Bad Bachelor

by Stefanie London

  “Don’t even think about it,” he muttered in his father’s direction. “This is Darcy. She’s a client and I was with her when I got the call to come see you.”

  He walked over, hand outstretched. Her eyes widened and it struck him that she looked…nervous. No wonder. He probably had the fire of hell in his eyes right now. But in the two long-legged strides it took him to cross the room, all the fight left him. He spent so much of his time battling people—arguing with his dad about what care he needed, arguing with the people at work who wanted to see him topple, arguing with his clients who thought they knew better. Arguing with himself when he looked at his reflection in the mornings.

  Lately he’d stopped looking.

  “Here.” She handed the wallet over. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  “You saved me a call to the bank.” He tried to smile but it probably looked more like a grimace. “I appreciate it.”

  Christ. If only the vultures behind Bad Bachelors could see him now. He wasn’t smooth talking the pants off anyone.

  “Bring her here, Reed,” his father demanded.

  Oh God, this was the last thing he needed. “Darcy came to drop this off. Let’s not waste her time.”

  “Nonsense. With what’s going on at the moment, the fact that she didn’t rifle through it and call the newspaper is saying something.”

  Reed sighed, but Darcy laid a hand on his arm. “It’s fine,” she said. “It would be rude not to say hello.”

  He stepped aside so she could enter the room. “Have at it.”

  In the next five minutes, Reed watched, awestruck, as Darcy charmed his notoriously difficult to impress father. Turned out they had a shared love of Jules Verne. It was the most animated Reed had seen his father in…well, years.

  “How come you’re never that nice to me?” he quipped as they hovered at the door.

  Her lips twitched. “Maybe it’s because I don’t like you.”

  “And you like him? Well, no accounting for taste I guess.”

  “I heard that!” Adam said with a gravelly laugh. “Can’t handle the fact that your old man’s still got it, can you?”

  He leaned down to Darcy’s ear. “You’ve created a monster. I’m going to hear about this for weeks.”

  “Good. You could learn a thing or two.” She shifted on the spot, her hand braced against the doorframe as though she wasn’t quite ready to leave. “It’s nice that you’re so close.”

  “We have something, all right.” He glanced back at his father, whose head was now resting against the pillows, eyes closed. The sound of his labored breathing filled the room. “How about I walk you out? I need to get going anyway.”

  “Wow. I didn’t expect my comments to have such an immediate reaction.” Her eyes glinted. “Since when are you a gentleman?”

  Shaking his head, he closed the door behind them. “Come on. The offer expires in two seconds.”

  “Fine.” Darcy fell into step beside him as they wound their way through the maze-like halls of the hospital. “Is he going to be okay?”

  “I think so. They’re keeping him as a precaution.”

  Normally, he would have felt Darcy’s presence invaded on what was a very private—very precious—part of his life. For some reason, the normal resentment wasn’t there. Instead, he found words stumbling off his tongue as he filled her in on his father’s accident.

  “Lucky someone was there,” she said, her eyes wide.

  “It’s part of the reason I get Donna to check on him daily. The last time he hurt himself she was only working a few days a week and Dad didn’t bother to call anyone.” His jaw clenched at the memory. “He got his oxygen tank caught on a piece of furniture and broke his wrist when he fell. Took two days before either Donna or I checked in on him, and he’d just been popping painkillers like they were fucking breath mints instead of telling someone about it.”

  “You worry about him.”

  “Hard not to when he seems hell-bent on ignoring his health.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Not that it gets me anything but a string of obscenities.”

  “When was the last time you accepted someone’s help?” she asked.

  His mind flickered back to the past weekend, when Gabriel had offered to come to his dad’s so they could clean up the front yard together. Reed had brushed him off, making the job sound smaller than it really was.

  “I’ll take that silence as your admission of guilt,” she said. “You’re two peas in a pod.”

  “That’s a worry,” he muttered.

  They walked through the hospital’s reception area and out into the late-afternoon sunshine. His assistant had canceled his meetings for the rest of the day. Usually, Reed would have headed back to the office regardless. But today he couldn’t seem to muster the energy. That was happening more and more lately. Trying to keep up the Reed McMahon persona at work was tiring him out.

  “Thanks for not going on a spending spree with my credit card,” he said.

  “Damn. Why didn’t I think of that?” Darcy grinned. “I could be rampaging through Saks right now, buying myself a new wardrobe.”

  She shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels. This was the part where he should offer to reschedule their meeting and bid her a good day. The part where he should walk away unaffected by her on any level.

  But he couldn’t.

  It’s not her. You’re just being sentimental because of everything that’s going on. Say goodbye, go home, and get your head back in the game.

  “Are you okay?” She cocked her head, the sun glinting off her tongue stud as she spoke. “You look a little pale.”

  A group of three women walked past, their conversation halting abruptly as they stared. One of them immediately pulled out her phone, but the other two laughed and hurried her along.

  Now he was second-guessing his decision not to worry about Bad Bachelors. Perhaps it was time to do some digging.

