She crosses her arms. “Why would you even offer that? I’ve been a royal bitch to you for the most part. What’s in it for you?”

I shrug. “I want my time here to go as smoothly as possible. I’d like us to be friends as well as co-workers. I feel like shit for how I treated you at the club and I’m hoping this will get me on your good side. Your friendship will make my job fun. This little pact will provide my entertainment while I’m here and you’ll be getting something in return. I’d say that’s a win-win.”

She toys with a strand of her blonde hair. “So, you’re saying if we form this un-holy alliance, the only thing I have to do is be nice to you? There’s nothing else you want in return from me?”

I shake my head. “Nothing else. I promise. I only want your friendship and the chance to help you make a cheater pay. I have no love for cheaters. I know first hand how many fucking problems cheating in a relationship can cause.”

Holly narrows her blue eyes. “You’ll behave?”

“Yes. I promise I’ll keep my dick in my pants when it comes to you. I’m starting to like you too much to fuck you, anyhow.” I tell her the honest truth, because I know now she’s the relationship type, and that’s not what I’m here for. I don’t want to pretend like I’d be into one with her because I won’t allow myself to play her just to have sex. I won’t be able to toss her aside like I do the rest. I already like her to much to do that.

“That makes no sense. You like me too much now to sleep with me? That’s just an odd thing to say, but whatever. The deal seems pretty simple, and I would love to give Jackson a taste of his own medicine and make his ass jealous. It’d be nice to prove to him I can find someone else too.”

“The way I see it, Holly, if my buddy goes into business with your dad, we’ll see a lot of each other. I would like us to be on good terms. I’ll probably be around from time to time after my month here is over and I’d like to walk into your office and have you greet me with a smile instead of a scowl. You’re far to pretty to have an ugly expression on that beautiful face.”

She bites her bottom lip. “I completely get what you’re saying. I don’t want a bad relationship with you either. I think teaming up with you could be fun, but no more flirting with me.”

I shake my head. “Jackson believes we’re together, so we’re going to have to play the part. There will be flirting—lots of it. It’s the only way this will be believable.”

She leans back in the booth and chews her thumbnail while she weighs up her options.

“Clock’s ticking,” I say. “You better make up your mind. He’s coming to see you tomorrow. You can either allow me to fondle you in front of Jackson, making him insanely jealous, or you can go back to hating my guts. The choice is yours.”

Her eyes soften. “I never said I hated you.”

“Actions speak louder than words, sweetness. You haven’t had many kind things to say to me today.” I extend my hand across the table to her. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

She leans forward and places her hand in mine. “Deal. And I promise I’ll start being nicer.”

Looks like my time here just got a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I smile and give her hand a shake. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Chapter 5

I Wanna Be Bad

HOLLY

What the hell did I agree to? That’s the only thought that keeps flitting through my mind as I stare straight ahead on our car ride back to the house. This little game is dangerous. Trip is dangerous. I know that. Every sense in my body screams it. It’s worrisome that I’ve agree to act like Trip and I are an item, considering I know that I’m attracted to him physically, but what he was offering was too sweet of a deal to turn down. Jackson needs to see that I can move on and that my life doesn’t revolve around him. I can’t let him know he nearly broke me.

When I was seventeen, Jackson Cruze was my everything. Even now, it’s a hard to pretend I don’t feel something for him. I’ve drooled over him since I was old enough to like boys in the first place. The moment he came to my father’s track and flashed his dimples at me I was a goner. Jackson was my first real crush, my first boyfriend, and the first guy I ever fell in love with—that all means something to me. What he did to me doesn’t instantly erase all that, although I wish it would. As much as I hate it, I want him back.

Trips downshifts the Mustang as we round the corner and slow down. He pulls into the drive leading to the office and our house. “Where should I park?”

I point to our house. “You can pull up there since you’re staying with us.”

His eyes slide in my direction. “That’ll help you know.”

“What?”

“Me living with you. It’ll drive Jackson nuts knowing we’re probably sleeping together every night.”

I shake my head. “I think you’re wrong about him. He won’t be that jealous over me. He left me, remember?”

He cuts the ignition and sets his gaze on me. “He wants you. He wouldn’t have attempted to push my buttons by making a date with you in front of me if he wasn’t. Jackson wants me to know I’m treading in his territory.”

“Jeesh, you make it sound like it’s a pissing contest.”

“In a manner of speaking, it is. In his eyes, the man that fights for you the hardest will win. We just have to see how far he’s willing to take this.”