off the compliment before he crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess I’m a people person.”
“Evidently.” I listened to the mechanisms in the shaft as the elevator moved to where we were.
He didn’t seem to take my compliments seriously, like he understood I was just being candid and nice and not actually hitting on him. Someone like him should be cocky and self-absorbed, but he seemed totally different from the other guys I knew of his caliber. They preferred to talk about themselves all the time, but Dex had an actual conversation with you, and he seemed down-to-earth. “Where were you?”
“42A.”
“Uh, Jason,” he said with a slight nod. “How’s he doing?”
“He seems pretty down.”
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “Poor guy. He’s a good dude. Doesn’t deserve it.”
“He told me he hopes his wife comes back because he still loves her. I think he deserves better, but I didn’t tell him that.”
He turned his head to look at the elevator doors even though they hadn’t opened yet.
“So, you’re anti-marriage?” I hadn’t forgotten his outburst a few weeks ago. It had been such a strange thing to say, especially coming from him, a positive person.
He turned back to me, his expression slightly hard. “Why do you say that?”
He really had no idea? “Uh, because of what you said at the party.”
The doors opened, and Dex stepped inside. He faced the doors and crossed his arms over his chest, saying nothing. His mood was definitely down after I asked the question, and the ride to the lobby was spent in tense silence.
Now I regretted asking him. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. None of my business.” I faced forward again, hating the fact that I might have jeopardized my closest relationship at work. I never would have asked something like that if he hadn’t mentioned it in the first place.
The doors opened to face the exit to the street, but he didn’t step out. “I’m not anti-marriage. I think marriage is a beautiful thing for the people who are meant to have it. But not all people are meant for it—and I’m one of those people.”
9
Dex
I sat at my desk beside my mom, reading the SAT book on my device that I was using to instruct Max. The kid was smart, had all the knowledge to do well, but I needed to teach him to the test. Unfortunately, the exam wasn’t a true test of knowledge, and you had to learn it like it was a whole discipline.
Mom worked on the computer. “All of the clients are talking about Sicily.”
I didn’t pull my eyes away from the screen. “Yeah?”
“They all really like her.”
“She’s pretty cool.”
“She dragged her feet for a while, but once she jumped in headfirst, she did well. It was exactly what I expected.”
I looked up and turned to my mother. “Yes, you’re a great judge of character…if you’re fishing for a compliment.”
She chuckled. “I’m not. I’m just happy that I was right. Matt really likes her too. Jason told me that she’s delightful. The clients seem to enjoy her company whenever they run into her. That’s usually the hardest part, learning when to engage and when to leave them alone, but she nailed it.”
“Has Big Bitch bothered you?”
“Dex.” She turned her head to give me a glare.
“What?” I asked incredulously. “He’s not a client anymore, so who cares?”
“It’s still rude.”
“Oh, you want to talk about rude?” I asked. “He screamed at Sicily when he knew she was brand-new. And then he went up against you… Idiot.”
“I still don’t like calling people names. It’s not nice.”
“If he doesn’t want to be called a bitch, he shouldn’t act like one.”
She looked at me in the same way as she did when I was little, like she thought my behavior was funny, but she had to make the right parenting move by scolding me. “No more, alright?”
“Alright, Boss.”
“Thank you.” She turned back to her computer.
“Heard from him?”
She shook her head. “I hope that means he’s working on selling the place because his ass is gone in thirty days per his contract.”
“I’ll throw him out for you.”
“No,” she said with a slight smile. “I’m not letting that man go anywhere near my baby.”
I was closing in on thirty, but she still called me that sometimes. It didn’t bother me because I knew what it was like to almost lose her, and I’d never taken her for granted again after that. My job wasn’t as respectable as my old profession, but it was nice to