The Right Swipe (Modern Love, #1)(61)

There was a beat of silence. “I am not.”

She suppressed her laugh.

His voice deepened. “Is this slang for something? Does glitter mean something other than glitter?”

“No, actual glitter. Your aunt. Your aunt is the reason I’m covered in pink glitter.”

A longer pause. “Uh.”

Rhi quickly brought him up to speed.

“Ahhh,” Samson drawled. “Aunt Belle does love sending ridiculous invitations. It was singing telegrams for her sixtieth birthday, I believe. To my locker room.”

“I bet your teammates got a kick out of that.”

“You have no idea. I’m glad Tina was there to clarify, at least.”

“Did you have an idea she was planning this?”

“She asked if I was free next weekend, but other than that, no. If I’d known what she was planning, I might have given you a heads-up. Or at least talked her down from the glitter.”

Samson would be there. She suppressed the thrill of excitement. Business. This was business. “Do you know who the other guests will be?” Even if Tina couldn’t tell her, maybe Samson would.

Manipulative.

Yeah, this was veering into conflict-of-interest territory. Samson’s first loyalty was to his aunt and the company he had a stake in, and she didn’t want to force him to inadvertently betray the woman. She almost retracted her question, but he spoke first.

“I don’t, I’m sorry. She said there were three others who were interested in buying the company, but I don’t know the details.”

The others, one of whom may be Peter. She opened her mouth, and the toxic bitter words were there in the back of her throat. Words like evil and harassment. But she bit them back.

The best revenge is success. Even if Peter was there, she’d kick his ass. She didn’t need Samson’s assistance.

She picked at some glitter on her hoodie. “Cool. Anyway, I’m busy, so I’ll go. Gotta work on my pitch. I wanted to thank you for talking to Annabelle.”

“My pleasure.”

She shivered, hating how beautifully he said that word. Pleasure. She wondered if he’d invite her over again, for more sex. She didn’t have any time between now and Friday, but she wanted him to invite her anyway.

“I’ll see you next weekend then. I don’t think I’m going to get a glitter-gram with my invite. I guess that’s a good thing.”

She grinned. “It’s a very good thing.”

“Put together a great pitch, Rhi.”

She bared her teeth. “It’ll be the best pitch.”

She could tell he was smiling. “I don’t doubt it. We should drive up together.”

Like Rhiannon would ever be able to get into a vehicle with him and not think about sex, after all that “walking her to her car.” Please. “I don’t know when I’m leaving yet.”

“Ah. Right. Text me if you have any questions about your pitch. Or we could meet up—”

There was the invite she’d craved but couldn’t take. She shook her head, though he couldn’t see. “I’ll be swamped trying to juggle everything and get this pitch done.”

“Got it.”

Was it her imagination, or did he sound as disappointed as she felt? Her hand clenched over the phone. “Guess we’ll move filming our last video to after the weekend.”

“Yes. Good.”

She swallowed, but her mouth was dry. “Goodbye.”

“See you soon, Rhi.”

She hung up and looked around her pretty pink office, filled with dainty white furniture. If she acquired Matchmaker, she’d have to move to a bigger office to accommodate her larger staff.

When, not if.

She cracked her neck. Eye on the prize. And the prize was world domination. She had no room in that world for a man.

She texted Katrina a photo of the invitation and a bunch of exclamation points. Her silent partner might not fully understand Rhiannon’s obsession, but she’d freak out with her.

The door opened, Lakshmi walked in, and closed it behind her. The two of them looked at each other for a minute, then squealed in unison, neither of them bothering to muffle the noise.

“This is amazing,” Lakshmi said, quieter, when they’d gotten that out of their systems.

“Amazing.” Rhiannon walked around her desk. “Do I still have glitter on me?”

“Tons, but it’s mostly out of your hair.” Lakshmi squinted. “Well, like 70 percent out.”

“This woman’s making me work.”

“No shit.” Lakshmi’s grin was gleeful. “But we’re getting that company.”

Rhiannon allowed herself another bubble of glee. This was her chance. “Clear my weekend and this week. We’re going to put together the mother of all proposals.”

“Will do.” Lakshmi casually indicated the closed door. “I’m gonna marry that girl, by the way.”

Rhiannon’s eyebrows shot up. “Uh, what?” People got smitten with Lakshmi, not the other way around. “Tina?”

“Mmm. Don’t worry about it. I’m in no rush.” Lakshmi plopped into a chair. “I won’t let that stop me from prioritizing this takeover. Shall I fire up the PowerPoint?”