Roomie Wars Box Set

“Okay, but is this the bit where I should protest to topless girls dancing around you while fanning you with banana leaves?”

“Naked, Zo. No clothes.”

“What? Do they seriously go all nude?”

I’m distracted by Slater’s chuckling. His head is down buried in his cell until he raises his eyes to meet mine. I’m sensing he’s laughing at how gullible I am.

“Stop laughing,” I tell him, unable to hide my annoyance.

“Excuse me?” Drew’s voice startles me.

“Sorry, babe, not you. Slater’s being a pain in my ass today showing off with his pizza, and he overheard what I just said and thinks I’m a loser.”

The line is quiet, not even any background noise filtering through. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I check the screen which shows the call’s still connected.

“Hello? Drew? Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” he responds flatly.

“Phew, for a second there I thought the line dropped and—”

“How often do you have lunch with him?”

“Who?” My eyes dart to Slater. He’s still standing a few feet away. I cover the speaker on my phone and mouth that I’m heading outside. My feet move on their own accord toward one of the meeting rooms. “Are you talking about Slater?”

“Why did it take you so long for you answer that?”

“Because I left the kitchen. It’s uncomfortable to talk on the phone when someone else is in the room. Especially when you ask me how often I have lunch with him.”

“You just said who. As in you didn’t know who I was talking about,” Drew’s voice is thin, gritting his words as if they’re laced with acid. “You damn well know who I was talking about.”

How did this conversation turn into an argument? And over Slater?

“What the hell is your problem?” I argue back. “We share the same lunchroom. I can’t help it if we’re both preparing lunch at the same time. People need to eat. It’s a communal area.”

“So, this happens every day?” He raises his voice, flustered and angry for no goddamn reason.

“I don’t know, Drew, I don’t keep count,” I say with the intent of being sarcastic. “I’m done with this conversation.”

“Of course, you are.” He laughs maliciously.

“Bye.” I end the call and let out a frustrated huff, tapping my foot to vent my anger.

What the fuck just happened?

Drew isn’t a jealous person.

At least, over the past year he hasn’t been. I’ve done nothing wrong but spend every moment planning our wedding. Why does he have a problem with Slater? I’ve given him no reason not to trust me. And anyway, it’s not like Slater’s interested in a woman like me. He looks like the type of man who likes his women refined, wearing pearl necklaces, and carrying Birkin bags.

That’s so beside the point.

It doesn’t matter who Slater’s attracted to. What matters is finding out what bug crawled underneath Drew’s skin and planted the seed of jealousy.

Chapter Five

Drew

I would gladly write this week off.