Chapter 9

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Alex

I SLAMMED MY OFFICE door closed, not wanting to be bothered with anyone or anything. I was sick of this place, sick of my job, sick of everything. This was so not what I wanted to do with my life, but I was given no choice. My dream had been crushed years ago, and any thoughts of chasing it were dead and buried.

“Be creative and think outside the box like Rose does,” I mocked my uncle as I took a seat at my desk. How could she have him so fooled? He was an intelligent man, especially when it came to his business, so why did he become putty in her hands whenever she was around? The whole idea of launching a female version of the magazine was ludicrous, and the fact he was letting her basically take it over even more so. My blood boiled just thinking about the smug smile on her face when my uncle sat there like a trained puppy dog agreeing with everything she said. She seemed to have everyone else in this place wrapped around her finger too. Was I the only one who could see right through her?

“Come in,” I shouted to the knock on my door.

“Do you have time for me to install this new update on your computer?” Kent asked.

“Oh yeah.” I got up and let him have a seat.

He started to get to work, studying my computer screen, then lifted his head with a huge grin upon his face. “That was pretty funny with Rose earlier when her leg rubbed against the chair.”

“Hysterical.” My sarcasm was evident.

“Why do you hate her so much?” he asked.

“Why do you like her so much?”

He shrugged. “She’s got good sense in fashion.”

I chuckled. “Just to let you know, all your compliments you’re giving her on her good sense in fashion, she’s taking the wrong way.”

“What do you mean?” He creased his eyebrows in confusion.

“Let’s just say, I overheard her telling Lucy that you had a thing for her with your endless compliments…but you’re so not her type,” I mocked in my best Rose impression.

Kent threw his head back and laughed. “Wait, she doesn’t know?”

“That you’re gay? Apparently not or maybe she does, and she just thinks she’s so wonderful that she can make you go the other way.”

“So, if she doesn’t know I’m gay, why does she think I’m not her type? What did she say was wrong with me? Is it my hair? I noticed it was thinning a little the other day.” He dropped his head, giving me a full view of his hairline. “Can you notice? Oh, God, I knew I should’ve started taking those vitamins for thinning hair!”

“Will you relax? It’s not your hair, it’s your financial status.”

“Huh?” He calmed himself ever so slightly once he knew his hair was no longer the issue.

“The point is, no man is her type, unless they have a multimillion-dollar bank account.”

“Wait, are you bitter toward her because you tried and struck out?”

“Hell no, I wouldn’t try to get with her if she were the last woman on Earth.”

He let out a loud laugh. “Does that mean you’d be coming over to my side?”

“Umm…no.” I shook my head and chuckled. “I just wish everyone else could see her for what she is.”

“And what would that be, Alex?”

“A self-centered little bitch.”

His narrow eyes keenly studied my expression. “Do you really feel that way or are you just saying that to hide your true feelings?”

“What? Get the hell out of here! You stick with what you know best—computers—and leave me and my feelings to me. Which for the record, you are dead wrong about.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, but my mother used to say, ‘One would never put that much energy into hating someone unless they really had some hidden feelings for them.’ Just sayin’!” He flashed me a toothy grin and began to type away on the keyboard.

“Well, you can tell your mother I do have feelings for her.”

“Oh?” He raised his head from the computer with an inquisitive gaze.

I took a seat on the other side of my desk. “Loathe, despise, detest…shall I continue?”

“Wow, I get it, but I thought you Southern boys were supposed to be gentlemen.”

“Only when there’s a woman worthy of that chivalry, and trust me, a girl like Rose Perkins is not.”

“So, what are you gonna do? Sulk and be miserable every time she’s around? I got news for you, buddy, that’s gonna get exhausting after a while.”

I leaned back in my chair and put my feet on my desk. “Oh no, I don’t plan on sulking…I plan on putting her in her place and bringing her down a few pegs.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“That’s my little secret.” I smiled just imagining the look on her face when she was finally brought back to reality.