Page 10 of Up All Night

He wouldn’t be so cocky after one session with Halle. Although she had gone harder on me on purpose.

“Not onyourlife,” he said, throwing my words back at me. “I don’t do early mornings.”

“Sounds like an excuse to me,” I goaded.

He blew air out of his lips. “Whatever. I could run circles around you, but I’m not willing to give up going in the afternoon and evenings. That’s when all the pretty women workout.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “How could I forget about all the women you pick up at the gym?”

“Hey, you know that more of them come on to me than the other way around.”

It was like a feeding ground there. That’s why I preferred my smaller gym and liked going in the morning—fewer people and they were more into working out than finding a date.

I patted him on the shoulder. “You keep telling yourself that.”

He shoved my shoulder in return, and I winced. “Go take a shower. You stink.”

I hobbled to my bathroom and got ready as fast as my body would let me so I wouldn’t be late to work. And by late, I mean only ten minutes early instead of my normal thirty, but I wanted to make sure I was there before my dad.

The hot shower helped, and I was able to move a little more freely. I breezed through the kitchen, Cannon shoving some coffee in a to-go cup in my hand.

“Thanks, sweetie,” I taunted.

“Shut up.” He threw a dish towel at me.

I barely dodged it and walked out the door.

He’d be leaving in twenty minutes—since he didn’t have a dad he needed to impress or kiss butt to, whatever you wanted to call it. It was a blessing and a curse to be a Vanderhall. Although I wouldn’t trade places with Cannon. He’d had a difficult childhood, to put it nicely, and the only good family relationship he had in his life was with his grandfather.

The tall glass building came into view, and I pulled into the underground parking garage. My dad’s Bentley wasn’t parked in his reserved parking spot, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Hurrying up to my office, I quickly said hello to our receptionist, Nancy. I placed my laptop on my desk and turned on my other monitor, hoping to get through a few emails before my dad showed up. I glanced at my watch—only ten minutes early, which was cutting it too close for my liking.

Before I even had a chance to click on my email, my dad walked into my office.

“Oh good,” he said in his low, no-nonsense voice. “You’re finally here.”

What? How? His car hadn’t been here. And what was with him sayingfinally here? I was still ten minutes early. But that wasn’t early enough for Victor Vanderhall.

Annoyance flared through me. If it hadn’t been for getting beat up in my workout today, I would have been here earlier.

He brushed off a piece of lint on his suit jacket. “I was hoping to go over some revisions in the Carpenter contract with you.”

“I didn’t see your car here,” I blurted, ignoring his comment.

“Ah, yes, well, I had Wayne drive me in today,” he explained. Wayne was our family chauffeur. “I’m getting new upholstery put in the Bentley. Juju scratched the leather.”

Juju was my mom’s Tibetan mastiff. She took him everywhere, including the Bentley, apparently.

“I, uh, am ready whenever you are to go over those revisions,” I said, getting back to the topic.

“Well, now I don’t have time to meet, so come to my office in an hour, and then we can discuss it. Bring Cannon as well,” he said. “Were you out late last night? Hopefully with a lovely woman?”

My shoulders drooped. Lately he’d been on this kick of wanting me to settle down with a nice girl, a show of me taking my life seriously. How was it that me working ridiculous hours was not showing him that I was taking my life seriously? I didn’t have time to date because I practically lived at the office. And I didn’t have any energy left after that to entertain the idea of being in a relationship.

“No, I just didn’t realize how fast the time went this morning while I was getting ready.”

“Hmph,” he mumbled, turning to go. Disappointment clearly on his face. “Meet me in my office in one hour.” He paused in the doorway. “And don’t be late. It’s important that you keep track of time.”

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