Second Chance Mess (Bad News Billionaires #1) - Lucia Jordan Page 0,16

back again. Max was right, about both my feelings for Brooke and about how not to handle all of this.

I walked over to the limo and had the driver take me home. On the ride, I called Max.

“You look like shit,” he said over the video chat.

“I’m beginning to think that is your new greeting for me,” I said, feeling completely defeated.

“It’s going to be until you stop looking like shit,” he said. “What happened?”

“I blew it with Brooke.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, again. I don’t know what to do to fix the situation,” I said. “But I am more sure each passing moment that I have to win her back, Max. I need to.”

“All right, man, well, get home and get some rest and let’s talk about it in the morning. Until then, don’t do anything else stupid.”

9

Chapter Six (Brooke)

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said to Kate as she badgered me all morning at work about how my date with Tim had gone the night before.

“Well, I can tell by your face that it sucked,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s why I don’t want to talk about it,” I said again.

Kate stood between me and the coffee grinder, where I was trying to brew a fresh pot of coffee.

“I’m not moving until you tell me what happened,” she insisted.

“You’re going to get us both fired.”

She shrugged and held her ground.

“Fine,” I relented. “We had a few drinks at the bar, and he tried to kiss me and feel me up.”

Kate looked like she was waiting for the punchline. “Wait, that’s it? That’s all that happened?” she said when she realized that I had nothing else to say.

“Yeah, Kate. That was enough. We were supposed to be talking and working things out. Tim just wanted an easy hook-up.”

“I don’t know,” she said as she shook her head. “I think maybe you’re reading too much into that. He’s a guy, he’s attracted to you and has feelings for you, and you guys were drinking and making up. It doesn’t seem that awful to me that he would try to make a move. I mean, he didn’t push you or anything, did he?”

“No, of course not. I got up and left.”

“And what did he do?”

“He chased me to the elevator and then apologized.”

Kate gave me side-eye as I gently pushed her out of the way of the coffee grinder so that I could get work done.

“Girls,” the manager said as he came out of his office. “There’s just been a huge corporate order that needs to be made and delivered within the next hour.

“Cool,” Kate says. “I’ll deliver it; I could use some fresh air. Where’s it going to?”

“The Cubed office building just around the corner. But Brooke is delivering the order. She was specially requested.”

“Oh no,” I said, immediately wondering what kind of game this was that Tim was playing at. “I’m not delivering that order.”

“Yes,” my boss said. “You are. They were very clear about the request. The customer said that either you deliver it or they’ll cancel the order and place it elsewhere. Lord knows why they want you of all people to deliver it, but that’s the deal.”

“Your confidence in me is overwhelming,” I said sarcastically. “But then just let them go elsewhere, we have other orders.”

“I don’t think you’re hearing me,” he said with a sterner tone than before. “This is a giant corporate order. Either you deliver it as promised, or you can pack up your apron and go home.”

“Shit,” Kate said under her breath.

“Fine,” I grumbled. “Kate, help me brew the coffee.”

As Kate and I brewed the thirty coffees that Tim had ordered, I wondered how the hell I was even going to carry this much coffee up there.

“He requested you specifically so that he can see you again,” Kate said. “It’s pretty clever, actually.”

“Kate, can you please stop siding with him?”

“I’m not siding with anyone; I’m just observant.”

“Well, you’re supposed to be siding with me,” I said gruffly.

“Oh come on,” she said as she put her arm around my shoulder. “You know I always side with you.”

She went into the back room to grab a carrier cart to load all of the coffees onto for me and then held the door as I left to go deliver the order to Cubed. I was mad that Tim was forcing my hand at this. It really wasn’t cool for him to involve my job. Sometimes I felt like he was really making an effort, and other times I felt