Page 18 of Bad for Business (Pembroke Hills #2)

EIGHTEEN

CAMILLE

I rush into the first room I can find. It’s technically the staff women’s locker room, and I know that I probably shouldn’t be in here, but I need two minutes to regain my composure in private before facing Ryker once again.

I take a deep breath as I press my body against the door. It only takes a few seconds for me to realize I’m not alone.

Two women stare back at me, curiosity in both of their gazes.

I sigh, trying not to feel embarrassed by bursting in on the two of them. “Don’t mind me,” I tell them, trying to keep my voice calm.

One of them—a brunette with caring eyes—steps forward. “Are you okay?”

I smile, trying not to freak either of them out. I’m in restricted territory, and I hope they don’t tell anyone else about me being in here. “I’m fine,” I begin with a resigned sigh. “Just babysitting and at the end of my rope.”

The brunette looks over at her friend. The blonde is the one to speak next. “I love kids.” Her voice is bubbly and full of excitement. “But they can be a handful sometimes.”

I can’t help but laugh. I now realize that I’m giving them the impression that I’m babysitting a child. I haven’t been around a ton of kids in my life to know if I’m good with them or not, but right now, I think I’d rather babysit ten actual kids instead of having to be in charge of Ryker.

“Oh, I wish my problem was a child. Unfortunately, I’m tasked with babysitting a grown man who’s currently making me contemplate committing murder.

” My eyes go a little wide as I realize that I just admitted to two strangers that I’ve thought about killing Ryker.

Hopefully, they know I wouldn’t actually kill him. I don’t think I’d survive prison.

The blonde nods as if she knows exactly what I’m talking about. “Men will do that.”

I feel my body loosen a little as I give her a smile. Both girls look like they could be my age, and there’s something about them that I instantly like. “Yes, they will,” I agree. Ryker’s face flashes through my mind. “Especially this one.”

The blonde tosses her hair over her shoulder and leans forward. “Ditch his ass.”

The brunette’s eyes go a little wide as she shakes her head. There’s a smile still on her lips as she looks at her friend. “You can’t say that to people you don’t know.”

I wave a hand through the air dismissively.

“It’s fine.” I sigh, trying to make sure I don’t come off wrong to either one of them.

If they’re employees here, I might be seeing them around a lot this summer, and it’d be nice to maybe make some friends, or at least something close to it.

“I’m Camille. Trust me, I wish I could ditch him.

I dream about it every night, but tragically, my job depends on babysitting a self-absorbed asshole who wants to make my life miserable any chance he gets. ”

I wince a little at my words, realizing they’re a little harsh. Most people seem to love Ryker; he apparently saves being a pain in the ass just for me.

“That sounds awful,” the brunette notes. She chews on her lip as her eyes rake over my face.

“Is he hot, at least?” the blonde asks. A few seconds later, she’s wincing and letting out a yelp as her friend playfully hits her.

I can’t help but laugh at her question. My job might be easier if Ryker weren’t hot. I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Unfortunately, yes. And he knows it.”

The blonde whistles. “The worst combination.”

I try to look at their uniforms to see if I can find a name tag for either, but I don’t see anything.

“You’re telling me,” I respond before pushing my body away from the door.

When I first met Ryker at the New Year’s Eve party, I found his confidence appealing.

I loved how he knew he was attractive, but he didn’t flaunt it.

Now, the fact that he’s so good-looking, and he knows it, is driving me crazy.

“I’ve got to get going. I snuck away for a moment while my client talked business with Beckham Sinclair, but I’ve got to get back to the table before he runs away and I get fired. ”

I leave out the part where he’s already run away from me once before.

Technically, this time, I ran away from him, but that’s only because I was confident that he wouldn’t abruptly leave his lunch with Beck.

As nice as it’s been to vent about Ryker to these two strangers, I’ve got to get back to doing my job.

“Good luck,” the blonde begins with a reassuring smile. “If all else fails, give him a nice kick in the balls to keep him in line!”

I try not to laugh at her words. She says it so innocently, a strand of hair wrapped around her finger as she talks about kicking a man where it’ll hurt the most.

