Page 15 of Tailored for Them

I felt the pinch in my forehead form before I caught myself and smoothed it out.

I grinned, but it felt…off.

Rebound? Was that all I was good for?

Leo knew I wasn’t interested in settling down with anyone soon, so I couldn’t give his word choice too much grief. But something about the bluntness of it stung all the same.

But…whydid it sting?

“Yeah,” Jacqueline sighed, snuggling into a smelly Leo some more, “Maybe you can help get her confidence back.”

I nodded before checking my phone to ensure Nicole’s contact information went through to mine.

“I’m happy to help if she’s interested,” I shouldered my bag, and nodding to my friends, said, “I’m going to head out. See you next week.” I saluted the two of them while they waved back at me.

Rebound…

I was therebound.

It made sense. She had recently been in a long-term relationship, and I pretty much avoided long-term relationships simply because it never felt right to me.

I never thought too much about it before.

So why was I stuck on Leo’s choice of words?

Hypothetically, let’s say his words bothered me because I didn’t want to be a rebound. Hypothetically, let’s say that I did want a more substantial relationship with Nicole. I was allowedto change my mind, wasn’t I? I mean, it’s not every dayIfind someone who makes my heart do circus tricks in my ribcage.

I shook my head before heading to my car.

This was all too soon to say.

Step one, I needed to text her.

See what her vibe was, as the youths say.

I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.

Settling into the driver’s seat, I pulled my phone out and tapped on her new contact information, opening a new text thread.

Chapter Five

NICOLE

“Hi, Nicole,”Jacqueline’s voice echoed from the hallway right as I locked my office door.

“Hi, Jacqueline,” I smiled at the CHRO before both of our gazes slid over to Brandon, the CEO of Sun Steer, walking out of his office.

“Done for the day?” He asked the two of us. We both shouldered our bags, our office lights were off, and we were locking up. Just like him.

“Yup,” I replied. It was only 3:00 pm, but I had done all the work I could force myself to do. It was a week after that kiss with Taylor Desmond, and I often found myself staring into space, thinking about the feel of their lips on mine. How their septum ring felt pressed against my lip and cheek.

“Are you going to be in the office tomorrow, Jacqueline?” Brandon asked as the two of us joined him. Coming from the CEO of Sun Steer, usually, that question would make someone nervous. Not here, though. It took me all of one week to understand how laid-back Brandon was. It was very different coming from my previous company, Blix.

Jacqueline worked there, too, apparently. That’s how big the multi-billion-dollar company was. We never bumped into each other.

Sun Steer was growing, and I could see a future where the company grew as large as Blix, but the difference would be all because of Brandon Moore.

In a world filled with shitty CEOs and unethical billionaires, Brandon Moore was an example of what a CEOshouldbe. When he founded this company with Zaid back in the day, they both had a vision for what the ethics of the company would look like. Surprisingly, Brandon has made sure they kept to it.

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