Opening Up

Текст добавлен: 29 сентября 2016, 04:15

Текст книги "Opening Up"

Автор книги: Lauren Dane

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The story goes like this: while on pregnancy bed rest, Lauren Dane had plenty of down time, so her husband took her comments about ‘giving that writing thing a serious go’ to heart and brought home a secondhand laptop. She wrote her first book on it. Today, Lauren is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 60 novels and novellas across several genres.

Visit Lauren Dane online:

www.laurendane.com

https://www.facebook.com/laurendane

https://www.twitter.com/laurendane

The Ink & Chrome Series

Opening Up

Falling Under

Coming Back

Published by Piatkus

978-0-3494-0983-2

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

PIATKUS

Little, Brown Book Group

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London, EC4Y 0DZ

www.littlebrown.co.uk

www.hachette.co.uk

This one is for the boy who is the

full moon shining on my Camaro’s hood.

Acknowledgments

Thank-yous go to so many people! 2014 was a year of challenges for me and my family. I’m incredibly grateful to those around me who went out of their way to make things easier for me at what were some of the most stressful times in my life.

Laura Bradford, my agent and friend – thank you so very much.

Leah Hultenschmidt – thank you for working with me so hard to give me as much time and space as you could while I was trying to recover (as well as the work editing me!).

My beta readers – Fatin (who is also my fantastic assistant) and Mary, who always have so much excellent advice and help.

Friends who have pitched in and helped me out – your kindnesses do matter. Thank you all.

Readers – thank you all for your patience and for continuing to read my books!!

Chapter One

“I don’t even know who that is, but I’d like to take several large bites.” PJ took in the ridiculously badass alpha male across the room from where she and her sister had just been handed drinks at the bar.

“Who?” Julie asked as she paid and they moved to the side. “Point him out. In a non-attention-seeking way!” she added, like PJ was a beast.

PJ blinked a few times before she spoke. “You’re a terrible human being.”

“I get it from Dad.”

PJ tilted her head to indicate the guy whose sheer charisma she felt from across the room. A brunette with a body straight out of a pinup calendar stared up into his face as she stroked a hand up and down his arm.

“She’s all right in a totally voluptuous, drop-dead-sex-bomb way. I mean, for those who like that sort of thing.” Julie’s dry delivery made PJ smile.

“Let’s saunter by that fantastic Camaro over there so I can get a closer look.” PJ started off.

“At the guy or the car?”

“Two birds. One stone,” PJ called lightly over her shoulder.

“Will this end up in some sort of terrible misunderstanding that will embarrass me for years to come? Or, better yet, am I going to have to explain what happened to the police?”

“That only happened once.”

Julie’s brow rose very slowly. Julie was the elegant one. The one who played the piano perfectly. She’d gone to the schools their parents had told her to. Wore tasteful, perfectly tailored clothes. Now had a corner office at their family’s tire company and was set to lead it into the future with their other siblings.

Whereas Penelope Jean Colman had been a “terrible disappointment” because she just never fit anywhere her parents tried to put her. And maybe because she’d gotten her big sister into some trouble once or twice.

“Okay, three times. But I had good reasons for two of them.”

“The other was you being innocent?”

“Heck no. Which isn’t to say how pleased it makes me that I got away with it.”

“He’s standing with Duke Bradshaw. The dark-haired one.”

Julie did a very nice job of looking natural as she shifted to stand next to PJ, giving her an unobstructed view.

“Duke owns Twisted Steel with someone else. Maybe that’s him,” Julie said.

There really was no other word for the man but dominant. Easily six foot three, he stood, feet apart, a beer in one hand as he spoke to Duke. This was a man you could dress in a tux and while he’d look fantastic, you’d know he could punch you in the face without losing a cufflink.

She wasn’t entirely sure why that made him so hot, it just did. There was a sort of barely restrained… something about him that made her take notice.

Dark hair, shaved close at the sides, longer on the top. He had it pulled back from his face, exposing masculine features.

“You have that goofy look.” Julie poked her in the side.

“Ow! What?” PJ asked without tearing her gaze from him.

“You get it at the sight of tacos, too.”

PJ nearly choked on her drink. Thank goodness he hadn’t noticed her almost dying.

Once she could breathe again, PJ glared at her sister through still-watering eyes. “You’re on a roll tonight. Did you take allergy medication before you started drinking?”

