It suddenly struck me that Darla's visitors had grown eerily silent. No doubt they were listening to every word, which only added to my discomfort.
I glanced at the clock. It was officially past five, and I'd heard just about enough. I yanked open my bottom drawer and grabbed my purse. I slung it over my shoulder and made for my office door, praying that Darla would move aside before I got there, because if she didn't, I was seriously tempted to bowl her over and be done with it.
Happily, that wasn't necessary. She moved away just in time and then silently watched as I locked my office door behind me.
As I did it, she gave a little laugh. "I have a key, you know."
"What?"'
"A key," she repeated. "I can go in there any time I want."
I wasn't quite sure I believed her. But even if it was true, there was nothing I could do it about it now. So instead, I turned away and marched out of the executive suite with my head held high.
From somewhere behind me, I heard the sound of snickering. It might've been Darla. Or it might've been one of her visitors. I didn’t know, and I didn't bother to look.
Instead, I kept on going and didn't stop until I reached my truck – or rather, Jaden's truck, as I reminded myself for the millionth time.
Driving back to the apartment, I said a silent prayer that next week would be a whole lot better – or at least, not quite so terrible.
I didn't mind a little stress, and I was fine at sticking up for myself.
It was just that now, I felt so seriously outnumbered.
On the phone, Jaden had told me to let him know if anyone caused me trouble. But Darla was, at the very least, a sort of mother figure to him. There was no way he'd choose me over her.
And as far as the other people who worked there, I couldn’t exactly complain that I was being given the cold shoulder. And besides, what would I say? "People don't say 'hi' to me.'"
It was a pathetic complaint if I'd ever heard one.
And regardless, I wasn't the complaining type. In reality, I was more of a confront-it head-on type of person.
This was probably a good thing, because long before Monday, I had my chance -- except the person I confronted wasn't Darla.
It was Jaden, who had the nerve to show up where?
On my own doorstep, that's where.
Chapter 32
It was nearly nine o'clock at night, and I'd just woken up from a long, restless nap. I wasn't normally the napping type, but the work week had taken its toll, and I'd been hoping that if I slept for a few hours, I might be able to get a fresh start for the long-awaited weekend.
No such luck.
I woke feeling just as irritated as I'd been before going to sleep. Cassidy was at work, which meant that I was on my own.
Probably, this was a good thing.
I'd surely be horrible company for anyone unfortunate enough to cross my path. I was still upset, not only at Darla's rudeness, but also because of what she'd told me about Jaden sabotaging Cassidy's chances for a better job.
Why would he do such a thing?
Did he hate both of us that much?
Probably.
It shouldn’t've been a surprise. After all, he'd tried to stop Jax from hiring me, too.
Now, the jerk was my boss, and I wasn't even sure how I'd face him on Monday. To think, I'd actually been looking forward to his return.
What a joke.
I'd just gotten out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door to the apartment. I gave a muttered curse. I wasn't expecting anyone, and now, I had to throw on whatever clothes I had handy, unless I wanted to answer the door naked, which I surely didn't.
In truth, I didn't want to answer the door at all.
But I knew myself all too well. If I didn't see who it was, I'd be on pins and needles all night, wondering who it was or if they'd return.
I poked my head out of the bathroom door and called out, "Be there in a minute!" And then, I threw on the first clothes I laid my hands on – a pair of shorts and a little black T-shirt. My hair was wet, and my arms and legs were pink from the shower, not that it mattered. It's not like I planned to impress whoever was rude enough to show up uninvited on a Friday night.
Besides, I had a pretty good guess who it was. Probably, it was Cassidy's mom, who was one of the most thoughtless people I'd ever met.
But as it turned out, my guess was totally wrong. When I peered through the peephole, who did I see?
Jaden.
The jackass.
I whispered, "Shit."
Through the peephole, I swear, I saw the hint of a smile, almost like he'd overheard the quiet curse. Maybe he had. Regardless, he surely knew that I was home.
Still, I refused to make him feel welcome. Not bothering to hide my irritation, I called through the door, "Who is it?"
He didn't even flinch. "If you don't know, look again."
"What do you mean?"
"The peephole," he said. "It's there for a reason."
I looked again, not that I needed to. Mostly, I was stalling while I got a grip on my temper.
Jaden was dressed in a suit and tie, and looked almost civilized. But I wasn't fooled, not one bit. If anyone was a psycho, it was him, not me, regardless of how nicely he was dressed.
I unlocked the door and yanked it open. And then, I greeted him with nothing but a long, cold stare.
Yes, he was my boss, but this was my home, and he was totally uninvited.
It would be a mistake to make him feel like this was okay. It definitely wasn't. I was off the clock, and if the jackass thought it was perfectly fine to stop by unannounced, I was determined to correct that assumption one way or another.
He met my gaze with one of his own. But where mine was cold and challenging, his was filled with obvious amusement.
It was easy to see why.
I was a disheveled soggy mess.
I snapped, "What's the matter? You never saw anyone wet before?"
His eyebrows lifted, but he made no reply. Belatedly, it hit me that such a statement could be taken in multiple ways. One of those ways was decidedly obscene.
