Page 1 of Bad for Business
ONE
CAMILLE
“You’ve gotto be kidding me,” I mutter, staring down at my phone screen. I scan the text over and over again, hoping I’m reading it wrong. Unfortunately, examining it a few more times only confirms what I already knew—I’mnotreading it wrong.
TROY VAUGHN
Meet at the office in twenty. We have an emergency.
I groan, propping my shoulder against the wall of the restaurant. I look across the dimly lit room, my eyes focusing on my date. Even though it’s only our first date, I was actually enjoying my time with Evan—which is really saying something. Dating in Manhattan is brutal. Every man I’ve ever met is far too full of himself, or too concerned about getting in the good graces of my dad in the hopes of being repped by our PR firm.
But not Evan. He’snice. Normal, kind, and not boring at all.
And I’m going to have to ditch him.
My phone vibrates again in my hand.
I let out a disgruntled sigh, knowing that if Dad’s calling me, something really bad has happened.
“Hello,” I answer, keeping my voice composed despite the frustration coursing through my body.
“Camille. Why aren’t you answering my texts?” Dad’s gruff tone leaves no room for arguments and I feel like a child being scolded all over again—and I always hated getting in trouble.
I still hate it at twenty-four years old.
“I’m sorry. My phone was in my bag and I was on a—” I abruptly stop before continuing the rest of that sentence. Dad doesn’t care that it’s a Saturday night, and he definitely doesn’t care if I’m on a date. All he cares about is that I drop everything and fix whatever he needs me to fix.
And the worst part is, he knows that’s exactly what I’ll do.
“You’re needed at work. Be here in twenty.” He hangs up before I can say anything else.
I slide my phone back into my bag before letting out a groan. I look at Evan from across the room as he studies the menu intensely.
God, I hate that I have to run out on our date.
People always like to call me cold, but they’d be wrong. I have a heart, which is unfortunate for me because I know I don’t have the time to explain to him that something came up with work, but I also don’t have it in me to fully ditch him.
Evan must sense me approaching because he looks up with a smile.
Ugh, why did it have to be on the day I had a normal man as a date?
“Hi,” I begin, shifting uncomfortably on my feet, “I’m so sorry to do this, but an emergency came up at work.”
Evan’s eyebrows rise to his hairline as he slowly shakes his head. “Please, don’t apologize. I get it.”
His words make me feel even worse because he’s a pediatric emergency doctor. He really does have to run out for work sometimes and now my job seems minuscule compared to his.
“Right, well have a good rest of your night.”
I know I should stay and explain myself more, but I’ve already spent too much time coming over to let him know I was leaving. Besides, the odds of me seeing him again are slim. I’m sure with me ditching him like this, he won’t be calling me for another date. Not that I don’t blame him.
If I’m being honest with myself, he’s probably too nice for me anyway. I rush out of the restaurant, already saying a prayer to the taxi gods that I can hail one quickly. With no traffic, it takes twenty minutes to get to the office. But this is New York and on a Saturday night, it’ll take at least forty.
I curse under my breath when I find a line of people waiting for a cab.
“No, no, no,” I whisper, looking down the street to see if I’ll have a better chance if I move away from the group of people.
Knowing I don’t have many other options, I hurry down the street and like the universe might actually be on my side for once, a cab rounds the corner and heads in our direction. I know it’s rude because I’m technically cutting everyone waiting, but I can’t worry about that right now.
