I shook my head. “One is from Julian.”
It looked like Christian was going to say something, but then he closed his mouth and the muscle flex in his jaw spoke for him. I’d never been a jealous woman, but suddenly I knew what he was feeling. Though I wasn’t about to keep quiet like him.
I tossed my pen on the desk. “Did you sleep with Salma in accounting?”
He squinted at me. “Where did you hear that?”
“Does it matter?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Only because I’m curious to know who’s feeding you bullshit information.”
“So you didn’t sleep with her?”
“We met at the team holiday party two years ago. I had a couple of drinks, which I don’t usually do. We talked for a while, and then she caught me off guard when she asked me out. I said yes. The next morning I realized that was dumb, so I planned to talk to her and tell her I wasn’t going to go out with her. But I was flying to my brother’s for Christmas. By the time I got back, she’d already told half the corporate office we were dating. After I let her know I wasn’t going to go out with her, she told everyone I’d dumped her since I’d gotten my fill. I left it alone. Figured I’d embarrassed her by changing my mind, and there was no reason to get into a pissing contest to set the record straight.”
“Oh…”
“Are you going to tell me who’s trying to sabotage our relationship before it even starts?”
I frowned. “Tiffany. She told me I was going to be just another woman you blew through.” I shook my head. “I’m not sure if you saw the Post this morning. But they ran one of the pictures the paparazzo took last night with a suggestive headline.”
Christian’s stance softened. He unfolded his arms and tucked his hands into his sweatpants pockets with a shrug. “I heard about it. You do know your sister is just trying to get in your head. She gets her kicks upsetting you.”
I sighed. “I know.”
Christian caught my eyes. “So we’re good? You believe me about Salma?”
“Of course. Unlike my sister, you’ve never given me a reason to doubt you’d tell me the truth.”
“Good.” He smiled halfheartedly. “Is it my turn to be jealous now?” Christian pointed his eyes to the roses he hadn’t sent. “Did he ask you out again?”
“He wrote that he had a good time and hopes to do it again soon, just the two of us.” I gestured to the card. “You’re welcome to read it yourself.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need to.” Christian looked down for a moment. “Do you want to go out with him again?”
I shrugged. “I’m confused about my feelings toward Julian. I thought he was exactly what I needed.”
A cocky smile stretched across Christian’s face. I was waiting for a matching cocky response, but then there was a knock at my door. Josh cracked it open and peeked his head in. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were alone. I was coming to give you the five-minute warning before your next meeting.”
“Thanks, Josh. I’ll be there.”
“Good enough.” He nodded to Christian. “Knox.”
Christian lifted his chin. “Sullivan.”
After Josh closed the door, Christian picked up a petal that had fallen from the roses. He rubbed it between his fingers. “You’re busy, so I’ll get out of your way. I was just coming up to ask if eight AM tomorrow is okay?”
I’d assumed we’d be going out in the evening. But it didn’t matter. “Sure.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay.”
“Wear something comfortable.”
“Oh…what are we doing?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m more of a planner than a surprise-type person.”
Christian smiled. “You also thought Bozo was exactly what you needed. Keep an open mind.” He winked. “See you tomorrow, beautiful.”
CHAPTER 15
* * *
BELLA
I changed four times.
Not to mention before putting on the outfit I currently wore, I’d actually googled comfy clothes. The range of photos that popped up went from yoga pants, to cute little dresses, to ripped jeans and sneakers. The written definition I’d found wasn’t any better: clothing that when worn makes you feel relaxed. Relaxed? Are they crazy? Clearly they had no idea who I was. That word didn’t make a frequent appearance in my vocabulary during a normal week, but now it was fifteen minutes before Christian Knox was picking me up.
Or so I thought…
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Shoot. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I had on a long-sleeved, smocked dress Miller had made me buy last night, and I really wanted to change again. But it was going to have to wait until after I let Christian in.
At the door, I took a deep breath before opening. “Hey…” My face fell when I saw Christian’s outfit. He had on a pair of black sweats and a form-fitting thermal. “I’m overdressed, aren’t I?”