Oliver’s voice startles me. I look up at him. He asks the question flatly, but with a hint of skeptical curiosity, like he’s not sure if he really wants to know. He stands in the doorway, his body taking up most of the frame. His arms are crossed.
“None of your business,” I say before Tina can explain that he’s my new accountant. “Why are you eavesdropping?”
“I heard commotion. I came to investigate.” He looks around the room, his eyes landing on the treadmill, which is still running. He looks back at me and Tina. We’re still sitting on the floor behind it. “Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.” I push myself to my feet, then help pull Tina up.
“Isn’t it a little early to be done with a date on a Friday night?” Oliver checks his watch. “Must’ve been a shitty date.”
“Guess you’ve never heard of a little afternoon delight.” I move past him through the doorway. I keep my eyes on him, watching his expression harden.
“Clayton is her accountant,” Tina says. She follows me out of the room, but stops in the doorway to show Oliver her phone.
He smirks, then looks at me and shakes his head. “Yeah, sure. A little afternoon delight with that guy. I can see it.”
I grab Tina’s hand, making her turn her phone in my direction so that I can see what she’s showing him. It’s Clayton’s website. There’s a picture of the man himself front and center. The photo really captures all the same quirky awkwardness he possesses in real life.
I give Tina a look that I hope conveys how annoyed I am with her for ruining my act. Then I look back at Oliver. “He’s cute,” I say defensively.
“Oh, honey,” Tina says with a sigh. “Not even a little bit.”
She pats me on the shoulder in a gesture that says, “you tried” before she passes me and heads downstairs.
Oliver starts to follow her, but pauses when he reaches me. He still has that smug smirk on his face. “You know, if you’re that desperate to spend the afternoon with someone, you could just put a blindfold on me.”
It takes a minute for his meaning to sink in. When it does, my face turns red and my blood feels hot. I want to grab his face and force that stupid smirk off. “I will never bethatdesperate. And why would I need to do that with you when I have a super-hot boyfriend like Clayton?”
His smirk turns into a genuine smile. He nudges my shoulder with his. Every nerve ending in my shoulder stands on edge, feeling where his touched mine. I look down at my shoulder, then up at him. He’s behaving strangely. I can’t remember the last time he smiled in my direction without an ulterior motive. I don’t trust him.
“I’m guessing since Ryan hasn’t tried to kill me yet, you must have kept your word,” he says.
“I’m guessing,” I say, mocking his tone, “that since Tina hasn’t fired me yet, you must have kept your word too.”
He shrugs. “What can I say? I’m a trustworthy person.”
I snort, thinking about how I was literally just thinking the opposite. I cross my arms. “So am I.”
“Tina and Ryan might disagree.”
I ignore that. “Do you have any updates for me? When does Ryan plan on proposing?”
He grimaces. “About that…”
“Come on,” I complain. “Don’t tell me you changed your mind.”
“I’m not going to help you sabotage Ryan’s plan, but I do have a proposal for you,” he says.
“Oh yeah? You were inspired by Tina and Ryan and now you want to get married too?”
He rolls his eyes. “Not that kind of proposal.”
I cross my arms. “What do you want?”
He clears his throat. “Ryan came by the other day to drop the ring off. He wants to plan something big for Tina. I offered to help him.”
I frown. “You came up here to tell me that I’m competing directly against you now? I’m not sure what you’re proposing here.”
He tucks his hands into his pockets. “I thought maybe we could coordinate our efforts.”
