Page 101 of Tell Me Something

Rolling my eyes, I walked over to where my laptop was sitting, thankful I’d put away my clothes and toiletries so Colby couldn’t see that I’d spent the night.

He crossed over to the ice bucket, and I felt a sliver of sympathy as he pulled out some cubes and put them into a wash cloth. His face sported a bright red spot.

He walked toward me and handed over the washcloth. “Here, take this for your hand.”

“I think you may need it for your face.”

He gave me a grin, showing off dimples that I’m sure had all of the girls clamoring. “Oh, it hurts, but I deserved it. Your hand did not.”

I took the ice pack gratefully.

“Well, aside from hitting horribly misbehaved younger brothers, what do you do for my older brother? I mean, he has Nigel.”

I willed myself not to look at Josh and was glad when he didn’t intervene. “Nigel is going through some personal things and isn’t able to travel. I’m helping Mr. Singer in the short term.”

He looked between the both of us. “So seriously, this is only professional?”

Josh held up his hands, evidently exasperated with his younger sibling. “Colby, I’m about to kick you out. Could you please act like a grown, mature man? Haylee is my assistant and was coincidently in town for the Cassius Rum party last night at Caesars. She and I were attending to the Gibson acquisition before you accosted her.”

“Wait a second. You’re the girl who did the modeling for Katrina Tross?”

“I am.”

“And the cover for Cosmo Life?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ll be in town tonight?”

I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

“Fantastic. You can come to my birthday party.”

Before I could object, Josh was doing it for me. “Colby, your party isn’t something Haylee would want to come to. She has other plans.”

Colby focused his attention on me. “It’s my birthday today, and I really, truly want you to stop by. I mean, come on, you and I could have a connection, and someday it will all come back to how you slapped me when I mistook you for a hooker, and then I invited you to my thirtieth birthday party in Vegas.”

I shook my head and laughed.

“Come on, I like you, Haylee. Please come tonight, just for a short time. You don’t have to stay, and I’m the one inviting you, not my brother.”

That fact wasn’t lost on me. Although I knew Josh might be irritated, I agreed anyhow. “Okay, I’ll stop by for a few minutes. And I’m sorry for slapping you on your birthday, but you did deserve it. I brought extra cinnamon rolls if you’d like one.”

He smiled and opened the box.

Josh gave me an annoyed look as I sat down to log into my laptop with my tea and breakfast on a small table to the side.

Colby took a seat on a nearby chair where he started on his cinnamon roll. “So, Haylee, tell me about my brother these days. Is he still a stick in the mud?”

I arched a brow. “Considering you thought he got you a hooker first thing on Saturday morning for your birthday, I’m hard pressed to believe you actually think that.”

“Well, Vegas is a different story.” He winked. “But back in New York, what’s he like?”

“Professional, hardworking.”

“See? Boring,” he teased, looking bored himself.

“Haylee, can you email me the Gibson spreadsheet?” Josh interjected.