Hiring Mr. Darcy - Valerie Bowman Page 0,23
“A check is fine. You didn’t need to fill a suitcase with dollar bills or anything.”
I drummed my nails on the table. “Your choice.”
“Do I get a bonus if we win?”
A bonus? I blinked. I hadn’t thought of such a thing, and I wanted to kick myself. An incentive was a good idea. Especially if Jeremy was in any way shiftless like Luke. I needed to play it cool, though. “How much are you thinking?” I asked, wondering just how much of my savings I was willing to part with.
Jeremy leaned back against the booth and straightened his shoulders. “How about if you pay me four thousand, plus two if we win?”
I narrowed my eyes and folded my hands in front of me. Obviously, that put another thousand dollars on the table, but I liked the idea. “You’d do that?”
“Sure.” He lifted one shoulder.
“Why?” More eye-narrowing on my part.
“Because I enjoy a challenge, plus I think it’ll make me work harder. The saw I want to buy costs a little over five thousand. I’m motivated.”
Okay, so he was probably shiftless, but if we lost, I’d save a thousand dollars. There was really no downside for me. “Fine. If you think it’ll help.”
“One more thing,” he added, a distinctive twinkle in his eye. “If we win, you owe me a favor.”
Wait. What? I scrunched up my nose and tilted my head to the side, thoroughly puzzled. “A favor? What could I possibly...Wait a minute! If you think for one minute that I’m going to come clean your apartment or walk your dog for a year, or—”
“No. No. No.” He laughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of you bailing me out of jail, or pretending to be my date to my sister’s wedding.”
I refused to smile because I was still suspicious. What was this vague ‘favor’ business? “Have you ever had to be bailed out of jail?” I asked.
“No. You?”
“No. Is your sister engaged?”
He sighed. “She’s completely single.”
“So, what sort of favor are you really thinking?” By this time, my Sprite was watered down and I wished I’d ordered wine. Or even better, a beer.
His smile reached his green eyes. “Just say yes, Meg. I promise I won’t make you clean my toilet or take care of my chinchilla while I’m out of town.”
“You have a chinchilla?”
His lips quirked. “No.”
So, Jeremy was kinda funny, but that didn’t make up for the joblessness and the gambling. “Why should I say yes?”
“I don’t know, for fun? Haven’t you ever done anything just for fun?”
I wanted to say, “Of course I have. Who hasn’t done something just for fun?” but a quick scan of my memory wasn’t unearthing much. I was tired and it had been a long day and I was under a lot of stress, too. My almost fiancé had recently tossed me over for a new Lizzy Bennet. How could I be expected to remember frivolous things like whatever I’d done ‘for fun’ in the past?
“I’m going to Bath for fun,” I finally offered.
Jeremy arched a brow. “I thought you were going for work and to beat your boyfriend in the competition.”
“Yes, but I’ll also be having fun.”
This time he tilted his head and contemplated me. “If you don’t mind me asking, if he chose another woman over you, why are you still with this guy?”
The breath caught in my throat. Did I mind him asking? And what exactly was the proper answer to that question? ‘Harrison dumped me for Lacey Lewis because our boss asked him to,’ sounded positively ridiculous...and far too complicated, actually. I opened my mouth to say something, but thankfully the waitress came back to ask if we wanted refills or to see a menu. I said no to both while Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest and watched me in that assessing yet friendly way of his.
“What?” I asked as the waitress tripped away to get the check.
“You were judging her, weren’t you?”
“No. I wasn’t. I have to get up early for class and need to leave.”
“I’m not talking about how you asked for the check. I’m talking about the way you looked at her.”
I squirmed in my seat a little. “I wasn’t rude.”
“I didn’t say you were. You’re just judgey.”
“We’ve been over this.” I wanted to roll my eyes.
“Tell me,” he said, leaning closer. “What do you think her story is?”
“The waitress?” I glanced toward where she had disappeared to prepare the check. “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.” Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest and