Page 16 of Wildly Inappropriate

He leans forward slightly, his expression softening just enough to make my heart do an unwelcome flip. “Lila, I’m not here to distract you. I’m just trying to figure things out too.”

I scoff, leaning back into the couch. “Figure things out? Like what? How to be more insufferable?”

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “No, how to be less of a screw-up.”

That throws me for a loop, and for a second, I don’t know how to respond. But I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me soften.

“Well, good luck with that,” I say, standing up and brushing past him toward the kitchen. “Maybe consider flying to your golf tournament early instead of bothering me here.”

He watches me go, and I can feel his eyes on my back, the weight of whatever tension lies between us growing heavier. But I refuse to look back, even as my heart races with the mixture of anger and something else I can’t quite name.

***

“Don’t do this to me!” I plead into the phone.

On the other end of the line, Jameson and Bryn both laugh. I sneaked out of the house this morning after getting ready for work in complete silence, choosing not to make myself breakfast or coffee out of fear it would call JT to the kitchen like a smoke signal. But now I’m hangry, uncaffeinated, and on speakerphone with two happily in love people. It feels like the world is ganging up on me.

“Lila, the guy needs somewhere to be,” Jameo replies.

Bryn continues as if they are part of a hive mind now, “He’s been playing like shit recently, and he has to sit out due to an injury. You don’t want him sitting at home with his horrid mother stewing, do you?”

“Bryn!” my brother chides his girlfriend lightly. “You’ve never even met his mom.”

“Yeah, well, she sounds like a real piece of work from what you’ve told me. And JT is the sweetest guy ever.”

“Hey!” Jameo says, before the sounds of a scuffle and good-natured laughing come through the phone. Ugh. People in love should have to keep their cuteness locked down until at least ten in the morning. I hear Bryn say, “You know I would never want to be with the sweetest guy ever.” I consider hanging up on the two of them, but instead, I yell, “Back to me, please!” directly into the phone, startling the woman walking on the other side of Main Street from me.

Great. Now I’m going to be the crazy new girl who yells into her phone—not the image of professionalism and poise I’m hoping to maintain.

“I’m one minute away from my first day of work, and you have not taken care of the pest problem at your house yet.”

“Just be nice to him, Lila. He’s going through a rough time. And you two were once buddies, remember?”

I hate when my brother decides to be all logical about things. But if I keep complaining now, I’m going to look like a petulant child who is throwing a temper tantrum.

“Fine. He can stay,” I say.

“And you’ll try to be nice to him?” my brother prompts.

“And I will do my best not to kill him or destroy his already fragile ego.”

“I suppose that’s all I can ask. Okay, Sis, well, I’ll let you go. Have an awesome first day of work.”

“Say hi to everyone for me!” Bryn yells as I hang up on them.

I am so excited about my job, but at the same time, I don’t love that I’m working for my brother’s girlfriend’s sister and, on top of that, working in the same office as her other sister and other sister’s best friend. It just feels like a lot of nepotism at play, and since the marriage portion of my life plan isn’t going well, I feel like I need the professional half to really step it up. I’m worried people are going to think I got the job because of Jameson—something I’ve been trying to avoid my whole life. I guess I’m also the tiniest bit worried that I actually did only get the job because of Jameson. I hadn’t even known what a project manager for a cybersecurity firm was until I met Kelsey a few months ago, let alone what one actually does. I feel woefully unprepared for my job, though I’ve been doing my best to project confidence and competence.

I walk into the office to find Izzy and Becca already there, dressed in business casual and in deep conversation with one another, looking to all the world like the successful consulting business owners they are. Seeing the two of them like this makes it a lot clearer why Flat Roads Consulting is being pursued by multiple venture capitalist firms.

“Morning,” I say, slipping my backpack off my shoulders and moving toward the empty desk. “This one mine?”

Both women jump up from their seats, rushing toward me to say hello. Their desks sit next to each other with their backs to an exposed brick wall and about five or six feet of space between them. My desk isn’t far away but is set with the back to the wall opposite of the front windows rather than perpendicular to them like theirs.

“Morning!” they both say as Izzy leans in to give me a quick hug. “You remember my friend Becca, right?” she says by way of introduction.

“Of course. Hi, Becca.”

“So excited to have you as a new officemate, Lila.”

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