He looked at us standing on opposite sides of the elevator.
“I guess the conversation didn’t go as planned?” he asked.
Kennedy stared at me.
“Not exactly,” I said. I didn’t try to take her hand as I stepped off the elevator. “Kennedy, this is Tanner.”
“Matt’s best friend,” he said. “It’s lovely to finally meet you.”
“From one of Matt’s friends to another, it’s nice to meet you too, Tanner.”
“Friends?” Tanner looked at me. “Oh, it really didn’t go as planned then.”
“I thought you said no one knew about us yet?” Kennedy asked me.
I smiled. “Don’t worry. Only Tanner knows.”
“Okay. Well, Matt and I decided to just be friends until he sorts out whatever he needs to do with Poppy. So, maybe just don’t mention that we dated for all of two seconds to anyone else?”
Tanner smiled. “Luckily for you, I happen to be an excellent secret keeper.”
“Now which apartment is James’?” she asked.
There were only two doors on the floor. One for James’ apartment. And one that led to his security team. I knocked on the closer door. “Why hadn’t you gone in yet?” I asked Tanner.
“I was waiting for you two. You know how uncomfortable Robert makes me.”
Kennedy laughed. “Please don’t tell me Rob goes by Robert now?”
“Only I call him that,” Tanner said. “Because he hates it and we’re sworn enemies.”
“Why?”
“He loves to claim that he’s Matt’s best friend when that title clearly belongs to me. And his jokes are rarely funny. And his haircut is stupid.”
Kennedy looked up at him. “It kind of sounds like you’re jealous of him.”
“Of Young Robert?” Tanner laughed. “Never.”
“Young Robert? How old are you?”
Tanner cleared his throat. “Age is only a number.”
“So…Rob’s actually older than you?”
“It doesn’t matter either way. What matters is that he certainly doesn’t act like it.”
“Hmm,” Kennedy said.
“What? What was the hmm for?”
“It’s just…your sense of humor is actually a lot like Rob’s. I feel like you two are more similar than you think.”
Oh, this wasn’t good. I knocked on the door louder this time. We needed more people so that Tanner wouldn’t flip out.
Tanner gaped at her. “Similar to Robert? If Matt wasn’t in love with you I’d tell you to wash your whore mouth.”
I didn’t know what was more shocking. The fact that he’d dropped the “L” word when I hadn’t or that he’d told her to wash her whore mouth. “Tanner, what the hell?” I said.
