Junk Mail(38)

Fifteen minutes later, I’m ready to go. Peyton’s waiting for me by the door, her jacket on and purse draped over her shoulder. She’s wearing the same clothes as yesterday, having left the shirt I lent her folded up on the coffee table.

“Hang on to that for me.” I nod toward the shirt as I pull on my jacket. “It looks good on you.”

She scrunches her brow at me, so I pick up the shirt myself and slip it into her purse. Lucky for me, she doesn’t put up a fight about it. I imagine her wearing it to bed at night. A little bit of me she can slip on and remember our night together. I like the thought.

“Your ride is about here,” I say, checking my phone for the driver’s location. “I’m sorry I can’t drive you myself. Are you going to be okay?”

Peyton looks down at her cuticles, picking at them nervously. “Let’s just make sure we talk about this later, okay? About all of this?”

She gestures to the space between us, and I immediately close it, bringing my lips to her cheek for several soft, short kisses.

“Of course. We’ll talk things through later. Just don’t waste your time feeling guilty, all right?” I press my thumb into the dimple in her chin, tilting her head until her gaze meets mine. “Because you? Last night? That was all worth it to me.”

Her smile is slight, but it’s still a smile. And I’ll take what I can get.





Chapter Twenty


Josh



The second I step into the office, I can tell something is up. It’s way quieter than it should be first thing in the morning, and there’s a weird uneasiness hanging in the air that hits me straight in the gut. This isn’t the friendly office environment that I’ve worked hard to build over the past couple of years. Everyone seems way on edge. Even Irene, the always-cheery receptionist, looks like she’s just seen a ghost.

“Irene, what’s going on?” I hang up my coat, double-checking that there’s not a monster in the closet terrorizing my usually upbeat staff.

She gives me the slightest smile. “Oh, nothing,” she says, but her eyes, which are wide and worried behind her red-framed glasses, tell a much different story. When I frown at her, she gives me the truth in a whisper. “I think you should go check on Brody. He’s been on a tirade this morning.”

Ah, fuck. A grumpy Brody is the last thing we need today. We’re this close from having things up and running for Peyton’s big launch next week, but we need every second of work time to make it happen.

I give Irene a grateful nod for the tip, then head toward my partner’s office. He’s hunched over his desk, his hands tapping at jet speed across his keyboard and his eyes glued to the screen.

I rap on the open door with my knuckles just to get his attention. “Hey, dude, everything all right?”

He greets me with a stare so pointed, it could knock me right over. “No, not everything is all right. You’re an hour and thirty fucking minutes late.”

“Whoa. I’m planning on staying late today, okay?” I hold up my hands in front of me in defense. “No need to sweat it. I’ve got it under control. We’re gonna get everything done for this Wish Upon a Gift launch.”

A gruff sound of discontent rumbles in the back of Brody’s throat. “We’re not doing the Wish Upon a Gift launch, Josh. It’s off.”

My stomach ties itself into a knot that would leave even a top-tier Boy Scout impressed. “What the fuck do you mean, it’s off?”

Stepping deeper into the office, I slowly close the door behind me. Brody’s mood has already left the office in a weird state. I don’t want to make it worse by letting anyone overhear this shit. Especially since I’m having a hard time keeping my own volume down.

“It’s off,” Brody says. “Done. Kaput. I’m drafting the memo about it now. This product isn’t right for our company. Our trip upstate made that abundantly clear.”

I take a deep, cleansing breath, urging Brody to do the same, then settle into the chair opposite from him. “This is coming out of left field. I know you’re in charge of new business, but our trip upstate went just fine. The store managers were all over the idea of a new product. We’re going to take Peyton’s company to the next level with this product launch.”

“Sure we will.” Brody scoffs. “If our point of contact with the potential client can stop thinking with his dick.”

My stomach is now at least triple-knotted. “The fuck did you just say?”

“You think we didn’t notice?” Brody’s voice cuts through the air with a sternness I’ve never heard from him. “The way she just had to ride with you everywhere on our trip upstate? And you were practically eye-fucking her in every meeting we had. I’m surprised none of the store managers said anything about it.”

“Probably because they were too focused on her actual pitch.” I do my best to keep my cool, but I’m biting the inside of my cheek to keep from snapping at him. I can’t believe he would pull shit like this so late in the deal. “It’s a good product, Brody. You should know, you’re the one who found her company and wanted to work with her in the first place. And we both know we’re fucked if we drop this deal now. We need something new to market around the holidays if we’re going to stay competitive.”