Page 8 of The Sebastian Guarantee
Her pulse kicked up. “The Sebby news alert is probably clickbait. Just hang tight and listen. You’ll have access to the recording along with Aria and Seb.” She hit the record button, then headed toward Jeremy’s table.
Her maybe Mr. Love Match took a sip of beer. He stood, then sat, then stood again. He glanced away. “Thanks for meeting me on such short notice.”
She leaned in, thinking he wanted to kiss her hello, but he dropped into his chair as she presented her cheek.Ouch!She mustered a grin. Jeremy looked as if he were sitting on pins and needles. That had to mean he was about to take a leap. Butterflies—or five and three-fourths hot dogs—fluttered in her belly. She settled herself in the chair across from him, set her nub of hot dog on the table, and angled her phone, so she was in the frame and Jeremy couldn’t see that she was recording the encounter.
“I have great news,” she began to get the ball rolling. “I got invited to LETIS. The invite came in right before your text. We can go together. And before you say anything, I know why you messaged me.”
Confusion marred his expression. He twisted his strawberry blond ponytail into a man bun and adjusted his hipster horn-rimmed glasses. He was clearly nervous.Oh my gosh!This could be her love match reveal.
He glanced at the group of women making duck lips and taking selfies. The boobalicious woman sat with them, yucking it up for the camera.
Another tinge of jealousy hit Phoebe’s system.
Ignore it! He’s anxious, that’s all.
Jeremy cleared his throat, then drained his glass of beer. “You know why I texted you?”
She checked her phone. It was still recording.
Here goes everything.
“You want to take our relationship to the next level. You want to do the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing. My answer is—”
“Phoebe,” Jeremy blurted, “don’t say another word.”
With her lips parted, she froze. Was this bigger than just proclaiming they were a couple? Did he want to ask her to move in with him, or was this the precursor for a marriage proposal? Did she want to marry Jeremy Drewler?
Jeremy leaned forward. “You’re an interesting person, Phoebe, and your tech skills are pretty good, you know, for a chick. But you’re not the type of girl a guy would want to have as a girlfriend.”
She blinked. The nitrates from those hot dogs must have messed with her mind.
“What?” was the only thing she could get out.
He gave her a once-over and cringed. “You’ve got mustard on your overalls.”
She touched the spot. “You don’t want to be with me because of a mustard stain?”
Jeremy’s features morphed into a syrupy expression. “I don’t want to date you because you’re you. You’re a computer nerd.”
Was she hallucinating?
What he was saying didn’t make sense. She peered at the red recording light on her phone. “But you’re a computer nerd, too.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s hot for a guy to be a tech nerd.”
“I don’t understand,” she stammered, hating how pitiful she sounded. And she wasn’t pitiful. She was a force of nature. Granted, she was a quirky force of nature who loved hot dogs, dancing in fuzzy socks, and curling up in front of her computer, but she was a force, nonetheless.
“You’re decent to talk shop with, but you’re not what I want. I asked you to meet me here tonight because I had a feeling you might get invited to LETIS, you know, because you’re a woman, and they probably have to fill some bullshit quota and invite a certain percentage of female innovators. I didn’t want you to think we’d hang out if you got in. I couldn’t have you by my side ruining my prospects. I’ve got to be on my A game, especially since you wouldn’t connect me with the tech power players in your family. The truth is, you brought this on yourself, Phoebe.”
What?
She wrung her hands. “I thought you liked me. You slept with me—many, many times.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the busty woman posing for selfies with her friends. “Yeah, that was a mistake.”
She looked between Jeremy and the chick making duck lips as another girl filmed the gaggle of women, and the pieces came together.
This horn-rimmed glasses-wearing butthole had only gotten close to her because of her last name.
