Page 16 of Gross Misconduct

He had no idea. I hadn’t told him about the arrangement with Jill, and while I should have been thinking about working on my relationship with her, I was more interested in spending the evening with my television and some beer. Maybe do some gaming to take the edge off. The thought of having to kiss her ass all evening wasn’t on my list of things to do. But going in with a bad attitude would lead to a shitty outcome, something my mom had always told me.

So after a nap, something to eat, and a long shower, Iheaded over to Lou’s, a low-key lounge the guys liked to hang out at. The place was hopping, but they always kept a table for me. I was nursing a beer when Tangi and Ethan showed up. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and Ethan a pat on the back. Jill arrived ten minutes later looking hotter than I’d remembered. She was tall, at least five foot nine and almost six feet in her black heels. The woman had legs for days. She had on skinny jeans and a pink blouse that plunged just enough to hint at cleavage. She had her hair styled in soft waves, and if she hadn’t been so nasty to me, I may have looked forward to hooking up with her. But I had to keep my thoughts clean and be on my toes around her.

I stood up when she reached the table and held out a chair for her. Tangi smiled at me, and I rolled my eyes. I was pretty sure she knew what was going on, so I had to tell Ethan tonight. I grabbed his arm and took drink orders from the ladies, then he and I headed for the bar. While we waited for our drinks, I filled him in.

“Wait a second,” Ethan said, shaking his head, “of all the people you would have a fake relationship to fool people you have foundthe one, you go with Jill? Do you have a death wish? She’s going to eat you alive.”

“I didn’t choose Jill. Clay did.”

“And clearly he didn’t read the room!”

“Well, she went along with it, so clearly she’s okay with doing this. Any advice for me?”

He scratched his head. “Don’t cross her. She won’t let you get away with anything, so be on your best behavior. And knowing her, she’ll plan your whole life out, so don’t try to fight it. She’ll probably tell Tangi and Wolseley everything, so there will be no secrets. Honestly, don’t fuck with her.”

“Who is Wolseley?”

“Their best friend back in Minny. She has her own restaurant. She’s cool. Total sweetheart and nothing to worry about.”

“Why couldn’t I be coupled off with her?” I muttered.

We got the drinks and headed back to our table. The ladies were in deep discussion about their jobs, so Ethan and I chatted about the team and people-watched. When a song came on that Ethan and Tangi said was their song, they got up to slow dance. That left me with the blonde barracuda. I decided to be as nice as possible.

“Do you like Vancouver?”

She turned to me and looked as disinterested as possible. “It’s okay. It rains a lot.”

“That took some getting used to for me too. I grew up in Calgary, and it was all about the sunshine and Chinooks. I guess a lot like Minnesota, but warmer?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been to Calgary. What is a Chinook?”

“It’s when warm winds come in off the mountains. We get wild swings of warm air. So it goes from freezing to spring-like weather.”

She tilted her head and frowned. “Fascinating.”

She’d asked, so why was she annoyed? I wasn’t going to endure her shit for the next six months, so I let it go for now. I wasn’t going to bow down to her, acquiesce, kiss her ass, you name it. None of that was going to happen. “You know what, you asked me what it was. I told you. I wasn’t trying to be a smart-ass about it.”

Her gorgeous blue eyes opened wide in surprise. Thinking maybe she’d back down, I was in for a big surprise.

“Look, you need me more than I need you.”

Oh no, this was not happening. I pushed my drink aside and leaned in closer to her. “I don’t need you at all. You don’tthink I could find any chick in this place, and she’d happily take your place? And she’d be less of a pain in the ass about it.”

She leaned in closer too. “Then go ahead. I’m sure you could find the perfect woman to put up with the charade and keep it quiet. Clay would love it. And this seems like the perfect place to find someone like that.”

I wanted to strangle her, not that I’d ever laid a hand on a woman before. “But then you’d have to give back whatever he offered you. Wouldn’t that suck for you?” I said as sarcastically as possible.

“Surprise! I gave it all back already. Your move, Einstein.”

I balled my fists under the table where she couldn’t see them. “You’re so infuriating.”

She shrugged. “I know. Isn’t it fun? So are you storming out of here and never coming back? Or maybe you’re going to try to find another woman to take my place? Or you could do what I’m doing and look at this as an impossible challenge. I’ll let you decide while I enjoy my drink.”

She leaned back, satisfied with herself while I fumed. I waved over one of the servers and asked her to bring me another drink.

“I see you’re staying,” she said with satisfaction.

I rolled my eyes at her. “No, I’m having another drink while I think this through.”

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