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Upon Further Consideration

Declan

My phone started ringing the second I pulled away from the building.

“What’s up, Warren?” I answered through the Bluetooth connection, turning at the corner so I could slide into a street spot until the call ended.

“Did you see Abi home already?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just dropped her off,” I said, very uncomfortable with the fact that Warren obviously found her to be delightful.

Hell, everyone had seemed to find her delightful. I mean, if I were being honest, I had, too. I hadn’t a clue as to who she really was in her daily life, but she’d been charming as fuck at the cocktail party. And it seemed she was quite the creative.

“Bouquets of EpiPens,” what the hell?

“I know you were both adamant about Abi having plans all weekend, and I respect your free time.” Here it comes , I thought. “But I really think it would be a great thing for everyone to get to know her better, and to see you behaving like a family man.”

“Having a girlfriend makes me a family man now?” I countered, irritated that this was still a thing—it was such an antiquated ethos. I was the smartest person on the team, but the fact that I was thirty and single put some sort of asterisk beside my head.

And I wasn’t cocky—it was a simple fact. I was the smartest. Not better, and certainly not incapable of learning a lot from my peers, but smarter than the close colleagues who happened to be settled down with houses and spouses.

“You’re too smart to miss my point, Dex.”

Yeah, I am.

Damn it.

“ I’ll check with her again,” I said, “but she’s a pretty committed person, so she doesn’t like to cancel plans.”

“Rescheduling isn’t canceling,” he said, and I honestly appreciated what he was trying to do.

Warren was in my corner, I knew that, but I also knew he wasn’t a genie who’d put himself out there to help me move up.

He believed in trusting the process, and the process meant that I had to wait for my turn.

My turn that would probably come a little more quickly if I were attached, unfortunately.

My phone buzzed with a notification from the hotel, reminding me to check in.

“I’ll run it by her, Warren,” I said, “but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“Oh, but I will,” he said. “I have a good feeling about Miss Abi.”

“Is that right?” I said, cracking my neck, exhaustion settling over me.

“Definitely. She feels like a good luck charm,” he said. “If she shows up with you tomorrow, Dex, I have a great feeling about the weekend.”

Shit. Shit shit shit. “I’ll see what I can do.”