Page 38 of Open To Negotiation

“I hate that guy.” Oli let out a breath as he relaxed back in his chair.

“I think most do,” I said as I adjusted the tuck in my shirt and gathered my stuff.

“Set a meeting with Shelly directly and if Dick gives you any trouble, let me know. I’ll deal with it,” Theo said, passing me one of my files that I hadn’t grabbed yet.

“Thanks, I will. Is that Shelly, Arthur’s wife?” I asked as I pushed my bag onto my shoulder.

I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye, I could feel his gaze on me. “I couldn’t operate without her.”

“Well, I should get going.” I started to leave but Theo gently grabbed my elbow to stop me. I looked up and met his blue-grey eyes.

“Hang out with me tonight,” he demanded.

“I can’t,” I held his intense gaze.

I was slowly getting addicted to spending time with him, so a night to myself felt necessary. No texting. No dinners alone with his intense eyes fixed on me like I was the only thing that mattered.

And if I was being honest, I was a little scared.

I liked him. A lot. The way he gave me his full attention was endearing, but there were whispers in the back of my mind reminding me about my last relationship. Reminding me how quickly things had changed. How his charm had turned before I even knew what was happening. I couldn’t let that happen again.

So yeah, a night to myself felt like the right call.

“Please,” he said, tilting his head a little closer to me. “That’s not a word I use often.” I licked my lips, moving his attention to them for a moment.

“I’m really tired, I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep. Not tonight.”

“Then tomorrow?”

“I have to go, Theo.” I took a step and his grip tensed for a minute before letting me go.

“You can try and run from me, Love, but it’s not going to work. Not with me.”

“Can I have your number?” Oli spoke up, startling me. I kind of forgot he was here. I looked over at him and frowned.

“Oli,” Theo growled.

“Come on, mate, you said you weren’t going to ask her.” I looked between the two of them, obviously missing something.

“Why do you want my number?” I asked suspiciously.

“To add you to the group text, Theo is refusing to add you himself. Even went so far as to change his password so we couldn’t get into this phone,” Oli said with a roll of his eyes, sounding annoyed. I found it oddly charming that a man who didn’t seem to share information easily had given his friends his phone password.

“What group text?”

“The one with the guys,” he said it like it was obvious.

“You want me in a group text with the six of you?” I didn’t understand what was happening here.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “We mostly talk shit, good fun. We voted and decided you would be a good addition to the chat.”

“You don’t even know me,” I said with a frown.

“We know enough,” Oli replied with confidence and a smile.

“Enough, Oli,” Theo stepped in before I could agree to his request, which I was going to.

It would be fascinating to see what went on in that text thread. My guess was Jaxson and Noah argued a lot while Asher seldom contributed. But it seemed that Theo didn’t want me getting involved with his friends, so I wasn’t going to overstep. It was fair considering how many times I’d turned him down.