He arched a brow as he read the text. “Um…Erica! Bryce proposed to you? And I’m hearing about it from a text from Jackson Wild?”
“What?” She snagged the phone from his hand, wondering what the hell he was reading. Have you accepted Bryce’s marriage proposal yet? Her heart fell to her knees. She grabbed the windowsill to remain erect.
Yet.
He expected her to accept the proposal.
“That’s…” She paused to try to find her breath. “That’s not the text I wanted you to read.” She couldn’t tear her eyes from the text from Jackson, couldn’t believe he really wanted her to marry Bryce.
“What could be better than that?” George asked.
She lifted her eyes, and George’s eyes widened as he sat in the chair beside her and reached for her hand.
“Oh, Erica.” He lowered his voice. “I had a feeling about you and Jackson…But I wasn’t sure.”
She pushed from the chair, turned her back to George, and crossed her arms—a barrier against the truth. “We’re…friends.”
“With benefits?” George was the only employee who would have the guts to challenge her. It was one of the reasons she’d hired him, besides the fact that he was organized to the hilt and had a golden touch with clients.
“Friends,” she insisted. She couldn’t even fool George. It was no wonder that every time she said the word her heart cracked a little more.
“Oh,” he said casually. “My error. Then you’ve accepted the proposal from Bryce? The sexy stockbroker who turns every head in the office and treats you like gold? Because if so, then I owe you an apology and I’m definitel—”
She spun around, silencing him with a narrow-eyed stare as she stomped over to her desk and ripped the card from the flowers.
“Hey, hey, now. Those gorgeous blooms don’t deserve to be manhandled.” He primped the petals as she read the note.
I can’t wait to see you this weekend. I know you’ll make the right decision. Celebrate at Club 21? I love you, Bryce.
“Ugh.” She slapped the card on the desk.
“You’re making this way too easy for me.” He picked up the card and scanned it. “Have you not accepted his proposal?” When she didn’t answer, he said, “No proposal acceptance can mean only one thing.”
“That I need to think,” she said harshly.
He lifted one thin shoulder and smiled. “Or that you shouldn’t think at all.”
“I don’t even know what that means, George. How can I not think about this? Enlighten me, please.”
“What did you do when you first started courting Zac Posen?”
She gave a lazy shrug, hating the way she felt when two of the biggest events of her life should have had her doing a freaking happy dance like a carefree idiot and instead she felt rooted in quicksand.
“I’ll tell you what you did. You figured out exactly what you wanted, you devised a plan, and you went for it. You strategized. The same way you created this entire business, right? Isn’t that what you’ve always said? That you never give up? That’s what sets your magazine apart from all other magazines. You’re more creative. You live on the edge, and you take chances.”
“That sounds like a lot of thinking to me,” she said with an eye roll.
“Exactly. But thinking, strategizing, devising a plan about something other than the dilemma you’re trying so hard not to think about. If you focus on making Posen’s interview the best interview you have ever done, you’ll be too busy to think about anything else. Including Bryce’s proposal and whatever isn’t going on with you and Jackson.”
She lifted her eyes. “Procrastination? I suck at that.”
“So don’t think of it as procrastination. Think of it as nailing the biggest interview of your career. You’ll be surprised at how the rest of your life falls into place.”
“Don’t you mean falls apart? I’ll lose both Bryce and Jackson.”
“Girl, for such a smart woman, you sure don’t know men very well. Let your gay friend clue you in.” He flashed a devilish grin. “There is no greater aphrodisiac than the unavailable partner. That goes for men and women alike.”
“So…what? I’m supposed to disappear for a while? I don’t even know what I want, George.”
“Perfect!” George smiled again. “Then you aren’t even ready to make a decision, which makes this step even more important. Operation Posen begins now.” His finger shot up toward the ceiling. “Give me all the deets. I’ll get the timing coordinated, and until then…we’ll strategize.”
“After I answer Jackson’s text.” She began typing a text into her cell phone and George ripped the phone out of her hands.
He shook his head and pressed his hand over her phone. “A very wise boss once told me that an unprepared response is worse than no response at all.”
“Shouldn’t I at least thank Bryce?”
“Unavailable means no texts, no phone calls. Nothing.” He took her cell phone and tucked it into the desk drawer.
Laney leaned back in her chair and stared at the wise and innately clever man who just might have saved her sanity—at least for the next few hours.