Her normally serene sister had a twinkle in her eye. “Someone has to keep me entertained at these things. You seem to like them. I, on the other hand, would rather be home catching up on my Housewives.”

“What a waste that would be. There are handsome single men here. A bar. Food that’s being served from a tray instead of a buffet a hundred people of questionable hygiene have pawed over. Me, of course. All of these things are better than being at home alone watching TV.”

“Says you.”

“Witty. That expensive Ivy League education was totally worth it.”

“I need to dumb it down for state college dropouts to understand.” Julie stuck out her tongue.

PJ turned back to look at him again. He was too far away for her to see the color of his eyes, but she figured they’d be brown or green maybe. She took note of the septum piercing and the tattoos on both arms visible from the elbows, where he had his shirtsleeves rolled up. It was necessary, for reasons of some sort, that she get a better look.

“Since he’s standing with Duke, I say you go on over and introduce yourself. This is an industry party. You’re here for Colman Enterprises. It’s your job to network. Give him your card.” Julie got a little closer, lowering her voice. “And it’s good for you to make some connections for your custom work.”

It meant a lot that Julie was on her side, excited about the direction PJ’s life was headed.

“Come with me.”

Julie shook her head. “I see a few people I should at least buy a drink for. Send out a distress call if they’re weird and you need me to mace them.”

With a wave, Julie headed off in the direction of one of their other clients. Well, all right then.

Ever since PJ met Duke Bradshaw nearly a year before at a race, she’d coveted his work. All the people at Twisted Steel were beyond good at what they did, so the cars and bikes they created and restored were absolutely beautiful. It was art.

Their work had one more thing, the most important thing as far as PJ was concerned. It wasn’t just the money or even the art. It was that they loved cars. And motorcycles and racing and engines.

It was that passion that she wanted more of for Colman Enterprises. Her family was great at selling tires. But it wasn’t the same as it had been when her grandfather had founded the company. He’d raced, too. He’d understood the heart of his customer in a way no spreadsheet ever could.

For PJ, it was a belief system. It was a love of cars, of speed and chrome and the rumble of engines that was the heart of Colman. That would never change, even if the products and services they offered did.

PJ shook that off as she approached, hearing his voice before she got close enough to say hello.

Mmmmm. Deep and gravelly.

Dark brown eyes – and she bet that when he had his hair down it slanted over them so he’d look hot and mysterious all at once – took her in.

His gaze locked with hers and a smile marked a mouth so carnal she probably would have to light a candle in penance for her very naughty thoughts.

She smiled back and the moment between them heated and slowed. He was holy shit hot damn and wow sexy. One of his brows rose. Confident and not a small bit cocky.

He was older. Probably late thirties, early forties. Which was absolutely okay with her. Didn’t matter though, because all it took was a close-up view of this male to know he was totally out of her league. He’d rock her world. Maybe set it on fire.

Just having his full attention left her a little shaky. What would sex with him be like? Wrong. Wrong thing to start to wonder right then. Her cheeks heated and she hoped it was dark enough that he missed her blush.

And yet there she continued to stand, finally breaking that moment and turning to Duke. Also ridiculously hot.

“PJ Colman, how are you?” Duke showed perfect white teeth. The dimple to the left of his mouth made PJ bet it tasted sweet.

“I’m doing all right. You?”

“As well as you can be at one of these things.”

“Asa Barrons,” Manly Man said as he held out a hand.

A big hand that engulfed hers as he shook it.

Duke grinned, making him look like a charming wayward boy. No one could stay mad at that face, she bet. “Sorry about that. I figured you already knew PJ. Asa, this is PJ Colman. PJ, this is Asa; he co-owns Twisted Steel with me.”

“Colman, as in Colman Enterprises?” Asa let go of her hand slowly and she was proud she didn’t gulp audibly.

“Yes.” She looked back over her shoulder toward the Camaro and then back to Asa and Duke. “That’s one seriously delicious machine.”

Asa used that moment to take her in, from the pointed toes of her black heels, up shapely legs, over mouthwatering curves at her hips, to one of the finest racks he’d ever beheld.

The neckline of the dark blue dress she wore – a dress that lovingly caressed her body and yet stayed pretty and feminine – showed off her collarbone and the uppermost curves of her breasts.

