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“Eww, you had to go with Chad?”
“Yeah, but honestly, I think he might be the best option on account of Skip most likely being a total douche canoe as well,” she says, sounding slightly tipsy.
“Ah, they speak the same language.”
“Exactly. You should scroll through his Insta feed. Wow, douchey.”
“And you’re there in case the situation requires someone with a very symmetrical face.”
She laughs, then says, “I super wish you were here with me. Vegas is surprisingly fun.”
“Huh, I hadn’t heard that about Vegas,” I answer, my heart squeezing to be able to talk to my bestie when I’m feeling so alone. “Did you guys find anything about Muffy and the club he’s buying?”
“Hard no. Do you know what comes up when you google those two words together?” she asks.
Shuddering, I say, “I can imagine.”
“I don’t think you can,” she says. “So, so bad.”
Dammit, that means I’m back to square one—no leverage whatsoever.
“How are you making out there?” she asks.
Not ‘making out’ nearly as much as I want to. “Umm, I don’t know. It’s umm … he’s…”
“Even worse in person than we thought? Completely arrogant? Rude beyond comparison?”
All the moments we’ve shared in the last twenty hours zip through my mind—the good, the sexy, the funny, the crazy hot banter, the almost kissing... “Challenging. That’s probably the best word I can think of to describe him.”
“Hmph,” she says, sounding disappointed.
See? I can’t go messing around with him. Allie will never look at me the same way again. Neither will the rest of the team. They’ll all think I’m a complete idiot if I turn around and say, ‘Turns out he’s a pretty good guy’ or worse, ‘I think I might have feelings for him, even though I met him less than twenty-four hours ago.’ And let’s face it—that does make me an idiot. Nobody meets and falls in love that fast. Well, I suppose my parents, but they’re freaks of nature. Needing to change the subject, I say, “Is the rest of the group looking for a different backer?”
“Yup. In fact, they’ve turned the lunch room into a war room, and they’re working around the clock trying to figure it out.”
“Okay, that makes me feel better,” I tell her. “We’re really covering all our bases.”
“Yeah, but honestly, Gwen, you’re still our best shot. Trying to find someone who’ll give us ten million a year is a total long shot, and based on the reels I’ve watched of Skip, I’d say there’s a good chance we’re wasting our time here. He seems like he’d be totally capable of burning through the entire fortune by the end of the year.”
I close my eyes for a second, feeling the pressure pile back on. “I’m going to do my best,” I tell her.
“That’s all we can ask.”
I walk back into the restaurant just as the server brings two long plates filled with something called picarones, which apparently are a lot like donuts. I take my spot at the long table between Karen and Niles. I originally sat between them because I needed a break from Ty. I was so hot and bothered during our argument earlier, I was tempted to pin him up against the Sun Temple and do all sorts of things that could get us arrested. I lied so hard when I was at breakfast with Karen and Savannah. I definitely have feelings for him. Big ones. Utterly wrong ones. Completely unsafe, about to get my heart stomped ones.
Ty elected to take an end seat even though there was an empty chair across from me. My sense of logic is quite pleased, but my lady bits are complaining loudly. Richard’s urn has been placed in the seat at the other end of the table, like a guest of honor, which I suppose he is, and I take a moment to marvel at the fact that none of us has said anything about how weird it is that we’re having a meal with a container full of human remains. It’s a bit gross, no? I can’t be the only one who thinks this?
I take a picarone off the plate and dip it into the small syrup container in front of me. My first bite is sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy, and delightfully warm. “Oh wow, that’s good,” I mutter to no one in particular. I munch away while I listen to the conversations around the table. Rohan and Thiago are whispering about the next location, and damned if they’re not good at being really quiet. I’m getting no clues at all. Savannah is cozied up to Ty asking him about his pet peeves.
Without missing a beat, he says, “People who ask too many questions.”
I tuck my teeth between my lips to stop myself from laughing, then dip another section of my picarone and pop it in my mouth. Yum.
Huh, now that I think about it, I realize I’ve made a tactical error. I’m allowing Ty to see me with people in two of the world’s most ridiculous projects, therefore, if I managed to make any headway at all with my speech about music, food, and medicine (which I sort of doubt), I could easily backslide if he starts to lump me back in with them. God, I hope he’s not listening to their conversation because it’s utter nonsense.
Niles seems to have a crush on Karen, by the way. He keeps talking around me to her about his latest paranormal contact. “A chill ran right through me.”
For her part, she seems fascinated. “I’ve read that a chill is a sign of a ghost.”
