Page 16 of The Player Next Door
“No, but she already thinks I’m immature and untrustworthy, so what’s she going to do when she realizes it was just a fuck?”
Brooks shrugged. “Then fix it.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “How? I can’t unfuck her niece.”
“If only that were possible,” Brooks said wistfully. “There’s so many women I’d unfuck. But no, you date her. Or make an attempt, anyway. How hot is she?”
Logan hesitated, because while he thought Clare was pretty damn cute, he knew the Aidens probably wouldn’t agree. They regularly swiped left on women more traditionally hot, largely because they had a slightly inflated sense of their own handsomeness.
Brooks read his hesitation wrong and made a face. “That bad, huh?” he asked.
“Fuck you,” Logan snapped. “That’s not it.”
“You’re the one who implied it.”
“I did not.”
“Did too,” Brooks said petulantly. “But whatever, especially if she’s not that hot, just take her out for a few drinks then let her down easy. If Roth asks her about you, she’ll probably be all excited someone so hot dared talk to her, and then you won’t be in trouble with Roth. A few dates later you tell her you think she deserves someone better than you, and you’re letting her move on. Boom, problem solved.”
Logan thought about it for a second and shook his head. Clare was too smart to fall for that.
“You could still come out with us, you know,” Aiden wheedled. “You don’t have to bring the niece, you could just come and hang out, and let us benefit from your face.”
Logan considered correcting him and telling them Clare’s name, but then he thought better of it. He shook his head and started packing up. “Not up for it this weekend,” he said. “Maybe next.”
Aiden nodded. “Count me in,” he said to Brooks as Logan headed out. “And let’s just hope Logan doesn’t turn into another Captain Boring like Vince,” he added.
Logan had almost made it to his car when someone called his name. Recognizing the voice he swore and turned around. “Wimberley,” he said in a cheerful voice he reserved for his most annoying clients. “How’ve you been?”
Wimberley had his own bag slung over his shoulder, although he’d chosen to get it monogrammed withGirl Dad, as he clearly thought constantly telling people he had daughters made him a feminist. Marc Wimberley was an absolutely insufferable asshole Logan had known since college; he had been with the same woman since high school, a bland but pretty blonde who could have been his sister, given the resemblance, and whom Wimberley frequently referred to as “the missus.” Wimberley shook Logan’s hand, like they were meeting in a conference room for the first time, and Logan barely managed to stifle his eyeroll. “Oh, you know. Wife and kids keeping me busy,” he said, finally letting go of Logan’s hand. “You?”
“Oh no, my wife and kids are giving me a lot of free time,” Logan replied and right on cue, Wimberley chuckled like Logan had said something funny.
“How’s work?” Wimberley asked, and Logan’s antennae went up. In addition to being a smarmy bore, the man had a reputation. But where Logan’s reputation was the relatively harmless “enjoys giving women orgasms,” Wimberley’s was “will steal your clients like a fucking snake.” That smiley, white Americana, polos-and-boat-shoes motherfucker was the dirtiest player in the game, and Logan knew exactly what he was up to.
Logan affected an unconcerned frown. “The same.”
Wimberley’s eyes gleamed and Logan curled his hand into a fist. “Big stuff in the works, but I can’t say anything,” Wimberley teased, tapping the side of his nose.
Does he think he’s being subtle?Logan smiled and readjusted his bag, grinning at the man who was trying to get him fired. “Happy for you, man, but I have to get going.”
“Got a lady friend waiting for you?”
Lady friend? Was he born in 1940? Jesus fucking Christ.“Going to visit my dad,” Logan replied.Two can play at that wholesome shit, he thought viciously, and then realized hedidowe Burt a visit sometime soon. He made a mental note of that and waved to Wimberley. “See you around,” Logan said, but in his mind, he was already vowing to grind that jackass into dust.
Chapter Ten
Logan had arranged the wine ahead of time with the waitstaff, since Schneider was notoriously picky and rude when a bottle didn’t live up to his expectations. Logan knew the staff at Red Steer well, and he didn’t want to expose them to one of Schneider’s scoldings. He was in for one himself and there was no point in putting anyone else through it, too. He knew Schneider’s tastes well—something he prided himself on—and made sure to be sitting at the table a good ten minutes before their agreed-upon time, just to be safe.
This was the first step in his mission to save the Schneider account. He hoped a lunch and some good old-fashioned wooing would be enough, because if it wasn’t, he was screwed.
Within three minutes of Schneider arriving, Logan knew it wouldn’t. Schneider barked orders at the server, and then eyed Logan suspiciously when he tried to be nice to put the server more at ease. “This is what I mean,” Schneider grumbled under his breath as she left.
Logan pretended not to hear him. “How are things, John?” he said in an attempt to control the tenor of the conversation. He needed Schneider to like him more than he did right now, that was all. He could do that. “Now that it’s ice-out up on Lake Superior, are you going to be taking theGertrudeout?” TheGertrudewas Schneider’s schooner, named after his beloved and long-deceased mother. It was large enough that sailing it on most of Minnesota’s lakes wasn’t possible, and he owned a summer home up near Grand Marais for the sole purpose of having a private launch for her.
Schneider harrumphed, which was never a good sign. “Neighbors complained about some work we were having done on the shore, and now the county’s involved. Enough to put me off it entirely. Might sell it all just so I can stop dealing with their nonsense.”
Okay, so they weren’t off to the best start. “I’m sorry to hear that. How’s Theresa?”