Page 40 of Bad Boy for Hire
“What went down between you and Lisa, anyway?”
Keeping with tradition, Griffin shook his head. Then he stood, reclaimed the driver, and walked up to the tee box.
As Xavier watched him drill another ball well past 300 yards, he caught himself hoping May didn’t end up hating him the way Lisa hated Griffin. He could live with awkward. He could live with complicated.
But if she cut him out completely? That was something he didn’t think he could accept.
Chapter Thirteen
By midweek, May was back in the swing of her normal routine.
Work, lunch, home.
Dinner, chores, bedtime.
She’d calculated her next period, counted out the days, and had stopped worrying about the possibility of being pregnant. Almost.
Losing herself in her assignments at work had helped.
On Friday morning, Xavier texted her and mentioned a new drink on the menu and asked if she’d like to come in and sample it that night. Bring the girls. Drinks on the house!
Just seeing his name on her phone’s screen caused her heart to lift into her throat before cannonballing to her belly. Memories of everything that had happened last weekend soaked into her brain. The kiss at the Bluffs, what he looked like naked, being in his bed with the full moon overhead…
The night had been nothing short of amazing, which was saying something considering she’d spent the majority of it with her ex-boyfriend’s family. It felt like two days ago and two months ago, simultaneously.
She’d texted Lisa, Lou, and Elliott to ask if they wanted to come with her tonight. Lou and Elliott had plans, but Lisa—May’s tried and true—promised to meet her there. She also promised to keenly observe Xavier’s behavior. May hadn’t asked her to do that, but she wouldn’t ask her not to do that either. Lisa would be able to tell if he was acting weird. May would likely be acting weird herself, so her radar could not be trusted.
By midafternoon, May was watching the clock on her computer screen and wishing it would move faster.
“Three o’clock is the slowest hour of the twenty-four.” Her boss, Jewell, leaned into May’s office and smiled.
“What would I do for three hours if I left now?”
Jewell, wearing a beautifully tailored pair of grey-blue wide-leg palazzos and a cropped white tuxedo-style jacket, sashayed into May’s office with confidence. At six feet tall, wearing four-inch heels, the powerhouse CEO looked like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine.
“What happens in three hours?” Jewell cocked her head to the side, one box braid sliding over her shoulder.
“Happy hour with my friend Lisa.”
“Is that what has you perched on the edge of your chair like a canary about to enter a coal mine?” Along with being a powerhouse unafraid to take up space, Jewell was also unafraid to shoot straight.
“Xavier will be there.” May had mentioned her crush on the tatted bartender with the reddish hair and beard to Jewell before.
“When are you going to let yourself go out with this guy?” Exasperated, Jewell slumped on the corner of May’s desk. “Go get what you want. If it’s Xavier, have him!”
It was on the tip of May’s tongue to say she’d already had him, but if she said that, she might say more.
Jewell tapped her chin with one long, rhinestone-studded pink fingernail while she thought. May admired the holographic shimmer on the other woman’s high cheekbones. She narrowed her eyes, a force to be reckoned with. “You’re off-kilter. Why? I know you’re not overworked.”
No, that was last week. Zest was in the middle of finalizing a new launch. The office had been a zoo, with people staying late into the night to make the deadline. This week had been the opposite. At three in the afternoon, the office was tomblike. Other than Jewell and May, there was only one other employee in the office, clacking away on their keyboard.
“What did I miss?” Jewell asked. Then her expression melted into one of concern. “It’s not your mom’s birthday or?—”
“No, nothing like that.” Mother’s Day was challenging, and the holidays weren’t exactly fun, but May had been in a good place lately.
As tall and confident and boisterous as Jewell was, she’d always led with tenderness. The woman wasn’t afraid to take up space or be seen, but she also wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable and sensitive. For that reason, and about a dozen others, she was May’s heroine.
She was also as tenacious as a terrier. May would have to give her something.
