AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I paused, confused. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t plan my dates. In fact, I’ll just take charge of the next one and do it myself.”
I scoffed. “You have no idea what goes into that.”
Garrett stood and walked around his desk, his gaze trained on me as he prowled toward me. For a moment, I felt like prey.
“You think I don’t know how to plan a date?” he asked softly. “How to romance a woman?”
I cringed at his words, certain he knew exactly how.
He chuckled. “I’ve got this, Jessica. Unless…”
I lifted my chin, meeting his eyes. “Unless what?”
“Unless there’s another reason you want so much control over my dates.”
My mouth dropped open. Was he insinuating that I wanted tocontrolhis dates because of what was going on between us? I pressed my lips together. No, that was stupid, because nothing was going on between us. A couple of kisses didn’t mean anything. At least, they shouldn’t, and I’d do well to remember that.
Garrett was grinning now, and I narrowed my eyes. “You think you have what it takes to plan a date? Great. Go for it.”
“I will.” He crossed his arms over his chest, that cocky smile still plastered to his face as he stared at me.
My body reacted to the feel of his eyes on me, which only irritated me more. “Fine.”
“Fine,” he echoed, his lingering gaze warming my skin.
I made a frustrated noise, then spun on my heel. “Don’t come asking for help,” I told him then stormed out before I did or said something I might regret.
* * *
Most of theday after the first competition went by in a rush as I checked in on all the contestants, making sure they were where they were supposed to be with classes and PT, and checking in to see how they were holding up mentally and physically. I remembered my own time competing all too well. Most of the time, I’d been a mess, barely able to handle what came my way.
I had planned on spending the day planning Garrett’s date with Reagan tonight, but now that he wanted to plan it himself, it freed me up to catch up on other work.
Still, I couldn’t help but worry that he might drop the ball when it came to the date. These Contention dates weren’t typical. They were supposed to be just as over the top as the rest of the competition, intimate and romantic, and Garrett hadn’t shown any interest in that.
It would serve him right if he couldn’t pull it off. Did he even realize how much time and effort I’d put into making everything about this Contention go off without a hitch? Despite my feelings for him, I did want him to end up with the right woman, not some fake bitch who was all wrong for him. I’d bent over backwards for weeks now, focusing all my attention on doing the best job I possibly could, but he didn’t seem to even care. He wasn’t taking anything seriously.
As I made my final rounds checking on the contestants before dinner, I wondered if I should make a backup plan for the date. Holden had planned many of his own dates during his Contention, especially those with Kayden. While that circumstance was slightly different because they were fated mates, he’d still stepped up and made an effort. Garrett simply wasn’t interested. Even though it was his idea to plan his date with Reagan, I didn’t like leaving it all up to him. Maybe he was right on one count—I liked being in control, but it wasn’t because of what was or wasn’t going on between us.
I wasn’t the type to leave anything to chance. Just the idea of Reagan showing up to a shit show of a date made my palms sweaty and my stomach twist. It was my job after all, and I wanted to do agoodjob.
Ultimately, I came up with a plan, but I didn’t do anything to implement it. I waited to see what Garrett might do. About thirty minutes before his date was scheduled to begin, there was a knock on my office door. Garrett poked his head in before I invited him then grinned and waltzed in as if he had no cares in the world.
“Hey, Jess.” He draped himself casually in one of the two chairs in front of my desk. “Just coming to let you know I made all the arrangements for… my date.”
How he said it made me think he didn’t even know who he was supposed to be meeting. Maybe I should let him sweat a little. “That’s great. Good job.”
“Yeah… so, I was wondering if you were going to let her know what time to meet me.”
Just as I’d suspected, he wasn’t fooling me. Even if he’d made the arrangements—not to mention he had kissed the girl—he was so removed from this that he didn’t even know who he was supposed to take on this date. He really didn’t give a shit about any of this, did he?
“Actually, I wasn’t. You’re on your own for this one, Garrett.” I smiled sweetly. “That’s what you wanted, right?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked as he stared at me. “You’re kidding, right?”
I leaned back in my chair, clasping my hands on my desk and regarding him with a blank expression. It actually felt good to have the tables turned for once. To be the one to throw him off balance.
