“Do your parents summer with Myra’s?” he asked, and I pulled myself out of my thoughts.
“No, my parents are dead.”
A complete lie, but I was used to saying it in harsh tones like I had right then.
So harsh, in fact, that he blanched a bit, blinked, and then smiled, even though it didn’t reach his eyes.
“My condolences.”
“It’s been a long time,” I said, compounding on the lie.
No one needed to know where my parents were now. I didn’t want to think about them at all.
No one needed to think about them.
“I take it your family summers with Myra’s?”
“Sometimes. They used to summer more with the parents of your other friend, Hazel.”
“Ah,” I said, not sure where to go with that.
“It was so sad when they passed. Even sadder when Hazel cut ties with her former husband. His family was quite influential.”
“Well, the whole kidnapping and drugging and murder part of the whole situation probably put a downer on summer vacations,” I said casually, taking a sip of my gimlet.
His cheeks reddened. This time, there was more of a snarl on his lips.
“Things like that do tend to tarnish things, don’t they?
“And I would assume the screaming and the bleeding and the gunshots probably tarnished things a bit more.”
“Paris,” he admonished.
“What? Hazel’s ex was an asshole. And if you’re sad that you can’t go to the country club with his family anymore, that’s on you, not her.”
“I’m just saying, using your words nicely would be more beneficial in these things. If you would only tell me what she did to push him, then perhaps we could come to an understanding. What drove him over the edge? Why didn’t she listen to him to begin with?”
Andy was very lucky that I did not want to waste good vodka by throwing my drink in his face. Instead, I took another sip and pushed back from the table.
“You know what? Thank you for this evening, because you showed me what I’ve been missing on the other side of the table.”
“Excuse me?” he asked, his voice icy and clipped.
“It shows me that I should just give up dating altogether. Especially if you are what’s out there.”
“You cannot say that to me. You don’t know who I am. My family.”
“I think I know exactly who you are. Have a wonderful night, Andy.” I put two twenties on the table.
“Since I didn’t eat, I bet you can take the rest home to your mother. Or whoever else is part of your inner circle.”
I started to storm past him, but he stood up abruptly and pushed past me. His shoulder shoved into mine, and I staggered a bit, making a scene as I clutched the table to steady myself.
And then, as if the heavens had opened up, an angel—or perhaps the devil himself—came to my side and gripped my elbow.
“Paris?”
I turned, mortification sliding over me as I tilted my head, hoping to hell my face wasn’t as red as it felt.
I put on that icy façade that had gotten me through so much.
The bitch queen. The ice queen. The one that everybody thought probably went down on her knees to get where she was in her job. All the things they whispered about me and had for so many years. It all slid over my skin, and I became the Paris that others sneered at. The one they didn’t look down on because they didn’t do anything but fear and admire her.
“Prior,” I said, my voice smooth and silky.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better,” I said, embarrassment still acute. I knew he had to have seen it. I was good at hiding most things, but it was getting harder and harder to hide it all today.
“Do I need to go after him and hurt him?” he asked, his voice low.
We were standing at the edge of the tables near the wall, so people were now turned away, focusing on their dinners. Thank God.
“No, he’s not worth it. I’ll make sure that Myra knows that, too.”
He looked over my head, frowning. He’d cut his beard a bit and had smoothed back his hair since I saw him that morning. I couldn’t help but wonder why. He had always been handsome, but now he looked even more so.
I was losing my mind.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Don’t be. Another blind date to put in the trash. I should go, though.”
“I was heading to the bar for a drink. Join me?”
I shook my head. “I should call an Uber, and I’ve already had one drink.”
“Don’t let him win,” Prior said, his voice low.
I let out a sigh and took Prior’s elbow as we walked towards the bar.
“Hopefully, I left enough money for the waitress,” I whispered, looking over to where they were cleaning up the empty table. They hadn’t even brought our food.
Prior gestured towards the bartender as we took our seats and then helped me onto the bar stool.
“You didn’t see it, but that man—I’m not going to call him your date—the asshole put down a few more twenties. The waitress will be covered. And I’m pretty sure they didn’t even start on your food yet since this place takes like three hours to do anything,” he whispered under his breath, and I held back a laugh.
“So, what are we having?” the bartender asked as he put two cocktail napkins in front of us.
“A vodka gimlet? Gray Goose?”
“You’ve got it,” he said, looking at Prior.
“Make that two,” he said, and then the bartender was off, working on our order.
“You like gimlets?”
“I like Gray Goose. And whatever makes it easy for the bartender, I’m up for it. You okay getting home on your own?” he asked, studying my face.
I hated that he was so kind to me. That he had witnessed any of what had just happened.
“I’m fine, like always. Annoyed that I let him get under my skin, but whatever.”
“What did he do?”
“I don’t want to get into it, but let’s just say he knew Hazel’s ex.”
