Page 22 of Bad & Bossy

“God, I’m not that bad.”

Her giggles were infectious. The version of herself that she’d been hiding under a mask was slowly coming out, and fuck, I loved it. “You so are. Do you ever look back on interactions and think, hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have been that big of an asshole?”

Her words came crashing down for both of us at the same moment. The life drained from her, the light in her eyes dulling. Her smile faded. And I could feel each of those things happening to me too. Yes, I wanted to say. Every fucking day I think I shouldn’t have treated you that way.

On the nights when I felt the worst about it, I took comfort in pushing away the memories of what happened after the smashing of the glass. But I also knew that was probably a privilege only I possessed.

She glanced down at her watch as she noticed a handful of people leaving the room. I could tell she wanted to follow them by the way her eyes lingered, but before she could make a run for it, I grabbed her attention. “Can I take you out?”

Wide, angry eyes snapped to mine. There she was again, the angry girl that had become her new normal.

“Not like that. Not a date. I’ll draw that line now,” I clarified.

“Then what is it?” she asked, a breath of hesitation to her tone.

“We can have dinner. Hash things out. Clear the air,” I suggested, taking a small step toward her, careful not to scare her off with my proximity. “If you’re going to be working for me, the least I can do is make things more comfortable for you.”

She glanced at her watch again and back to the doors before finally looking up at me. “I don’t know, Cole. That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

“Or it could make your life easier.”

She scoffed. “My life isn’t easy to begin with. I don’t expect it to become any easier just because you take me on a date.”

“Not a date,” I corrected. “Just a casual chat and some food.”

“In public?”

I knew what she meant by that. There was an air of safety with being in public—I couldn’t get too drunk and I couldn’t verbally attack her, at least not without repercussions. “In public. Yes.”

Her lower lip slipped between her teeth. I couldn’t help but think of other things I’d like to see between her teeth instead.

I took another step toward her, crowding her just a little. “Do me this favor, Dana, and I’ll make as many things easier for you as I possibly can.”

Her lashes fluttered absentmindedly as she looked me up and down. “Fine. Text me where and I’ll meet you at seven. I’ve got things I need to sort out at home first.”

————

I sat in my desk chair, my knee bouncing nonstop and driving me insane, but I couldn’t stop. I felt like a teenager who’d just asked a girl he’d been crushing on to go on a date, even though that wasn’t what this was.

Not a date.

Two more hours. I could wait that long. But damn it felt like forever.

Four thirty-minute segments.

Six twenty-minute segments.

Eight fifteen-minute segments.

Twelve ten-minute segments.

Twenty-four five-minute segments.

Somehow, looking at it that way, didn’t make it seem any quicker.

I couldn’t focus on work, so that was out of the question. I could go home, but I’d only have about ten minutes before I’d have to head back into town. I could go to my apartment, but the thought of stepping in there after six months of emptiness and the countless bottles that waited felt more like hell than watching paint dry.

Instead, I sent Bobby a text.

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