It's A Wonderful Midlife Crisis (Good To The Last Death #1) - Robyn Peterman Page 0,26
said, shrugging. “As strange and interesting as this has been, I really have to go. Maybe you can meet with the other gals and that will make you feel better about working at the firm. They’re all really great… except Clarissa.”
“Are you for real?” he asked, looking at me like I had two heads.
“Are you?” I shot right back. I stood up and grabbed Donna.
“If this is an act, you’re brilliant,” he said, clapping his hands condescendingly. “I suppose it could come in handy.”
“Look, I think maybe you… umm… might want to talk to someone. There are a bunch of great doctors in town and if that makes you uncomfortable, you can drive to Atlanta to see someone. It’s only an hour and a half away.”
Gideon’s laugh was as beautiful as he was, and I found myself smiling. Why? Well, probably because I was as bonkers as he was. My desire to make him laugh bordered on absurd and possibly dangerous.
“You think I need a psychiatrist?” he asked, perplexed and amused.
“It couldn’t hurt,” I offered weakly. “It’s not a weakness to get help. It’s a strength.”
Gideon stared at me for a long moment. I couldn’t have ripped my gaze away if I’d wanted to. I didn’t want to. Being the sole focus of his attention was intoxicating in a way I’d never experienced. For a brief moment, I forgot how out of his mind he was.
“You really don’t know,” he whispered in amazement. “You have no clue who or what you are. You’re just walking around completely ignorant. Unbelievable.”
Okay, I was done. Crazy was one thing. Mean was entirely another.
Breathing in slowly through my nose and blowing my breath back out on an audible puff, I glared at him. “You’re an asshole,” I said flatly. “We don’t work together and I know exactly who I am. You, my friend—and I use the term very loosely—need some help with your manners and probably a whole bunch of other things. However, you’re not my problem, thank God. So, in the future, stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. And if you try to get me fired, I will slap your ass with a harassment suit so fast your head will spin.”
Donna was squirming to get out of my arms to lick the certifiable and cruel idiot who was sitting there with his mouth hanging open in shock. It was evident by his reaction that he wasn’t used to being called an asshole.
My puppy was definitely a traitor. I adored her, but she had some shitty taste in men. That shouldn’t surprise me since she was my dog, and I wasn’t much better.
“You are a wonder,” Gideon said as a wide smile pulled at his lips.
“And you’re a lunatic,” I said as I turned and marched out of the park.
“Just so you know, Daisy,” Gideon called out with a laugh. “Mine’s not tiny, and I’m not hairy.”
I didn’t even turn around.
“Good for you,” I yelled as I headed for my car. “I’m sure someone will be appreciative of that.”
“Oh, you will,” he added.
“I can add sexual harassment to the lawsuit, buster,” I shouted, putting Donna into the car, starting it and flooring it out of town like the devil was chasing me.
Of course, my windows were open, and the last thing I heard as I drove away was his laughter. Damn me, if I didn’t love the sound. It was stupidly addictive.
From now till the end of time, I would avoid Gideon like the plague. He was bad juju and I didn’t need any more than I already had.
The man was crazy and dead wrong. I would never appreciate Gideon Whatever-his-last-name-was.
Ever.
“Oh, hell no,” I said, pulling into my driveway and shuddering. “This can’t be happening.”
Clarissa Smith sat on my front porch swing. I was going to have to sage the damn thing when she left, which would be immediately if I had any say in the matter. She might be my supervisor at work, but she wasn’t allowed at my home.
Donna growled and refused to leave the car. I didn’t blame her. I considered backing out of the driveway and speeding away, but I had a horrible feeling the viper would still be on the swing when I returned. Clarissa was a determined person.
“Daisy,” she called out. “I need to have a word with you.”
I’d heard that phrase earlier and it hadn’t turned out so well. I didn’t expect this conversation to go any better.