Page 35 of P.S. I Dare You

“Did you figure it out, Keane?”

She shrugs before shaking her head. “Nope.”

“If it’s any condolence, I might be able to say the same about you.” I check the time on my phone. I need to head to the conference room in a few minutes. This was the last kind of distraction I needed before the big meeting.

Her honey brown eyes widen, as if my confession brings her comfort, changes things.

“Anyway, don’t you have a boyfriend to text or something?” I ask.

“Boyfriend?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you dating a doctor?”

Aerin’s head leans to one side. “Are you … are you jealous, Calder?”

I knew it.

I was right.

She is dating him.

“I have no reason to be jealous of a stranger dating a girl I fucked in a bar bathroom.” My words are sharp, and they wipe out all traces of amusement on Aerin’s face just a moment ago.

“You’re such a prick.” She turns to leave.

“Aerin,” I say when she gets to the door. It’s the first time I’ve called her by her name out loud.

Her back remains toward me, her hand white-knuckling the door handle. I don’t need to see her face to realize I’ve probably brought a tear to her eye.

“My brother is an ER physician. Only doctor I know, actually. So if you saw me with a guy in scrubs, that was my big brother. His name is Rush. And had you taken a fraction of an interest in getting to know me or treating me like a decent human being, you might have known that.”

“You’re right,” I blurt. “I want to kiss you right now.”

She twists the knob, swinging the door open. “You’re going to be late for your board meeting.”

“HEY, SOMEONE BROUGHT MAGNOLIA cupcakes. They’re in the—oh, my God, are you okay?” Lillie bursts through my doorway. “Are you crying?”

I’m not a crier.

I don’t cry. Ever.

But I’ve never felt the sting of words as sharp as Calder’s.

“What happened? Are you okay?” She takes the chair on the other side of my desk, and I dab the corner of my eyes with a handful of toilet paper I grabbed from the ladies’ room on my way back to my office. “Did you get fired?”

I laugh, glancing at her through watering eyes. “If I got fired, I’d be celebrating right now. Not throwing myself a pity party.”

“Okay, so tell me what happened.” She leans forward, palm covering the top of my hand. “It’s Calder, isn’t it?”

I didn’t tell her I hooked up with him at The Lowery last week. She was too busy making out with some wannabe music producer who was in town from Philadelphia and name-dropping like mad. But in her defense, he was super sweet and funny to boot. She could’ve done much worse.

“What? Did you sleep with him?” She smacks the table. “Oh, you naughty minx.”

“Please don’t repeat that. I don’t want it getting out.”

“Sweets, do you honestly think anyone here would care? Everyone’s too busy trying to kiss his ass since he’s going to be the new boss. No one’s trying to sleep with him. No offense.” Lillie laughs. “I think we all just want to be on the nice list in case he decides to trim the fat or whatever. Anyway, I won’t repeat it. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“But why are you crying?”

I dab my eyes again, which have grown noticeably dryer since Lillie came in here. I guess she has that effect on people. Little Miss Sunshine.

“Because he did exactly what I expected him to do,” I say.

“Oh, sweets. You have to admit, he’s got heartbreaker written all over him,” she says. “Son of a billionaire. Hotter than a Greek God.” She lifts her hands to her shoulders and squints. “Walks around here with those muscles and that broody, ice-cold stare. It’s hot as hell. And you should thank your lucky stars that you got to experience that.”

I wish Lillie could hear herself right now.

Girl like her are partially to blame for the reason guys like Calder are the way they are. We let them think they’re the lucky ones, and we convince ourselves that we’re some sort of special, that we should feel honored just because they want to stick their dicks in us.

“You going to be okay?” she asks, reaching for my hand again. “Guys suck. And guys like him? They suck the worst. There isn’t a woman alive who’s ever going to change that about them either.”

“Amen.” I crumple the toilet paper and toss it in my wastebasket.

“I need to get going. Call me if you need anything, okay?” Lillie rises from my chair, gives a little wave, and dashes out of my office on her four-inch heels.

Grabbing a report off the top of the stack on my desk, I get to work, and by the time I’ve finished two more, my stomach is rumbling and it’s almost time for lunch. Retrieving my purse from a drawer, I get up from my desk and give myself thirty seconds to decide between the deli on the corner or something disgusting to match my mood.

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