Page 12 of My Brother's Roommate (Frisky Business 2)
Spencer recoils, and David’s brows scrunch together behind his thick black frames. I even flinch a little myself.
What the hell?
“I beg your pardon?” My boss says what we’re all thinking, the furrows in his brow deepening.
Wolfie shrugs. “Oh, nothing. It’s just that there was no follow-up article or any mention of staff layoffs or an increased CEO salary. That’s all.”
Jaw? Meet floor.
A wide-eyed Spencer fumbles over some lame excuse about how he could have sworn there was a second article. He even doubles back and insists he must have read it in a different newspaper, since he reads more than one.
But based on the stern look in David’s eyes, I’d say he’s buying it about as much as I am. Which is to say, not at all.
How’s your foot taste, Spencer? Because it looks like you stuck it right in your mouth.
Once he’s thoroughly embarrassed himself, Spencer stammers out some line about using this morning to do “more valuable networking,” which I might be insulted by if I weren’t so excited to see him and David leave.
“You totally saved me,” I say in a low voice, meeting Wolfie’s eyes.
“That was nothing.” He waves me off.
But it wasn’t nothing to me. Him being here has truly been a huge help.
We finish our breakfast, and Wolfie clears our plates while I pull up today’s itinerary on my phone.
Looks like I’m in for a long day of team-bonding activities, followed by an all-hands meeting in the resort’s conference room. It’s employees only, meaning Wolfie will be spending most of the day on his own.
Somehow, I think he won’t be too disappointed to hear he’s off duty as my fake boyfriend for the day.
I, on the other hand, will miss having him by my side. If I didn’t already owe him for coming with me this weekend, I definitely do after that Spencer stunt. I have no idea how I’ll repay him for this.
Although I’m sure my dirty imagination could come up with more than a few adequate ways.It’s nine o’clock by the time I finally make it back to our hotel room, a full twelve hours after I left Wolfie on his own, which I think officially makes me the worst host of all time. If I knew he’d be stuck on his own to do absolutely nothing all day, I never would have let him come with me this weekend. Guilty is an understatement for how I’m feeling right now.
“I’m so, so sorry.” The words tumble off my lips the second I step through the door.
Wolfie arches a brow at me from his spot on the bed, where he’s sipping a couple of fingers of what I can only assume is more Jameson.
He’s in the same dark-wash jeans as this morning, but his black jacket is draped over the chair in the corner, and the fitted gray tee he has on is hugging his biceps in a way that’s both delicious and dangerous. Delicious because his arms are oh my God, so nice, and dangerous because I immediately envision him scooping me up in them, laying me down on the bed next to him, and doing all the dirty things to me that I’ve dreamed of dozens of times.
“Sorry for what?” He swirls the drink in his glass and takes a hefty sip, downing half its contents.
“For leaving you alone literally all freaking day.” I kick off my shoes and join him on the edge of the bed, careful to leave a safe distance between us. “I had no idea that all-hands meeting would run so late.”
“I don’t mind, Penelope.” His gaze locks with mine, and one look into those stormy eyes has me feeling all kinds of things I shouldn’t.
“Are you sure?”
He nods, running one hand along the scruff on his jaw. “I like being on my own. And I got a hike in. Good to get out in nature for a bit.” He offers his glass to me, tipping his chin toward it. “Want a drink?”
“I’m the one who should be offering you a drink after that stunt you pulled with Spencer earlier.”
There’s that laugh again, that gritty chuckle that I’d play on repeat if I could.
“Yeah, I got his ass good.” Wolfie lifts his glass as if to toast himself, then downs what’s left of the liquor in it.
I wonder if he’s had a few already tonight. I also wonder if his judgment is as impaired as mine is, despite the fact that I’m totally sober.
“How did you know about the merger?” I shift a little closer to him until our knees are pressed together. “There’s no way you read the business section this morning.”
“I didn’t,” he says. “But that asshole talked about it so much before you sat down, I might as well have written the damn article. God, he was being a real prick.”
