As the girl walked away, Claire leaned over and whispered, “Are you that excited to see Cody?”
Not bothering to look at her, I stared straight ahead at Mr. Conner walking toward us. “No. I’m that excited to get laid.”
“Ugh. I just threw up in my mouth, bitch.”
Extending my hand, I flashed a smile at the head of Conner Law Firm. He was redoing their lodge in Chipita Park as a surprise for his wife.
“Tell me you have something to knock my socks off.”
“Oh, I think you’ll be very pleased,” I replied.
The second we got into my car, Claire let out a squeal of excitement. “We got the job! I can’t believe we got the job!”
With a smile on my face, I pulled out and headed back to the office. “This is huge for us. If we can move more into home interior, we can actually take on additional jobs!”
“I feel like celebrating!” Claire giggled.
“Why don’t you and Blake come out with me and Cody tonight?”
Claire moaned. “Ugh . . . Cody.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Why do you hate him so much?”
I could feel her eyes on me. “Seriously, you don’t know why?”
With a shrug, I quickly glanced at her. “Nope. No clue.”
“Kilyn, he uses you for sex.”
Letting out a roar of laughter, I tried to ignore the tightness in my chest. “And you don’t think I do the same? Claire, that’s what I like about Cody. He’s upfront and honest. And he’s not bad in bed.”
“So you’ll have meaningless sex with him?”
Coming to a stop at a light, I turned to her. My smile was gone and the feeling in my chest was heavier. “I’ve had sex with two guys in my twenty-eight-years, Claire. Two. And one of those . . . one was—”
My voice cracked and I turned away and forced myself to talk. “I’m not a slut, Claire. I just want to have fun.”
Claire took my hand in hers. “I know you’re not a slut. I didn’t mean anything by it. I only want you to be happy, Kilyn. I’m sorry.”
I reached up and quickly wiped a tear away while trying not to get pissed at Claire. I vowed I would never let Peter make me cry ever again. Closing my eyes, I was haunted by the sound of his breathing.
Quickly snapping out of it from the honk behind me, I hit the gas and didn’t utter another word to Claire. I didn’t have to. She knew me well enough to know I needed silence.
Twenty minutes later, I walked into my office and shut the door. Dropping into my chair, I pulled in a few deep breaths and tried to clear my head. The light knock at the door had me moaning internally.
“I’m fine, Claire. I need a few minutes.”
She didn’t say a word, but I knew she was still standing there. She’d probably stay there until I got up and opened the door. I never kept my office door shut. Not even during meetings. It was just the three of us. Claire, Kasey, the office manager, and me. Kasey kept this place running by doing everything from paying bills to running and grabbing coffee on late nights.
My phone buzzed in my purse. Pulling it out, I saw I had a message from Cody.
Cody: Can’t make it tonight. Something came up. Sorry.
With a sigh, I dropped my head back against my chair. I knew what that meant. Someone better came along to occupy his time. Claire was right. I didn’t need that asshole. I had a perfectly good vibrator waiting at home for me.
Pushing my chair back, I grabbed some files and my purse. I needed to get out of here and get some fresh air.
Before I had a chance to even gather everything up, there was another knock on my door.
“Claire, I’m fine!” I called out.
The door opened and Kasey walked in. “Um . . . Kilyn, it’s not Claire. There is someone here to see you about some decorating.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at her. “Did they have an appointment?”
She pulled the corner of her lip in between her teeth. “No. But I think you might know him. When he saw your name he started laughing pretty hard. Like, it took him a good minute or so to get himself together.”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I contemplated on what to do. On one hand, I couldn’t care less who was out there and what job they wanted us to do. On the other hand, I was intrigued.
“He doesn’t want to make an appointment?”
She shook her head and stepped into my office. Quietly shutting the door, she smiled. “I could ask, but he is drop-dead freaking gorgeous. I mean, I’m pretty sure he melted my heart the second he looked at me and smiled. I’ve never in my life seen someone so good looking.”