  “Never better, sweetheart.” The old defensive walls slid back into place. Muscle memory kicked in, pulling his lips up into a charming smile. Out here, he could wear it like armor. Out here, he could be the Reed he wanted people to see. “Never better.”

  * * *

  Score one for the girls!

  Today I’m thrilled to be able to share a success story from user IDreamofGeniality. In the big, bad world of dating, nothing pleases me more than knowing that Bad Bachelors is able to help women find the relationships they deserve.

  Before the Bad Bachelors app, I was in a really bad place. I’d come out of a long-term relationship that broke down rather suddenly and unexpectedly. I’d gone from planning a wedding to being totally adrift. I had no idea how to date, no idea where to even start.

  I met a wonderful guy at an industry event and was totally swept off my feet…or so I thought. Turns out this guy was used to dealing with women like me. He knew exactly what to say and how to act. But after a while, I started to feel like something wasn’t right. Boy, do I wish I had the Bad Bachelors app back then. At least I would have known I was dealing with the number one guy on the bad list!

  I “dated” Reed for three weeks. In that time, I didn’t learn a thing about him—nothing about where he came from, nothing about his family or his personal life. Nada. The man is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.

  Luckily, I kept at it. Once I’d found out about the Bad Bachelors app, I felt confident to reenter the dating arena. I happened to recognize one of my neighbors on the site and saw all the wonderful things people were saying about him. I even plucked up the courage to stop and talk to him at work one day. Then he asked me out.

  Thank you, Bad Bachelors team. You’ve helped make this woman very happy indeed.

  I bet you can hear me applauding all around New York City right now. This is exactly why I created the Bad Bachelors app—to hand the power
back to you. Now, with all the information you need at the swipe of a finger, you can make informed, smart decisions about your dating life just like you do with everything else.

  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on a new feature we’re going to launch for beta testing. This new functionality will help you prioritize and keep track of the bachelors on your favorites list. You’ll even be able to add private notes only you can see. We’re excited and hope you are too!

  With love,

  Your Dating Information Warrior

  Helping the single women of New York since 2018

  Chapter 9

  “When I’m with a guy, I don’t want to feel like everything is an experiment in power plays. Reed pushes people’s buttons for sport.”

  —MadMelissa

  Reed rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension there. He’d come into the office late this morning, since his father had been discharged and he’d wanted to be there to take him home. They’d kept Adam at the hospital for two nights and the doctor had pulled Reed aside that morning to inform him that Adam had refused treatment from the nurses.

  So his dad was being a difficult bastard. What else was new?

  Yawning, Reed opened his laptop to answer a few emails before heading off to his first meeting of the day. The Bad Bachelors website was still open from yesterday. The colorful banner with the glossy, pink lips and single, manicured finger raised in a shh motion mocked him.

  Doubt didn’t rear its ugly head often anymore, but the negative voices clawed their way back in.

  Several new reviews had been added overnight. Well, wasn’t he Mr. Popular?

  “When I’m with a guy, I don’t want to feel like everything is an experiment in power plays. Reed pushes people’s buttons for sport.” —MadMelissa

  For some reason, his mind immediately jumped to the Melissa who worked at Bath and Weston. She’d said something similar after he was made partner, beating her out for a position she’d been coveting.

  You push people’s buttons, Reed. You’re a bully and you’re not right for this job.

  He sucked in a deep breath and clicked the X in the corner of the browser window. Was it possible that this review wasn’t about dating, but rather a bumpy work relationship?

  But before he could ponder the review further, his office door swung open and in marched Donald Bath—one of the firm’s founding partners, the last living dinosaur and asshole extraordinaire.

  “Mr. Bath is here to see you.” Kerrie came in behind him, scowling. Donald Bath waited for no one. No doubt he would have marched right past her desk in that pompous way of his.

  “That will be all, Kelly,” Donald said.

  She shot Reed a look before closing the door. “It’s Kerrie, Don. If you’re going to address someone by name, it pays to get it right. She’s worked here for over ten years.”

  The older man took a seat without invitation. His white hair was combed over an ever-increasing bald patch on the top of his head. But there was nothing about him that looked frail. Donald could issue a withering stare that was rumored to reduce a grown man to a pile of bones in seconds.

  “I won’t be taking advice on how to treat women from the likes of you,” he replied. “Seems our resident bachelor has made quite a name for himself.”

  “It’s a nonissue, Don. The only people who seem interested are gossip columns.”

  “You’re wrong about that,” Donald said. “Clients are worried.”

  Reed had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. So far, the only thing that had caused concern was the idea of reporters hassling his dad. One client—the CEO of a family company that owned several prestigious Manhattan restaurants—had called with concerns over the app. But Reed had assured them it wasn’t a big deal and that it would be over quicker than it started.

  That was hardly cause for alarm.

  “I always knew you were trouble.” The founding partner leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “And as far as I’m concerned, Edward should have dealt with this already. But we all know he’s a soft touch where you’re concerned.”