And she had good taste. That Camaro was a project they’d finished just a few weeks before. The owner was taking it home to Oregon the following day, so Asa and Duke figured it’d be a good idea to show it off while they could.

PJ stepped to the side to allow a server to pass with a tray of something, and without thinking Asa reached out to take her elbow to steady her. Her skin was warm and soft, and with her so close it wasn’t a struggle to breathe her in. Spice and heady flowers.

“Thanks,” he said, referring to her compliment about the car. “I’ll be a little sad to see it go.”

“We argued about the racing stripe.” Duke grinned.

“What do you think about the racing stripe?” Asa asked her.

He’d liked her smile, but the smirk she gave in response to his question made his cock hard. Christ.

She walked to the car and he followed, barely conscious of anything but the metronome switch of her hips and the long braided rope of her hair hanging to her waist. Purple hair. Light at the top and then darker at the ends.

“I think it’s always more about the car.” Her voice dropped so that only he could hear. “In general I like racing stripes well enough. My car has them. Though my car is purple, so it’s not all stock.”

“That so?” He wanted to brush an errant tendril of her hair away from her face, but he resisted.

This was a work event. She was the granddaughter of one of the most influential men in racing, and she couldn’t have been any more than twenty-five years old. All of that should have been an ice-cold slap of reality.

But his cock didn’t give a shit. His cock agreed with his brain that her freckles were fucking hot and wanted to see if she had them all over. And she liked cars. He could tell by the way she looked at his Camaro. Her gaze seemed to caress the curves and lines.

A woman who liked cars on the same level he did was hot. Even if she was totally off the menu.

“Purple?”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

Oh yes, yes she could.

“Go on ahead.” He tried to keep the grin off his face.

“I’m kind of a rebel.”

He laughed. “That so? I figured, given your hair, that you just liked purple a lot.”

“Maybe that too. As for this particular car? The racing stripes are exactly what it needed.”

“Duke likes racing stripes on American muscle. The client is a friend of his.”

“The paint is fantastic. Perfect work.” She walked around, peering closely here and there. “No skimping or cut corners.”

“Were you going to judge me harshly if there had been?”

She ran her tongue over her bottom lip before she sank her top teeth into it briefly. He felt it to his toes.

“Absolutely. Paint is a serious thing. Do you need to be reminded of that?”

Christ.

He liked to do the reminding. And he surely would like to remind this woman while she was naked and in his bed. There was something striking about her. An air of confidence that grew as they flirted over machines. Her energy was vibrant. Sensual.

And still, not for him.

He probably should be breaking away to go back over to where Duke stood. Instead he kept talking. “So what do you do at Colman central?”

“I manage accounts. Which is a fancy way of saying I sell tires to people like you and Duke. They send me to industry events like this.” She cocked her head and paused before speaking again. “Who does your paint work?”

That was a quick change of topic. “We have paint done on-site. Specialty stuff goes out to contractors. Are you looking for any kind of work in particular? I could give you a better idea if I knew more.”

She laughed and… it surprised him. Low and sultry. Not what he expected at all. A brief touch of her hand to his forearm. “I do custom paint work. Just wondering who my competition was.”

An image of her bent over, breasts heaving against the front of a very tight shirt as she worked on one of his cars, settled in, and he let it.

“This a new service Colman is offering?”

“It’s a way to do what I like to do and to expand our reach into new sectors of this business.”

Young? Yes. He probably had wrenches older than she was. But she had intelligence to go with the looks. It wasn’t as if he thought Colman was the huge success it was without a lot of smart, hardworking people at the helm. But he’d taken one look at that face and body and misjudged her as spoiled, pretty, and rich, and therefore totally useless.

“At some point I’d like to talk with you and Duke about that direction.”

“Give the shop a call and set something up.” At least he’d get another chance to see that face.

“All right.” She looked up, and the upward curve to her lips urged his own to do the same.

Neither of them spoke. It felt as if she waited for him. That hit hard. Unexpected to be so moved by this wisp of a woman he’d just met minutes before. It wasn’t until she hummed low in her throat, a sound of pleasure, that he realized he’d taken a step closer.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt, PJ, but do you have any of Shawn’s cards?”

Asa wrestled back his instinct to shove this guy away and have PJ all to himself again.

