Dating Coach For Hire (A Love Under Contract Novel, Book 2) by Laurie LeClair

Author:Laurie LeClair [LeClair, Laurie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laurie LeClair

Chapter 16

Tuesday evening, Phoebe paced the sidewalk outside the cute, hip café, her new heels clicking with each step. Arriving fifteen minutes early didn’t help. It only made her imagination go wild with awful scenarios of what the speed-dating pool revealed. Never mind her dismal performance to come. She was bound to flub up somewhere.

Dread and a sense of hopeless failure plagued her.

Several people—a mix of women and men—eyed her as they passed by and then entered. She wondered whether they were some of the daters.

“Where are you, Tag? Don’t leave me hanging like this.” Her muttering continued. “It’s a sign. I should just pack it in and go home.”

The day went all wrong from the get-go. After frantically texting her dad for days now—because he didn’t pick up when she called—he’d finally replied. Only the message was not a welcome one.

Dinner. Friday night at 7 p.m. The usual place. See you then, sweetheart.

Just the thought of having to face her parents whipped up a fresh bout of anxiety. Her belly squeezed again at the prospect of the upcoming, unpleasant for sure, meeting.

Then, her coworkers were giving her a wide berth all day. At lunch, she walked into the small break room and three of them stopped their conversation—like, instantly.

Never a good sign.

The strange looks were unnerving, so she’d turned around and stormed outside, eating solo on a nearby bench. At least the afternoon sunshine warmed the coldness deep inside.

And the worst of it was when Monty, once her trainer at the library and now her friendly coworker, showed up for his shift an hour before hers ended. His wild, grayish-blond hair sticking up in disarray emphasized his tall, lanky body even more than usual.

At least he spoke to her. However, what he said surprised her. “I didn’t know you weren’t happy here.”

“What?” Could they see how bored she’d become lately? In a slump? She thought she hid it well, too.

He looked over his shoulder, obviously making certain no one eavesdropped on them. “Rumor has it that you applied for another job.”

Phoebe did a double take. It became clear now. Tag must have contacted the library for her work history. For a guy who liked to break the rules, he certainly followed the book when it came to employing people.

“Oh, that. It’s a part-time gig. I’m helping a friend,” she hesitated on that word, “who’s short-staffed at the moment. No biggie.”

Monty’s eyebrows shot up, nearly meeting his hairline. “That’s it? It sounded more permanent.”

“Temp thing.” She brushed it off.

But, hours later, something nagged at her still. She hated being the subject of someone’s conversation. It was more, though. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what caused the unease.

So it only added to her stress—the level increasing as minutes ticked away with no sign of Tag.

If she wasn’t so desperate to get a date or multiple ones and help write that darn article with her besties, she’d have stomped away—okay, run as fast and far as she could.

Phoebe huffed, throwing up her hands, and then turned to the door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.