Prior’s gaze darkened, and his jaw tightened. Considering that his brothers had been shot because of that man, I didn’t blame Prior for the anger.
“You should have let me punch him.”
“Let’s not make a scene. More than I already did,” I said as the bartender put our drinks down. Prior held his up and clinked my glass in a weak toast.
“To that sixth blind date,” he said, smiling.
I rolled my eyes and then took a sip of my drink. “Let’s not talk about that. I’m the worst at dating.”
“I’m not the best at it either, though I think I’m learning,” Prior said, his voice casual.
“From what I hear, you and Allison have been together for a few months now. I guess you’re much better at it than you think.”
Prior shrugged.
“Maybe it just takes finding the right person.”
I ignored the clutch in my heart at that. Not that I wanted Prior, because that was a big hell no. It was more that he seemed happy, he had found that person.
And I hadn’t.
Jealousy? Oh, I hated that.
“I may have to give up this whole dating thing.”
Prior’s brows rose. “Maybe you’re waiting for the prince after a bunch of frogs?”
“There’s that whole meme where the prince is dumb and stuck in a tree or something, and the princess needs to go find him. Sometimes I feel like that’s me.”
Prior laughed, shaking his head, and I took another sip of my drink, finally feeling a bit calmer.
Andy hadn’t been good for me from the start. I had a feeling, no…I knew from the bottom of my heart that Myra had no idea of his true nature. Because the guy had seemed sweet, but apparently, he was as cold as a snake.
I would tell Myra, but hopefully, she would know that it wasn’t her fault and I didn’t blame her.
“Thank you for m
aking me laugh,” I said. “I needed this.”
“Anytime.”
I shook my head, pulling myself out of my self-pity. “Wait, why are you here? Are you stalking me?”
“Not at all. I’m here to meet Allison.” He checked his phone. “She should be here any minute now. For her, being on time means being about fifteen minutes late. I’m used to it.”
“That would drive me up the wall,” I said, shaking my head.
“You get used to it.” There was real warmth in his eyes.
Damn, there was that little bit of jealousy again. I must want to be with someone.
We started talking some more about work, and I finally relaxed. And then when a well-manicured hand slid up to Prior’s shoulder, we both jumped.
It wasn’t guilt; more like we had been so into our conversation that we had completely forgotten everyone and everything else.
Crap.
“Prior?” a cool voice asked. “Who’s this?”
And that reminded me that over the past six months they had been together, he’d never once brought Allison to our group meals or activities. We didn’t do them as often as maybe Hazel would have liked, but I hung out with Prior enough.
Weird.
“Hey. This is Paris, a friend of Hazel’s. She had a shitty date, so I was making sure she was okay while I waited for you.”
He leaned forward and kissed Allison on the cheek and then wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Allison, Paris. Paris, Allison.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me borrow him while I got over my stupor. Have a great dinner.”
“Of course. I’m glad that you had a wonderful time with my Prior.”
I didn’t miss the possessiveness.
From the outside looking in, it did look a bit shady, and I didn’t blame her for that.
“You guys have a good dinner. I’m headed home.” I reached for my purse, but Prior shook his head.
“I’ve got this.”
I didn’t miss the narrowing of Allison’s eyes, but Prior did.
I shook my head again.
“Nope. I’ve got it. Check on your table, and I will get an Uber. Thank you again,” I said, keeping my voice professional.
When Allison tugged him away, Prior stared at me, then gave me a tight nod before leaving.
If I were honest with myself, I probably would have reacted the same as Allison had. Because it did look wrong from an outsider’s point of view. I’d have to apologize to her if I ever saw her again.
However, now I needed to go home. I was going to run a nice bubble bath, drink some tea, and pretend like I had my life in order.
Because honestly, I knew that I didn’t.
And no matter how many life plans I made, nothing would change until I figured out how to fix it myself.
Chapter 3
Prior
If I’d thought my job would get easier after watching Benji walk away after Paris had scolded him my first day on the job, I was insanely wrong.
In fact, it felt like I had been thrown into the middle of a war zone, and I didn’t exactly know how it had happened.
“If you have a problem with the way that I’m doing things, talk to me to my face rather than behind my back,” Paris’s voice echoed into my office, and I rubbed my temple.
I honest to God did not blame her for raising her voice. In fact, she wasn’t actually yelling. She was merely trying to explain to Benji and the others what the fuck was wrong.
However, the people that worked in this branch seemed to have it out for her.
And if I tried to stand up for her, she’d probably bite my head off. She did not need me to do that. What she needed was for me to get my work done.
However, it was difficult when I knew I wouldn’t be alone in my office in five minutes or less.
As footsteps came towards me, I realized it had been less than five minutes…by a lot.
“Can you fucking believe her?” Benji mumbled under his breath and closed the door behind him.
I raised a brow and simply stared at the man. “I’m in the middle of something. Do you need something from me?”
