Hunter couldn’t find his tongue to answer. Alex said that on purpose to see if Hunter would argue with him. He’d planned from the very beginning to attend the Worthwhile spring launch. If it meant he had to go back to California with Gracie, then even better.
He could secretly admit he’d wanted to rekindle the bit of romance they’d found there.
“I told Gracie to get back to me first thing Monday morning and let me know her decision. I can almost guarantee she’s going to say yes. I saw the sparkle in her eyes. She was practically bouncing in her seat,” Alex continued.
“Fine.”
Alex frowned. “I checked over her file. The notes in regards to her performance were all glowing. I don’t think this is going to be a mistake.”
“Oh, I don’t either. As long as she doesn’t continue to hate me, I’ll be fine.”
“Perhaps you two should talk first thing Monday. Discuss what you expect from her and she can let you know her needs in return. Get everything out in the air between you two before continuing on with your new relationship.”
Hunter grimaced. New relationship, didn’t that have potential? Though not the sort of relationship he was looking for when it came to Gracie.
He still couldn’t believe he thought such a thing.
“It’s a Friday, Hunter. I’m surprised you’re not gone by now,” Alex mused.
Where else would he go? Socializing held no appeal. The thought of dating other women made his dick literally deflate—he wasn’t interested in anyone else.
He was torturing himself. He had no idea he was such a glutton for punishment.
“I have some things to wrap up before the weekend.” He waved a hand toward his laptop. “I cancelled the brainstorming meeting—bumped it to Monday. Everyone seemed relieved. I think they all want to blast out of here early.”
“Can you blame them? The next few weeks, hell, months are going to be intense.” There were new plans in the works. Negotiations and contracts to be hammered out before Worth Luxury could announce them to the public. One of them Alex wanted Rhett to eventually be in charge of, which Hunter thought was absolutely ridiculous.
His resentment toward his baby brother knew no bounds. He couldn’t even begin to deny it.
“True. It’s going to be hell for all of us. I hope Tessa is prepared not to see you much.”
“Oh, I’ll make it home.” Alex grinned, looking like a little kid overcome with joy. “Trust me. Once you find a woman like Tessa, she’ll become your whole world.”
Hunter snorted. He doubted that. His luck with women was horrendous. And he definitely didn’t want to make one his entire world—that was a setup for failure. Look at his situation with Gracie. They’d never taken it beyond a few casual encounters and he was a torn up mess.
He didn’t care if his brother was insanely happy. Complete happiness with a woman was rare. Alex was one of the lucky ones. “Whatever you say.”
“Can’t wait to see you fall, bro. I have a feeling when it happens, you’ll fall extra hard.” Alex grinned, the asshole, and waved as he exited Hunter’s office.
Hunter sat alone, scowling at no one. He watched as, one by one, his team exited the building, passing by his office window as they went. They left in groups, chattering loudly while they walked and he overheard one of them mentioning th
ey were headed toward a bar close by to “celebrate”.
Were they celebrating Gracie’s possible promotion? Had they already heard about it? He knew word traveled fast amongst the ranks, but this was ridiculous.
Deciding to hell with it, he slammed his laptop shut and grabbed his coat. Shut off all the lights, locked the door and got the hell out of his office, out of the Worth building.
He needed a drink. He’d head to the bar, have a drink with his colleagues, pump them up for the big meeting on Monday and then go home.
Where he could sulk like a big baby all weekend. Alone.
Sounded fun.
They were happy for her, really happy for her, which thrilled Gracie beyond belief. She thought many of them would be full of resentment, especially because the majority of the department had been there longer than she had, but no. They all seemed genuinely excited she was taking over the marketing director position.
Word had spread like wildfire, as usual, and she hadn’t been able to argue with them or deny it when confronted. So she’d gone with it, told them nothing was official yet until she had the signed deal in hand, but they all waved off her cautionary words.
Now here she was back at Mick’s, the Irish pub that wasn’t far from the Worth Luxury building. The place where she’d made the very major mistake of kissing Hunter that first time. Now the pub was haunted, filled with memories of being in Hunter’s arms.