Page 55 of About That One Night
MaxMc: Why are you still at work?
Zoe: Are you back?
MaxMc: Nope, still busy but I wanted to check on you. Before texting I made sure you were home and . . . surprise, you’ve been at the office since noon. Go home, baby.
Zoe: I need to finish this. Then I’ll have the entire week off. When are you back?
MaxMc: Probably in a couple of weeks.
Zoe: Your job sucks.
MaxMc: I’m starting to think the same.
Zoe: But you own the company, so you can’t just quit.
MaxMc: No, but I can delegate.
Zoe: Hey, I need to finish working.
MaxMc: I’ll have one of my guys drive you home when you’re ready. I don’t want you driving alone late at night.
Zoe: Thank you.
MaxMc: Miss you.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Zoe
“You should’ve stayed at home,”I mumble under my breath as I walk into the chic venue Lily chose for our night out.
It’s new, trendy, and I feel like a cat at a dog show, awkwardly tiptoeing around, hoping no one notices I don’t belong. My eyes scan the crowd, searching for my sister, who insists that after Fiji I became a hermit. It’s only been two weeks, and I wouldn’t call myself a hermit. More like a workaholicant planning her escape from the corporate colony, desperately seeking her own little leaf to call home.
Also, I’m trying to bury myself in work so I don’t think about Max who I have to break up with ASAP. Not that it’d be a real break up because we’re nothing. Nothing. Just friends and . . . hopefully, I just have a crush on him and I’m not literally in love with the guy. He’ll probably laugh at this new turn of events.
The thrum of music and chatter fills the air. I adjust my dress, hoping I look more confident than I feel. It’s been almost a month since Audrey’s wedding, and this is the first time I’ve had time to hang out with Lily and her friends.
Sure, she insists they’re my friends too, but somehow I still feel a little like an outsider. More so when I’m hoping to avoid a certain man who is almost out of my mind. Almost. And hopefully, he won’t be here tonight.
Unfortunately, I spoke too soon. Across the room, I spot him. Max. He’s laughing at something Liam just said, his tall frame leaning casually against the bar. He’s back and didn’t say anything?
Not that I care, of course. We’re nothing. I groan inwardly, because if I have to repeat that phrase one more time, I’m going to scream. As if sensing my gaze, he turns, and our eyes meet. My breath catches. His smile fades into something more guarded.
Okay, so maybe he never liked me and only wanted to have a good time, which is totally fine. We can go back to semi-tolerating each other and just be polite for the sake of everyone around us. I don’t have to have ‘the talk’ with him. Yay for small miracles.
I should just start hanging with my own friends. Oh wait, I can’t because the acquaintances I had chose Tom over me.
I reach the table where Lily, Audrey, and another woman are sitting. The other woman is with Caleb, Audrey specifies. Yet another new flavor for the weekend—or maybe only tonight.
“Zoe, you look amazing,” Lily says. “Love that top. Is that from the shopping spree you went on with Mom and Cleo?”
“Yeah, the one you bailed on and left me with them,” I growl, because shopping with our older sister and mom is a nightmare.
“Sorry,” she says. “What do you want to drink? The first round is on me.”
I order something fancy and pricey that I can’t even pronounce; all I know is that it has tequila and mango. Hopefully the mango won’t make me sick. Lily heads to the bar where Ethan is. She soon returns with our drinks. We chat for a while, and then a new guy arrives.
He’s handsome, with an oval face and a strong jawline that catches my attention immediately. As he approaches, I notice his medium-sized, almond-shaped eyes that are a striking shade of light brown or hazel, giving him an intense and confident gaze. His thick, well-defined eyebrows are slightly arched, complementing his straight, moderately narrow nose.