And was doubly glad when she turned with a smile that was totally different than the one she’d just given Asa. That’s when he took in the strong resemblance between her and the guy who’d spoken and figured this had to be one of her brothers.

“Jay, this is Asa Barrons. He’s one of the co-owners of Twisted Steel.” She looked back to Asa. “This is my brother Jay, CEO at Colman.”

Duke dealt better with guys like this one. Asa kept his head in his machines as much as he could. He loved gear with a passion, but people? Not so much.

“Nice to meet you. PJ sings the praises of Twisted Steel frequently.” Jay shook Asa’s hand.

PJ handed her brother a few cards.

“She was just educating me on her view of racing stripes.”

Jay appeared apprehensive, but PJ just laughed and patted her brother’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s not going to stop doing business with us. I didn’t tell him I thought they were boring or overdone.”

It was Asa’s turn to laugh. “Boring?”

Her eyes seemed to light up as her laugh continued to drive him nuts. “Oops, cat’s out of the bag now. Please continue to buy our tires.”

Jay’s eyes widened and Asa wanted to tell the dude to lighten up.

Asa gave her brother a look and made an X over his heart. “I promise we’ll continue to buy your tires even though your sister is so irreverent. Maybe because.” He winked at her and she poked her brother’s upper arm.

Jay looked back over his shoulder and then to them once more. “I need to get back to my conversation. It was nice to finally meet you, Asa.” He held the cards up. “Thanks.”

Before Asa could say anything else, the woman he’d actually been planning on taking home came back through the room looking for him.

“I need to get back to it as well.” He held his hand out, shaking PJ’s, and then he handed her a business card and took hers.

“Have an excellent evening, Asa Barrons.”

The buxom brunette making her way over to him would probably guarantee that. But he couldn’t deny the pull as PJ walked away.

He really couldn’t deny it when she was stopped not even half a room away by Scott Elroy, one of the guys in town who custom-built bikes. And by the looks of it, Asa wasn’t the only one who found PJ Colman rather delightful.

Chapter Two

PJ hung up the phone after leaving a message for Asa Barrons. Again. She’d called three times in the month following the party and got his voicemail each time.

She looked across the table at her best friend, Audra. “He’s ducking me.”

“Or maybe he’s just slammed. You said he wasn’t hesitant when you brought it up when you met him. They run a busy shop. Making time to deal with another contractor when they already have some and they’re backed up or whatever, is going to mean you fall down the list. Even when you’re as pretty as you are.”

PJ frowned at Audra. “I know you’re probably right. What if he doesn’t take me seriously? I mean, why should he? He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know what I can do. I didn’t have my portfolio yet.”

She’d been building a portfolio of her painting work so if – no, when – Asa met with her, she’d have something concrete to show him.

“Really? So you’re going to carry around a portfolio with you at all times? Like he’d have been cool with you just breaking it out at the bar? You know how to do this, PJ. This is like your destiny and whatnot.”

PJ snorted. “My destiny?”

“You know what I mean. You were raised to run your family’s business.”

“And then I turned out to be an artist. The shame of it.”

Audra threw her balled-up napkin at PJ’s head. “You know my opinion of Howie’s parenting.”

Howie being Howard Colman Jr., PJ’s father.

“Just because you dropped out of college doesn’t mean you’re not smart. You knew it wasn’t right for you. Thing is, you know cars. Your grandfather raised you to love them like he did. And you’re artistic and damned good at painting things. I’m sure Asa is just really busy. But even if he doesn’t take you seriously now, he will once you’re done with him. On a side note, apart from your ability, which we’ve already established as mighty, he’s also going to want to get you into bed. You said you two had that sort of chemistry.”

PJ had known Audra since they’d both been kids. It was one of her favorite things in her life that they had such a strong friendship. She knew Audra would say exactly what she needed to hear.

“We did have the tinglies for one another. But he and Duke built Twisted Steel from the ground up. It’s not like they could have done it if he’d been following his dick around like it found him water.”

“A dowsing dick?” Audra asked.

“I think I saw that in the Jim Rose Circus a few years ago.” They both laughed. “He just seems like the kind of man…” PJ paused, trying to find the right words. “He’s under control. It sort of rolled off him. He’s in charge of himself. I’m not saying he doesn’t get laid on the regular. I’m just saying he doesn’t lead with that head.”