“Nice meeting you, Camille,” the brunette interrupts. Her lips twitch with the hint of a smile as she tries to keep a straight face after her friend’s comment.

Running into both of them was a surprise, but something about them makes me want to be their friend.

I’ve always been too busy for friends, but I realize that’s maybe something I should change.

Being twenty-four without any real friends probably isn’t healthy.

Hopefully, I’ll see them around more so I can try to get to know them.

I open the door and give them what I hope is a friendly smile. If I’m going to survive this summer with Ryker, making some friends might not be a terrible idea. “I’ll be dreaming about giving him a good kick in the balls.”

I try not to jump when a familiar voice comes from in front of me. “Are you in there gossiping about my balls?”

The door slams shut behind me as I come face-to-face with Ryker.

My hand flies to my chest as I try to gather myself after the shock of seeing him waiting on the other side of the door. “Ryker,” I manage to get out, my heart racing.

“Why were you in the employee locker room, and why were you talking about kicking me in the balls?” he asks, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he watches me closely.

“That’s none of your business,” I respond, stepping to the side so I can walk past him. “Don’t eavesdrop on my conversations.”

He chuckles from behind me as he follows. “You were talking loudly. It’s not my fault I could hear it.”

I stop and turn around before we walk back into Pembroke Grill. “Why were you there to begin with?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest as I wait for him to answer.

His eyes go wide for a moment and I swear his cheeks turn a little pink. “I was just…” He scratches the back of his neck as he looks over my shoulder for a minute.

Is he… embarrassed?

I narrow my eyes, wondering what he was about to say. “You were what?” I prod.

“I was checking on you,” he rushes to get out. He casts his gaze down at his feet, and I can’t help but smile because Ryker Davenport is acting shy.

“You were checking on me,” I repeat, but my words come out as more of a sentence than a question. Why would he feel the need to check on me?

Ryker scrapes a hand over his mouth as he keeps his eyes still pinned to the ground. “Beck told me I probably should.”

I nod, my eyes scanning his downcast face as I try to figure him out. He doesn’t like me. He’s made that much very clear. Not that I blame him. I don’t take well to others telling me what to do either.

“You don’t need to check on me,” I respond, my tone getting defensive. “I’m fine. I just needed a moment to compose myself before I acted unprofessionally.”

Ryker smirks as he tilts his head to the side. “And do what exactly?”

My eyes go wide for a moment. I wasn’t expecting him to ask more questions. I can’t tell him I was contemplating homicide, so I go for something safer. “As you just heard, I was contemplating kicking you in the balls.”

His head falls back, and the sound of his booming laugh echoes off the walls. “That sounds about right.” The smile stays on his lips for a few more seconds before it fades. He nods toward the table. “You can join us for the rest of the lunch. Just don’t ask too many questions or make it weird.”

I place a hand on my chest, a little offended by what he’s insinuating. “I don’t make anything weird.”

Ryker’s lips twitch with the hint of a smile.

I straighten my spine as I keep my eyes locked on him. “What?”

He lifts his hands defensively in front of him. He hasn’t even answered me yet, and he’s acting as if he knows I’m not going to like whatever he’s about to say.

I roll my eyes, making a hurried motion with my hand in front of me. “Oh, just spit it out, Ryker.”

“You just ask a lot of questions, and sometimes you can get intense. I don’t want it to feel more like an interrogation instead of a conversation. Don’t scare Beck away.”

My jaw pops open as I stare at him. I blink a few times as I gather my thoughts. “I never scare people away.”

I probably do. He isn’t necessarily wrong. I can be intense. But that doesn’t mean I want him to be the one to point it out.

Ryker lifts an eyebrow. “Whatever you say, princess ,” he responds with a sigh.

My head rears back at the nickname. “Never call me that again.” He didn’t say it with affection. In fact, it was said sarcastically. That doesn’t mean I ever want him calling me that name again.

I don’t know if he just doesn’t hear me or if it’s that he doesn’t care, but either way, he walks back to the table where Beck waits, not bothering to spare me another word.