Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
I snort. “I begged to work with Tate. Let that sink in.”
Audrey’s eyes widen, and Gianna makes a face in surprise. Yeah. It’s that bad. They know how opposed I’ve been in the past to working with Renn’s baby brother. My admission isn’t lost on them.
I shrug, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. “I’ve just been assigned a giant man-child with a horrible personality to ‘assist’,” I say, using my fingers for air quotes, “for the rest of the rugby season.”
Gianna fights a grin. “You’re assisting a rugby player?”
I fire her a look, knowing damn good and well where she’s going with this—right to the gutter.
“What’s his name?” she asks coyly.
“Gray Adler.” I sigh dramatically, crossing my arms over my chest as Gianna leans over Audrey’s shoulder to see her phone again. “You’re going to see all kinds of headlines that say he’s an asshole and—”
“Oh my God.” Gianna’s jaw hangs to the table as she faces me. “He’s hot as fuck, Astrid.”
I groan, glancing around to ensure no one can hear her. “Lower your voice. This is a public place.”
“We were just talking about avocado dicks,” Gianna deadpans. “I’m pretty sure the line was crossed back there, not here.”
“Even his name is hot.” Audrey continues to swipe across her screen. “Have you seen him with his shirt off?”
Gianna moans. “I can think of many, many ways I could assist that man. Holy shit.”
Despite knowing this would happen, it still irritates me. I don’t want them focusing on his looks. I’m sure women do that every day and give him a pass because he has a sexy smirk and a body chiseled from marble. I want my friends to be on my side—to hate him because I do.
“He’s a top-tier jerk,” I say.
“Of course, he’s an asshole,” Gianna says, waving a hand through the air. “He’s a professional athlete. They’re supposed to be all testosterone-fueled, sweaty, alpha males.” She peers at Audrey’s phone again and gasps. “Look at his legs. And he has a thigh tattoo.” She pauses to whimper. “I never want to hear you complain about work again. Ever.”
“But you—”
“Ever,” Gianna says, holding up a finger. “I don’t know why God loves you more than me, but put in a good word for me, will you?”
“We want weekly recaps of everything that happens while you work with him.” Audrey glances up for the first time. When her eyes meet mine, she turns off her phone, and her gaze softens. “Because I want to know every mean thing he does to you so I can be mad, too.”
Thanks, Audrey.
I smile at her as Kim sets our plates in front of us. She checks our drinks, we thank her, and then she disappears again.
“For the record,” Gianna says, picking up her fork. “If he hit on me, I’d turn him down and hurt his feelings with dramatic flair just for you.” She looks up at me and winks. “But he is hot. If you get a Bring Your Friend to Work day, I call dibs.”
“Can we talk about something else?” I groan, rolling my eyes. “Please?”
“Let me use this to segue from rugby booty to pirates’ booty.” Gianna giggles. “I saw this thing online about this island where men dress up as pirates and … Hold on. Let me pull up the article. You have to see this for yourselves.”
I lean back, my shoulders relaxing, and breathe a sigh of relief. Audrey catches my eye and offers me a sweet smile.
Although I didn’t want to talk about him at all, I knew that I’d have to, and I’m glad it’s over without me having to get too in the weeds about it. I’m tired of replaying my interactions with Gray and dissecting every word, gesture, and look we exchanged. And God knows I’m tired of worrying about what the next couple of months will entail.
This is a new predicament for me because I generally avoid men like him. Moody, spiteful, arrogant men. That’s why being forced to work with him is very discombobulating. I don’t understand how I got here or why this is happening to me. Who did I piss off in my last life?
I can only do my job to the best of my ability, enjoy that raise in salary, and let the chips fall where they may.
I only hope that isn’t at my feet in a million little pieces.
“So they were pretending to be pirates?” Audrey asks.
“Role-playing pirates.” Gianna shrugs, looking at me for help. “You want to take this one, or should I?”
I laugh, grateful for Audrey’s naivete. “I’ll take this one.”
It’s the perfect silly thing to take my mind off the real-life pirate trying to plunder my happiness.
CHAPTER
SIX
Gray
“I gotta get some blinds,” I mutter, shielding my eyes from the sunlight piercing the thin curtains in the bedroom.