Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right

“You probably don’t know this, but I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’m as pure as they come. Not like you, with your complicated love life–an ex–fiancé, that guy who keeps messing with your hair, and let’s not forget Wayne.” Hayden’s voice was so calm it almost drove me crazy.

I opened my mouth to snap back, but before I could get a word out, he dropped his gaze. “So, really, I should be the one worrying. If people find out we shared a room last night, they might think I’m not so innocent anymore.”

“Are you saying I ruined your precious purity?” I shot back, feeling my temper flare up.

“Not at all. You were very well–behaved last night–no improper advances toward me whatsoever,” Hayden said, his tone dripping with fake innocence, like he was some damsel in distress and I was the sleazy villain who’d taken advantage of him.

‘Unbelievable. This guy is so full of it!‘ I fumed silently, too angry to even find the right words.

I took my frustration out on the custard roll in my hand, ripping it apart like it had personally offended me. “If you want to stay pure, you better keep your distance from me,” I finally retorted after swallowing the last bite.

“That might be tricky, unless we stop working together, Hayden said, laying down his napkin and

1. up.

I was left speechless.

standing

By the time I finished breakfast, Demi was wrapping up hers too. She said goodbye to her old friend, promising to call ahead next time she visited Seavora so they could really catch up.

As soon as she got in the car, she turned to me, “Keira, what were you and Mr. Hart talking about? He wouldn’t stop chatting with you.”

I couldn’t help but feel exasperated. Clearly, even though she was having lunch with her old friend, her mind had been glued to me and Hayden the whole time.

“Nothing much,” I answered, trying to shut down the conversation before it started.

Demi blinked, not buying it. So I added, “Just work stuff. Looks like we’ll be pulling more overtime.”

“What?!” Demi’s cheerful expression vanished in an instant. “Mr. Hart has zero compassion! He’s totally ruthless.”

I stayed quiet as we drove to the amusement park, but Hayden wasn’t there yet.

We parked just as Hayden rolled up–on an electric bike

“Keira, does Mr. Hart ride an e–bike every day? I didn’t think there were still guys who’d actually do that,” Demi said, clearly shocked. I was a little surprised too

I had always assumed he either grabbed a cab or took the subway, but apparently, he’d been using one of those bike–share electric bikes.

“Mr. Hart, you should ditch that bike and just ride with us. There’s plenty of room in Keira’s car,” Demi

suggested, speaking up like she was doing me a favor,

I was about to say something when Hayden looked over at me. “Alright. I appreciate it, Ms. Kay.”

Once again, I was left speechless.

Twice in one morning, and he’d managed to leave me speechless both times. I couldn’t even vent my frustration properly

So, I ended up snapping at Demi instead. “Next time, could you maybe check with me before making decisions like that?” Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Demi caught onto my irritation right away. “I was just trying to be efficient and think about safety. Mr. Hart isn’t familiar with the area, and riding an e–bike could be dangerous. If something happened to him, how would we finish the project on time?”

Once again, I had nothing to say.

“I’ll make sure to ask you next time,” Demi promised, leaning in to give me a playful hug.

I sighed, giving in, and tapped her on the head with my finger. “You’re in charge of all the running around

today.”

“No problem! I’ve got the legs for it,” Demi replied, her optimism unbreakable, like an unkillable cockroach. “Great, then you can work with Mr. Hart today. I’ll head over to the other side to

coordinate with Eugene on the other progress points,” I said, determined to avoid Hayden as much as possible.

But as soon as I reached Eugene, my phone rang. It was Demi. “Keira, I’m done over here.”

“What?” I asked, totally confused.

“Mr. Hart said we’re taking the day off,” Demi’s words set my temper off.