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“In fact…” Sheila paused, drumming her fingers against her lips. “This is quite an interesting setup.”
Why was this interesting?No, don’t ask, I told myself, gritting my teeth. I didn’t want to know what horrible idea had sparked to life in Sheila’s mind.
But Dee asked for me. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, historically,” Sheila said, “the company’s never been stronger than when we’ve had a committed couple at the helm, running things together.”
That was absolutely true of my grandparents when they founded the company and ran it together. And I guess it was true of my parents for a while…until their relationship fell apart. But I was the one in charge now—and was Sheila really saying what I thought she was?
Natasha shot me a hard look, her cheeks flaming, and I didn’t need to wonder what she was thinking.
Fuck.
“So,” my buddy Vincent said as I finished tying my shoelaces. I stood, twisting my squash racket in my hands before shrugging my shoulders, making sure I was loose. “I talked to Nana Dee today.”
“Oh, yeah? She actually swung by the office for lunch,” I said. “Total surprise. But it was good to see her out again.”
Vincent did a couple lunges, warming up as we waited for Aiden and Dominic to join us. Every other week, I met the guys at a racquet club in the East Village for a game of squash. It was a tradition we’d started up recently since Aiden needed to give Cora dedicated time to film the Masked Mixer mixology videos that had made her such a social media sensation. Vincent, meanwhile, needed an occasional break from new parenthood—something he and Piper had agreed was important for their relationship and their personal sanity. And the rest of us justneeded a break from work every now and then—not that we were always free to take it. There was usually at least one person who couldn’t make it. Tonight, Paul was a no-show, but that still left us enough to play two-on-two.
“She called me after your lunch visit,” Vincent said. Aiden and Dominic walked onto the court.
“What are we talking about?” Aiden asked.
“Just that Dee had plenty of things to say about someone’s newgirlfriend,” Vincent teased as he and Aiden partnered up.
“Natasha isnotmy girlfriend,” I grumbled. “Just serve the damn ball.”
“Natasha!” Vincent and Aiden chorused together. “Oooooo!”
Vincent lobbed the ball. I returned it as hard as I could. “Both of you shut up,” I snarled.
Aiden snickered as he chased the ball.
“Okay, but actually,” Dominic said. “Who’s Natasha?”
“No one.” I dove for the ball. “I hired her to build Dee a couple of custom furniture pieces. There was a little mix-up when she came by Dee’s house, and Dee thought I’d brought a girl home. Now we’re pretending to date to make Dee happy. That’s all it is.”
Dominic snorted. “Sure that’s all it is. You sound just like Aiden when he kept telling us nothing was going on with Cora. Remember?”
“But they had history,” I reminded him as Vincent returned the ball so hard it flew past us, earning them a point.
“Natasha distracting you?” Aiden taunted. “This is gonna be an easy game.”
I huffed, rolling my eyes.
“Look,” I said to Dominic as he prepared to serve the ball, “Aiden and Cora were high school sweethearts. Natasha and I have done nothing but argue since we met. Trust me when I say she’snotinterested in me. She still calls me Coffeezilla.”
“Coffeezilla? Wait!” Aiden exclaimed. “Is she the hot waitress?”
“What?” I growled.
“She is, isn’t she? The one you were arguing with at the coffee shop. The one who got fired because of you. Ha! I knew you liked her. You totally couldn’t stop staring at her ass.” Vincent went flying past him, returning Dominic’s serve.
“It’s just a business relationship.” I grimaced, diving for the ball. “She’s working on my new sustainability line because, while she’s a shitty barista, she actually knows her stuff when it comes to furniture. Go figure. But us pretending to be a couple is just a sham to keep Nana Dee happy. End of story.”
“Sure you two won’t be gettingdownto business?” Vincent teased.
I groaned. “You’re a dad now. I expect better of you.”