Page 4 of Never With You
I can’t take any more of his ridiculousness. I draw in a curt breath and focus on the work in front of me. We leave for New Zealand in four days. I know it’s not a vacation, but I’m excited to cross another country off my list—work trip or not. Traveling around the world is what I love. It’s a way to escape real life and experience new things. And after working on this trip with Nate for the last six months, I definitely need an escape. I mean, he’ll be there too, schmoozing the executives, but thankfully, I won’t have to deal with him much.
“Okay, where were we?” He pulls his chair out and sits like he’s finally ready to work.
“Was your break long enough, or do you need to come off the bench for overtime?” My pointed glare flicks to him. Under any other circumstances, I would enjoy the view across from me. Dark, stylistically mussed hair. Day-two stubble. Dark, glittering eyes. Easy smile. Chris Hemsworth's shoulders—actually, they’re narrower, like Liam's, but Hemsworth shoulders, nonetheless. But none of that matters because Idon’tenjoy the view.
“Overtime,” he scoffs, knocking me out of my reverie. “Weren’t you listening? I just made the winning shot.”
“It’s pathetic that you have to live out your unrealized sports fantasies in the conference room. Maybe someday you’ll become an adult.”
Okay, let’s pause here for a second and explain my animosity toward the guy, besides the fact that he’s unmotivated and the worst employee to work with.
My dislike for Nate Farnsworth began on my first day at Voyager Travel Events. But on day one, I was annoyed at him for all the wrong reasons.
He was too attractive.
Too charismatic.
Too funny.
Too athletic.
Too charming.
And too much like my ex-boyfriend, Isaac—the man who’d just decimated my heart.
An instant attraction to my new coworker was the worst-case scenario since I had just vowed to myself that I wouldneverindulge in another office romance again. And then, BAM! Nate Farnsworth greets me with the kind of charm and cockiness I have never been able to resist. What kind of cruel test was the universe sending me? I had just left a job where I fell for my coworker and crashed and burned. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake at my fresh start. So my walls went up, and to protect my heart and my job, Nate became my nemesis.
I know it sounds superficial and harsh, but once I got to know him better, I can assure you my dislike wasn’t misplaced.
Nate has the work ethic of a twelve-year-old. Actually, that might be too generous. My little brother, who is twelve, could outwork him.
His lips spread into one of his charming smiles. “Do you know what your problem is, Carly?”
“I have to work with you?” I say dryly.
He leans back, interlocking his fingers behind his head, unfazed by my affront. “You’re too much of an adult. Scheduled and controlling is how I would describe you.”
“Too much of an adult? That’s not the insult you think it is,” I bluff, pretending comments like that don’t pierce my soul to the core, especially after what went down with Isaac.
I’ve spent the last nine months since the breakup trying to come across aschill,a tough task for someone who believes if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. But part of beingchillis not controlling everything. Therefore, his words unknowingly hit me at my weak spot.
“If I were trying to insult you, you’d know.” His smile is too extra to be genuine. But that’s Nate—too extra ateverything.
Now is probably a good time to mention that Nate doesn’t like me either. Maybe he could have if I hadn’t been standoffish with him from the start. Or maybe we’re just too different to ever get along. Either way, we’ve come to an understanding of mutual tolerance. It’s best this way. I keep my promise to myself not to date a coworker, and he… well, he gets to be his arrogant self. It’s a win-win for everyone.
I rest my folded arms on the conference table in front of me. “You don’t seem to mind how scheduled and controlling I am when you take credit for my work.”
“You really need to get over that. It was one time, and what was I supposed to do,notsay thank you to the VIP when he complimented me on a successful trip?”
“How about saying, ‘Yeah, didn’t Carly and the team do a great job organizing the event?’”
“You’re always seeking theI Need to be Told I’m Doing a Good Job or I’ll Dieaward. Maybe someday you’ll get it. Until then, I’m sure the CEO of a Fortune 500 company doesn’t care who ‘Carly and the team’ are.”
“Right, because company VIPs only want to pal around with sales executives like yourself.”
“I am pretty important.” I can see the rest of his unsaid thought lingering on the tip of his tongue: ‘Unlike you, a travel event coordinator nobody cares about.’His pompous view that a sales executive is superior to an event coordinator aggravates me. We’re equals, working in tandem, even if he’s too prideful to admit it.
Nate’s lips lift into an infuriating smile, as if he believes he’s won this round of sparring. With his hands behind his head, the threat level of his good looks goes up a notch or two, making me also think he’s won.But despite his goading, I clamp my mouth shut in the name of professionalism and turn my focus back to work.
