Chapter 13
Who slapped your salmon this morning?
Sophia
“A ren’t you going to drop me off at Rumrunner so I can pick up my car?” I ask when Flynn turns left before reaching the town of Smuggler’s Rest.
“You’re late, remember?”
I glance at the clock and wince. I am late. I hate being late. Today especially.
“I can’t be late.”
He chuckles. “Did you forget you’re one of the owners of the company?”
Being the owner makes it worse. I can’t fail. “We have a big meeting with Gourmet Corner . I can’t miss it.”
“ Gourmet Corner as in the grocery store chain with stores throughout the East Coast?”
“The East Coast and the Midwest.”
“Shit. I didn’t realize.” He drives faster. “What time is the meeting? Do you want me to contact Weston and get a police escort?”
“Noon.”
He slows down. “Noon? You’re worried about being late for a meeting in four hours?”
“I need to prepare. I’m handling the pitch. It’s my first time. Usually, Nova does the pitch as she’s our sales manager, but I have an idea for a marketing campaign specifically for this grocery chain.” And I need to prove myself to my friends.
“Knowing you the pitch is already written and you want to go over it one last time. And by one last time, I mean for the tenth time.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. A brewery may not be as important as building houses for people to live in but it’s still an important business.”
“Hey now. I never said a brewery wasn’t important.”
The brewery comes into view. “We’re here.”
He stops in front of the entrance and I jump out. I shut the door but I can’t leave. Ugh! Stupid manners.
I open the door. “Thank you.”
He grins. “Your apology nearly killed you, didn’t it?”
“I’m not done. Thank you for being a total asshole and forcing me into your car to give me a ride.”
He tilts his hat at me. “Happy to be of service, darling.”
Darling! I am not some hussy he picked up last night.
I slam his truck door and stomp away. I am not his darling. I’m not his anything. Stupid, bullheaded man who doesn’t realize what a good thing is when it’s standing right in front of him.
“Whoa!” Chloe exclaims when I enter the restaurant. “Who slapped your salmon this morning?”
I ignore her and continue to the stairs to the office.
“Did I see Flynn’s truck leaving the parking lot? Did he drop you off this morning?” Chloe throws questions at me as she follows me up the stairs. Usually, she doesn’t come into work until eleven when the preparations for lunch at the restaurant begin but naturally, she’s here this morning.
“Of course, Flynn dropped her off,” Nova says from the top of the stairs where she’s obviously been eavesdropping with Maya. “Her car is at the bar, remember?”
“The bar.” Maya sighs. “Where he dragged you away because he couldn’t stand watching you dance with another man. So romantic.”
“I am not the heroine in one of your romance books.”
Maya smiles. “No, it’s real life. Even better.”
“Why is everyone congregating in the hallway?” Paisley asks as she arrives.
“Congregating?” Chloe snorts. “This isn’t church.”
“I don’t know.” Nova taps her chin as she studies me. “Someone might have said a few ‘oh gods’ last night.”
There weren’t any ‘oh gods’ but I certainly moaned and groaned when Flynn kissed me like he could never get his fill.
“Eek!” Maya points to my face. “She’s blushing. She finally had sex with Flynn.”
“How was it? Was it worth the wait? I want all the details.” Chloe ushers me toward the stairs.
I wrangle out of her hold. “What are you doing? Pushing me down the stairs?”
She rolls her eyes. “A good sex story needs beer.”
“It’s eight o’clock in the morning and we have an important pitch today,” I remind her.
“How about a non-alcoholic beer?” Paisley suggests.
I grimace. “I thought we agreed non-alcoholic beer is gross.”
She glares at me. “My non-alcoholic beer is not gross. And the market for non-alcoholic beer is too large to ignore.”
As the marketing manager, I agree with her – no matter how much I’d prefer not to. “Okay. Let’s try some of this non-alcoholic beer.”
“She’s cute.” Chloe wraps her arm around my shoulders. “She thinks we forgot about interrogating her about last night.”
“Interrogating? Are you going to get out the cuffs?”
“Nah. I save those for my sexual partners. I do love to cuff a man to the bed.”
Nova waggles her eyebrows. “Have you cuffed Lucas to your bed?”
Chloe purses her lips. “Lucas wants nothing to do with me.”
“Too bad. A man in uniform is sexy.” Maya sighs.