My pink skin grew a shade pinker. I didn't need to look. I could feel it as plain as day, the warmth creeping upward and then – damn it – back down again as I considered the ramifications of what I'd just said.
Just a few nights ago, I'd dreamt of him. And yes, the dream had made me embarrassingly wet – and not in the showery sense either.
Maybe I was a psycho. After all, he wasn't even my type.
When he made no reply to my stupid comment, I blurted out, "From the shower."
He looked at me for another long moment. "Is that a question?"
"What?"
His mouth twitched. "Am I supposed to answer?"
I froze. Oh, right. I'd asked if he'd ever seen anyone wet before. But I didn't want an answer, mostly because I was afraid of what it might be.
"No," I said. "I'm just wondering why you're here." My gaze narrowed. "And why you didn't think to call first."
"Was I supposed to?"
What kind of question was that? "Well, it would be polite."
He gave a tight shrug. "Alright." He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out his cell phone.
I made a sound of annoyance. "It doesn't count if you call when you're already here."
He held up a finger. "Hang on. I'm making a call."
I rolled my eyes. "Very funny."
True to his word, he scrolled through his contacts and then tapped at the screen, presumably at my name. I crossed my arms and gave him the snottiest look I could muster.
That look faded when I heard the telltale sound of ringing. I almost groaned out loud. Oh, crap. The ringing was coming from him.
I tried not to cringe. He had my phone? But how? Suddenly, I recalled my hasty departure from the office. I'd grabbed my purse, which contained my keys. But looking back, I couldn’t recall grabbing my phone.
And now, it was s
till ringing from somewhere in pants. Was it in his pocket? I sure hoped so.
He smiled. "So….you want me to get that?"
I looked toward his pelvis. "Well, I'm not going to."
With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out my cell phone. He answered with a bored, "Allie's phone, how may I help you?"
With a sound of frustration, I lunged forward and yanked the phone out of his hand. Like a slippery fish, it slid out of my grasp and surely would've tumbled to the floor if only Jaden hadn't reached out and caught it in mid-air.
What was he? A secret ninja or something?
He held out the phone in my direction, obviously waiting for me to take it.
I snatched it away, more carefully this time, and then watched in silent annoyance as he tucked his own phone back into his pocket while eyeing me with clear amusement.
Now, I didn't know what to do.
I had to thank him, but I hated the thought. Plus, I'd just made a fool of myself, yet again. I mumbled, "I guess I should thank you, huh?"
"Nah." He grinned. "Your warm welcome is thanks enough."
My so-called welcome had been anything but warm, as both of us knew. I glanced down at my phone, still in my hand. "Where was it? On my desk?"
If so, I knew exactly where. At work, I kept my cell phone to the left of my computer screen, close enough to grab if anyone called, but mostly hidden from prying eyes.
Jaden replied, "Good guess."
It wasn't that good, but I didn't bother correcting him. Instead, I frowned as I realized something. "Wait a minute. You were in my office?"
"Is that a problem?"
Was it? Technically, some might say that it was his office because the whole building belonged to him and his brother. Still, something about this was distinctly unsettling.
Choosing my words very carefully, I said, "Well, I guess I am curious, since I locked the door."
"Yeah? Well, it wasn't locked an hour ago."
I felt my jaw clench. So Darla hadn't been kidding? She really did have a key?
This posed a whole slew of other questions. What had happened after I left?
Had she gone through my drawers?
Scrolled through my phone?
No. That, at least, was impossible since I'd recently added a password.
But the rest of it was a strong possibility. I looked to Jaden and asked, "Was it unlocked or open?"
"You mean the door?" he said. "It wasn't shut, I can tell you that."
Lovely.
So not only had Darla snooped in my office, she'd left the door wide open so others could snoop, too.
How nice.
And now, I felt more awkward than ever. By returning the phone, Jaden had done me a favor. And he was being a pretty good sport about it, too.
As for myself, I'd been a terrible sport from the moment he'd knocked. Still, the unexpected visit wasn't the only thing that had set me off. It was the recollection of what Darla had told me about Cassidy's job.
I was so tempted to call him on it. And yet, I hated the thought of giving him the satisfaction. Plus, what did it matter? It's not like he'd ever change his mind or give Cassidy a break.
Rather, he'd just go on being his awful self, except for times like this when he was surprisingly decent.
He was the most confusing person I'd ever met.
And now, neither one of us was talking. I couldn’t help but wonder, what was he waiting for?
Was I supposed to invite him in?
The thought was obnoxiously appealing and repulsive all at the same time.
He was trouble, plain and simple.
So why was it, I wondered, that I couldn’t stop thinking about him, even when I shouldn't?
Obviously, I'd lost my mind, that's why.
Finally, it was Jaden who broke the silence. "So, are you gonna tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"Why you're so pissed off."
I stifled a curse. This was just like him, blunt to a fault. Normally, I was fairly blunt myself. But this was so embarrassingly complicated, especially when it came to my job.