“I need to get a closer look at this guy. Which is an excellent segue into me reminding you that you’re my best friend, so you need to say you’ll do this pinup calendar photo shoot so my boyfriend can keep a job. It pays. There’s sure to be hot guys around, and you’ll keep your spot as the best friend in the whole world. Which is priceless.”

Audra’s boyfriend, Tom, had combined forces with some other graphic arts designers and what had been planned as a fun little side project had transformed into a full-blown pinup calendar showcasing the wares of local indie artisans of everything from clothing to jewelry.

And the shoot would undoubtedly take place at a garage of some sort, which gave her another chance to network.

As PJ had told her sister a few weeks before, it was good to attract a whole new kind of business to keep Colman relevant and integral. All those gearheads, the build-and-restore crowd as well as the racing teams, needed paint on their projects. Why not expand Colman Enterprises to fill a market need?

Money was good. Work was good. Doing something nice for a friend was also good.

“Oh, all right.”

A commotion followed as a group of their friends came in, including Tom and PJ’s ex. Aaron looked around until he saw her and headed her way.

“I gotta go,” she muttered, gathering her stuff.

Audra put a hand out. “No. We were here first. This is our place.”

“Just not when I know he’s going to be here.”

It wasn’t even that she couldn’t get over him or still loved him or any of that. It was more like she was so embarrassed that she’d ever actually fallen for any of his crap that being around him was the equivalent of Sunday dinner at her parents’ house.

Tense. Uncomfortable, with the bitter stench of disappointment and passive-aggressive anger in the air. It made her tired and irritated. But he was a good lesson. That’s how she’d chosen to think about it.

They were part of the same social circle – which was how she’d found out about the cheating – so they’d see one another frequently. She wasn’t going to get rid of her friends, and eventually she’d tolerate his existence again. But she wasn’t there yet.

Aaron tried to slide next to PJ but she held a hand out. “No.”

His pretty face screwed up a little as he struggled to understand. “Come on, Penny.”

PJ curled her lip. “I’m not your fucking Penny. Just go be elsewhere.”

Aaron had convinced himself they were somehow meant to be. Maybe because she was the first woman who’d kicked his butt to the curb when she’d caught him stepping out. Maybe it was that he wanted what he couldn’t have. Whatever. She didn’t care why, really. Although she had been pretty pissed until she got the all-clear back from her doctor, because heaven knew what he could have given her.

“How long are you going to punish me?”

PJ looked at him and then over to Audra, shaking her head. “Is he kidding with this?”

“You know where I am when you realize we’re meant to be together, Penny.”

“Dude, have some self-respect.” Tom, Audra’s boyfriend, rolled his eyes and dragged Aaron off. “Come on, let’s get more pitchers. It’ll give you something to do so my girl won’t scoop your eyes out with a spoon.”

Tom sent PJ a grin as he swept Aaron away. Audra grabbed PJ’s arm and pulled her back to sit. “We already decided you weren’t leaving.”

Audra raised her glass, patiently waiting for PJ to do the same.

Audra made a prim face and then smirked. “You haven’t been out with us for nearly two months. I’m planting my flag right here. This is our table and the Ditch is our place and we don’t give a fuck if Aaron is around. He needs to see you every Friday so he can wallow in the hell he exists in now.”

Audra was seriously the best friend anyone could ask for. She always took PJ’s side, always had her back, always listened and supported and definitely kicked her butt when PJ needed it.

They all drank.

“I’m going to be sorry I asked,” PJ began, “but what you do mean by ‘the hell Aaron exists in now’?”

“The one where he doesn’t get to see you naked anymore. But he can still remember how awesome it was.”

They were still laughing when the guys got back with pitchers and several more of their friends. Audra positioned herself so that Aaron had to sit farther down the table. Enough out of range that PJ could pretend he didn’t exist.

She had awesome friends.

“I need you to handle a meeting for me tomorrow,” Jay said as he breezed into her office without knocking.

The oldest Colman sibling was the most like their father. Jay had been raised to own every room he entered. To broadcast his will and make it happen. And in his own way, he craved acceptance from Howard Jr. with the same wary yearning PJ did. They were both smart enough to know it was folly and yet they both kept at it.

Still, Jay, though constantly having to war with their uncle for access to their father, was a pretty decent brother. He’d been jammed into his life in ways she couldn’t possibly understand. Sure, she was expected to do certain things, but Jay had the weight of their generation on his shoulders. He was the oldest. He’d lead when their father and uncle stepped aside.

