Page 87 of Forced Proximity

‘You heard me.’

What the hell? Seriously, what universe am I living in right now? Whatever. I don’t need this shit. ‘I don’t know what the hell—’

‘Really, Justin?’ Zane narrows their eyes. ‘What you said to Doc last week, not cool.’

Shit. Heat rises to my face. ‘I was upset, okay?’

‘’Cause she “turned you down?”’ Zane flickers their two fingers in the air.

‘I don’t know why you’re putting air quotes around “turned you down”.’ I grab sweatpants from my drawer. ‘She flat out said no. So fucking sue me that I don’t want to talk to her. I totally misread the situation, and I don’t want to talk about it.’

Zane turns, their face a fiery red. They stomp to the window and stare over the courtyard until their back relaxes. ‘Why do you think she turned you down?’

‘Didn’t I say I don’t want to talk about it?’ Zane clearly doesn’t care whether I want to talk or not. They sit on the chair in the corner and fold their arms again, and for a second, I almost admire the act of defiance. My shoulders slump. Fine. ‘Why does anyone turn anyone down? Because they don’t feel the same way.’

‘So you never got the sense she felt the same?’

That’s what’s so confusing – for months, I swore something more than friendship brewed. ‘I thought she did, which is why I’m all jacked up.’

Zane taps their fingers on the armrest. ‘What was her job? Why was Doc here in the first place?’

‘We gonna have a bullshit pseudo-therapy session?’ I tug off my jeans and push my legs through the sweatpants. When I catch Zane’s narrowed gaze, I slump on the bed. ‘She was hired to protect me.’

‘Was she good at her job?’

What the hell kind of question is this? Everyone sees Lexi’s dedication. ‘Well, yeah. Maybe overzealous at times.’

Of course she’s amazing. Her professionalism and freakish attention to detail, her ability to memorize all exits within five seconds of entering a building, her confidence and leadership when speaking with security teams, is for the record books.

‘Do you know outside the grocery store with the guy, I tried to block her?’ I pinch at the comforter. ‘Swear to God it took her like two seconds to get out of my hold, whip out her gun and take control. It was like watching a scene from an action flick.’

Zane throws their arm on the back of the chair. ‘What makes someone good at this type of job?’

God these questions. I want to stew in my anger, but this crap is softening me. Which makes me feel worse. ‘I don’t know. Probably strength, attention to detail, training.’

‘Yes, what else?’

I throw my head back on the pillow and pinch the bridge of my nose. ‘Focus, I guess?’

Zane stays quiet for several seconds. ‘So, let’s say she didn’t turn you down and instead said she had serious, strong feelings for you.’

‘This is a stupid hypothetical game,’ I snap. I’m officially over this conversation. Zane is doing their ‘Zane-thing’ making me talk about shit I don’t want to. ‘What are you getting at?’

Zane draws lines on their knee with a fingertip. ‘Do you think she would be as effective in her job?’

The words sink low. ‘No, I guess not.’

‘You’ve spent twelve hours a day with Doc for months.’ Zane stands and grabs my jeans off the floor. ‘Do you think she prides herself on her job and professionalism?’

‘Of course.’

‘Do you think she takes her job seriously, has her client’s best interest at heart and puts others in front of her own needs?’

Too many words. I don’t want to think. ‘Yeah.’

Zane folds my jeans and hugs them against their chest. ‘And would you say her greatest fear is that the person she’s protecting gets hurt under her watch?’

Oh God. The environmental CEO. ‘Definitely.’