Big Dick Energy - Cindi Madsen Page 0,14
south until I could make out the top of the Onyx Nightclub. Not that I cared about dance clubs the way my girls and I had during our college years, but it helped me get my bearings. If I had X-ray vision, I could see through the nightclub to Paddy’s Gaslamp Pub. The place now sent a stich of apprehension along the fabric woven from nearly a decade’s worth of memories.
How dare Archer take away even an ounce of my fondness for Paddy’s.
The loud slam of the phone receiver had me pivoting from the view to check on Cat’s mood.
“Do you ever feel like you’re surrounded by idiots?” she asked, pushing two fingertips to her temples.
“Does the guy who hit on me at the bar the other night count as an idiot?”
“He blew his shot with you and failed to get your number, so yeah.”
The shocking tea I’d been about to spill slipped down my throat instead. “Um, I shut him down before he could even shoot, and after the way I spoke to him, he’d be an idiot to even want my number.” It hit me that eventually, I’d likely have to give it to him, too.
My entire body crumpled in on itself, and I resolved to see how long we could contain our interactions to solely email.
Hey Archer, you cocky jackass,
I don’t want you on this account but don’t actually have a choice, so here’s the bare minimum information you need.
Warmest Regards,
Penelope “I loathe you already” Jones
“Kitty-cat,” I said, snapping my fingers to regain her attention as it’d drifted to the stack of files on the desk in front of her. As proof she’d forgotten my existence, she didn’t even bother hissing like she often did whenever Ellie and I used the nickname she only put up with because she loved us. “Do you remember how my boss told me he was bringing in some dude to help with the soccer complex? It’s the guy from the bar. The very guy I slammed when he was merely returning my credit card. And now I have to freaking work with him.”
Sputtered laughter erupted from Cat, and I groaned and threw a hand over my face.
“You are of no help at all, and I don’t know why I bothered stopping by your office before heading home.”
At the slight tug on my wrist, I allowed Catalina to uncover my face. “Yes, you do. You saw his pretty mug today and felt bad. Let me guess, there was an apology poised on those pretty-little lips all day, wasn’t there?”
I hugged an arm around my waist and brought my thumb to my mouth before remembering I wasn’t biting my nails anymore. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”
“As if that’s ever stopped me from prying out the truth.” Cat tugged me to sit on the edge of her desk and narrowed her big brown eyes to truth-exacting slits. “Penelope Lillian Jones, tell me you didn’t say you’re sorry.”
“I didn’t. But I might’ve considered it.” I wrinkled my nose. “Like five to six… hundred times.”
“He hit on you, approached you again, and you think you need to apologize why?”
“I was a total bitch and went way over the top.”
Cat pursed lips done up in bright red, and I wished I could pull off that color without looking like a hooker but had never found the right shade. “Nah, that’s my role in our trio, and we all know it. Was there more to your chat at the bar than you first let on?”
I kicked off my heels, scooting farther on the desk to sit side saddle, as my skirt didn’t allow for crisscross applesauce. “We had a bit of banter. Involving aliens and men in black.”
“Oh, Penny,” she said. “That’s right up your Diagon Alley.”
“I know! He did say he never would’ve hit on me if he’d known we’d have to work together, just like I wouldn’t have been so mean if I’d known. Then again, within five minutes of trying to update him on the project I was contemplating throwing things at his stupidly handsome face. Why couldn’t he be old and bald and have nose and ear hair for days?”
Cat screwed up her face as if she were fighting the urge to gag.
“Do me a favor. If there’s ever a time I forget it’d be the worst idea ever to get involved with another coworker, smack me or sue me or something. As much as I’d like to say it won’t come to