Page 16 of Not That Guy

“What, that it’s a waste of time?” An inelegant snort escaped me.

“All this forcing people together to play nice. If we don’t like each other, we should still be able to get along like adults.

” I took my seat and scanned my phone. Nothing from dear old Dad.

Hopefully he got the message and fucked off. For good this time.

Brenner’s brows skimmed his hairline. “That’s funny.”

My attention shifted to the man at my side, and I bristled. “Why?”

With a face filled with skepticism, Brenner rolled his eyes. “Are you seriously asking me that? I think it’s pretty obvious you and I aren’t ever going to get along. We can barely sit next to each other.”

“Were we supposed to be friends after this? That’s not what this weekend was about. It’s trust building.” Curious to hear his answer, I continued to push him. “Do you trust me more than you did before this weekend?”

“Considering my baseline was zero, anything should be considered a win, don’t you think?”

I grinned at his smirk. Maybe if we hadn’t disliked each other from fifteen years ago, we could’ve become friendly. That wild drunken night flashed through my mind, and as my stare intensified, Brenner’s eyes darkened and his lips parted.

Is he thinking about it too? Does he want a repeat?

Do I? What the fuck?

Grady’s words came back to haunt me. Bastard had put these ideas in my head. And yet, I had unanswered questions. I couldn’t help but get in a dig and at the same time try and find out some information. “I see you made a friend at lunch.”

A stare of genuine confusion met mine. “Who? The two men I sat with? Manny’s in Real Estate and Ralph’s in M and A. They were very nice.”

“Most people in the firm are. Even me.” I could turn on the charm, even with Brenner Fleming.

“Jury’s still out on that one.”

For some reason that hurt. “You can’t let go. Or won’t.”

“We spent three years in law school together, and we never knew anything about each other. Why do you think that is?”

“I knew you always wanted to beat me and come out on top. But rarely did.”

That familiar sour expression made its reappearance. “Forget I said anything.”

Sara took to the podium, and everyone quieted down. “We know you’re tired of being cooped up, so the scavenger hunt we’ve arranged will take place all over town.”

Murmurs of approval rose in the room. Sitting all day in one room, the walls had begun to close in on me, and judging by the smiles on everyone else’s faces, they felt the same.

“As I said earlier, we made sure the partner you have now won’t be in the same group for the scavenger hunt.

I hope you found the morning session helpful and that you learned something new about your coworkers.

We’ll be passing out sheets with the new teams and what you need to find for the hunt.

One in particular will be something everyone has to get, but other than that, you all have different items of equal ease or difficulty to find. ”

Brenner and I exchanged a quick glance before facing front again.

“It’s good they’re switching it up so we don’t get stuck with each other for the whole time.” I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. “I’m sure you’ll be glad to get rid of me.”

“As much as you’re ready to say good-bye to me.”

We each took a sheet, and I saw Grady was with me. Brenner was with his new lunch friend Manny. “Well, it’s been real, but can’t say it’s been fun. I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”

Anxious to leave Brenner’s surly presence, I hustled away from him without waiting for a reply.

Out in the hall, I met up with Grady and the other members of our group.

We scanned the sheet and saw the items we needed to find—a T-shirt from the local high school and a picture of their mascot, a takeout menu from Elm Street Diner, a picture of the memorial plaque at Fort Stamford, a playbill from Curtain Call, and a coaster or cocktail napkin from Bar None.

“So whoever returns first with all these things wins?”

Eyes on the paper in his hand, Grady answered, “Looks like it. There’re six of us per team. How about we split into groups of two and divide up the stuff to get?”

A serious-looking woman with a pointy chin and a prominent widow’s peak of dark hair gave a firm nod.

“Sounds good. I’m from around here, so I can do the memorial plaque and get the T-shirt and the picture of the husky.

The plaque is not that easy to find.” A smile lightened her stern face.

“But I know where it is. Who wants to come with me?”

A tall, thin, Black man raised his hand. “Me, Amanda. We can catch up on the way. Amanda and I went to high school together,” he explained. “I’m Darrell Johnson. Tax and Finance.”

They all shook hands, and I shuddered. “Taxes. I give you credit. But you guys definitely help us out when we’re doing alimony and monetary settlements in our divorce cases.

Grady and I can take the playbill and the bar.

Is that okay with you two?” My question was directed to the two remaining men, who’d introduced themselves as Fernando Ortiz from M&A and Stuart Roberts from Real Estate.

Fernando was slim and slight, with a neatly trimmed beard, while Stuart was stocky and barrel-chested, with a freckled face and fiery red hair.

They glanced at each other and shrugged. “Sure,” Fernando said. “I could go for a snack anyway. We’ll take the diner.”

Stuart rubbed his hands together. “Now you’re talking. Let’s get popping.”

“Let’s all exchange numbers so we can keep in touch with each other. And don’t get too hungry. We want to be the first to win.”

Stuart’s light-blue eyes twinkled. “No worries. I’ll get my food to go.”

They all laughed, and Grady checked his watch. “They say to meet at the hotel bar. See you all later.”

We waved off the four, who set off in the direction of the front door. I took out my car keys. “Ready to go? I figured the playbill first and the bar second?”

Before Grady could answer, Brenner walked out with his partner, Manny.

The guy he was with at lunch. My eyes narrowed at the light, easy laughter between them.

I remembered Brenner used to be the same around Bailey Marks.

Why the hell was Brenner such a grouch with me? All I ever saw was a perpetual scowl.

“Stop staring,” Grady murmured.

“You’re being ridiculous. Let’s go. I want to win this thing.” I strode away, walking past Brenner and his friend. “Just like old times, right, Brenner?” I gave him my sunniest smile and watched the lines of anger cut a deeper groove in his face.

Was I being childish? Yep.

Did I care? Nope.

I had no idea why, but I was going to make sure I came out on top.