“I think Tag has his reasons.” He trusted his boss. He was also worried there was another reason he was taking Kyle into the “field.” “This is mostly a tech job. I’ll still be behind a computer. Kyle will likely take point with the client. Reading the file, I’m not sure how much Noelle LaVigne truly needs a bodyguard. I get that her dad is nervous, but something feels off. Do you think this could be a setup? You know how Charlotte likes to play matchmaker.”
Charlotte Taggart had matched up more than one of her employees, and sometimes she did it under the guise of “working” with Charlotte’s choice of mate. He wouldn’t put it past her or Big Tag to pair up their nephew with a family friend. Especially if they thought Noelle would be good for Kyle.
Michael’s brow arched. “You know anything about this woman? I heard she’s the daughter of a friend of Remy Guidry’s.”
He’d gone over the file on Noelle LaVigne several times. “She’s super smart. She’s heading a test team at the age of twenty-five. She was in a bad car accident when she was younger, and she had to learn to walk again. She still uses a cane or a brace, but she hasn’t let that stop her. She grew up in a tiny town but moved to the big city, and she lives on her own.”
Michael nodded as though Hutch was going down the right path. “So she’s probably on the nerdy side, definitely likes tech. She’s younger than you but not more than a couple of years.”
Michael wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. “Yeah. And Charlotte told me she likes to bake. So I might get some cookies out of it. That’s a plus.”
He wished he didn’t still crave sweets, but he’d gotten to the point that he accepted it. He spent extra time in the gym, and it didn’t show.
Michael stared at him like he was missing something. “So a cute woman who’s interested in a lot of the things you’re interested in and loves to bake comes along, and you think Charlotte is trying to pair her up with a dude who obviously needs therapy.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried…” He could be slow about the emotional stuff sometimes, but the truth did hit him after a while. Like a sledgehammer. He sat there for a moment. “Shit. You think it’s me?”
He hadn’t even considered that.
Michael’s eyes rolled and he chuckled. “Yes. I think the cute nerd who loves to bake probably fits better with the nerd who calls himself Candyman online. For one of the smartest dudes I know, you can be shockingly un-self-aware. Just remember the last man Charlotte set up.”
That had been Michael Malone himself, and it hadn’t worked out for him, though he and Tessa Santiago were still friends.
At least Charlotte hadn’t set him up with a fellow employee. Michael had to see his ex every day.
He stopped. He wasn’t going to let himself get set up. He was not that guy. Was he? It wasn’t like he was great at picking his own women. But he wasn’t that guy. “I’m not in a good place for a relationship.”
“What place is that?” Michael asked.
He wasn’t sure. What place was he in? A weird place where he wanted to date but he didn’t want to date. He wanted what his friends had but didn’t see himself there. He wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t sure how to be happy.
“No idea, man. I think that’s the problem.” He was ready and he also wasn’t ready. He was still a big old mess, and that meant he wasn’t good for anyone.
Still, she was pretty cute, and Charlotte was usually right about things. After all, she’d been the one to tell him she didn’t think Katy could give him what he needed.
Katy had managed to give some dude named Bowen what he needed. Lots of times. Mostly in their bed, and he was pretty sure once in his car. He sighed.
“Come on,” Michael said with a chuckle. “I think we should order pizza and watch the late game. Come Monday, you’ll meet this Noelle and see if there’s anything beyond the job.”
“I am not being set up.” He was absolutely certain about that. “I’m done with the vanilla world. I need to get back in the swing of things and find a sub and settle down.”
Settling didn’t seem like a terrible thing to do. It might be nice. And now he had a house to offer a woman. He had a good job and lots of friends who were like family.
“So you want to go to the club?”
No. He really didn’t. Hutch groaned. “Nah. Order a pizza. Let’s watch some football.”
Mindless entertainment. That was what he needed. It would get his mind off the fact that he had an empty house to go home to, with no real prospects on the horizon.