Chapter Four
JP
“There he is, Casanova himself.” Breaker takes a seat in my office and smirks at me. “How was it? Love at first sight?”
I unbutton my suit jacket and take a seat in my office chair. The moment the elevator doors opened, I spotted Breaker waiting with a to-go cup of coffee in hand, looking for one person: me.
His text messages last night went unanswered.
I ignored him as I said hello to our receptionist.
I didn’t bother making eye contact with him when I was grabbing my own cup of coffee from the break room.
And when he barged into my office right after me, I chose to not growl in frustration at his persistence.
But now that he’s sitting across from me, staring me down, looking for a recap, it doesn’t seem like I have a choice but to tell him about last night’s disaster.
From the inside of my suit pocket, I pull my phone out and set it on my desk before leaning back in my chair. “Last night?” I steeple my fingers together. “Well, when I first saw my date, I actually hoped it would go well, but that thought quickly vanished when she opened her mouth.”
“Oh shit, did she have a screechy voice?”
I shake my head. “No, she let me know how much she hated me.”
Breaker’s brow draws together in confusion. “What do you mean? Did she know you?”
I slowly nod. “Oh yeah, she knew me.”
“How? Did you go out with her once?”
“Nope.” I shake the mouse on my desk, waking up my computer. “My date was Kelsey.”
“Kelsey?” Breaker asks in disbelief. “As in Lottie’s sister?”
“Yup.”
“Oh, fuck.” Breaker busts out in a long, drawn-out laugh. The sound fucking irritates me. “Dude, what are the chances?”
“Pretty good, apparently.”
“Let me guess—she walked out of the restaurant when she saw it was you?”
“Nope. Because of the program’s rules, you’re forced to eat dinner with the person they set you up with. And because we showed signs of a full-out medieval battle, they put us in the private loft, away from everyone else.”
“And how did that go?”
“Not great.” I open my inbox and am flooded by emails.
“But you said you were excited at first. Why?”
“Because it was Kelsey,” I say casually. “I knew her, so I didn’t have to try to get to know a stranger when I was already not in the mood to be there. Didn’t think it would be uncomfortable, plus . . . she looked hot.” I shrug. “But all of that washed away the moment she begged me to leave.”
“Which she wasn’t allowed to do, and I’m sure that only made her even angrier. She has the same fiery spirit as Lottie.”
“Yeah, and it showed. When I say she was unpleasant, I’m not kidding. We ended up fighting the entire time and, sure, I didn’t help matters. At the end of the night, we went our separate ways.”
“And how do you feel about that?” Breaker asks.
“Relieved,” I answer. “It was fucking exhausting having dinner with her. Sure, I like some quick-witted repartee here and there, but when I got home, I felt drained.”
Breaker is silent for a moment as he studies me. I’m sure he’s looking for some sort of tell that I’m lying. He’s wondering if Kelsey and I did hit it off and we’re secretly dating now.
Could not be further from the truth.
“Why don’t I believe you?” he asks.
Here we go.
“Dude, trust me when I say—” I stop speaking, my eyes falling on an email from Kelsey.
Subject line: I’m coming to your office.
I barely have time to open it before the door to my office flies open and Kelsey steps in. The expression on her face reads irritated, and the way her hands clench at her sides makes me feel anxious. The surprised look in her eyes when she spots Breaker completely changes her demeanor in seconds.
“Breaker, hi.” She smooths her hand over her hair. “I, uh, I didn’t see you there. Sorry about barging in.”
Breaker, of course, smiles, showing off his freshly whitened teeth. “Hey, Kelsey, heard you had quite the night last night.”
Kelsey’s murderous eyes flash to me. “You told him?”
“Well, he’s my brother, and he was the one who forced me to go on the date, so it’s only natural that he’d ask me how it went.”
Composing herself, Kelsey turns to Breaker and asks, “Would you give me a second with your brother?”