Chasing Fate (Dark Love 5)

“Why? I’ve already bought a dress to wear to your wedding. It’s low-cut with just the right amount of cleavage to attract the single men, but not so much that I outdo the bride and get called a slut.”

I laugh through the receiver. “She’s out of town, but her assistant—”

“Uh-oh,” Kate interrupts. “Why do I sense something brewing on the horizon?”

“Nothing’s brewing,” I shut her down immediately. “It’s so far from brewing that the seeds haven’t even been planted yet to be considered brewing material.”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that her assistant is weird. Plus, she keeps flaking on me, making my job difficult to do.”

Kate laughs at some inside joke that I’m yet to be included in on. “Oh, why didn’t I see this earlier? You want to shag her assistant.”

“Shag?”

“Shag, get her panties off, tap that ass. As you American folk so kindly say.”

“It’s not like that, Kate. I just—”

“Can’t stop thinking about her?” She fills my mouth with words. “It’s a trap.”

“A trap?”

“Yeah. That whole playing-hard-to-get thing. It does something to our brains, which makes us think we should chase them. It’s just like in school. When someone likes you, they do all these nasty things to make you think they hate you when, in reality, they’re just crushing on you.”

Is Kate right? Have I been looking at this the wrong way? Can it be as simple as she’s crushing on me? The idea—as lame as it sounds—isn’t as farfetched as one may think. Having a female perspective is much more beneficial than what the boys would’ve told me. Their advice would have been to ‘ditch the bitch, you don’t need no ball breaker.’

But Kate is smart, and she knows women.

“What’s happening with you?” I ask, switching subjects. “You being a good girl?”

“By a good girl, do you mean working long hours and not getting laid at all?” she drags, seemingly frustrated by her predicament. “Then, yes, I’m a good girl.”

“Well, offer stands if you need any help in the laid department.” I snicker.

Kate chuckles through the receiver. “The last time we tried, you kind of let me down. Excuse the pun.”

“One time,” I almost yell. “It was freezing.”

“Hey… the first-time impression is everything to a woman.” There’s a noise in the background as Kate covers her phone before raising her voice. “Do you think it’s that hard for people to do their fucking job correctly?”

“You sound like Lex.” I smile.

“I have to go. But listen, stay away from screwing any colleagues. Don’t go breaking your own rule. And as for Morgan… be careful.”

“Be careful? Of what?”

“Of falling in love,” she finishes.

Kate receives some email about a deal falling through, so she panics and practically hangs up on me. Whatever I try to do, it just doesn’t sit right with me. Kate just wants to spook me, talking about ‘love’ and shit. Love is not hating on a woman who’s so far up her ass and wanting to avoid her at all costs.

But you also want to see her, dickhead. And you can’t stop thinking about her.

I pack up my stuff and walk to the car. All I can manage to do is sit for a while, staring out of the window.

I’ve been with many women in my lifetime. And as infuriating as this is, I don’t know what irritates me more—her canceling our meeting or the fact she’s wasting my time, and I haven’t even met Scarlett yet.

And there’s Kate’s theory.