Chapter 22

CHAPTER22

“He seems unreasonably mad,” Kelly pointed out and Bailey couldn’t help but agree as they sat there, enjoying a selection of potato chips and popcorn while they watched Quinn reach up and grab hold of the bar that he’d installed in his doorway and pulled himself up, all those tanned muscles in his chest and arms moving in unison as his glare, which was starting to concern her at this point, never wavered.

“He really does,” Jess murmured in agreement as she stole the bowl of Doritos from Nathan.

“I still don’t understand why we’re sitting here staring at him?” Nathan asked, stealing the bowl back as he propped his feet up on the coffee table with a sigh.

“We’re here for emotional support,” Bailey said, nodding solemnly as she reached over to steal Nathan’s Coke only to grumble and pull her hand back when Quinn narrowed his eyes on the move.

“You’re supposed to be at a meeting right now,” Pam mumbled absently around a handful of popcorn while she continued to familiarize herself with Bailey’s schedule.

“We’re at it right now,” Bailey said, gesturing with a chip in Quinn’s direction.

“You scheduled a meeting to watch your bodyguard workout?” Nathan asked, throwing her a questioning look.

“How else was I supposed to ensure that I was there to give him the emotional support that he needs?” Bailey asked, blinking at her brother, deciding not to mention that she’d scheduled this meeting every day when she realized a few days ago that Quinn always worked out at this time with his shirt off.

Frowning, Nathan asked, “Then, why did you add me to this meeting?”

“Because I wanted to ensure that you knew that I still wasn’t talking to you. This way,” Bailey said, gesturing absently here, there, and everywhere, “I can do both.”

“You’re talking to me now,” Nathan pointed out.

“Am I, though?” Bailey asked with a pitying look that had him grumbling something unintelligible as he shoved a chip in his mouth and joined Quinn in glaring at her.

Now that, that was settled, Bailey settled more comfortably on her couch and-

“Should I remind you now about your date tomorrow night or wait until tomorrow morning?” came the question that had Bailey frowning as she glanced over at Pam to find the other woman worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared down at the iPad in her hand.

“I don’t have a date tomorrow night,” Bailey said, biting back a sigh as she reached for the iPad so that she could go over her schedule with Pam again when Jess’s next words stopped her.

“Yes, you do.”

“I really don’t, though,” she said, frowning because she was pretty sure that she’d remember something like that.

“Jonathan Parkins,” Kelly said with relish only to mumble, “Please don’t kill me,” when Quinn shifted that glare back to her, something that Bailey would have appreciated if she wasn’t currently panicking.

“Wait. No, I canceled that,” Bailey said, reaching over to snatch the iPad out of Pam’s hands and cancel it before it was too late.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Nathan said, grabbing hold of her before she made it off the couch. “You made a deal!”

“I lied!” she said, trying to squirm out of his arms, but the large bastard kept a firm hold on her.

Swallowing hard, Bailey shifted her focus to Pam and yelled, “Cancel it! For the love of God, cancel it!”

Nodding, Pam focused back on the iPad only to sigh when Jess climbed over them and plucked the iPad out of Pam’s hands. “You made a deal,” Jess said, shoving one last handful of popcorn in her mouth as she climbed back over them, grabbed her backpack, and headed for the elevator before Bailey could stop her.

And she really wanted to stop her.

“You don’t understand,” Bailey said, licking her lips nervously as she watched Jess close the gate with a satisfied sigh. “Please don’t do this to me!”

“It’s for your own good,” Nathan said, keeping his hold around her as Jess made her escape with an absently murmured, “Don’t worry. I’ll confirm your date for you.”

“Does my safety mean nothing to you? Someone is out to get me, damn it!” Bailey reminded him, not that she really believed it, but…

God, she’d say anything at this point if it saved her from spending an evening with Jonathan Parkins. Absolutely anything, Bailey thought, struggling not to panic as she glanced at her only hope to find Quinn still doing chin-ups as he glared straight ahead, a muscle in his jaw ticking as she resigned herself to doing the unthinkable.

“Ow! You little brat!” Nathan snapped, but he didn’t let go.

Damn it!

For a moment, she considered pinching him again, but…

“I’ll give you a raise if you go get that baseball bat,” Bailey said, shifting her focus back to Pam to find her personal assistant worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she pointed towards Quinn.

“H-He confiscated my bat.”

Of course he did, Bailey thought, closing her eyes in defeat as she resigned herself to going out with the jerk that broke her heart.