Page 14 of The Plus One Professional

“That’s amazing!” she enthused.

“Why is it amazing?”

“Because you are attracted to him. When was the last time you sneezed?”

The last time I sneezed was nearly three years ago when Simon was in town. Speaking of Simon. He’d called. I looked down at my phone and saw he hadn’t left a message. I hadn’t taken the call I’d been waiting for because I was locked in the bathroom with Cole, my not-work crush. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

6

COLE

“Thanks again.I was, um, I was wondering…” Jenna dipped her head, and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as we pulled up to her apartment building.

It was the same thing I’d done earlier that evening to Bailey. I could still feel the silky strands of her hair and hear the short gasp of breath she’d taken when I had.

Jenna continued, “I know that this was…not a date, but would you ever?—”

“I don’t date clients.” I should have cut her off before she’d even started the question, but I’d been too preoccupied thinking about Bailey.

“Oh, okay.” I could see the disappointment in her eyes. This was the part I hated most about the job.

“It makes things too complicated.” It didn’t matter what terms I laid out in the contracts my dates signed; this was where we ended up ninety percent of the time.

“Right. Yeah, no. I understand. Well, thank you.”

I nodded as she walked up to her apartment. I wanted to stop her and tell her that me not dating wasn’t personal; it wasn’t a rejection of her, but I’d gone down that route before, and it usually just dragged out the inevitable. It was best to end the night with a quick goodbye, like ripping off a Band-Aid, even if it did make me feel like a heartless prick.

As I got back into my SUV and drove away, I thought about my way out. It wasn’t going to happen overnight. But once I got my contractor’s license and started taking on clients, I hoped to be in a much different position in two years’ time.

Until then, I’d definitely considered expanding. I was only one person, and there were dates I had to turn down because I was already booked. Eric, Timmy, and Finn, who I worked with now but had been friends with since middle school, were chomping at the bit to be a plus one for hire. The problem was, as much as I loved those guys, I didn’t trust any of them not to cross professional lines.

Hell, I’d been tempted to cross them tonight. Not with Jenna. But Bailey. Bailey Bliss. Now that I knew her name, I was going to have to stop myself from going down a Google rabbit hole.

I’d been a heartbeat away from kissing her. If she hadn’t sneezed and her sister hadn’t opened the door, I would have. And I think she would have let me. If she had, I’m not sure what would have happened. I wanted to believe it would have stopped there, that I wouldn’t have done anything to put my business or hers in jeopardy, but damn, I wasn’t so sure. It had been so long since I’d been with anyone.

And that sneeze. I’d heard her sister question her about that sneeze. From what I gathered, it was something that happened when Bailey was attracted to someone. I doubted that was the case; it was probably an inside joke.

Either way, I was pretty sure she felt what I had. It had been a long time since I’d felt the way I did about her. That level of primal attraction. Of connection. Lindsay was the only person who even came close, and I’d met her when I was twelve.

That’s what Bailey made me feel like. She made me feel like a kid again. Like a lovesick teenager. I’m not sure that was the right thing to be looking for at my age. At least not with the responsibilities I had.

The drive home, across the city, was uneventful. I made it in less than fifteen minutes and parked in the garage around the back of the building. When I walked around to go into the front of the building, I saw Arthur sitting on his fire escape, smoking a cigar.

“Lookin’ good, son!” He called down to me.

“It’s the suit!” I shouted back as I opened the front door to the building.

He gave me his signature thumbs-up. The first time I’d worn one of Arthur’s suits was for Peter’s funeral. I was eighteen at the time, and it had been a little baggy on me. But over the past six years, I’d filled out, and now his suits fit me like a glove.

Besides being appropriate for the occasions I wore them, Arthur’s suits made it easier to get into character as Cole. Which reminded me, I’d introduced myself to Bailey as CJ. In the two years I’d been doing this, I’d never slipped.

I took all nine flights of stairs, two at a time. I had a ton of excess energy that I needed to burn off if I had even a chance of sleeping tonight. I was a little out of breath when I walked inside the apartment and found Carly on the couch, which was technically my bed. It was late; I’d thought for sure everyone would be asleep.

Then I remembered that I was supposed to take her over to Riley’s for the sleepover.

“Hey, Cardi B, you ready to go?”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname as she took her AirPods out of her ears and shut her computer. “Go?”

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