“What do you have against Connor, anyways?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Nothing!” he laughs, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I’m sure he’s reallynice.”
His tone is laced with sarcasm. Despite his denial, it’s pretty darn obvious that Theo has a problem with Connor. I just can’t imagine what it is- Connor doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who would pick a fight with anyone, let alone an alpha.
Maybe Theo’s the one who’s jealous.
The notion is so ridiculous that I almost laugh out loud. I’m not the kind of girl that guys fight over. I’m not the fun girl, the sexy girl- I’m the good girl, the smart girl. The invisible girl. The girl that gets passed over for those fun, sexy ones.
Not that I mind. I know my worth- I’m a catch, and the right guy will like me for who I am on a deeper level. Maybe Connor’s that guy.
Even though I think Theo’s lying about not having anything against Connor, I decide to let it go.
“He is,” I agree. I swivel back to my computer, feeling Theo’s eyes lingering on me.
I get to work deleting the random characters that I typed when he first sat down, cleaning up my code.
“You know…” Theo says after a minute or two, “if it’s stressing you out, you just shouldn’t go. We could go for a drink instead.”
I peer over at him again. He has one elbow on the arm of the chair, resting his chin on his hand. His square jaw is stubbly, like he hasn’t shaved in days- but it makes him look rugged, even more handsome if that’s humanly possible. His eyes burn into mine as a sly smile tugs at his lips.
“Whaddya say, kid?”
For some reason I’m actually tempted. I’m more comfortable around Theo now; we’ve fallen into some kind of groove together and the conversation never gets stale. I can almost picture the two of us posted up at his table in the back corner of the Goldenleaf bar, him making some perverted comment, me rolling my eyes. Him making an off-color joke that I can’t help but laugh at. It doesn’t sound half bad; it could actually befun.
I shake my head. That’s not me. I’m the kind of girl who honors her commitments.
“I can’t cancel on him.”
Theo blows out a breath, shrugging. “Suit yourself.”
He rises to his feet, grabbing his jacket off of the back of his chair while my wolf whines in protest.
Theo stuffs his arms into the sleeves of his jacket, glancing down at me, hazel eyes twinkling. “If things go south with loverboy, you know where to find me. I’ll buy you a drink.”
I chuckle softly. “Sure thing. Hey, don’t you need to get a report from me?”
He towers over me from where he stands, raking a hand through his hair. “Already did. Program still in progress. Unless you have anything else to add?”
I give a little shake of my head.
He grabs the back of his chair and drags it over to the conference table.
Theo usually sticks around longer to chat. Even though I’ve got work to do, I’m a little disappointed that he’s taking off already. With how stressed out I am over the program and my date tonight, I could actually use a distraction- even an annoying distraction like Theo.
He walks up beside my desk, pauses. Glances down at me.
“Later, kid,” he drawls, flashing me that gorgeous smile.
Even though I’m still a little ticked off about his shenanigans on Saturday night, for some reason I’m finding it difficult to stay mad at him. Perhaps it’s easy to forgive him because he’s such a smooth talker- or maybe I’m just a huge pushover.
Either way, as I look up at him, I can’t help but smile back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Brooke
“I brought options,” Fallon breathes, pushing into my room in the squad barracks with a dress bag slung over her shoulder.