“Right.” I nodded, smiling while screaming internally.
My phone vibrated on the conference table beside me. I grabbed it, grateful for the brief reprieve—until I saw it was a text from Cannon. Flipping the phone over on the table without reading it, I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to be rude to my candidate. But knowing there was a text waiting for me from Cannon meant I was even less focused on what Ben was saying than before.
A few minutes later I ended the interview, thanking him for his time, and told him I’d be in touch. Once he was headed toward the lobby where the receptionist would show him out, I lunged for my phone, typing my passcode wrong twice before finally getting it right.
Cannon: Sorry about last night. I hope you weren’t too traumatized.
My jaw dropped open. God, the man was ballsy. I’d give him that. Most people would want to forget the whole thing ever happened. Yet here he was, calling attention to it, trying to push me for a response. Or maybe he was just trying to embarrass me.
Well, fuck that. If he wanted me to freak out—or collapse onto his dick in surrender—he was messing with the wrong girl.
Paige: Next time you want me to see you naked, ask first.
Cannon: Noted.
I chuckled to myself before realizing that I’d implied there was going to be a next time. My laughter died on my lips. I’d unintentionally given him the upper hand.
Cannon: I have a rare weekend off, so I just wanted to check in and see if you had any weekend plans. Don’t want to cramp your style.
Paige: No plans as of yet.
I hoped I didn’t sound too lame typing that.
Cannon: Then I guess I’ll see you at home.
I tucked my phone into the pocket of my jeans, trying to ignore the warning bells ringing in my head. I headed back to my office at the far end of the building, my heart thrumming with the news that I’d be subjected to forty-eight hours of Cannon’s sexiness.
On one hand, I couldn’t deny I was looking forward to the eye candy. And it would be refreshing to have a conversation partner who responded with words instead of barks and tail wags. But I liked my routine; I was used to a certain amount of alone time. If Cannon was this distracting when he wasn’t even physically present, how could I hope to be around him all weekend without losing my mind?
“Well, how was he?” Tabitha asked from her perch at the desk outside my office.
“Who?” I asked, irrationally fearful that I’d somehow let it slip about my new roommate.
“The candidate, Ben,” she said.
“Oh, right.” I nodded. “He was . . . okay.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you feeling all right? You look a little flushed.”
I cleared my throat. “Fine. I have an early lunch today with a friend. I’ll see you later.” I discarded Ben’s résumé and interview folder on my desk, grabbed my purse, and hightailed it from the office.
Once Allie and I were seated at our favorite casual soup-and-salad restaurant, she grinned at me like she was in on a secret I wasn’t.
“Well . . .” she prompted, raising her brows. “How did your first night with your new roomie go?” Allie giggled, smiling as she watched me.
Did he tell her about our late-night run-in? The one in which he was butt-naked? My underarms began to sweat. I faked a breezy smile as my brain screamed at me to lie. So I did.
“Uneventful.”
“Good, so it should work out fine between you two.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“That’s a relief. I know Cannon’s a grown man, but I still worry about him, you know? He’s worked so hard to get where he is, and after everything he’s been through, he deserves a break.”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.” Seemingly unable to string together more than two incoherent syllables, I grabbed my menu and started reading over the lunch specials.
“James bid on tickets to a charity gala this weekend. You think you and Cannon would like to go?”
“Me and Cannon?” I almost squeaked. What did that mean? Like, as a date? Did she think there was something between us?
“Sure, why not? The three of us should do something fun—get the dream team back together, y’know? Now that he’s transferred here to Michigan, I feel like I need to make up for some lost time with him.”
Oh, she meant going as a group. I felt both relieved and very stupid. Get a grip, Paige . . . Then my brain caught up with the rest of what she’d said.
“Wait, just us three? What about James?” I asked. Wasn’t he the one who’d won the tickets in the first place?
She shook her head, frowning. “He’s got to work this weekend.”
Her fiancé was a real estate agent and spent a lot of evenings and weekends working. It was fine by me, because it meant Allie and I got to spend a lot of girl time together.