Page 39 of One Bad Idea
"What?" I asked.
"That if you refuse, it'll go to her."
"Well yeah. Why wouldn't it?"
"Because I wouldn't do that to her."
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "But you already did."
He stiffened. "I know."
"So, what's changed?"
"Nothing." Abruptly, he stood. "Take the job. Or not. Your choice."
"But—"
"But nothing. If you don’t want it, let me know. I've got a list of candidates a mile long."
Now,thisI believed.
Probably, I should've given up, but my own stubbornness wouldn't let me. As I stood, I said, "But she'd be better than all of them. And she'sreallygreat with people. Trust me, everyone loves her."
From the look on his face, this wasn't what he wanted to hear. "If that's the case," he said, "she deserves better than my brother."
I felt color rise to my cheeks. "I didn't mean—"
"I know what you meant," he said. "But it doesn't change the facts."
"What facts?"
"That he'd chew her up and spit her out." His frown deepened. "My brother, he's…" Jax paused, as if searching for the right thing to say.
He should've askedme. I had lots of descriptions that were just perfect.
A jackass?
A rude, obnoxious piece of work?
A total tool?
I was in serious danger of finishing the sentence on his behalf when somewhere behind me, a familiar male voice said, "Pissed."
I whirled to look. Sure enough, there he was, Jaden Bishop, standing in the open doorway.
He eyed me with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, even as I marveled at his appearance. Yesterday, he'd been dressed casually and then some. But today, he wore a dark business suit that looked like it was tailor-made just for him. And of course, the suit looked obnoxiously terrific, accenting his wide shoulders and long, lean legs.
Cripes, he even wore a tie, whichalsolooked good.
Damn it.This was so unfair.
As for myself, I was wearing a plain navy dress – one I'd purchased just this morning, using the last available credit on my nearly maxed-out card. The dress was loose and long, falling nearly to the floor.
Ugly as it was, I'd picked the style on purpose.And why?
It was because I was wearing sneakers, that's why.
ButJadenwasn't wearing sneakers. No. He was wearing leather loafers that perfectly matched his suit.
