Page 19 of Hard Ball

I get out of bed, pulling some clean clothes from my closet and making my way into the kitchen.

“Here.” She hands me a mug of coffee as I sit down at the island.

“You are a godsend,” I sigh, taking a sip and feeling the warmth spread through my body. I see the remnants of her makeshift bed on the couch and make a mental note to research pullout couches later.

“You’re not going to like me in a few seconds.”

I quirk an eyebrow as she places her phone down in front of me. A web page is open on her browser and once I see what it’s about, my heart sinks.

“What the…” I murmur, looking at the picture of Josh and Angela sitting together at a basketball game, seemingly on a date.

“That’s what I said too when I saw it,” Mel says, hovering over my shoulder.

“When was this taken?” I already know the answer won’t make me feel any better, but I still want to know.

“Last night.”

My heart sinks even further. Shit.

“Maybe it’s not what it looks like?” Mel says hopefully, but let’s be honest, it’s kind of hard to fake that.

“I knew it was too good to be true.” I hate that I let myself, even for a split second get caught up in him.

“You should talk to him, let him at least explain.”

I hold up my hand, not really in the mood for this right now. Not with the pounding headache that is still logged in the back of my head.

“Well, I need to head out,” she says. “Mom has apparently found another prospective husband for me.” The disgusted look on her face tells me this is the reason she’s so sick of the dating game. She wants her mother off her back as she attempts to set up Mel as much as possible.

“Again? What is this, the fourth one this month?” I ask, wondering how many eligible men her mother could find.

“Seems about right, they’re not all bad. I get free dinners out of them at least.”

I feel bad for her. Her mother has never approved of her “lifestyle” but she managed from what she tells me. We both come from wealthy backgrounds, each of us hating that scene more and more the older we got, hence our friendship.

We say our goodbyes as she heads home, and I head to the gym. The second I walk through the door, I notice Angela talking to one of the regulars. I watch her, with her perfect blonde hair that sits high on top of her head in a ponytail, a look that seems extremely put together yet effortless. Her outfit looks like it was made for Instagram models and not for working out at a gym. Yet the one thing I see as I watch her?

That photo.

That’s all I can see and I hate it. I hate that it’s getting to me, I hate that I care so much about a guy I claim to not want to date.

I shake my head and head over to my office. I wave to Henry as I pass, he reclines in his chair and goes back to whatever he was staring at on his computer screen.

“Well, well,” Angela sneers, leaning against the doorframe of my office as I take my seat at my desk. I look up to see a self-satisfied grin appear on her face.

“What can I do for you?” I ask, trying to seem busy when all I want to do is stab this pen I’m holding into her cheek.

“I heard you and Josh were talking yesterday. Wendy told me she saw you throw yourself at him like some kind of desperate teenager. Apparently, it was quite a sad sight.”

I roll my eyes. Of course, Wendy would say that. She’s her best friend and a regular here, so it doesn’t surprise me in the least that she ratted me out.

“Yeah, well, Wendy needs to get her eyes checked,” I say, turning on my computer and looking through the schedule and wondering if she’d notice if I put her on straight nights for the next two weeks.

“What do you want, Angela?” I ask again, hoping she gets sick of this and leaves me alone.

“Nothing, really. I just wanted you to know that my date with Josh last night went super late, so I’m gonna leave early since I’m so tired.”

I smirk because I know she’s trying to get a rise out of me, and although it’s working, she has no idea what I have in store for her.

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