Page 33 of The Spare
“Well, this was fun.” My voice sharpened.
I turned on my heels before feeling a hand reach out to my elbow to stop me. It was Henry’s. “It’s getting late, have Winston take you,” he said, nodding in the direction of his driver.
“It’ll take twice as long. I’m going to walk.” I brushed off his hand and shooed him with my own. The sun had already set, and apparently, I wasn’t trusted to walk alone at twilight.
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“It's not stubborn. Driving will take an hour,” I snapped back.
“I’ll walk her,” Marcus cut into what would have been the heirs to the company sniping in the lobby. “The firm isn’t far from my office.”
The optics of the two of us fighting in the lobby would’ve been terrible, and Marcus knew that. Always a step ahead.
Henry sighed. “Thanks.” He turned around with a long huff and headed to his office.
“Fine,” I snapped at Marcus. If I was going to walk the streets of New York with him, I would not do it looking like this. “I need to take this jacket off.”
Without waiting for his answer, I walked to the bathroom in the lobby.
CHAPTER17
Marcus
Sloan changed. It made me feel like more of a jackass for mocking her outfit. In my attempt to tease her, I offended her. Not the best way to try to establish a friendship with her, one that wasn’t based on her relationship with Henry or Xander.
Or you’re trying to push her away.
It would have been easier on me, but logistically, it was nearly impossible now that I was set on sticking around.
We’d made it a block past the building, and she hadn’t looked at me once. “I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”
“Laughing at my outfit?” Sloan snapped. “You don’t need to take etiquette classes to know that laughing at someone is rude.”
“You just looked different,” I blurted. That didn’t help. Why was I so nervous? Nothing made me nervous. Yet, the words came out of my mouth, and I was powerless to stop them. “Still nice, though.”
Nice? Fuck. Pick any other word.
I couldn’t tell her she looked fucking devastating no matter what she wore.
She didn’t say anything for a few minutes before looking up at me with annoyance. “I know I looked ridiculous. Nobody looks good in that disgusting jacket.”
It was then that I noticed she was in a dress and probably freezing. I took off my suit jacket and threw it over her shoulders before she could stubbornly protest. “I’m sorry.”
We walked in silence for another few blocks. I enjoyed the way she looked, draped in my jacket. The way it engulfed her lithe frame made my mind wander to what one of my t-shirts would look like on her. It stirred a possessiveness I’d never felt before. One I had no business having for her.
She stopped at an intersection and turned to me. “I’m not going to the firm.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have plans to get drinks.” She fidgeted with her fingers.
I ran the last twenty minutes back in my head. She changed clothes. Maybe it wasn’t because of what I said. If she wanted to look sexier, she certainly did in that dress. The implication dawned, and the molten envy followed, covering my skin in a cold sweat.
I tried to swallow the annoyance. “A date?” I asked plainly.
You’re not allowed to be bothered by that.
But fuck, I was.
