The Wright Boss(38)

"She's probably going to kill you."

I shrugged. I was reveling in the ease of our conversation. This was how we had always been before. It was nice to get back to that.

"Yeah, I'm used to her telling me that."

Landon laughed, and my chest eased at how natural that sounded coming from him.

"Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks," I said.

Our eyes met. My smile softened. Man, I had missed him.

"Well, I'll leave you to it," I told him, backing away before I got myself in trouble.

"Thanks for stopping in."

The tension I'd seen when I entered his office had evaporated. Perhaps he had been anticipating this conversation as much as I had. And it had gone better than I'd thought. Neither of us had snapped at the other nor had we torn each other's clothes off. Yet. 

I walked out of Landon's office with a bounce in my step that hadn't been there before. Things were looking up. Landon and I were back on speaking terms. I had a surprise birthday party tonight for my best friend. I felt on top of the world.

I almost made it to my desk when Julia scampered out of her office, heading toward me. She was in a sexy black wrap dress that I could never in a million years pull off. She had the most amazing curves. Like to-die-for curves.

"Hey, sexy," I said, whistling at her as she approached.

"Don't use those moves on me, Martin," Julia said. "My office. Now."

I laughed as she shooed me along. "I hope I'm not in trouble."

"You're in a world of trouble."

I shook my head and then plopped down in the seat in front of her desk. She slammed the door shut, as if I were really in trouble, and then smacked me on the arm.

"What the hell happened with Nick? You don't call. You don't write. You can't fill a girl in?"

"Didn't work out."

"What part of it didn't work out? Trevor was the one who told me. I think Nick is really beat up about it."

"He is?" I asked in confusion. "He seemed totally fine when I let him down gently after our date on Friday night."

Julia dropped her head into her hands. "You dumped him on your date?"

"Well, we weren't really dating. So, I didn't really dump him."

"It was date three. I thought things were going somewhere."

"I guess they weren't."

"Come on. Give me details. I thought this was a good thing."

I shrugged. I'd known before that Nick wasn't right for me, but after Friday night, I was beyond sure that I couldn't keep seeing him.

"I don't think it was a good thing. I think it was a convenient thing."

Julia sighed. "All right. Back to the drawing board. Maybe Trevor has another friend."

"I don't think so," I said, holding up my hand. "Could you imagine me dating another one of his friends?"

"No," she grumbled. "But I want you to be happy. It's a project of love to find you a man."

I cracked a grin. "What if I just want your body?"

Julia laughed and shook her head. "Don't tell Emery. She'd be way jealous of our love."

"That's a fact," I agreed. "She's a jealous bitch."

"With every right to be. You're an awesome friend and person, which is why I want to find you a guy."

I waved her off. "Don't worry about it."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

Her eyes narrowed, and she assessed me from top to bottom. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing."

"You've already found someone else!" Julia said, jumping up and down. "Look at how happy you are. Man, I am so excited. Who is he? When do I get to meet him?"

"Julia," I groaned.

"Don't hold out on me. Give me the goods. If there's someone new, I want to hear about it."

"Okay," I said, glancing back out of her door. "But it's not a good idea."

"Your favorite."

I laughed softly. She had no idea. "I kind of have this thing for Landon."

"Landon," Julia repeated. Her face went pale, and she sat down. "Like … Landon Wright?"



       
         
       
        

"Yeah. We kind of made out at our ten-year high school reunion  , and now, he's here, and he's into me. He happened to be at the same bar as Nick and me while we were on our date, and it was night and day. The connection is there with Landon."

Julia's eyes were big and round. "Heidi, he is your boss."

"I know," I whispered.

"He dated your best friend for two years!"

"I know, I know."

"What part of this is a good idea? You cannot have a connection with Landon!"