“Does the uniform make him sexier or is he sexy without the uniform as well?” Paisley asks.
“I bet he’s super sexy without the uniform and naked in my bed,” Chloe says. “But I’ll have to stick to my battery operated boyfriend for now since Lucas is immune to my charms.”
I gasp. “There’s a man in the world who’s immune to your charms? Say it ain’t so.”
“How about you, Sophia? Is Flynn resistant to your charms?”
I hold up a hand. “I’m not discussing this.”
Paisley tilts her head and studies me. “I don’t believe Sophia finally had sex with Flynn. Sex releases endorphins and oxytocin. These hormones should make her feel good.”
“Maybe the effect already wore off. Does Flynn not enjoy morning sex?”
I throw my hands in the air. “I didn’t have sex with Flynn. There. Are you satisfied?”
I march off but Maya blocks my way before I can hide away. “But you blushed.”
Nova claps. “Something happened.”
I give up. My best friends aren’t going to leave me alone until I confess what happened. And I really do need to prepare for today’s presentation for Gourmet Corner. Our dream has always been to have our beers available in every grocery store in the US. Gourmet Corner could be the start of fulfilling that dream.
“We kissed.”
“Yes!” Nova squeals.
“And then he called me a mistake.”
“Asshole,” Chloe utters.
“He’ll change his mind. He won’t be able to resist you forever.”
I roll my eyes at Nova. “I think after thirty years it’s time to give up. And now I need to move out.”
Chloe rushes down the stairs.
“Where are you going?”
“I just remembered I forgot to put something in the freezer.”
“Liar.”
I whirl around to face my other friends but Chloe and Nova have disappeared as well. Only Paisley didn’t vanish from sight when I announced I needed a place to live. Some friends they are.
“They don’t want you moving out of Flynn’s house,” Paisley says.
“You weren’t supposed to tell her!” Nova shouts from the office.
“She figured it out for herself!” I shout back.
“You can stay with me,” Paisley offers.
Maya stomps out of the office. “You’re not supposed to let her stay with you.”
“It’s fine. Don’t be mad at her. I’ll find a rental.” Paisley is one of my best friends, but the last time I was at her apartment I swear I saw her experiment move of its own accord.
“Are you certain you don’t want to stay with me?” Paisley asks. “It will be difficult to procure other accommodations now since it’s tourist season.”
Shit. I forgot all about tourist season. “Maybe I should stay with my parents after all.”
I dig my phone out of my bag and lock myself in the restroom to phone them where my so-called friends can’t eavesdrop.
“Sophia!” Mom answers the phone breathless.
“Sorry, I’m interrupting.”
“It’s fine. I was just enjoying your father’s company.”
“Ew. No. Don’t share those details.”
“You’re an adult now. We had the talk. You know we have sex.”
I groan. “I don’t want to hear this.”
“Sorry, baby girl. Why did you call? Shouldn’t you be working? Don’t you have your big presentation today?”
My heart races. I should be worrying about the presentation. Not about where I’m sleeping tonight. But Flynn left me no choice. I’ll be damned if I’ll be a mistake. I’ll show him a mistake.
“I have a quick question first.”
“I’m certain you’ll do a wonderful job. You’ve been an excellent public speaker since you were old enough to talk. You used to make these adorable presentations for us. We’d listen to them after dinner. My favorite was about why you should no longer be required to go to school.”
“How about the one where she explained how having a curfew was unhealthy?” Dad adds.
“My question is not about the presentation.” I summon my courage – there must be worse things in life than moving back in with your parents – and go for it. “Can I stay with you while the bathroom in my apartment is being renovated?”
I feel sick to my stomach. I’m such a failure. I lost my job and now I have to live with my parents.
“Of course. We’d love to have you,” Mom says.
“I hear a but at the end of your sentence.”
“It’s just since your father sold the store and retired, we decided to do a month-long tantric sex course. I’m afraid—”
“Say no more. I understand. Chat later,” I say and hang up.
I guess I’m stuck living with Flynn. It’ll be fine. I can ignore him. I’ll make sure I’m only in the house when I’m sleeping. The rest of the time I’ll be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
It’s time to initiate Plan Ignore Flynn. This might not be the first time I’ve initiated a similar plan but this time it’s going to work.
Call me a mistake will he…