Chapter 3: Insufferable

SLOAN

Once we get into the main hallway, he sets me on my feet and smiles. “Will you come with me?”

“Yes, but I’ll walk if that’s okay with you.”

He smirks. “Sassy, sassy, I like it.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Well, come on.” He grins before heading out the door.

I follow him and try to keep his stride, but he’s much taller than me, and I’m having a hard time keeping up. “Hey, where’s the fire?”

He chuckles. “Sorry, short stuff, I’ll slow down.”

I just glare at him. “Are you just gonna pick on me the whole time?”

“No, actually, I’m going to flirt with you some more,” he says with a flirty smile.

“You shouldn’t.”

“Why? Do you bite?” he says and he almost looks hopeful.

“I have a boyfriend,” I admit.

“So?” he says matter-of-factly.

“So?”

He smiles confidently. “Just a speed bump on my way to what I want.”

“And what do you want?”

~“You.”~

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m pretty particular. I know what I like.”

I giggle. “We’ll see if that works out for you.”

He looks right into my eyes. “It will.”

His confidence is off the charts, but it’s not like he has a big head. There is something about him that’s magnetic and he just shuts me right up.

We get to the coffee shop and sit down, and a waitress comes over to take our order.

Kade smiles. “So, tell me about him.”

“Who?”

“This boyfriend?”

“Archie? Well, we’ve—”

He laughs. “Wait, Archie?”

“Yes, it’s a family name. Better than Archibald.”

“Oh, he’s one of those?” he says, nodding his head like he already knows everything.

“One of what?”

He chuckles. “He sounds like a fancy rich boy.”

“He is,” I admit.

“That’s not a good thing.”

“How do you know?” I ask, genuinely curious about what he is going to say.

“It never is. I doubt he pays attention to you.”

~“He does,”~ I rebut without even thinking.

“Really?” He raises an eyebrow.

“He’s busy.”

Kade smiles. “Here come the excuses.”

“They are just facts.”

He smiles. “Sloan, you are beautiful.”

I feel heat rising to my cheeks and a flutter in my chest.

“See my point? When was the last time he said that to you?”

“Um…”

“You don’t have to answer. Just think about it.”

“Kade, you’re infuriating.”

“Saucy.”

“It’s the truth.”

The waitress brings our coffees, but that doesn’t mean that Kade is going to let me off easy.

“How long have you been dating Archie?”

“Five years.”

“Five years?” he asks and he looks shocked.

“Yes.”

His face looks almost pained. “Sloan…”

“What?”

“Isn’t it kind of one of those piss-or-get-off-the-pot situations at this point?”

“What are you on about?”

“I know girls like you. Why aren’t you engaged? Or maybe I’m wrong, and you’re just not the marrying kind?”

“I, um…”

“I see,” he says, smiling triumphantly.

“What are you, the love doctor?” I push back.

“Yes, baby. Call me Doctor Love.”

“Are you always this insufferable?”

“I will grow on you.”

“We’ll see about that.” ~All right, Kade, time to flip this back on you.~ “And what about you, why don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“I was waiting for you to show up.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“Why not?” he asks and looks genuinely shocked.

“You must meet tons of women being in a band.”

“I do.”

“Oh, so you’re just not into the whole girlfriend thing?” I ask.

“I am but, as I said, I know what I like. I don’t want to play games.”

He just shut me right up again. There has to be something wrong with this guy; no one looks like him, is successful, kind, and completely available and ready for love. It just doesn’t happen.

He smiles. “Should I get you back? Don’t want to miss lunch with Archie-kins.”

“I won’t.”

“How can you be sure? Maybe he’ll surprise you.”

“He doesn’t even know where I am,” I admit.

“How is that possible?”

“We don’t talk about work much.”

“Well, it sounds like your job is important. Talk to me about it,” he says.

“Really?”

“Why not?”

“Archie says it’s bland and uninteresting girly things,” I explain.

“Sloan, that’s horrible,” he says, looking genuinely upset.

“Um, well, I don’t like it, but he’s under a lot of stress.”

“So? Aren’t you?”