Obviously, he and Darla were closer than I'd originally realized. If it came down to a choice, I knew which way he'd go. Plus, I was a brand new employee – and even worse, one he hadn't wanted to hire in the first place.
Even about Cassidy, what was I supposed to say? Why'd you sabotage my friend?
No matter how I sliced it, I could only lose if I complained now. I reminded myself that it wasn't just my own job on the chopping block. The brothers owned the place where Cassidy worked, which meant she could be fired just as easily as she'd been hired.
But I had to tell Jaden something. He had, after all, just asked.
Finally, I said, "It was just one of those weeks, that's all."
He gave me a dubious look. "If you think last week was bad, just wait 'til the next one."
My stomach sank. "Why?"
"Because," he said, "your boss is back, and we both know he's an asshole." And with that, he turned away, leaving me staring after him as he descended the stairs that led to the front porch.
Watching him go, I shoved a nervous hand through my damp hair. Was he an asshole?
At that moment, I couldn’t be sure either way. But I did know one thing for sure. In a million years, I'd never figure him out.
When he disappeared from sight, I shut the apartment door and wandered to the bathroom, where I planned to run a comb through my hair and try to pull myself together.
That didn't happen. And why? It was because when I looked into the bathroom mirror, I realized with a start which shirt I'd grabbed in my rush to get dressed.
It was the shirt that Cassidy had given me as a joke on my last birthday, after I'd cursed up a storm one too many times.
And what did the shirt say?
I talk dirty.
In the mirror, the letters were reversed, but the message was clear enough. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to look. It did no good. My entire reflection was burned into my brain – my wet hair, my pink skin, and the decidedly obscene message.
What if he thought I'd picked that shirt on purpose?
I shook my head. But surely he wouldn’t.
Would he?
I tried not to think about it. After all, I wouldn't even be seeing him until Monday.
Unfortunately, when Monday came, I was even more stymied when I saw what my asinine boss had left on my desk.
Chapter 33
From behind my desk, I stared down at the thing. It was a joke, obviously. And to my infinite annoyance, I couldn't help but smile. It was a cardboard coaster from a restaurant that I'd never heard of – Slappy's Sandwiches.
It sported an outline of a sandwich – a tall one, made with a bun, not bread, like the sandwich that I'd destroyed in Jaden's kitchen.
I didn’t even know if the restaurant was real, but it was funny and annoying all at the same time. I cursed under my breath. The fact that I was amused only fueled my irritation.
Technically, none of this was funny.
It was the beginning of a new week, which meant that I was facing five straight days of Jaden's barbs and Darla's hostility – or so I'd been thinking.
But the strange thing was, when I'd arrived bright and early, I'd seen someone else sitting at Darla's desk. It was a woman close to Darla's age, but with darker hair and thick glasses.
Her office door was shut, but I could still see her as plain as day through the window of Darla's office door. I gave the stranger a smile and a little wave, but received nothing in return. Either she didn't notice me or she was giving me the cold shoulder just like everyone else.
By now, I should've been used to it, but it did make me wonder, Was Darla out sick or something?
I didn't know, and saw no benefit of asking. So instead, I kept strictly to my own office, where I had more than enough to keep me busy.
Still, a half-hour later, I couldn’t resist peering around my
office doorway for another quick look.
The woman was still there, but now, she had her back turned as she talked on her phone. Probably, this was a good thing, or I'd feel like an idiot for peeping.
Unfortunately, a split second later, I did feel like an idiot when an all-too-familiar voice said, "Looking for someone?"
I gave a little jump. It was Jaden, who'd suddenly appeared in the open doorway to his office. Funny, I hadn't even realized that he was in.
When I'd arrived, his door had been partially open, but the office itself had been quiet and dark, with the lights off and shades drawn.
Now, I tried to look nonchalant. "I was just seeing who's here." I glanced past him toward his darkened office. "Do you always work with the lights off?"
"I dunno," he said. "Do you always get here early?"
I glanced at the nearby clock. It was half past seven. Officially, my workday began at eight, but I'd arrived early for a reason. I'd wanted to get here before everyone else, so I could see if anything in my office had been molested by Darla.
By now, I'd already given it a thorough inspection. Surprisingly, I'd found nothing missing or out of place. The only change at all had been the appearance of that stupid coaster, sitting in the exact spot where I usually kept my cell phone.
The coaster hadn't come from Darla. Of this, I was nearly certain – just like I was nearly certain that Jaden was the one who'd relocked my office after retrieving my phone.
But it couldn’t have been as a favor to me. Probably, it was some sort of security thing. Right?
Regardless, the whole situation was slightly unsettling. I'd shown up expecting to be the first one here, not the clueless late arrival with no idea what was going on.
Without thinking, I gave Darla's office another sideways glance.
Jaden lowered his voice to a mock whisper. "That's Karen."
"Oh." Again, my gaze slid in her direction. She was still on the phone and still looking away. Quietly, I asked, "Is she filling in for Darla?"
"No," Jaden replied. "Darla was filling in for her."
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "What?"
"You didn't know?"
I shook my head. "Was I supposed to?"
"I figured she'd mention it."
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 14