The Boss Project

I reached out and took her hand. “Because you’re obviously smart. You like to play cards. You can dish it out to my buddies as good as they give it to you. And…you’re hot.”

Amelia looked into my eyes. She searched the same way she did when she was trying to figure out if one of the guys was bluffing his hand. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Wouldn’t be asking you out if I did.”

“So that’s a no?”

“It’s definitely a no.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “I have trust issues. If I get it into my head that you’re lying to me, I’ll probably search your phone when you’re not paying attention. I fact-check people—if you say you were somewhere, you darn well better have been there, because I’ll find out if you weren’t. I pick fights when I’m feeling down. I assume the worst of most people. My father’s in prison, and I don’t even know what state my mother lives in anymore.” She held my gaze. “Still want to go out with me?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

She shook her head, pulled her purse up to her shoulder, and headed for the door. I figured I’d flunked whatever test she was trying to scare me away with. But halfway to the doorway, she stopped without turning back. “I like foreign movies with subtitles. Friday at seven. I’ll meet you here, but outside.”

I blinked a few times, confused at the sudden turn of events, but I wasn’t about to give her a chance to change her mind. “Can’t wait. I’ll see you at seven.”