Tim and my nighttimeliaisons.
I was so sure I was about to be fired, but he just laughed and said that Tim was a good choice. He also said Tim was taking me to Oxford for the day. And that I was to turn my phone off the whole time.
I’m pretty sure theyallknow Tim and I have been sleeping together, so it was excruciating to face them all in the den. And Ryan apologized. I don’t think any of Bill’s associates have ever apologized to me for being rude. Thank goodness Tim prompted me, because I was sure my face was about to burst into flames with how hot it was getting. Now we’re in one of Bill’s fancy SUVs, with Tim at the wheel,driving two hours to one of the oldest universities in the world. The atmosphere inside the car is a little uncomfortable.
“I’m guessing Oxford wasn’t your idea, huh?” I say, more to break the silence than anything. Surprisingly, Tim laughs.
“Have you ever been?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ve heard it’s supposed to be nice.”
“It is nice.” He reaches over and tangles his fingers with mine. “And getting to spend the whole day with you is going to be more thannice.”
