The Dating Experiment (The Experiment, #2)(16)

Jesus. She really was going to kill me.

“Well, see,” I paused, “The business card is missing, so I have to get online and do it.”

Disbelief slowly clouded her features, pushing the anger out of her eyes. “You lost the business card? Dom! What the hell?”

“Hey, there’s no proof I lost it.” I pointed at her. “For all we know, it was stolen.” I grabbed my mug and slid past her back into my office.

“Oh, well, thank God for that,” she said dryly, turning around to face me. “That’s so much better than it potentially being down the back of your sofa.”

Yep. Telling her about the stupid feelings I had for her was not a good idea.

“Look, it’s fine. I called as soon as I realized yesterday and put a block on it.” I set the mug down on my desk. “They’re sending another, and it’ll be here in a few days.”

“You’re not reassuring me. If I didn’t know you were such a forgetful klutz, I’d say you’re deliberately trying to put this business under.” She tossed her purse on the chair on the other side of my desk. “When did you lose it?”

Lie. I was going to lie.

“Yesterday. I used it the day before to order printer ink, so it definitely disappeared within a few hours.”

That seemed to placate her a little because she looked a little less like a Rottweiler waiting to maul me in the crotch.

“Right. Did you check the account for charges?”

“Going to do today,” I replied. “As well as call the internet company and pay that bill right now, so it gets switched back on.”

“Damn right,” she muttered. “So, can we use your WiFi?”

“My apartment WiFi?”

“No, your car’s.”

She was such a fucking smartass.

“No. It’s linked with the business account. Peyton’s isn’t, though.”

Chloe did a double-take. “It isn’t? It was. We set it up for both offices.”

Aw, shit.

I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck. “Yeah, well, she doesn’t trust me not to lose the business card where it’s registered, so…”

“I can’t imagine why.” She ground her teeth together again, then paused. Her mouth opened, eyes widening. “Oh my God. This isn’t the first time you’ve lost the card, is it?”

Shit.

Shit, fuck, shit.

“No,” I muttered.

“Dominic! Oh my God!” She ran her hand through her blonde hair, dropping her head back with a groan. “I don’t know who put you in charge around here.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m the oldest. And, technically, I just kind of assumed command around here naturally.”

“Why? Because you’re the alpha male?”

“Well—”

“The nail on my baby toe is more alpha than you.”

I stared at her. “Bank cards are easy to lose. Keys are easy to lose. Maybe I’m too busy making sure that all the business expenses are compiled since you’re incapable of printing off a few sheets of paper for online receipts every week.”

“Hey!” She jabbed a scarlet-red fingernail in my direction. “There’s a big difference between keeping hold of a bank card and a key than email receipts.” She pressed three fingers to her forehead and let go a deep breath. “Fine, whatever. It’s too early to argue with you, and I woke up late, so.”

I grunted, picking up my coffee and quickly swallowing some of the hot liquid to hide it.

“What was that for?” she asked, dropping her hand and raising an eyebrow. “Did you stay up too late last night or something?”

I knew what she was asking.

Did I fuck—what the hell was her name?—on the first date?

“Not particularly,” I replied. “My mood just takes a turn for the worse whenever I see your face.”

“Ugh.” She waved her hand in my direction and stalked off toward the kitchen.

I smiled behind my coffee as I watched her go.

And to think. We still had to have our conversation about how our dates went.

I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

***

“All right, let’s get this over and done with.” Chloe finally emerged from the kitchen twenty minutes later. Moving her purse from the chair to the floor, she sat down and set her oversized Daisy Duck mug on my desk in front of her. “Let’s talk about these stupid dates.”

I quirked a brow. “Did yours not go well? It didn’t look that way to me.”

Something flitted across her face, but her expression barely faltered. “It was a perfectly lovely first date,” she said, sitting with a poker face.

“Perfectly lovely? Jesus, Chloe. Are you describing a bunch of flowers or a date?”

“It was great.” She shifted. “Really. He’s a really nice guy, and I’m excited to get to know him better. We’re seeing each other this weekend. That’s all there is to it, Dom. You picked well, as much as I hate to admit it.”

Not half as much as I hated to hear it.

“Yeah, well,” I grunted, shoving my mouse to one side. “I’m good at my job,” I muttered, diverting my gaze from her.