Page 30 of The Swiping Game
11
TARA
Ten minutes earlier
“Why haveyou been so nice to me lately? Where are the donut jokes? The digs about my messy desk? I’m starting to get worried.”
I look at Dean for answers, because this is really starting to freak me out. He’s been here twice this week, and both times, he’s been nice. Dean isn’t nice to me. He’s the kid who pushes me down on the playground, not the one who brings me coffee and takes a general interest in my life.
And if I’m reading him right, he’s about to ask me something. Though I can’t imagine what it could be.
He takes a breath, almost like he’s resolving himself. “I was wondering, if you didn’t have—”
“Dean! My favorite agent!” Neil yells as he steps off the elevator. Shit, that scared me. I wasn’t expecting him for another twenty minutes or so. “Let’s get going. I have money to spend, and I’m sure your players would like to take advantage of that.”
“Sure thing. Be right in,” Dean says, though there’s a twinge of disappointment in his tone.
I hurry back around my desk, mentally double-checking that I already have Neil’s files set up for the day, which I do. Dean starts gathering his things, and I swear I hear him cursing under his breath. Why would he be doing that? He should be riding on air right now. The man is about to go negotiate at least three multimillion-dollar contracts. I’m not sure what his commission is, but I bet he can afford a nice dinner tonight.
Maybe since he’s being so nice to me, I could convince him to buy me a few bottles of five-buck chuck.
“Hey,” I call out as he walks away. “What were you going to ask me?”
He shakes his head, not making eye contact with me. “Nothing. Was just going to make small talk.”
“Whatever you say.” I shrug, sitting back down. “Thanks for the donuts, I guess. Though next time you come in here, I’d appreciate snarky Dean. I don’t know how to handle this one.”
“We’ll see,” he says quietly as he shuts the door to Neil’s office.
I give my head a shake, because something is definitely wrong with that man. Even besides the coffee and the donuts, he was . . . nice. Not cocky. If I were to know better, I’d say there’s a sweet side to Dean Braxton.
Or maybe I was right, and he’s been abducted by aliens.
I take a sip of my coffee, which immediately reminds me of last night and James saying that he bet Dean was going to bring me coffee. I can’t help but smile as I replay that sentiment—and also what else happened. Yes, I know it wasn’tactualsex. But that was the most intimate I’ve been with a man in years, and it felt good. It felt right.
The sound of buzzing snaps me from my thoughts of James and last night. I stand and look around my messy desk—how do I let it get this way in just a week?—only to notice that Dean left his phone on my desk. Oh well, the man can go a few hours without his phone. But I do what any responsible assistant would do—I put it by my computer so I won’t forget to give it to him when he steps out. That is, of course, after messing with him for a few minutes and saying I haven’t seen it.
I sit back in my chair and take my own phone out. It’s quiet right now, and I won’t have much to do until Dean leaves, so I take the time to see what James sent back to me this morning. I know he messaged back when Dean walked in, but I was too distracted by coffee and donuts to see what he said.
Speaking of, I take a donut out of the box and grab my coffee. They might have been bought with unknown intentions, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let them go to waste.
James: I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since last night.
I hold my phone to my chest, though what I really want to do is squeal like a teenager who just got a note passed to her by the cutest boy in class. I resist because I know for a fact Neil’s office isn’t soundproof.
That’s it. I’m asking him today, or tonight, or maybe sometime this weekend, to meet. I have to see him. I have to put all these feelings toward a physical being. While it’s been great for me to get back on my feet, I now need to start taking other steps.
And that means meeting James and seeing if what I think we have is real.
I take another sip of my coffee and laugh, remembering what he said last night. I know he’s in meetings all day today, but I don’t care. He needs to see this.
I take a selfie with the coffee, a first for me and him, all of a sudden feeling very confident right now.
Tara: You were right. The pain in the ass brought me coffee. How did you know? If I were you, I’d go buy a lottery ticket today =)
Before I even put my phone down, Dean’s phone vibrates again in front of me. I can’t help but look down and see a text message alert pop up from Tara. I can’t see what the message says, but it does say that there’s an attachment to the message.
Does he know another Tara?