“Yes, actually. I just got this promotion, and now this party is on my shoulders and it’s more than I can handle, but I really need to succeed, because it would put me in my boss’s good graces…

“Whoa, sorry,” I say, blushing once I realize I’m rambling.

“See, you need to talk,” he insists.

“Well, I’ve been working toward this promotion for two years and I’ve only had it a week, but my boss put me in charge of styling the party.”

He smiles. “Hence, the purple cloud.”

“Don’t remind me. I have to work with the leftovers that the event planners purchased; there’s no more money. I never would have chosen the purple cloud, but I have to make the best of it,” I explain.

“What is the goal here?”

I laugh. “To pull off an Internet-breaking event that makes my boss happy.”

“How can you do that?”

“I have to make the event look gram-able, and like LILAC, it has to attract influencers and other people to our website. She wants to create a buzz around us.”

Kade smiles. “Maybe I can help.”

“Why would you do that?”

He playfully bats his eyelashes. “Because I’m a sweetheart.”

I laugh. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“You’ll see, I’ll win you over. Give me a week.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head involuntarily.

“Come on, I don’t want to keep you from your work any longer.”

He pays for the coffee and walks me back to the venue.

“Thanks, Kade, I actually had fun.”

“Me, too, but I’m leaving now, so no more falling over,” he says with a laugh.

“You’re leaving?”

“Why? Will you miss me?”

I laugh and turn to leave. “Not anymore.”

“Wait, give me your number.”

“Why?”

“We’re friends now, right? If you need to talk about your job or anything, you can talk to me.” He smiles, and I know I’m not going to be able to say no to him. He’s dangerous.

He passes his phone to me, and I put my number in it. “Mm-hm, give me one week.” He smirks and turns to leave.

~Oh, my God! What an insufferable, incredibly kind, sweet, perceptive, sexy man.~

~Oh no, Sloan, you’re in trouble.~

I go back into the venue and start to tie more flowers. After I finish making them all, I think it’s better if I leave the hanging for someone else to do.

Before I head back to the office, I take a few teaser pictures for LILAC’s Instagram.

During the drive back, I try to focus on the event, even though my mind keeps slipping to a certain sexy singer who saved me from broken bones today.

When I walk into the main hallway, Marlene is standing there with her mouth agape. “There she is! What did you do?”

“Uh, I made flowers. Why, what did I do?”

She grins widely. “Our Instagram is blowing up.”

“Why?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. Kade Lawson is raving about how you’re going to put on the event of the season.”

“Uh, what?”

“Here, look,” she says and she hands me her phone.

It’s a tagged photo of the venue, tinted LILAC’s shade of purple, posted on Kade’s personal Instagram.

The caption reads: ~Don’t miss LILAC’s 10th-anniversary party, our last local gig. But~ ~not only that, Sloan Kennedy is styling the event of the season. If you’re not on the guest list, you want to be.~

“Holy shit,” I whisper.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“How did you pull this off?”

“I had coffee with him,” I say sweetly.

Marlene smiles. “~That!~ Keep doing that. I’m very proud, Sloan. Good job!”

“Thank you. I, um, made some lilacs and took some pictures. Do you want to post them to Instagram? It might be good to capitalize on this momentum,” I say as I hand her my phone.

“Yes, send these to Carly Anderson. Great job, Sloan. Really great job.” Marlene walks away smiling.

I go into my office to sit down and think about things for a little bit. When I check my phone, I have a text from Archie. ~What? That’s weird.~

Archie

Honey, can you move the LILAC party?

~What the hell? Can I move the LILAC party? Who is he kidding?~

Sloan

Archie? No, I can’t.

Archie

I can’t go then.

Sloan

Why? You said you’d be there. It’s really important.

Archie

There is a Smith & Co. dinner with investors. I can’t miss it.

Sloan

Archie, this really sucks.

Archie

Don’t talk like that, it’s not ladylike. I’m sorry. You’ll have to go to the party on your own.

I’m too angry to reply. I pack up my stuff and make my way to my car, then attempt to tune out the world and my emotions by listening to music until I get home.