“I’m always on your side. But it might be worth it to get whatever is left between you out in the open so you can yell about it and then we can all move on with our lives and you don’t spend the whole time at this party feeling awkward and avoiding him. Oh, by the way, here he comes.”
Evan slid away at the same time Brad walked up to her and said, “Hi.”
“Hello.”
“I know you’re here under duress, but I’m glad to see you.”
Lindsay sighed. “Not under duress as such. I wanted to support my friends.”
“But you probably would have rather stayed home than see me. Hell, I’m guessing you would have rather been stuck in a subway car without air-conditioning on a hot day than see me.”
It was hard to know how to feel about Brad when he was looking all handsome, with his hair just so and his eyes sparkling. But, Lindsay reasoned, she could be attracted to him while still hating him. Or her friends were right, and they could reach some kind of truce.
Because what had he even done to her recently besides be perfectly nice?
She grunted. “Maybe,” she said. “Why did you even take this job? Lauren changed her last name, but you must have seen it was her when you came in for the interview.”
“I did, and I was hoping you and I could let bygones be bygones if we ran into each other. Also, and I know this will come as a shock, but the world does not actually revolve around you, and this was a good opportunity for me.”
He looked down suddenly, so Lindsay followed his gaze. The orange cat she’d seen during the interview was rubbing against Brad’s leg.
“That cat thinks you’re his friend.”
Brad sighed. “I know.”
“Did Lauren talk you into taking him home yet?”
“I work long hours. It can’t be a good idea to keep a cat at home under those circumstances.”
“Cats mostly sleep during the day.”
“Don’t take his side.”
A woman walked over and knelt next to the cat. “And who’s this little guy?”
The woman was cute in a blond and busty way. Lindsay had not been born yesterday, so she knew this woman was using the cat as a pretense to talk up Brad. That annoyed Lindsay for reasons she didn’t want to examine too closely. She tried to school her face, because irrational jealous was never a good look. Although, even if Lindsay and Brad had no history, it was rude of this woman to just horn in on his attention.
“That’s Hamilton,” said Brad, oblivious.
“What a darling name!”
“I didn’t pick it, but it is, rather. I thought it was silly at first, but now I think it suits him.”
The woman stood up again and met Brad’s gaze. “It’s a long name for a cat.”
Brad chuckled. “I thought so, too.”
The woman leaned close and lightly brushed her fingers over Brad’s arm, an unmistakably flirty gesture. Brad grinned at her. Lindsay seethed.
“I always wanted an orange cat,” said the woman.
A strange expression came over Brad’s face. “Oh, uh, this one’s already spoken for.”
“Of course he would be.” The woman stood up. “Your food is delicious, by the way. My name’s Maggie.” She held out her hand.
Brad shook it. “Nice to meet you. I’m Brad. And this is my friend Lindsay.”
His friend? White-hot jealousy sliced through Lindsay, because of course it did, because no matter how much she tried, she could never hate Brad. But surely she was not just his friend. And surely he wasn’t just using her to make this woman go away.
