Page 41 of Forget

‘Sleazy prick.’

Her eyes flashed fire. ‘I handled it. But it sucks that we’ll never be able to go back to that old friendship because I’ll always wonder if he has an ulterior motive.’

Brock wanted to say that most guys had an ulterior motive and when it came to a gorgeous woman with a rocking bod like Jayda, that motive was getting pussy.

But he settled for, ‘At least the guy has great taste.’

Her lips compressed again but this time he could tell she stifled a laugh.

‘And for the record, I would’ve beaten him to a pulp if he tried anything beyond a hug.’

‘I don’t need your protection,’ she said, eyeballing him with a direct stare that dared him to disagree. ‘I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.’

He had too and that was how he knew that beneath her bravado lurked that same uncertain girl who’d learned to hide her vulnerabilities well. He knew because he did the same every damn day.

Having more than six zeroes tacked onto the end of his bank balance, a fancy penthouse, designer clothes, and the latest high-tech equipment to make any geek drool didn’t account for much when he lay awake at night, hating the inherent loneliness that plagued him, and cursing his parents for instilling in him a complete lack of faith in anything lasting.

‘You’re a fraud, just like me.’ The truth tumbled from his lips and he muttered, ‘Fuck,’ as she reared back as if he’d poked her.

He needed to remedy this situation, and change the subject fast. ‘While I’m wrestling the glitch in your software under control, I need your help with a function organised by my dad, some annual car sales award thing. Because he’s laid up in bedhe needs me to do some last-minute finagling, party planning mostly, and I remember you mentioning you’ve done stuff like that for your folks?’

Her eyebrows rose in blatant scepticism, as if she didn’t buy his change of subject at all, so he quickly continued. ‘If it were up to me I wouldn’t go, let alone help organise the bloody thing, but he’s never asked me for a favour before and I couldn’t say no.’

When she continued to eyeball him, her lips compressed into a thin line, he said, ‘Will you help me put the finishing touches on this function and save my ass in the process?’

After a long, drawn-out silence that made sweat bead on his upper lip, she nodded. ‘Sure, I’ll do it. When is it?’

‘Next Friday night.’

He waited while she swiped up the calendar on her phone and when her lips eased into a soft smile, he didn’t know whether to curse or be relieved that he’d have her helping him with what promised to be an awful event.

‘I’m free, and I can slot in some time during the week to make phone calls and check on florists, caterers, that kind of thing.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve done it many times before.’

‘Good,’ he said, resisting the urge to squirm as she pinned him with that astute stare again. ‘I’ll get all the details and email them to you. I’ll be the main contact person so if there’s any problems let me know.’

‘Fine.’ She sipped her drink, continuing to appraise him with blatant curiosity. ‘What’s the problem with my software?’

Relieved she hadn’t delved further into his ‘fraud’ comment, he launched into a basic explanation of some of the flaws he’d detected and the fixes he intended on installing. She listened with rapt attention and he found himself relaxing as he waxed lyrical about the one thing in this world he had complete control over.

She asked all the right questions and as he reassured her he’d have everything fixed his phone pinged with a message from another client.

‘Sorry, I have to go. There’s a malware threat to one of my biggest software clients.’

‘No worries.’

They stood simultaneously and an awkward silence descended. Brock didn’t know whether to kiss her goodbye, hug her, or offer to drop by her place later.

Thankfully, she took the decision out of his hands by touching him on the arm, her hand lingering on his biceps. ‘Send me through the details for the function and I’ll take care of everything.’

When she released him and stepped away, he instantly wished he wasn’t such a fuck-up when it came to this special woman.

She’d taken a few steps away before she paused, and turned to glance over her shoulder at him. ‘For what it’s worth, it’s not fraud if the feelings are real.’

With that she sauntered away, leaving him reeling and resisting the urge to run after her to discover what she meant by that cryptic comment.

20

Jayda waited bythe floor-to-ceiling window in Brock’s ultra-modern office while he finished up a conference call. He’d beckoned her in ten minutes ago, citing that he’d be off in two. But she didn’t begrudge him making her wait. It gave her time to study him in his element.

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