The Two Week Arrangement (Penthouse Affair, #1) novel Chapter 18

But he’s graceful about my faux pas. Without hesitation, he smiles and shakes Bianca’s hand with a warm, “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too. I was curious to finally find out what you looked like,” she says with a mischievous quirk to her lips.

“Presley’s talked about me? Wow, I’m flattered.” He flashes a sheepish grin at me, rubbing the back of his head. “So you’re already introducing me to your friends, huh? Wait, forget it . . . that was a bad joke.”

Bianca giggles. “Cute,” she says, which flusters both me and him.

Austin goes to the bar for us. Per Bianca’s recommendation, we order two mango mojitos, and he gets an IPA. Once we’re settled with our drinks, he asks, “So, did you two meet at work?”

“Nope, in college,” I say. “We were paired up in the dorms as freshmen, and we’ve been together ever since.”

“That’s great you’ve maintained your connection so long. It’s too easy to lose touch with old school friends.” He sips his beer. “So, what exactly do you do at work?”

Did he not understand me, or is he just clumsy at conversation? Oh well, it’s not like my manners have been perfect either.

“A bit of everything,” I say with a shrug. “It’s an internship, so I’m there to learn—and they also want to test me. But I’ve only been there a week. So far, most of the work I’ve done has been in logistics.”

“Cool. Can you be more specific?” he asks.

His abruptness catches me by surprise. “Uh, I guess so. Like budget, supply-chain management . . . oh yeah, I’ve also written a little web copy, I forgot about that.”

“You wrote for Aspen’s website? So if I went there right now, I’d see your work?”

“Just one page. It’s no big deal,” I say, feeling a small flush of shy pride. “My boss said he wants to put my programming skills to use on the back end, but that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Oh, man, for real?” He beams. “You’re beautiful, smart, cool, and you program, too?”

“Yep. She’s pretty much the total package,” Bianca says. “You should think about locking her down sooner rather than later.”

Austin laughs, and I look into my drink to hide my blush. But instead of answering her, he goes right back to prodding me. “Have you ever done any IT work? Or security?”

This goes on for almost ten more minutes. Every time I reply, Austin instantly fires back another question. As excited as I am to work at Aspen, and as much as I love talking about my job, this is starting to feel less like friendly interest and more like an interrogation.

Finally, I say jokingly, “I feel like I’m at a job interview.”

He blinks. “Oh, sorry. I was being awkward, wasn’t I? I’m just really curious about the hospitality industry. I’ve been thinking about changing jobs, and one of my potential leads is a hotel chain. So, about the—”

Bianca leans forward and gives Austin a tight smile. “I think it’s your turn to tell us about yourself. Got any hobbies?”