It made him a prick sometimes. But she loved him despite his flaws. Even at times like this, when he simply took for granted that people would obey his missives.

PJ finished the last sentence of her e-mail before sending it off and looking up at him. “Can’t. I’ve got a prior engagement tomorrow.” She’d be shooting the calendar all day.

“I said I’d play golf with Dad, Uncle Fee, and Shawn. The meeting is just a thing down at the factory. They need some petting. You’re good at that.”

“So wait. You, Dad, Fee, and Shawn are all going golfing? Is Julie going?”

The look on his face told PJ it hadn’t even occurred to him to invite either of his sisters.

“So you boys go off to play and we have to handle the dirty work? I have plans tomorrow, and I can’t move them around. Can you find out if they’re free to meet today? Though you could stand to hear more voices that aren’t Dad’s or Fee’s.”

Her brother was brilliant in so many ways. But sometimes he was so focused he missed things outside his view. He knew money and he knew markets. But he wasn’t as good when it came to people.

And he’d say – with some truth – that she didn’t spend enough time learning money and markets and too much on people.

“I don’t have the time to hold hands, PJ.”

“Colman is built on that face-to-face, I’m-just-like-you interaction with not just the people in our industry but our own people too.”

“Which is why I’m sending you to pet them.”

PJ sighed and then flapped a hand toward her door. “Well? Run along and find out if they can meet me today. But Jay? This is my company too. Julie’s company. This is some medieval bullshit and I’m not going to tolerate it.”

She and her sister were really sick and tired of the way her brothers, father, and uncle tended to run Colman Enterprises based on decisions they made in places women weren’t allowed or invited.

“I’m CEO. Fee is CFO. We don’t need to consult you or Julie. But this is just golf.”

“That you’d stand there and say ‘it’s just golf’ when that’s how men have been making deals – and excluding women, I should add – for decades makes me want to stab you with my pencil right now.”

“Jesus, Penelope Jean. Lay off. You grew up rich. You have a job, but this is not your sweatshop. You are not abused.”

Ugh. Brothers pushing sisters’ buttons; it was an old-ass story, but she hated it when he patronized her.

“Oh hey, Jay?” She flipped him off with both hands. “Did you get an A in Smug Bastard 101? I never said a thing about being abused or being in a sweatshop. I said this is my company too. You ought to try listening to me sometimes. I have good ideas.”

“You can’t even stick with a hair color and you think I’m going to consult you when it comes to decisions for my business?”

His ribbing about his disdain for her feminist ideals was one thing; mainly it was affectionate even if he was a dingus about it. But there was an edge to what he’d just said. An edge that was a slap in her face. You’re not smart enough or good enough to listen to.

An edge that made the fire in her belly to prove herself to him glow. “My hair color has nothing to do with my ideas.”

“Your hair color is an indicator that your ideas are not normal.”

“Normal? So I’m abnormal because I have purple hair? Are you kidding me? From the outside you’re a perfectly handsome dude in his midthirties, but you’re like four hundred and twelve years old inside. Dried up. Yes, I’m different, Jay. So? Great-Grandpa ran moonshine. You think that was normal? You think he never took risks? He took risks every time he made a run. Being different is who we are.”

“You should have stayed in college and gotten your BA in English. Clearly you know a lot of pretty words that don’t mean shit when it comes to payday. Purple hair doesn’t sell accounts.”

“Did you read up on how to be this patronizing and insulting, or did you just inherit the ability from Dad and Fee?” PJ was proud her voice didn’t shake. Sometimes it was hard not to react emotionally to this sort of baiting. She knew some of her family discounted her for being different, and it hurt. Because they didn’t take her any more seriously when she did what they expected her to either.

It filled her with futile anger and hurt, but she had gotten pretty good at hiding just how much. “Purple hair sold more than you did last month.” She tipped her chin at the navy blue binder on the corner of her desk. “Fee’s special numbers say so. Now get out of my office. I’m working and I’m no longer interested in helping you with your problem. Handle your own meeting. I’m busy tomorrow, just like I told you.”

He threw his hands up in the air, but he’d been thwarted and she knew he understood that. It was a stupid, petty win, not that it’d stop her from claiming it.

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