“Nah, I’m good. Thanks for asking, though.”

I stare at the ceiling and think about my neighbor. Rook Bowman’s baby sister.

For the past several weeks I’ve been taunting her. At first it was mostly curiosity and the perverse enjoyment of making her uncomfortable. Because I thought she was someone she’s not. Because who I thought she was offended me on a moral level.

Nolan is right about me waiting around in the morning with my face pressed against the door. I didn’t realize he’d seen me doing that. I’ve felt half-guilty, half-vengeful over the fact that I’m enjoying the strange underwear competition we have going on. Like we’re both trying to get a reaction out of each other.

This frames everything in a whole new light. And I’m not sure what to do about that. Or the fact that I’ve been getting hard over her in that freaking workout gear.

Maybe Nolan is right. Maybe I do have the hots for her. I mean, physically she’s nice to look at. She’s got a great body and a sharp tongue. She smells good. All things I can appreciate in a woman.

Except she’s the baby sister of my team captain. Who I loathe.

If I was a vindictive person, I might use that to my advantage.

CHAPTER 10

APOLOGIES AND FAVORS

Stevie

I arrive at work with only minutes to spare before my first client arrives, which is not how I like to start my day. I’m always at the clinic a good half hour early so I can review my schedule and pull treatment plans before my clients arrive. I also like to chat with Pattie and Jules and my other colleagues—aside from Joey, whom I staunchly try to avoid.

And who also happens to be the first person I run into as I jam my stuff in my locker.

“Hey.” He props his forearm on the locker beside mine.

“What do you want?” I don’t bother to look at him, because then I’ll have to see his smarmy expression, and his armpit hair will be right in my face. He always wears muscle shirts between clients. I used to think it was endearing, but it’s gross.

“I signed us up to work on the fundraiser gala together. I said we could handle the decorations part, ’cause you’re all crafty and stuff. I thought it would be a good idea, since you’re new and it’ll make us look good. Plus it’ll give us a chance to hang out.”

All I want to do is punch him in the nuts and make him cry, but instead I grit out, “Awesome. Thanks.” Clearly it’s full of sarcasm and disdain, which he either doesn’t pick up on or decides to ignore.

“I know you’re still angry with me, Stevie, but I really think this will be good for us.”

I slam my locker shut and stare at the gray paint for a few seconds while I take some calming breaths. What I should do is tell him to fuck off and find someone else to work with. As much as I’d rather have my fingernails ripped off one by one in lieu of working with Joey on anything, I recognize putting up a fight will create complications.

I slowly turn to face him, forgetting that his arm is positioned above his head. It looks like one of those troll heads is sprouting from his armpit. There’s also a small clump of deodorant tucked in among the hairs, like his troll has dandruff. “For you, you mean; it’ll be good for you,” I say to his armpit troll. Joey is the opposite of crafty, so I’m assuming the workload is going to fall solely on me.

“Stevie.” He drops his arm.

“I have a client.” I sidestep around him and head for the door so I’m not tempted to do something that will get me written up for workplace harassment.

Pattie and Jules grab me before lunch and steer me away from the staff room. “We need to talk to you,” Jules says as we step out into the warm September afternoon and drop our stuff on the closest picnic table.

“Joey already cornered me this morning.”

“We’re so sorry. He’s never here early, but today he was, and he signed you up right in front of Loretta, so we couldn’t do anything about it.” Pattie looks as distressed as I felt when he corralled me by my locker earlier.

I pat her hand reassuringly before I continue to unpack my lunch. “It’s okay. I appreciate the attempted save.”

“Maybe we could talk to Loretta and explain the situation so you can get out of it.”

I shrug off the idea. Complaining to my boss about working with my ex-boyfriend won’t look great on me, and I’m not particularly keen on explaining my personal life to the people who issue my paychecks. “Honestly, it’s probably best if I deal with Joey. If nothing else I can make his life miserable while he’s forcing us to spend time together. Plus he owes me money, and it’ll be easier to get it out of him this way.” I hope I’m right about that. Joey isn’t known for his great money-management skills, hence the reason I had to front all the first month’s rent in advance. The more time I have to think about it, the more I realize how poor a boyfriend choice he really was.

Pattie makes a face. “What if we sign up too? So you could come over to our place to work on it. Can you imagine how uncomfortable Joey would be, surrounded by our brothers?”

As alluring as the idea is, I’m not sure it’s a good one in the long run. “I appreciate the offer, and if I need backup, I’ll let you know. Anyway, change of topic from one douche to another. You know that guy I told you about who lives across the hall?”