Page 46 of There's No Us Without You
Emerson: Is it a puppy? Please tell me it’s a puppy.
Me: No, Em! It’s not a puppy. That’s a big commitment, don’t you think?
Emerson: I’m down if you are ??
Oh. Dear. God.
I’m grinning like a giddy schoolgirl as I stare at his last message. It’s almost enough to make me forget what a total arsehole I am.
Almost.
The approaching bus’s squeaking brakes have me shoving my phone into my handbag just as I slam into a hard body.
Ouch.
The contents of my grocery bags spill onto the surrounding concrete in the middle of the walkway.
“Shit, I’m so sor—” I cut myself off to chase a rogue apple as it rolls away, then drop to my knees to collect the rest of the items.
Not one person stops to help me, and when I glance up to give the person hovering above me an earful about manners, all the air gets sucked from my lungs.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
“What are you doing here?” I say as I shove each item back into the canvas grocery bags with more force than necessary.
It seems Kent is still a dick. He doesn’t even have the decency to help me when he’s the reason all my shit is scattered across the ground.
“I... wasn’t sure if you’d answer your phone,” he says, shrugging. “What am I supposed to do?”
Forget I ever existed.
I stand and brush the dirt from my aching knees, the grocery bags securely in my hands again. “How did you even know I was here?”
Kent rubs the back of his neck and takes a step towards me to move out of the way of oncoming pedestrians. “I didn’t,” he says. “I saw you coming out of the mall just now.”
I raise an eyebrow. “And you just so happen to be nowhere near your office? Oddly convenient, don’t you think?”
Groaning, he lifts his face to the sky. “Christ, Eden. Fine,” he says, taking another step towards me. “I followed you here, okay?”
A wave of nausea has me swallowing hard. “Where did you follow me from?”
I’m not sure what I see swimming in those eyes of his. Definitely not remorse, so I take a step back, almost bumping into an old man, but it’s not far enough.
Nowhere is far enough.
Kent licks his lips and lowers his voice. “I know where de Silva trains. It... wasn’t hard to follow him. I thought maybe you could talk to him for me, maybe get him to agree to a business meeting.”
What. The. Hell.
“Why would I do that?”
What a joker. Not only did he follow Emerson like a damn stalker, but he also thinks he’ll agree to a meeting. I’m not even sure what it is Kent does for a job. Nor do I care. All I know is he started some sports management business a few years ago.
Is that what he wants Emerson for, to manage him?
“It’s a great opportunity,” Kent says, folding his arms over his chest. “Give him my number.”
I resist the urge to laugh and attempt to step around Kent as the bus I was supposed to catch pulls out onto the street.
