The song ends as the men whistle and cheer the women on. When it finishes, I clear my throat before the next song plays. Everyone turns to me.
I’m not mad, far from it. I’m amused and happy everyone had fun, but I’m exhausted and still need to answer some of Emma’s questions for the paper.
Emma’s friend, Jake, who’s probably as wealthy as Emma, lowers the volume of the music and crosses his arms. He narrows his eyes at me, and I know that he most likely caught me staring at Emma.
I manage to look away, realizing I need to be more careful around that guy if he comes here again. Emma’s smart and probably didn’t tell him anything, but the guy isn’t dumb. Either he’s a suspicious and concerned friend or he has a thing for her—something I haven’t been able to figure out yet, and I’m not sure which is worse.
“Why did you stop the music, Jake?” Marina asks, and I raise both eyebrows at her. “Ignore Grayson. He’s not mad, he just wants to get home soon.” She looks in my direction, waiting for me to confirm.
Rolling my eyes and finally setting the trays down by thesink, I lean against the counter. “I don’t want to be a mood killer, but can you guys cleanandsing at the same time?”
The women grunt as they move back to their original spots, and I give Jake a quick nod, letting him know he can turn the music back on. He leans over to the speaker and turns the volume up to “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”
He moves back to where he was cleaning, and he and Dakota almost collide. They look at each other in disgust and head to opposite ends of the kitchen. I make a mental note to keep them apart at all costs. I don’t have the time or patience for that petty college drama here.
Emma’s light voice sounds from where she’s drying dishes that one of my guys is passing to her. Her hair, tied in a messy bun, moves slightly as she sways in place. Henri, one of my go-to guys here, keeps moving his eyes to her, constantly checking her out. Emma is none the wiser, and as I tell that green monster in me to go away, I still feel uncomfortable with the way his eyes roam up and down her body.
Henri isn’t a bad guy, but he isn’t even attempting to hide his attraction to her. He’s acting like a fifteen-year-old boy instead of a twenty-five-year-old adult.
“Ms. Haywood,” I say loudly, and she stops everything she’s doing. Her face turns toward me, and I see the nerves behind her eyes. I hate that I do that to her. It’s my fault for being such a dick and giving her mixed signals, as she called me out on. “Meet me in the dining room for today’s interview once you’re ready.”
She smiles excitedly. “I’ll be there right after I finish drying these dishes.”
Looking at the stack, I see only a couple of items left and give her a polite nod. Henri looks at me when Emma turns back to her task, and I glare at him. He stiffens and moves two steps away from her.
Better.
When I go to open the door, I catch Marina’s stare, and she shakes her head and smiles.
She’s known me for over twenty years, and she knew my parents for three years before I was born, when they met on a trip to Spain. There’s no way she doesn’t know there’s something between Emma and me.
But…there’s nothing between Emma and me. Nothing except some idiotic flirting and mixed feelings. From my end, that is.
I can tell Emma still feels something, too, and is trying to suppress it. I’m not sure how deep those feelings run. She rejected Leo, yet she also protected him the other day. Then again, I was kind of hard on the guy.
I’ve never been a jealous man, especially when the person isn’t someone I’m dating. Yet, for some reason, I was with her and absolutely despised it. I let out a long sigh and look for a way to distract myself.
Sitting at a clean table, I pull out my phone, and my finger hovers over Wesley’s number. We haven’t spoken in a week because of his busy schedule, and I miss my brother.
Tapping his phone number, I hear the line ring.
By the fourth ring, he picks up. “Hey, Grayson.”
Shit, his tone is the one he uses when he’s distracted. I could’ve sworn he was on his break.
“Hey, Wes. Are you busy?”
“Kind of, but I’m on a break, so I can talk for a bit.” There’s some rustling as if a folder is being closed. “I’m all yours for the next five minutes.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Cut me some slack, G. Flu season just started.” He sighs and yawns.
I lean my forearm on the table. “Let’s make this quick, then. Are you getting enough rest? Is your boss treating you any better? Have you spoken to Lainey lately? Are you still coming for Thanksgiving? And has your social life gotten any better since the last time we spoke?”
“No, no, yes, yes, and no.” He pauses. “Lainey’s having a blast but is also exhausted.”
“Yeah, she texts me every other day with some new and exciting event that happened in whatever country she’s in. She also tells me about the gossip inside the orchestra.” I laugh. “I’m still trying to keep up with who’s dating whom and who cheated on whom.”