Page 19 of Reckless Encounters

PS: If you decide you are up for a little fun with a stranger, don’t forget about the speed dating event next Sunday night at Masqued.

Five

“It’s such a pretty day,” Olivia chimes from beside me as we make our way through SoHo from Luxure to Bryant & CO’s office a few blocks away. Taking advantage of the beautiful May weather.

“It truly is. I just hope it stays like this for a while before it turns into an inferno,” I say, knowing how hot it gets on these city streets in the summer.

“Me fucking too.” She laughs.

“Do you think he hates the counter tops we picked out?” I blurt out, my thoughts running rampant with why Parker only wanted to see Olivia and I today.

“I mean, how could he? They’re perfect.” She smiles over at me, and she’s right, they truly are.

“No, I think there is something more to it. It seemed less about us and more about Logan,” she states, and my brow furrows in confusion.

“Really? Why do you think that?”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but he’s different with you…almost territorial.”

I scoff, trying to brush off the thought. Part of me knows she’s right, but when it comes to Parker, I have no clue what that means. “No way… He’s just an asshole to me.”

“An asshole who pays you a whole hell of a lot of attention,” she says matter-of-factly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for starters… Do you remember that night he showed up at the bar when we first hired you?”

Thinking back to that night, I recall her and Logan’s strange reactions to him being there. “Yeah.” I nod, unsure how to feel about where this is going.

“He never, and I mean never, cares what we do after work or even during work, as long as we get our shit done. The minute he heard you were coming, he had so many questions.”

“Then the fact he showed up…” She slows her pace, moving both of her hands above her head and throwing out her fingers like the universal sign for mind blown. I laugh at her dramatics, and she continues. “The only time he has ever hung out with us outside of work has been at special events we all had to attend. And the occasional time he and Braxton get together. But never ever after work for drinks.”

I take in her words, pondering what they could mean. If he wanted to make a move, it's not like I haven’t been willing. I certainly wasn’t pushing him away when he was inches from my face the other night. Either she’s overthinking this, or maybe he’s the type that doesn’t do repeats so he’s fighting our tension. Regardless, I’m not going to wait around until he figures it out. No matter how good it was.

We stop at a crosswalk, and Olivia pulls me from my thoughts. “Can I ask you something? Don’t feel like you have to answer.”

“Of course.” I nod.

“Do you guys have history? I mean, it's obvious you know each other somehow.”

I don’t want to lie completely, but even though I trust Olivia, my two best friends in the whole world don’t even know that secret.

We start walking again as I answer, “His college best friend, Eli Barton, dates my best friend, Quinn. And Eli’s sister, Sloan, is our other best friend. But he decided the minute he heard my last name, exactly what he thought about me, which is why you guys had to convince him to even give me the job.”

“I wouldn’t say we had to convince him… In all honestly, I think Logan feels the tension between the two of you and says things like that about Parker as a defense mechanism.”

Interesting.

“So today when he insisted it be me who brought you over and not Logan, it just solidified even more that I think he wants you… He may not even truly realize it himself, but he hates the thought of you and Logan alone together.”

Could that be true? If it was true, he could have easily had me on Saturday. Instead, he let his male ego get in the way of what could have been an amazing ending to a good night.

“I don’t know… I think he is more worried that Logan or I will fuck things up within our team if we get involved. Plus, there is the no fraternizing rule.”

She stops right as we approach the building. “The what?”

“Parker told me about the rule against fraternizing within the company.”

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