Page 40 of The Merger
“Weird.” I can almost hear his grin. “What’s up?”
“Guess who just called me.”
He pauses. “Carys, the options are endless.”
Tate’s tone is edgy, a mixture of boredom and irritation. He hates my dating life. According to him, I’m either whining about guys who want too much from me or crying about guys who don’t want enough. He says there’s no happy medium where I’m concerned. I say there is … I just haven’t found it yet.
“Victor,” I say, spitting his name.
“Did you tell that motherfucker to jump off a cliff?”
“Basically.”
“What the fuck did he want?” Tate asks, irritation taking over his voice.Yup. He’s pissed.
“He has a banquet or something and wanted me to go. Can you believe that? The nerve of that guy.”
He sighs. “I can believe it, actually. Out of all the guys you’ve been involved with, he’s the worst.”
“I have to agree.”
A microwave beeps in the background. “I haven’t talked to you much this week. How are things?”
“They’re good. Just talked to Court. She’s a mess, per usual. I had a call this morning from a music executive about helping his wife care for their plants while they’re out of town. I guess they split their time here and somewhere in the South. So that’s exciting.”
“That’s great.”
“Are you going to Court’s on Friday?”
“I’m going to try. Renn called me today and wants me to go with him to a wine-and-dine thing this weekend for a rugby player he’s trying to sign. I said I’d think about it because I’ve been traveling so damn much. But we all know I’ll wind up going.”
“You’re a sucker.”
“Don’t I know it.”
I laugh.
“How’s it been going with Gannon?” he asks, the question hanging uncomfortably in the air.
I sit up.There’s one topic I don’t want to discuss with my best friend.
I’m not sure how to answer his question. Things have been fine, just a little flirtier than I would’ve guessed. While I’m not mad about it, I know Tate won’t be pleased, and I don’t want to spoil a good thing.
“He’s … hard to deal with,” I say, nodding. That’s a fair assessment, so I know it sounds like I’m being honest.
“That’s true.”
“I’m just trying to stay out of his way so he doesn’t want to throw me out.”And to drive him crazy.
“Probably a good plan. I warned you that he can be a dick. So just keep a low profile, and you should be good to go.”
“Will do.”
The microwave beeps again. “My housekeeper left me food so I’m gonna go eat. Call me later.”
“Bye, Tate.”
“Bye.”
