Page 2 of Faking it with the Cowboy

2

JERICHO

Ileaned back in my chair and stretched. My muscles groaned in response. Spending nine hours in an office chair every day was taking its toll. Maybe tomorrow I’d actually leave my desk at lunch and try going for a walk. Though traipsing down the sidewalk in downtown Dallas wouldn’t be the same as strolling through the fields of my grandparents’ farm back in Broken Bend.

“Leaving for the day?” Tessa from HR leaned against my cubicle wall.

“Not yet. I still have to run a few reports for that meeting tomorrow morning.” I dragged myself out of my chair to stretch my legs for a few minutes. Even with my thick wedge sandals, the top of my head barely reached her nose. Tall and thin with gorgeous platinum waves and the straightest smile I’d ever seen except for ads on a dentist’s brochure, Tessa could have been a model. Actually, I think she might have done a few paid gigs back in college.

“A few of us are going out for happy hour. Do you want to meet up when you’re done?” She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth like she was nervous. Only Tessa didn’t get nervous. At least, not that I’d ever noticed before.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I’ve got a standing Thursday night date.” She didn’t need to know my “date” was ordering takeout cashew chicken for one and spending the evening getting caught up on my favorite K-dramas.

She looked away and bit down harder on her lip.

“Is everything okay?”

“There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

I couldn’t imagine what that might be. Unless… “The company’s not having trouble, are they?”

“Gosh, no, nothing like that. It’s just…” She studied her toes for a long beat, then lifted her head to meet my gaze. “You got an invite to Mr. Blair’s wedding, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I heard he invited the whole office.” Great. Was she going to tell me I’d been added to the guest list by mistake?

“Scott and I are going to go together.” She tilted her head to the side. “We’ve been seeing each other for a little while now, and he thought it would be a good time to go public with our relationship.”

“Your w-w-w-w-hat?” My tongue suddenly felt too big for my mouth. Having one of my only friends at work tell me she was seeing my ex wasn’t on my Bingo card for today.

She set her hand on top of mine, where it rested on the edge of my cube. “I hope it won’t be a problem with the three of us working together and all.”

“A problem?” I pulled my hand away and tucked it into the pocket of my dress.

“He thought it would be better if you heard it from me.” The edges of her eyes softened in sympathy. “If you need to talk to someone about it, I’m here for you, Jericho.”

I choked on the laugh working its way up my throat. “That’s rich. You think I’d want to talk to you about my relationship with Scott when you were probably the woman he was seeing on the side?”

Saying it out loud made it sound even worse than it was. Scott and I hadn’t been seeing each other that long. At least not this time. We’d been dating on and off since we met in college. I’d known all along he wasn’t the one for me, but somehow that didn’t stop me from just being glad there was someone in my life. When I found out he was cheating again, not even my fear of being alone was enough to make me stay.

“I hope we can still be friends.” Tessa’s shoulders rose and fell as she let out a deep breath. “And if you need a date to the wedding—”

“I’ve got a date,” I blurted out. Like hell I’d let her and Scott get the best of me.

“Great.” Her green eyes brightened. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

Me neither. Where was I going to find a date for Mr. Blair’s wedding? I hadn’t even gone out with anyone except Scott since I moved to Dallas two years ago. It was a big city, though. Surely I could come up with someone. Maybe on one of those dating apps some of my friends back home talked about. There had to be somewhere I could rent a hunk for a night.

Scott must have been keeping an eye on us from the other side of the building. He came up behind Tessa and put an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, Jericho. I guess you heard the news.”

“Yeah, um, congratulations.” I tried to smile, but my cheeks were numb.

“No hard feelings?” He gave me his deal-closing grin. The one that made the dimple on his left cheek pop.

Tessa smoothed her palm over the lapel of his suit jacket. “No need to worry. Jericho’s bringing someone to the wedding.”

Scott’s smile slipped, and a deep crease formed between his eyebrows. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“It’s still new.” I would have given a kidney to have the floor open up at swallow me whole at that moment. Maybe even part of a lung, too.

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