Page 61 of Bad for Business
I turn to face him and hold up my hands to stop him from continuing. “No. Don’t say anything else. You’re not arguing, and you’re not convincing me to let you miss this. It is my job to get you your board’s approval, and if you don’t show up today, you can basically kiss that goodbye. Eat, drink, take a long shower, do whatever you need to get ready to golf. I’ll see you in forty-five minutes to go.”
Ryker acts like he wants to respond, but I don’t give him the chance. I turn on my heel and rush back to my room. I already know he’s going to be in a horrible mood today, thanks to the hangover. I’m going to enjoy the next forty-five minutes in peace before I become his babysitter and verbal sparring partner for the day.
I slam my door shut and fall to my bed with a loud sigh.
Can this day be over already?
Better yet…can this summer be over already?
THIRTY-ONE
RYKER
“Fuck. I’m never drinking again,”I announce, pulling my sunglasses over my eyes as I lean back in the pool lounger.
After spending the entire morning at the golf tournament, I wanted to go home and take a nap. Hell, I wanted to go home and sleep until tomorrow so I could sleep off this wicked hangover. But when Cal invited everyone back to his place for a pool party afterward, I couldn’t say no. To be honest, I only agreed to it because I thought Camille would politely decline and go home.
We spent the entire tournament bickering. It was clear we were both getting on each other’s nerves this morning, and after being at each other’s throats for hours on end, I just kind of assumed she’d go home. She knew no one from the Davenport Media board would attend the pool party. I thought that meant I could have a break from her since I was no longer trying to impress anyone.
I was wrong.
“I can’t believe you still feel like shit,” Jude notes from my side. “That’s one nasty hangover, my guy.”
I laugh because he’s right. It’s one of the worst hangovers I’ve had in a while. But I can’t help but wonder if the splittingheadache is from the copious amount of alcohol I drank last night or the fact that I spent hours of alone time with Camille.
“Ugh,” I grumble, pulling the towel over my face to further shield myself from the sun.
“At least you played well today,” Jude responds. “You were playing out of your mind.”
My lips press into a thin line at his words. It turns out that being frustrated leads to me having a very successful day out on the course. Every time it was my turn, I’d go out fired up, thanks to some snide comment from Camille. “Yeah, well,” I begin, letting out a long sigh, “at least I have that going for me.”
Jude chuckles. The sound makes me curious. I move the towel from my face and look over at him. “What’s funny?”
Jude looks at me with a shit-eating grin. “I’m just thinking about how good Camille was. Damn, she can hit a ball. I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
I frown, hating that jealousy builds in my chest at Jude complimenting her. It’s not like I should have any reason to be jealous, but the feeling still consumes me nonetheless. “Beginner’s luck,” I mumble.
He isn’t wrong. Camille was far better than I ever could’ve imagined. She was so good that it caught everyone’s attention—including Davenport Media board members. And catching their attention worked in our favor, no matter how much I hated it.
“You’ve got to start being nicer to her,” Jude says after being quiet for a few moments.
His words take me by surprise. I sit up a little and slide the sunglasses from my eyes to get a good look at him. Is he fucking with me? “Start being nicer to who?”
Jude gives me a lopsided grin. “Camille. She’s doing her job. And you keep being a dick to her.”
I blink a few times, wondering if I heard him correctly. Surely I’m not getting a lecture fromJude, of all people. I already gotone from Cal about an hour ago. Did they all get together and decide that I’m being an asshole to Camille? Did she put them up to this?
“If I’m a dick, it’s because she started it,” I finally get out. The words come out a little choppy as my mind still tries to comprehend the fact that Jude even cares enough about something to give me a lecture on it in the first place.
Jude’s world revolves around Jude. He’s a good guy. Everyone loves him. But he’s so wrapped up in his own world that he never really cares about everyone else’s. The only exception to that might be Cal. They’ve always been best friends. But other than that, Jude typically only cares about himself. So the fact he feels the need to protect Camille doesn’t sit right with me.
“Do you like her?” I blurt, my jealousy taking over and asking the question before I can think better of it.
Jude’s smile only widens. “Of course I like her. I don’t get why you don’t.”
I gawk at him, my mouth hanging wide open in disbelief. “Like you…like herlike her?” I ask.
Jude narrows his eyes at me. His head rears back a little. “What is this, Davenport? Middle school?” He lets out a loud laugh. One that I hope doesn’t catch anyone’s attention because I might melt into this chair and die of embarrassment if anyone else hears this conversation or asks what we’re talking about.
