Page 14 of Enemies with my Bestie’s Brother
I squeal and race over to write down the lamb chops before heading back to my seat at the island.
As Penny finishes making dinner, I listen to her and Parker talk. Even after a year of marriage, they’re still so in love with each other.
It makes me want to find a relationship like that of my own.
I thought that I had one, but that turned out to be a disaster.
Sometimes I think that I’m not meant for love. Especially since a one-weekend stand couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye before he left.
I don’t know if working with Grayson is going to be good for me, but it can’t be any worse than going back home and seeing the other man who broke my heart.
Insteadofarestaurant,where I’ll be tempted to throw things at Grayson when he starts running his mouth, we meet in the park.
As I wait for him, I look at the Golden Gate Bridge. The water shines below it as the red metal stretches high into the blue sky. Seagulls soar through the light haze, and the breeze is scented with salt water.
San Francisco might be a nice place to settle down.
“There you are. I walked around nearly half the park trying to find you.” Grayson walks over to the bench with his hands tucked into the pockets of his suit pants.
“I told you I’d be looking out at the bridge.” I run my hand through my hair and sigh. “I don’t want to fight with you. This job seems like it means a lot to Penny.”
“Seems to mean a lot to you too.” He sits beside me on the bench, stretching his legs out in front of him.
I shrug. “It might be nice to work in San Francisco, but I can get clients on my own. Penny asked me to work with you.”
He nods and stares out at the water. “I still don’t trust you.”
“Well, from what I’ve heard, you’re not too inclined to trust anyone these days.” I offer him a small smile. “Look, I know you think that all I care about is the money. If that’s really what you think, then I’m willing to give up my fee and just charge you the cost of the furniture. This is something I’m doing for Penny, not to use her to get ahead.”
Grayson’s eyes widen and his jaw tightens. He looks like he isn’t quite sure what to make of that.
“Whitney, no matter what I may think about you, you’re not going to work for free.”
I raise an eyebrow. “This doesn’t make sense. You think that all I care about is money and connections, but you won’t take a seriously discounted rate?”
“You’re not working for free. I’ve seen pictures of the work you do. Penny’s shown me several different articles featuring it, and all your social media accounts. You’re good at your job, and you deserve to be compensated for it.”
My heart skips a beat before pounding against my ribs. I don’t know where the sudden change in his attitude has come from.
“Grayson, I have more than enough savings to be able to take this job and do it for free.”
“And I have more than enough money to pay you a hundred times over. Do the job, charge your fee. Charge double for all I care. If you don’t charge me, then I’ll pick a number I think is fair and it will likely be higher than anything you would ever come up with.”
My cheeks warm as I look away from him. There is no doubt in my mind that he means what he says.
“Whitney, I’ll be paying you one way or another, so stop being difficult and just accept it.”
After considering arguing with him for another moment, I finally nod. “Fine, you can pay me.”
“How the hell did you make this sound like something I should be thanking you for?”
The corner of my mouth twitches. “Because you should be. I don’t clear my schedule for just about anyone. You’re lucky I love Penny.”
He sighs, taking his hands out of his pockets to cross his arms. “Look, I think that while we’re working together, there are a few things we need to agree on.”
Based on the tone of his voice, I know that whatever he’s going to say next is going to piss me off.
“And what would those things be?” I ask, crossing my arms, but trying to keep my voice polite.
