Page 98 of Too Good to Be True

Just then, Britney appeared in the doorway. “Oh, hi. I thought I heard voices in here.”

“I’m teaching a class today,” Stacy said.

“And I’m attending,” Nick said with a smile.

Britney didn’t look surprised. “Are you two coming to the bar tonight? A bunch of us are going.”

“Where to?” Nick asked.

The last thing Stacy wanted to do was go to the bar, especially if Britney was going to be there. She assumed Nick was just being polite while also throwing Britney off the scent.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll let you know later.” Britney smiled, mostly at him. Then she turned and flounced out of the room, seeming pleased with herself.

She’d invited them both, but Stacy still didn’t trust her. She had a sneaking suspicion that Britney had an ulterior motive for asking them to come.

Nick turned to her and said, “I only acted interested to throw her off. I have no intention of sharing you tonight.”

She could hardly look at him without her insides turning to mush. “Good.”

Smiling, he said, “I’ll let you get back to work.”

After he left, she peeled off the blazer she’d worn over her blouse. Even though today was “jeans day,” she’d opted to wear a pantsuit since she was teaching. Chances were that nobody noticed or cared, but she felt more professional this way.

She brought up her PowerPoint presentation and then placed a printed copy at each seat around the table. She also placed a handful of company pens in the center since inevitably someone would forget to bring one. Then she returned to her laptop and waited for the attendees to arrive.

As the IT employees came in, she greeted them and invited them to sit wherever they felt comfortable. Most smiled and were friendly, but a few seemed put out. Ironically, they were the ones who needed the training the most!

Eric and Nick strolled in together, talking and smiling. She was glad to see them getting along, especially after how disappointed Eric had been about not being awarded the assistant manager position.

Both men looked at her as they took seats at the opposite end of the table.

“Morning,” Eric said congenially.

“Good morning,” she said and smiled.

“Good morning, Stacy,” Nick said.

It was the same sentiment, yet it caused a vastly different reaction in her. Had he said her name on purpose? She loved the sound of it on his lips, especially when they were in bed together.

Oh no. DO NOT think about that right now! “Morning,” she said and then averted her eyes to the laptop.

“I think everyone’s here if you want to get started,” Eric offered.

“Wait!”

Stacy’s gaze flew to the door and landed on Britney. What the hell is she doing here?

“Do you have room for one more? Marie thought it might be a good idea for me to sit in.”

A few people chuckled at the implication, and a couple of the women looked pleased that maybe Britney wasn’t perfect after all.

“Um…well…” Stacy had no real reason to exclude her. However…

“It’s fine. She can squeeze in right here,” Eric said. He’d already stood up and was wheeling an extra chair over to the table.

Stacy wanted to protest when Eric put the chair next to Nick’s instead of his, but she clamped her mouth shut. If anyone sensed something was off, they’d probably blame it on the uninvited guest. Anyone who knew Stacy knew she hated surprises, especially at work.

Britney looked satisfied as she sat down, and Stacy swore she moved her chair closer to Nick’s just to get a rise out of her.