Page 49 of The Broker

“What tray?”

He must not have been able to notice it because it was buried under all the junk. She let out a sigh of relief, plucking a purple case from beneath a stack of papers and mail. “Got it.”

He’d claimed her iPad wasn’t here, and he wasn’t thrilled she’d proved him wrong. His eyes narrowed. “Wow. You sure didn’t wait long.”

Did he mean me? Charlotte wrapped her hands around the purple case and marched forward.

The lack of acknowledgement pissed Zach off further, and he stepped in between us. “Why’d you bring your boyfriend along? Trying to make me jealous? Because you know I don’t care.”

“He’s not my—” she started.

But he wasn’t finished. His focus swung my way, so he could scan me from top to bottom. “She’s definitely got a type, huh, bro?”

My fists clenched. I didn’t enjoy the idea that I was anything like this guy. He seemed to be a loser in every sense of the word,and my voice was frosty. “We just came to get her stuff. Now that it’s done, we’re leaving.”

“Great.” His eyes brightened with a thought, and an evil smile dawned on his face. “You been enjoying my sloppy seconds?”

My shoulders stiffened as anger raced through my muscles, and I stepped closer to him. “What the fuck did you just say?”

His expression filled with panic, and he shuffled backward on uneasy feet. How the hell was he legitimately surprised by my reaction? It was like he’d expected me to shrink away or stay quiet, not surge forward.

Just as I’d thought.

This guy was all bark and no bite. When I moved to take another step, Charlotte appeared between us and planted a hand on the center of my chest.

“Let’s go,” she said. “This place is so gross, I don’t want to be here another second.”

The connection of her touch disarmed and diffused me. And she was right; I didn’t want to be here any longer either. I closed my hand on top of hers and led her to the front door.

“That’s right, run away,” he said, sounding like a smug fuck. “It’s what you’re good at.”

His comment slammed into her, and since I had hold of her hand, I felt her jolt. But I laced our fingers together and kept us moving. I considered leading her out into the hallway first, and then shutting the door between us so she couldn’t see me giving him a piece of my mind.

Because he’d hurt her, and I didn’t like that one fucking bit.

Instead, when I reached the threshold of the door, I turned to deliver a cold, victorious smile. “She’s not running away, she’s leveling up.”

Zach gaped at me, lost for words. Then, his tiny brain fired back up and he sneered. “Bet her dad fucking loves you.”

“He does,” I lied.

He seemed like the kind of guy who always had to have the last word, but I moved too quickly. I pulled the door closed behind us and set off down the hallway at a fast clip. Charlotte’s grip tightened in mine, and she kept up with me, step for step.

Maybe we were both running from the last comment he’d lobbed at us.

She let me lead her to the driver’s side of her Yaris, and when we reached it, she turned and leaned against the door. Neither one of us relaxed our hands to let go.

I peered down into her eyes, seeing all the hurt and upset that pooled there. “Don’t let him get under your skin.”

“Too late,” she whispered. “God, I’m a magnet for losers.”

“Are you?” I tugged the corner of my mouth into a half smile. “Because I’m the one who hit on you at the bar.” I wasn’t any good at dealing with emotion, and my go-to move was to deflect. I flattened my free hand to my chest and pretended to be wounded. “You thinkI’ma loser?”

It was the wrong play. She needed me to be serious right now.

I cleared the discomfort from my throat. “Hey. I’m sorry he was such a dick. Are you okay?”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. “I’m glad you’re here.”

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