Page 66 of Getting Down to Business

“I’m going for groceries, remember? It’s my turn.”

“Right. Do you care if I go out? Doug needs to vent before he combusts, and Chanda is working.”

“Are you asking me if you can go out, after you asked me to buy you the striped cookies this morning? God, Gray. What the hell?”

“Relax. I’m sorry. It was more of a courtesy than asking for permission.”

“Are you sure?” He wasn’t sure. He was comfortable with her, and that comfort leeched out into other areas. Areas that could be interpreted as intimacy.

“I’m going out tonight. I’ll see you when I see you. And don’t stay up.” He tried the tough guy routine, which just made them laugh.

“Do you mean I’ll see you when you crawl in my bed to snuggle?”

“Women are supposed to like snuggling. There is something very wrong with you,” Gray said.

“Yep,” she agreed easily. “I’ve got to go. This report isn’t going to analyze itself.”

Gray chuckled and hung up, his heart happy.

He didn’t love Alyssa. He was pretty sure of it. He hoped for his sake he didn’t love her. If grocery requests and brushing their teeth together freaked her out, falling in love with her was a very bad idea.

That night after work, Doug wanted to go to a different bar than where Chanda worked so she wouldn’t think he was a stalker.

“I don’t think she would think that,” Gray said.

“I don’t want to overdo it. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.” He pointed to himself and laughed.

Gray caught himself checking his phone a few times, wishing the night would speed by so he could go home. He knew it was important to go out with his friends. It was healthy, and with the way he’d been feeling that morning, he felt it was necessary to get out and prove to himself he wasn’t in love.

“Hi there.” A brunette with bright red lips stood next to him.

“Hello.”

“I’m Hailey,” she said, though he hadn’t asked, nor would he have asked given the opportunity. That was probably a bad sign.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“It’s kind of chilly in here,” she noted, making small talk.

“Well, the air conditioning is cranked up and you’re hardly wearing any clothes,” Gray pointed out, remembering too late that strangers didn’t converse with this much honesty. This comment threw her for a moment, but she rebounded quickly.

“Where do you work?”

“Sanitation,” he lied.

“Really?” she looked him over in his dress shirt and slacks. “I hear they make great money.”

“Oh, sure,” he agreed. “And we get plenty of free stuff too. This morning I scored half a bag of chips and a bottle of shampoo.” Alyssa would have laughed, Hailey didn’t. In the short time they’d lived together, Alyssa had ruined his ability to communicate with other humans.

Hailey twitched and then pretended she saw someone she knew on the other side of the room.

“What was that about?” Doug asked.

“I’m just not interested.” Which was a good thing since he’d totally blown it.

“She’s not doing it for you?” Doug raised his brows.

“I think I’m going to head out.” Grayson didn’t want to get into all the reasons why Hailey didn’t measure up to Liss.