Page 52 of One Bad Idea

Through gritted teeth, I said, "I don'twanta sandwich."

He shrugged. "Eh, your loss."

Actually, itwasmy loss. I loved pastrami. In fact, I'd been planning to order pastrami until he'd ruined everything by choosing it on my behalf.

The jerk.

And now, no one was saying a word, not even the waitress, who stood there, giving me an expectant look.

Jaden said, "She's waiting for your order."

"Oh."Of course she was.I knew that. Or, rather, I would've known that if only Jaden hadn't thrown me off-kilter.

Now, feeling more self-conscious than ever, I gave the menu a nervous glance. I didn't even know what I wanted, not anymore.And why?It was because I'd stopped reading after pastrami.

I heard myself say, "I'll have the chicken."

The waitress frowned. "You mean the grilled chicken sandwich?"

Oh, God. Another sandwich?My mouth watered at the thought. But if I ordered a sandwich now, I'd never hear the end of it.

Damn it.

I forced myself to say, "No. But thanks. I'll have theotherchicken." I tried to smile. "Please."

She was still frowning. "You mean the chicken dinner?"

It was a little early for a chicken dinner, but whatever. I gave a jerky nod, only to die of embarrassment when she informed me that they didn't serve dinners until after four.

I gave Jaden another look. Did he know this?Probably.It suddenly struck me that there had been a whole lot of sandwiches on the lunch menu – and not much else.

The jackass.

I blurted out, "Salad. That's what I'll have."

The waitress gave me a perplexed look. "The chicken salad?"

I gave a distracted nod. "Sure, thanks."

When she looked to Jaden, he ordered a pastrami on rye.Of course.Ilovedpastrami on rye. He probably knew this, too.

I don't know how he knew, but it couldn't be a coincidence.

Probably, healsoknew that I loved beer. Maybethat'swhy he'd ordered it – to taunt me with that frosty mug of liquid bliss, knowing that I'd never order beer on the job, especially on my very first day.

Fine. Whatever.

It was a little early for beer and pastrami, anyway.

When the waitress left, Jaden leaned across the table and said in a low voice, "That's a sandwich, you know."

Oh, so now he was rubbing it in?

I gave him a stiff smile. "Iknowit's a sandwich. I'vehadpastrami before."

His mouth twitched. "I meant the chicken."

I blinked. "What?"