She shrugged and offered him one final creepy smile before continuing down the stairs. “Mmm, I’ll let him make that decision on his own. I’m up on the top floor, sugar.”

Dean nodded and stepped back to clear a path for her.

“Have a good day, Lily. Don’t forget I need you and Josephine’s rent check by the end of next week.”

“Got it,” I said.

Once she was out of sight, I stepped away from the peephole, unlocked the door, and swung it open a few inches. I wedged my face between the door and the doorframe and waited for him to explain himself. His gaze slid down what was visible of my body, inspecting the oversized t-shirt I was wearing as a nightgown.

“You have ten seconds,” I declared.

“Cute shirt.”

“It’s my dad’s,” I explained, tugging at the hem. Had I known he was coming over, I would have gotten dressed, and maybe put on a helmet and shin guards—

anything to protect me in our inevitable battle.

The corner of his mouth curled up and he stepped forward pushing the door open with his palm.

“Hey! Just wait a second!” I yelled as he continued to see himself into my apartment. “I didn’t invite you in.”

I closed the door and then turned to him with an accusatory stare.

“Lily, the sooner you let me talk, the sooner I’ll be out of here.”

I flung my arms open. “Oh well please speak, because I can’t think of a single reason why you”—I stuck my finger in his chest—“being here”—I pointed the other finger at the ground—“makes any sense at all.”

He turned to walk through my apartment—which was a glorified shoebox—running his finger over the countertop before inspecting it. Are you kidding me? Who did he think he was? He turned back and stared at the futon, still pulled out flat with my pillow and butterfly blanket thrown haphazardly on top. Add that to the list of things I would have hidden had I known Dean was coming over.

“I’d like to hire you as a consultant for my new restaurant.” He spoke with utter sincerity.

Even still, I barked out a laugh. “Are you smoking crack?”

He frowned. “I’m serious. I don’t have any other options and neither do you.”

“The hell I do! Just yesterday I interviewed for four different jobs.”

Two of which were at Subway (different locations), but he didn’t need to know that.

He crossed his arms, standing his ground on our tiny battlefield. God he consumed the space, making it his own. His body wash filled the air, mixed with the sweat from his run. When he left, I’d have to light a thousand candles and invite the shaman that lived down the hall to rid the apartment of his aura.

“Julian is the primary investor for the project, and I don’t want our differences to jeopardize that. We might not ever learn to get along, but I can at least offer you a job.”

Wow. How very noble of him.

“Fuck you. I hope Julian walks and you lose the money.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Look, I’m not going to beg.”

I crossed my arms. “Then don’t.”

“The job comes with a thousand dollar signing bonus, benefits, and a starting salary of ninety thousand. If you prove your worth, I’ll likely consider you for future projects.”

His brown eyes seared into me, daring me to turn down the offer.

“And what about us?” I asked. “How are we going to work together?”

He took a deep breath, his broad chest rising and falling as he considered my question. “Y’know, I’ve dealt with several asshole contractors and plenty of bitchy wait staff. You, Lily Black, are nothing I haven’t handled before.”

A slow smirk spread across my lips. He thought he had me figured out. He thought he had the upper hand.

How cute.

“Well, seeing as how you’re out of options, make that a hundred thousand starting salary. And I want one percent of profits for any projects we collaborate on. And before you say I’m just taking advantage of your predicament, just wait a few weeks. Trust me—I’m worth every penny.”

The more I pushed him, the tighter he clenched his jaw.

“Deal. I’ll have my lawyer draw up the contract tomorrow. Meanwhile, there’s a team meeting in the morning at Provisions. Eight AM sharp,” he declared as he moved toward the door with long strides. He was done with me for the day. I kept my focus on the tiny window above my sink, trying hard to control my pounding heart. Just as I thought he’d yank open the door and make his exit out of my apartment, his hand hit my elbow. He gripped the soft skin just below the sleeve of my t-shirt.

I shivered at the sensation of his mouth behind my ear, too close for comfort.

“And just so we’re clear.” He spoke as a helpless ripple traveled down my spine. “This isn’t a truce.”

Chapter Fourteen

Lily

Being roommates with Josephine had certain perks. She was tall enough to reach the cereal boxes on the top shelf of our pantry and she had a never-ending supply of designer clothes. As an in-house blogger for Vogue, she got to raid their closet for her weekly blog posts. Next season’s Valentino? Special collection Manolo Blahniks? Nothing was off limits to her, which meant nothing was off limits to me.

“How about this sleeveless wrap dress with a cardigan in case you get chilly?”

I glanced up to see Josephine holding a sky blue dress. The cotton material looked soft enough to sleep in, but the cut and design made it fancy enough for work.

“It’s gorgeous, but will it be too long on me?”

“Nah. It’s way too short on me. That’s why I haven’t worn it yet.”

I held it up against my body and stepped in front of our floor-length mirror.

“Are you nervous?” Josephine asked, stepping up behind me.

“A little bit,” I admitted. “But Julian will be there to help ease the pain of working for Dean.”

Jo laughed. “I’m still kind of shocked you agreed.”

I arched a brow. “It’s not like restaurants were knocking down my door or anything. I pretended otherwise, but I didn’t really have a choice.”

She nodded. “Okay well, hurry up and change. We can share an Uber.”

I frowned. “What’s that, some kind of German energy drink?”

She closed her eyes, clearly embarrassed to know me. “It’s an app people use to find rides. It’s much faster and cheaper than using a taxi.”

I frowned. “So you find someone on the app and trust that they aren’t going to murder you the second you get in the back of their car?”

“They’re not random people. Most of them are just off-duty taxi drivers trying to make extra money.”

Right. Because off-duty taxi drivers are the most trustworthy people in the world.

“Sure, sounds good. On a totally unrelated note, do you think mace would fit in this clutch?”

…

When I stepped into Provisions the morning of my first team meeting, my heels echoed around the restaurant, announcing my presence to the unmanned hostess stand. The lights were half dimmed overhead and the empty dining room was quiet, save for the morning crew working to make the restaurant spotless.

I took the long way around the courtyard, admiring the trees, and then stepped into the hallway that led toward the back offices. I was only two steps in when voices spilled out into the hallway from the back manager’s office.

“Wait, wait, wait. She actually agreed to take the job?” a woman asked.

“Why wouldn’t she? It’s a great opportunity,” Dean replied. Obviously, I quickly pressed against the sidewall and listened.

“Well yeah that would be enough for anyone else, but not for someone that you’ve been such a dick to. Let me guess, you mentioned the fact that you have a mega boner for her?”