Chapter Six #4
“I’ll be fine.” It was part of the deal they made, and she needed him to ‘uphold his image’ if only to keep her from forgetting who he really was.
“Seems rude to say thanks, but…” He unfolded from his seat, shrugged out of his jacket, and hung it on the back of his chair.
This time, when he walked away, sans coat, she couldn’t help but check out his well-sculpted ass. She could probably bounce quarters off it.
She released an audible sigh and a breathy, “Fuck me,” as she turned back to face the table, only to find Charlotte had taken Melody’s seat. When had she gotten up? Her hand flew to her throat.
Charlotte laughed as Connie, who hopefully hadn’t heard the expletives, and Melody fell in line on the other side of Charlotte like bricks on a wall. All three women had no doubt witnessed Jo ogling Avery’s ass.
Shit.
On the other hand, she was here to make them think she was into him, so job well done.
“He’s going to get drinks,” she rambled.
Let the interrogation begin.
“It’s good to see you again,” Charlotte said, her voice soft and genuine.
“You, too.” Jo struggled to come up with something else to say that wasn’t, “Hope you enjoyed the petit fours that played a part in getting me fired?” Not that she blamed anyone but herself. And Avery but only a little.
Connie peered around Charlotte. “So, what do you do, Jo?”
Charlotte looked at her soon to be mother-in-law. “Don’t you remember her from the engagement party? She’s with Giselle.”
“Oh, the lovely raspberry petit fours,” Melody said, from Connie’s other side. “So delicious. I could eat my weight in those things.” She laughed. “If I’m honest, I think I did.”
Adrenaline shot through Jo. This was what she’d hoped for. A chance to promote herself. “I’m so glad you enjoyed them.”
Connie frowned as if scrambling for the memory, then nodded, though the wrinkles in her brow didn’t ease. In fact, they deepened. “Yes, I remember now.”
Jo tried not to worry about what that look meant, but she’d seen it before. Disapproval. Though she couldn’t imagine what she’d done to warrant that reaction. Unless being a patissier wasn’t good enough for Connie Preston’s son.
If that was the case, the woman was going to love this. “Actually, I’m between jobs now.”
“Oh.” Charlotte bit her lip, reminding Jo of Brooke and making her wish her bestie was with her right now.
“Giselle didn’t mention you weren’t there anymore when I talked to her this morning about repeating my dessert order for the wedding and designing my cake.
I specifically told her I wanted the raspberry incorporated into the base. ”
“A day late and a dollar short,” Grandma whispered in her head.
Swallowing her disappointment, Jo smiled. “I’m sure she’ll do a wonderful job. I learned a lot from her.”
“Hmm.” Charlotte didn’t sound convinced.
“It’s not too late to find someone else,” Melody said.
Me! Me! I can do it!
Every nerve in Jo’s body jumped up and down, distracting her from the mental list she was already making. “I could—”
“How is the search going?” Connie interrupted, still studying Jo.
“Um, I have several interviews lined up.”
Liar. Liar. Pants on fire.
Shut up, Grandma.
“Actually, I’m hoping to open my own patisserie.”
“Oh my, that’s ambitious,” Connie persisted.
Heat flushed Jo’s cheeks. “It’s a work in progress.”
“What will you do in the meantime?”
Now, Jo was the one who felt cornered. She glanced toward the bar for Avery. He was talking to the brunette. Yeah, no help there. She was on her own.
When she turned back to explain, she realized that his mother had also been looking at Avery, but now, as she met Jo’s gaze again, accusation burning in her eyes, it finally clicked.
Oh my god. She thinks I’m after Avery’s money.
And she was right, at least partially, which pricked Jo’s pride and heaped on the guilt.
Melody’s mouth hung open, and Charlotte seemed to want to be anywhere else.
Lifting her chin, Jo smiled, barely able to keep her lips from trembling. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for asking.”
