This was why she had never gone into business. She found it incredibly boring—not that law didn’t have its moments, but this whole thing just looked like a headache.
Some days, she was happy that Ramsey was keeping her in the know about every little detail, and other days, she felt herself zoning out. Really, he could settle with what was important and stick the rest through some kind of filter.
She yawned and sank back into a chair. Ramsey had said the meeting wouldn’t be that long, and she could come with him if she wanted. This was her last Friday before she started her new job, and she had thought she would get to spend some time with Ramsey, finish unpacking a few of the stray boxes from New York, and get prepped for the big day on Monday before heading out to the D-Bags show with Jack later that night. But one meeting had turned into three, and she still couldn’t believe that three hours later, she was wasting the day in meetings.
Lexi had sat through the first one, but when it had become clear that it was a bunch of gibberish that she couldn’t comprehend, she had lost interest in trying and dipped out. The battery of her smartphone was dying a slow death, and if it didn’t last to the end of this meeting, she was definitely going to leave.
Shuffling in the other room brought her out of her thoughts, and she stood, praying to anyone who would listen that they could leave. She was never agreeing to this again.
Several contractors walked out of the room without so much as a glance in her direction, and then the door closed. Lexi sighed and fell back into the chair. Seriously? She could not handle waiting. It was the worst thing ever.
A second later, the door opened again, and John walked out. Lexi raised her eyebrow when he looked over at her still seated.
He smiled brightly when he saw her. “You want to get out of here?”
“Desperately,” she said, lifting her eyes to the ceiling and leaning back in the chair.
“We could go get something to eat,” he suggested.
She didn’t even have to glance at him to know he was smirking.
“You want me to walk out on you again?” Lexi asked
He chuckled, and she did look at him then. He had on dark dress slacks and a gray button-up, rolled up to his elbows. His dark hair was neat, but he was sporting a five o’clock shadow that really worked on his cut features.
“They’re sticking around to talk for a few more minutes. I needed something to drink. Could you at least manage a walk to Starbucks?”
Coffee. Heaven. Life force. “Yes, I think I can manage anything for coffee.”
Lexi stood and stretched with a yawn. She wasn’t even tired, but she had been sitting there so long that she almost felt exhausted. Plus, the mention of coffee had made her brain seem to slow down as if it couldn’t function properly on her caffeine addiction without the stuff running through her veins.
They walked out of the building and down the steps to the sidewalk. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and ducked her head against the wind. John looked at her questioningly with humor in his eyes.
“What?” she demanded.
“How are you cold? This weather is beautiful.”
“You live in New York. You’re used to the freezing weather.”
“Didn’t you live in New York for the past three years?” he asked.
“I never adjusted to the temperature change,” she said with a shrug.
“Well, I think you’re crazy. Sixty degrees is not freezing.”
“In the South, it is.”
“Right. It’s not where I grew up in Michigan. It’s laughable,” he told her.
“Laugh all you want,” she grumbled. “I’m still cold.”
“Good thing we’re here then, huh?”
John opened the door to Starbucks, and Lexi walked inside, shaking off the cold that had sunk into her cardigan.
They walked up to the counter. John ordered a chai tea latte and then allowed Lexi to order.
“Just a venti coffee for me.”
“Cream and sugar?” the associate asked.
“No, thank you. Black is fine.”
John smirked at that, too, and she didn’t even bother asking him about it. Most guys didn’t expect girls to drink their coffee straight. With as much as she drank, she would gain a million pounds if she added anything to it. Not to mention, she had gotten used to the taste in college and had never gone back.
John paid for the drinks, and then they set back out for the conference room. Lexi blew on her coffee. She didn’t want to scald her mouth, but she really wanted to drink it. Giving up, she dove in and started drinking the steaming brew.
“So…you moved in with Ramsey, I hear,” John said.
Lexi sputtered on her coffee. It was pretty freaking hot.
“Yeah, I did,” Lexi finally got out.
“Kind of quick, isn’t it?”
“Not really. We were living together before I moved back to New York.”
“And that worked out so well for you,” he said dryly.
“How do you even know we moved in together?” Lexi asked.
She hadn’t talked to John since that night when she had walked out on him. She figured he had moved on. After all, he was attractive and charming. He could get any other girl he wanted. She just needed him not to focus on her.
“A little birdie told me.”
Lexi turned to face him, narrowing her eyes. “A little birdie?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss.”
“You have someone feeding you my personal information, and you won’t tell me who said it?” she asked. That sounded like some pretty messed-up bullshit to her.
“That is what not being at liberty to discuss means,” he said with a glimmer in his hazel eyes.
“Well, you tell your little birdie to f**k off for me!” she spat.
John burst out laughing and shook his head. “My little spitfire. You never do what I expect. It’s really hot.”
Lexi rolled her eyes and took another sip of her coffee. “I’m serious.”
“That’s what makes it all the better.”
They made it back to the office, and Lexi turned to face him. She didn’t want this little birdie to keep broadcasting her information. John didn’t need to know what she was up to. She had closed that door, and she wanted it to remain firmly closed. She couldn’t do that when he kept flirting with her, buying her coffee, and instigating the banter while he knew so much about her new life. If it were the chase he was after, she would have to show him that she had meant what she said. Ramsey was the one she had agreed to commit to. Someone who thought sex was the end game wouldn’t cut it—even if John would deny that to his last breath.