Page 38 of The Merger

I laugh, my cheeks aching. Courtney has experienced the Brewer hotness firsthand.Let’s hope she doesn’t want a shot at Gannon, too. She’s definitely more his taste.

“Explain, woman,” she says. “Give me all the details.”

“There’s not really a ton of details to give. It’s not like I’m dating him for crying out loud.”

“Um, you had breakfast with the man. Business meetings happen at lunch. Does Tate know this?”

I shove away from the counter and make my way up the staircase.

“Yes, Tate knows about thisbecause it’s no big deal,” I say, although a giddiness creeps through me. “I didn’t even see Gannon today. It’s not like I’m working in his office or something. He just hired me.”

“Listen to me, lady. You’re so full of shit you obviously can’t see clearly.”

I burst out laughing. “That’s disgusting.”

“Gannon Brewer doesn’t talk to mere mortals like us,” she says, ignoring my interjection. “I don’t even think I’ve seen the man smile. Not that I particularly need to see him smile. I can ride his face with a frown just as well as I can with a grin.”

“Oh my gosh, Court.”

“You know you would, too.”

Yes, I freaking would. I open my bedroom door and go inside, flopping on my bed.

“Dammit,” she hisses. “I have to go. My boss is calling. I’ll be calling you back for details.”

“Bye, Court,” I say, teasing her.

“I hate you.”

I laugh as she hangs up on me.

Rolling over onto my stomach, I pull up my favorite food delivery service and order a pizza. Nothing like grocery shopping to make you not want to cook.

Just before I toss my phone onto the nightstand before grabbing a shower, it buzzes.

Tate: I need your help.

His four words make me roll my eyes. Still, seeing his name on my screen makes me happy. Besides a quick text exchange yesterday to see how things were going, we haven’t really touched base. Although I miss him, I’m kind of glad for the radio silence. I’m not sure what I’d say about Gannon if pressed on the subject, and I’ll need to be careful about it.

Me: Have you ever heard the fable about the boy who cried wolf?

Tate: My mom wasn’t the story time kind of mom.

Me: In that story, a little boy yells all the time that he sees a wolf. But he’s lying. One day, a wolf really does show up in their little town, and he starts screaming, and do you know what happens?

Tate: The wolf eats him.

Me: NO ONE COMES.

Tate: So I was right.

Me: That’s not the point.

Tate: What’s the point?

“Read between the lines, Tate,” I groan.

Me: The point is when you start a message with “I need your help” so often and never actually need anything serious that one day you’ll really need something, and I’ll think you’re being goofy again and ignore you.