Frayed (Connections, #4)(72)

My legs swing onto the floor and I push myself into the shower, drag myself out of it, force myself to dry my hair, dab on a minimal amount of makeup, and dress as casually and comfortably as I can for work and still get away with it.

With coffees in hand I enter the showroom. Tate is standing at Josie’s desk with his arms crossed talking to her. His head snaps up.

I cross the room, stopping at Josie’s desk. “Coffees for everyone.” I manage a smile.

Tate takes his and with a huff he storms off. His door slams, but before I can say anything to Josie, it reopens. “Bell, I need you in my office in fifteen minutes.”

I nod and his door slams again.

“What’s going on with you?” Josie asks, clearly concerned.

“Nothing.” I take the lid off my coffee.

“You look like shit.”

“Jeez . . . thank you.”

She laughs. “Seriously, where have you been and what’s the matter? I left you a message and yesterday Tate was the biggest * that ever walked on the planet. Did something happen?”

I don’t want to break down at work. “Oh, Josie, so much has happened, but Tate is the least of my worries. He showed up at my event on Friday with Romeo.” I lower my voice. “I think they may have been having a threesome.”

“With you?” she asks, shocked.

“No!”

“Holy shit, those are two hot men. I bet they both have big—”

I cut her off. “Ewww . . . don’t say it. I am not interested in either of them and definitely not the two of them together.”

“But you’d be in between.” She tips her coffee cup in my direction.

I start to walk away. “Not interested.”

“What happened to Glow Boy?”

“Glow Boy?” I toss over my shoulder.

“The one who had you glowing brighter than a firefly for the last few weeks.”

“He dumped me.”

“So you were shagging him,” she says, not exactly quietly.

“Shhh . . . And I was not.”

“Well, whatever you were doing it’s better than what I’m doing.”

“And since when do you say shag?”

She smiles and shrugs. “Seemed appropriate.”

I toss my stuff on my desk and flop in my chair. “Hey, are you doing okay?”

“Me? Ha! Me and Bob are doing great.”

“Bob? Who’s Bob?”

“B.O.B.,” she spells out.

“Oh.” I laugh, thinking I haven’t used mine in so long I kind of forgot about it.

“Oh is right,” she says, turning around.

I turn on my computer and think that at least work will take my mind off Ben for a little bit.

“Bell, are you coming?” Tate’s voice booms from his office door.

“Yes, let me grab a pad and pen. I’ll be right there.”

Josie turns around. “Just remember, big . . .”

I cover my ears. “Don’t say it.”

She doesn’t know we dated, because I ended things before she started work here. And although I never actually had sex with him, I am very well aware how big he is from the couple of times he shoved my hands down his pants during some heavy make-out sessions. The thing was, I’ve never needed more than first base with a guy. I do like to feel wanted, but the actual sex part isn’t important to me—until Ben. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve slept with my fair share of men. Any boyfriend’s end game is to score, but I don’t always let them win. Sometimes I cut them loose because I just don’t feel any connection, but there are times when I’ve drunk enough to get myself in the mood and then I feel something, and something is better than nothing. But those times are past.

I keep my eyes down as I pass Josie’s desk for fear she’ll make me laugh. Tate’s door is cracked open. I knock. “Can I come in?”

“Yes,” he says in a cold tone.

I step in and leave the door open.

“Shut the door and take a seat.”

I inwardly roll my eyes at his dramatic behavior, but I do as he says.

“What the hell were you thinking? When a client asks you to come meet him, you don’t say no. Was it because you didn’t want to run into that boy toy of yours so you didn’t come?”

Boy toy? I have no idea what he’s talking about, and the blank look on my face must register with Tate.

“Romeo told me he saw some guy’s name on your phone and that same guy was at Beck’s with his face buried in another girl.”

Tears sting my eyes and any energy I had managed to muster up this morning is depleted immediately. Ben already found someone else? I should have known. I sit up straight, knowing I am not going to allow my boss to see my weakened state. “No, Tate, that’s not what I was thinking. I was actually thinking how inappropriate it was for you to tell our client where I live and for said client to call me at the last minute and expect me to drop everything to come running.”

He clears his throat. “Well, moving on, the Johnsons are having some issues with the florist. Can you see if you can help them out?”

I jot it down on my pad, trying to control my furious shaking. He continues with a list of items that need to be taken care of and I write them down, never once lifting my head to meet his scrutiny. About twenty minutes later he finishes.