Chapter Six
Hagan didn’t have time to analyze the full range of the woman’s reactions. He noted how she had sobered, damn well knowing who stomped their way. She knew of Parker, so why not Boss Man? Jared was the only person Hagan could think of who would be in the unfinished tower stairwell.
The bounding footsteps drew closer. He and the woman faced the stairs in strained silence as though they were waiting for a firing line.
Jared rounded the landing above them and froze.
Surprise surfaced and then disappeared faster than Hagan could mutter, “Oh shit.” He and the woman remained where they were like lead-lined statues.
Jared’s jaw ticked as he assessed them, and then, without breaking the silence, he continued down the stairs until they were all on the same level.
Hagan couldn’t read the situation. Jared and the woman ignored Hagan amid a silent argument. Was this a spat between spies? A lovers’ quarrel? Envy pressed in Hagan’s sternum. He’d never tread on another guy’s girl, but hell if Hagan didn’t feel a connection to this nameless woman with ninja moves.
Jared handed her a flat, dark package. She tucked it under her arm. “Thank you.”
Hagan didn’t care for her conciliatory tone and still didn’t understand the dynamic playing out before him.
“Now that you two have met.” Boss Man cracked his knuckles.
Something about the way he chose the words made Hagan uneasy. He lifted a shoulder. “Sorta.”
Jared pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is a shitstorm of a headache.”
Hagan raised his eyebrows. “Are we going to make legitimate introductions now?”
“No.” She didn’t even look at Hagan.
He snorted. “Of course not.”
Boss Man sighed, seemingly familiar with the woman’s trust-no-one rules.
Again, a terse, unspoken conversation volleyed, pointedly leaving Hagan out. Betrayed spies? Fuck buddies? If Boss Man was the reason the woman didn’t do friends or buddies, Hagan would have a tough time accepting that. Not to mention, it’d be awkward as fuck.
“All right then.” Hagan had to go. He gave Jared a quick chin lift, then caught the woman’s stare. Her lips rolled together as her pupils flared as if she had just recalled his dinner invitation. Heat rose in his chest again. The corners of his lips quirked. “Until we meet again.”
Amanda wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that Jared had interrupted.
She hadn’t wanted to look away as the handsome man meandered down the stairs, but she didn’t have a choice.
Jared was sizing up the situation. Could he tell that she’d swooned over a stranger in sweaty workout clothes?
Jared was a human lie detector. If he asked the right questions, her answers didn’t matter.
He’d know something had happened—even if she didn’t know what that had been.
She waited until the rhythmic slap of sneakers faded before facing Boss Man. “I didn’t know the stairwell was such a happening place.”
His jaw worked side to side as though he were grinding a scouring pad between his molars.
Amanda hated to be under the microscope. “Now that I know, it’s another place I’ll avoid.”
“What the hell just happened?”
Even if she’d wanted to explain, she didn’t know where to start. While Jared was a friend, he wasn’t the kind of friend that she’d confess a secret to. “What does it look like? I ran into someone.”
“I gathered.” His eyebrow arched. “Have you changed the terms of our contract?”
“Absolutely not. I don’t know a thing about that man, and I intend to keep it that way.” She gestured to her tablet. “So, anyway, thanks for bringing this to me.”
“Don’t change the subject.” He waited impatiently for her to explain.
Embarrassment warmed the back of her neck. “What do you want me to say?”
He lifted a nonchalant shoulder. “You tell me.”
She wanted to shake him. “Whoever that was—” Amanda raised a hand toward the stairs.
“He remains an unknown, and yeah, I can see how a run-in with an unknown could’ve been a dangerous mistake.
But given where we are, I realized he probably works for you—not that I want to know.
” The faster she spoke, the more Jared’s stink-eye grew.
She forced herself to slow down. “I …”—flirted, touched, closed my eyes and dreamed— “had a conversation.”
He smirked. “That’s what you’re going with?”
Her chin shot up. “That’s what happened.”
Jared rolled his weight back onto his heels and hummed in thought. “Well then, congratulations. Progress. One step closer to becoming a social butterfly.”
Amanda balked. “Give me a break.” If she weren’t careful, he’d pivot from socializing to security.
Though maybe he should. Her judgment was still hazy.
She wouldn’t have changed a thing—except the unfortunate physical attack that had nearly made the man pass out.
“Can you stop looking at me like there’s a mystery to solve? ”
“Just wondering why you’re on the defense.”
Her jaw snapped shut. “You’re wrong.”
He chuckled. “And you’re a little dramatic, kid.”
Amanda clenched her jaw. “That’s me, Boss Man. Wild and overdramatic.”
She didn’t expect him to recognize the throwback from their first conversation when he’d asked if she was the pain in the ass who’d stirred the press into a frenzy.
Amanda had been bored and annoyed that she’d been forced to make a public appearance and had answered Boss Man—having no idea she’d find him to be an ally, she’d droned, “That’s me. Wild and overdramatic.”
Jared backed off, rubbed a hand over his face, taking a deep breath. He held it for a three-count before letting it out. “Amanda—”
“Please,” she quietly implored, “drop it.”
“Can’t.” He shook his head. “You two looked ready to fight or fuck.”
“Jared!” A full-body flush burned through her. “We were just standing there.”
Jared didn’t counter and, given his human-lie-detecting talent, knew more of the truth than she could stomach.
Amanda wanted to scream. Her fingernails curled into her palms, and she struggled to control her response.
“Exactly. After passing in the stairwell, we put fucking or fighting next on our agenda.”
“You’ve put me in a shitty position, Amanda.”
“What’s new?”
Tension ticked in his jaw muscles. “Fate’s pushing my hand, and the fuck of it is, I don’t believe in fate.”
“Maybe you should see a doctor about that.” Her fingernails dug into her skin. “That’s what everyone tells me when—”
“Do not compare our contract that binds my nuts on goddamn introductions and pleasantries.” His nostrils flared. “To what happened to you in college.”
Her mouth went dry.
“There are things you need to know about people—about him—that person.” Jared threw a hard glance toward the stairs. His fists curled at his sides. “It’s not about your safety. It’s about your sanity.”
Apprehension curled down Amanda’s back. It wasn’t like Jared to speak in code, but then again, as he’d said, she’d tied his hands. “Sanity?”
“For lack of a better explanation, yeah.”
The taciturn answer made her cagey. “What kind of click-bait bullshit is that?” She turned away. “Never mind. My sanity is fine.”
“For now.” With that, Jared left her clutching the tablet.
She’d made a mistake today, but it wasn’t as if someone had died because of a harmless flirtation.
She still had her meticulously crafted parameters that allowed her to exist in a bubble.
Amanda waited until the cinder blocks and concrete stairs had dulled Jared’s descent.
Then, she sat on the top step and let the nameless man re-occupy her thoughts.
They’d flirted, and she’d liked it. Then she’d kneed him. Wasn’t that the way every love story started?