Benji’s eyes widened as if he were confused as to why I would be annoyed that someone would interrupt me during a fucking workday.
“What? Didn’t you just hear what she said to me?”
“This is not high school, Benji. We’re working. You had a huge bug in your code, and she happened to find it. That’s her job. What’s with you?”
“It’s her tone.”
“If she was a man, would you be saying the same thing?” And here I was, standing up for her. But, fuck. It would be wrong if I kicked him out without saying what I thought.
I was pretty sure that Paris couldn’t even hear me through the walls, so it wasn’t like she could get angry with me about it. Well, she probably could. She’d likely find a way. However, I did not blame her for what she’d said to Benji. Not in the least.
“You need to lay off,” I continued, my voice as calm as possible. “Don’t you hear how you sound?”
“I don’t know why everyone has to bring up the fact that she’s a woman. I’d hate the way she’s acting towards me if she was a man.”
“Okay. That’s fine. However, you need to watch the way you speak.”
“I thought you’d be on my side,” Benji grumbled. Before I could say anything, he slammed out of my office, and I closed my eyes.
“Jesus,” I whispered.
“I see you’re having as good a day as I am,” I heard and looked up to see Paris standing in my now-open doorway.
“How did you open the door without me noticing?” I asked, and she rolled her eyes.
“You know me. I’m just, you know, a secret spy or something. Seriously, though, you had your eyes closed and were rubbing your temples.”
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“No need to apologize to me.” She paused and looked over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.
“Sorry about Benji,” I said.
“It’s getting worse,” she said, beginning to pace my office.
“I know it is. And in case you were wondering, I did tell him to knock it off while he was in here.”
She paused and looked at me, then tilted her head. “You know, for some reason, I actually figured you’d defend me. Even though I don’t need you to do that.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Well, considering I was thinking pretty much the exact thing you just said, I’m going to count that as a win.”
She paused.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s go get some lunch,” I said suddenly, standing up from behind my desk. It was lunchtime, and while I might have brought something to eat, I needed to get out of this office. There was something wrong here. And, frankly, I needed help with my project, something that would take time and brainpower.
“You want to go to lunch? With me?” she asked, her voice deadpan.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because I’m the Shark? And nobody on this floor likes to eat lunch with me.”
I narrowed my eyes, rage at the rest of the people in this building filling me up once again.
“That’s going to change. We’re friends, Paris. We can go to lunch. Notice I didn’t say take you to lunch.”
She rolled her eyes, her lips twitching into a smile. “So, I take it you’re not going to be chivalrous and pay, then?”
“Hey, I’m pretty sure you once said that chivalry is dead, and you were glad of it.”
“I did not. But I like to open doors for some people if I get there first.”
“See? Chivalry. And it doesn’t matter. I’m not paying for your lunch because then you’ll get all huffy and think that I am trying to take care of you, when I’m clearly not. I’m just hungry, and you happen to be here.”
She laughed, shaking her head.
“I have no idea what to believe right now.”
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“I don’t either. Which is a good thing. Either way, come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
“And you don’t care that others will think that I’m sleeping with you because I’m going out to eat with you?” she asked, not moving away from the door. I paused as I slid my phone into my pocket.
“Well, I have a steady girlfriend, and most of the people in this department know that. If they’re going to think that I’m cheating as well as sleeping with someone I work with, then that’s on them.” I paused. “However, if it’s going to be too much for you, let me know. I’m in a position where I can say fuck it and we can let them think what they want, but you might not be.”
“You’re right.” She ran her hands down her face, letting out a breath. “I’m overthinking this because Benji pissed me off once again. As it is, we’ve been in your office with the door closed for a little too long. They probably think I’m giving you a blowjob or something.” Her eyes widened, and she put her hand over her mouth before mumbling, “I didn’t say that. Please don’t send me to HR.”
I threw back my head and laughed, shaking my head. “Seriously, we’re friends. And friends don’t give each other blowjobs.”
“That’s good to know. Either way, I’m sorry. I’m just pissed off, and it makes me say things I shouldn’t. I’m glad it’s with you and not someone who would report me for saying something completely inappropriate.”
“Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”
“Are you sure? I saw you bring your little lunchbox in with you.”
“Ouch. Ha-ha. I did. Now, I’m in the mood for whatever’s closest. Lead the way, you’re the expert here when it comes to places to go.”
“I have no idea if you’re being sarcastic or not,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Shut up,” I said and opened the door, gesturing for her to lead the way. Nobody paid us any mind, and Benji was the only one who glared. I had a feeling this was mostly Benji acting up and not anyone else. And that was something I needed to think about. Or that was something Paris and I would have to deal with. I let her lead the way because I was done stepping on her toes. I seemed to do that enough when it came to her.
We ended up at a little café near work, and I smiled as Paris looked around, not quite judging but taking things in.
From That Moment Page 3