Page 29 of Bad for Business
“Hi, Beck,” Camille greets him politely. She gives him a soft smile. It isn’t much, but it does seem genuine. I can’t help but wonder how well they know each other.
“Camille,” he responds, a corner of his mouth lifting with a half smile. “Care to join us?”
“She’s not joining us,” I pipe up, my voice gruffer than I intended it to be. My eyes find Camille as she ignores me and pulls out a chair.
My jaw hangs open as she takes a seat, making it obvious that my words went in one ear and out the other.
I shake my head, my focus on her as she sets her purse on the empty chair next to her and gets comfortable. “Beck is busy telling me about how he fostered a relationship with his board over the last couple of years,” I explain, hoping this will deter her from crashing our lunch.
I was hoping the explanation would get her off my back. I’m getting valuable information from him, but she doesn’t seem to care. The smile she gives Beck tells me she doesn’t have any intention of leaving for the moment. “I’d love to hear more about how you changed the board’s mind. If I remember right, you were at risk of losing your company, weren’t you?”
Beck lifts a shoulder as he thinks about her question. It takes him some time before he responds. That’s the thing about Beck. He seems to always think through his words carefully before saying anything. I’m the opposite. Words tumble out of my mouth before I even process what I’m saying.
“It wasn’t quite that bad,” he begins, “but their faith in me was low. No one wanted to invest in a company where the CEO was a mess. They wanted me to sell it and walk away with the money, but there wasn’t a chance I’d do that.”
“You don’t have to tell her all of this,” I offer, sitting up straighter. “She crashed the lunch, and you weren’t expecting to give her all the details of your past.” I aim a dirty look in Camille’s direction. “She doesn’t have to have lunch with us.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Beck responds.
Camille gives me a triumphant smile. “See, Ryker, he doesn’t mind,” Camille gloats, her shoulders proudly pushed back as she turns her focus to Beck. “Sorry about Ryker. He’s trying his best to get rid of me.”
I rub my temples. “And yet, you still won’t go.”
Beck laughs. His gaze drifts from Camille to me and back as he wears an amused expression. “I’m sensing some tension.”
Camille’s plump lips part. Her eyes look from Beck to me. “Tension? Really? I have no idea why,” she adds sarcastically.
Beck arches a blond eyebrow, his gaze still moving between the two of us. It’s clear he’s trying to figure out the reason behind said tension.
“Do you have any suggestions for Ryker?” Camille asks, referring to me like I’m a child.
I clench my jaw as I narrow my eyes on her. “I can ask him myself.”
Camille shoots me a dirty look. “Then why haven’t you? He’s a prime example that boards can be won over. We should be asking Beck more questions.”
“Maybe Beck wants to enjoy his lunch and not be interrogated,” I respond defensively. I was planning to ask him more questions, but I didn’t want to bombard him from the beginning. I was easing him into it before Camille rudely interrupted our lunch plans.
Beck chuckles. He swipes a hand over the tablecloth to smooth out the slightest wrinkle before sitting back in his chair. “You can ask me anything you want. I’m an open book.”
Camille gives me a triumphant smile. She tosses her hair over her shoulder as she straightens her spine. Clearly, she’s proud of herself after his answer. Beck looking her in the eye while telling her she can ask whatever questions she wants doesn’t help my case for getting her to leave.
“I think I like it better when you just glare at me from afar,” I mutter under my breath.
I woke up this morning in a far better mood, and I know it’s because I had space from Camille.
She lets out a small, quiet huff as she looks at me through narrowed eyes. “Well, I know I like it better when you listen to me.”
I give her a smile. As much as she annoys me, it is kind of fun to push her buttons. I remind myself I need to be doing more of it. I want to push and push until she gets so sick of it she leaves this place and leaves me be.
Maybe then I’ll stop dreaming about her. I’ll stop replaying the way she called the night we spent together a mistake, like it meant absolutely nothing to her. I close my eyes for a minute, trying not to remember the way she laughed when Taylor had asked if she was my girlfriend.
Air hisses through my teeth as I let out a long sigh. “You know, the more you tell me to listen to you, the more I don’twantto listen to you.”
Beck whistles, reminding me he was even here in the first place. “Damn, Ryker, where’s this bite coming from? I didn’t know you had it in you.”
It’s my turn to glare at him. “What can I say? Camille brings out the worst in me.”
“What an honor,” Camille fires back, her face pinching together.
