Page 34 of One Bad Idea

A moment later, the sound of the front door slamming echoed through the house. I was still looking toward the sound when the jackass said, "Hey blondie, you never said."

Blondie?He must mean me. After all, I was the only blonde here.

I turned and gave him an annoyed look. "I never said what?"

"With your friend," he replied, flicking his head toward Cassidy, "was it supposed to be a three-way? Or were we taking turns?"

It was then that a torrent of thoughts collided in my brain. He was so stupidly insufferable. I'd just about had it. And more to the point, I needed something – a spectacle so big that I'd be fired on the spot, or more accurately, not hired, considering that we hadn't yet signed the paperwork.

So I did the only thing Icoulddo. With a little scream, I took a flying leap in his direction.

Chapter 13

I never made it. Before I could tackle him, someone tackledme. That someone was Cassidy, who tumbled with me onto the hard wooden floor.

As we hit, I hollered out, "What the hell are you doing!"

She held on tight. "I'm saving you."

Already, I was sprawled face down on the floor, with Cassidy on top of me. I tried to squirm away. "From what?"

"From making a fool of yourself, that's what."

At this, I grew very still. I'd beentryingto make a fool of myself. That was the whole point. But I hadn't wanted to make a fool ofher.

That would ruin everything.

Damn it.None of this was going how I'd planned.

From somewhere above us, Jaden said, "If they kiss, you owe me a beer."

I wanted to scream.God, how I hated him.

Cassidy shifted above me. "We can't kiss," she told him. "We're not even facing each other."Dumbass.

She didn't say it, but the implication was obvious.

Against the floor, I muttered, "I'll give him something to kiss."

I could only imagine how ridiculous we looked. For my own sake, I was beyond caring. But it wasn'tmeI was thinking about. As quietly as I could, I hissed, "I'm fine. You can get up now."

At first, I wasn't sure she'd heard me. But then, after a long tense moment, she finally let go and pushed herself up. As she got to her feet, I flopped over on my back and tried to think.

What now?

As I gazed up at the ceiling, I was vaguely aware that all three of them were staring down at me – not that I could blame them. I knew I was making a terrible impression, but that had been the whole idea.

I had to work with what I had, right?

Even though I'd just had a job interview, I wasn't dressed in business attire. Rather, I was wearing the same clothes I'd borrowed earlier – shorts and the yellow T-shirt.

My hair felt tangled, and my bare legs felt hot against the cool wooden floor. I was tired and hungry, and stupidly conscious that I couldn't lay here forever.

And yet, I was seriously tempted.

With a look of obvious concern, Cassidy extended me a helping hand. I started to reach out, but then paused when I caught sight of Jaden.

He was staring at me like I was some sort of demon who'd come to claim his soul. I almost scoffed out loud.As if he had a soul.