“Please forgive me for prying.” Connie reached out to pat Jo’s hand. “Oh, look at me. I’ve made a mess of things.”
“Not at all,” Jo assured her, rising from her seat. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to find the ladies’ room.”
Or the exit.
“I’ll go with you,” Melody offered, starting to rise.
Jo laid a hand on her shoulder. “No need. I can find it. Thank you, though.”
She turned away, humiliation driving her. Her chest tightened around her racing heart. The bridge of her nose prickled.
Keep it together, Jo.
Somehow, she made it to the restroom and to the sink. Ripping a towel from the dispenser, she wet it with cold water and pressed it to her face. It felt good against her hot skin. So did the deep breath she inhaled through the towel, so she took another one, then lowered her hands.
Leaning heavily against the counter, Jo caught her reflection in the mirror and scoffed. She pointed a finger at herself. “You should do the right thing. You should walk out that door right now and never look back.”
Tears burned the back of her eyelids. “No.”
“Save your tears for your pillow.”
Because no one cares.
“That’s right, so why should you? You’re not after his money. Only what he owes you. Nothing more. Nothing less. It’s just a job. Stick to the rules, and you’ll be fine.”
You’re already halfway through this fucking fake date, and as quick as he was with the other What’s Her Name, he’ll only be another hour. It’s easy money.
She snorted. Make that a half hour. And the extra money would cover another batch of samples that might lead to a job.
Jo inhaled another deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Okay, so you’re going to go back in there with your head held high. You’re going to kill every one of them with kindness. You’re going to take a big ol’ feather pillow of kindness and smother them all.”
A stall door creaked open behind her, and she gasped as she met Olivia’s gaze in the reflection.
“Um, should I be afraid?” Olivia asked.
“Wh-what?”
She grinned. “Do you want help smothering, or do you need an intervention?”
Well, fuck, she’d been talking to herself out loud. “You must think I’m crazy.”
“Nah, sounded like a pep talk to me.” She shook her head and stepped up to the mirror. “To be honest, I’ve been hiding in here, too.”
“What are you hiding from?”
“Not what. Who?” She reapplied red lipstick to full, pouty lips. “Maverick, to be precise.”
“What did he do?”
Olivia wagged a finger at Jo in the mirror.
“Again, it’s not what he did, but what he didn’t do.
We’ve been dancing around our relationship for months.
Right now, we’re stuck in the friend zone.
He won’t make the first move, and I’m too scared.
I think he is, too. If things don’t work out, there’s no putting us back in Pandora’s box. It’s frustrating.”
“Yeah, well, Avery and I are not friends.”
Olivia had been fluffing her hair and paused mid-fluff. “Just so you’re not caught unaware, he told Mav and the guys this morning…about the fake dating thing. Mav told me.”
Jo’s whole body went numb. Propped against the sink again, she let her head drop forward and closed her eyes. He’d told his friends. Okay, so she’d told Brooke, and Brooke had probably told Aaron. But that was two people. Two people who had nothing to do with his world.
There was a half dozen guys at that fucking table, all with connections to others he knew and cared about. Word was going to get out.
She lifted her head and looked at Olivia. “So, does everyone at your table know?”
“I don’t think so.”
Jo began to pace. “I don’t understand. Why would he tell them? Is he that self-sabotaging?”
“I don’t’ think so. The Sigmas have a strong bond. They’ll never betray one another. If they do, they risk their own skeletons getting out.”
“And yet you know.”
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. Mav and I are close.” Olivia slashed a hand in the air, her frustration palpable. “And yet we’re miles apart. Drives me crazy.”
This was it. After tonight, Jo was done. If Avery didn’t care who found out they were lying, fine. That would be his train wreck to deal with, but she could lose everything that meant anything to her—her career, her dream, and her self-respect.
Olivia looped her arm through Jo’s. “So what’s it going to be? Rehab or murder?”
Jo laughed because what else could she do. “Let’s go smother a few people.”