Page 43 of Love to Hate You

“What the hell?” I mumble.

“That her?”

I nod. “She can be so standoffish.”

“So what do you like about this woman?” Tanner asks as we head over to the kitchen area to eat.

“How much time do you have?” I joke and crack a beer open.

“Wow. She’s really gotten under your skin.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Because I thought Nash Beckett only believed in one-night stands,” he says and bites into a slice of pepperoni pizza.

“We had that, and it left me wanting more. A helluva lot more,” I admit and rake a hand through my hair.

“It only happened once, right?”

“Yeah. And she took off the second it was over.” I’m still a little miffed about that.

“Interesting,” Tanner says, voice thoughtful.

“What’s interesting?” I ask and lean forward.

“Well, if you’ve already done the deed then this isn’t about the chase and conquest. It’s more than that.” His hazel eyes widen. “Hell, Nash, it sounds like you really like this woman.”

“Of course, I like her. Aren’t you listening to me?”

Tanner bursts out laughing. “I thought you were full of shit.”

Annoyed, I roll my eyes and take a swig of beer. I thought Tanner would have some pearls of wisdom for me but now I’m second guessing that.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ve just never seen the great playboy Nash Beckett fall for a woman. You always keep ‘em at arm’s length and avoid any kind of commitment.”

“I know what I usually do, Tanner,” I snap, getting peeved. “I came here because I thought you might be able to help me. Not remind me how I’ve never had a serious relationship.”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“I’m leaving,” I say and start to stand up.

“Sit down. I’m only kidding.” He snags another beer and opens it. “Wow, you’re grumpy.”

I drop back down into the chair and sigh. “This hasn’t been easy,” I admit. “I feel like I’m fucking up right and left. The whole situation…” my voice trails off.

“Is complicated,” Tanner finishes.

I nod. “We’re both presenting to Square, separately, and whoever does better is going to be President of TB Tech. One of the partners pretty much confirmed it. You know how competitive I am, and I want to win. It’s in my nature to kick the competition’s ass. But I don’t want to hurt Charlie or screw things up even more between us.”

“But you want to be President.”

“I want to be President,” I confirm.

“Any way that she’d step down?”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“That leaves you in quite a pickle,” Tanner says and wipes a napkin across his mouth.

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