  Edward Weston was more than a boss; he’d been Reed’s mentor for years now.

  “He’s not a soft touch, but compared to you…” Reed shrugged. “I guess the idea for the Grinch had to come from somewhere.”

  Donald’s expression was ice-cold. “I don’t have time for children’s books and neither should you.”

  Reed shrugged. “I watched the movie. You know books aren’t my thing.”

  “You’ve got big problems, you know. We lost Chrissy Stardust.”

  Reed stifled a groan. The twentysomething pop singer was such a strong repeat customer that he had two of his consultants working with her at all times. Her unapologetic interviews and predilection for drunken Twitter rants had brought Bath and Weston considerable income. And Reed had signed her personally. She’d been his stepping-stone to a partner position.

  And she’d canceled her meeting last week. Kerrie hadn’t been able to get ahold of her agent to reschedule, which wasn’t entirely unusual. But now it looked as though he should have been more concerned.

  “She’s gone to Morgan, Stanley, and Archer.” In any other situation, Donald wouldn’t have looked so smug that they’d lost a huge client to their biggest competitor. But this would be the stake on which Donald planned to mount Reed’s head. “More will follow, I assure you.”

  “I’ll fix it.”

  “You’d better.” Donald pushed up from his chair and braced his hands on Reed’s desk, leaning over so he cast an imposing shadow. “Or I will personally see that you don’t work here or anywhere else. You might have fooled Weston, but I will not stand by while you ruin everything we built because you can’t keep your dick in your pants.”

  A tight ache spread through Reed’s jaw and he realized he’d been grinding his teeth. He needed to get Chrissy back.

  And it looked like it was time to squash Bad Bachelors like the cockroach it was. He’d been prepared to wait for it to blow over, but not now. Not when Ed might bend to his partner’s will and then Reed would be out of both a job and an important relationship. And he would not let this affect his ability to support his father.

  Whoever had set up the Bad Bachelors app was going down. Internet anonymity was a false security. Reed would find the person causing him trouble and make them pay.

  * * *

  Darcy rolled her head from side to side, stretching out the tight muscles in her neck. She’d been hard at work designing a flyer for the next Literature Loving Ladies book club event when a new email had popped into her inbox.

  She was still subscribed to the Bad Bachelors newsletter even though she’d done nothing about following up on the short list of men Annie and Remi had put together. Reed’s words still rang in her ears from yesterday: Maybe he doesn’t know how to make a woman come.

  Five-Star Darren. She pulled up his profile to see he still maintained a high average rating, even with a new review.

  “Darren is a wonderful guy. It was too bad I’ve decided to move away for work—I hope he finds the right girl to love and cherish.” Darcy screwed up her nose. She could already hear Reed’s mocking voice.

  Nice guys are boring in bed.

  Maybe that wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Hell, it wasn’t like she would know any better. She and Ben had never had a scintillating sex life, and now she knew it was possibly because Ben had been wishing she were someone else…namely, a male someone else. So she reasoned that boring sex was better than no sex.

  It certainly seemed safer than sleeping with someone like Reed.

  But ever since she’d walked away from the hospital two days ago, with his gaze burning into her back, her mind had been stuck on him. Last night, she’d woken up around 2:00 a.m. with her hand down her panties and a film of perspiration on her forehead. That wasn’t the wo
rst bit. The disappointment that’d stabbed through her chest when she realized it was her own hand and not Reed’s head between her legs had been particularly humiliating.

  “Hey.” Remi poked her head out of her bedroom. “Get dressed. We’re going for drinks.”

  “I thought you had class tonight.” Darcy swiveled around on the chair that sat in the makeshift office space they’d jammed into one corner of the living room. The desk was littered with lengths of ribbon that Remi had been sewing onto a pair of ballet shoes.

  “Nope. They refreshed the schedule and I switched nights with one of the other instructors.” She bounced on the spot. “Which means it’s time for cocktails. There’s this cute place right near Annie’s work, which is perfect because we can swing past and pry her away from her desk.”

  “Should I pack my crowbar?” Darcy asked dryly. “You know she doesn’t leave the office before pumpkin hour.”

  “Tough.” Remi grinned, retreating to her room. “I got a tip that one of the guys on your list is going to be there tonight. So we’re doing this thing.”

  “Wait, what?” Darcy looked up, Remi’s evil cackling sounding from the bedroom. “Doing what thing?”

  “Getting you some man candy.” Remi reappeared and tossed a black silk top at Darcy’s head. “Wear this. And no ripped jeans and combat boots either.”

  She inspected the scrap of fabric and could already envisage the amount of cleavage that would be on display, and shook her head. “Uh-uh. No way.”

  “I’m not taking no for an answer.” Remi tapped her foot. “And would you hurry up already? We need to leave.”

  An hour later, they were standing in the reception area of Annie’s office and Darcy couldn’t stop tugging at the neckline of her top. The damn thing was short and clingy—two things she avoided at all costs. But apparently, a button-down shirt was not an appropriate man-candy-acquiring outfit. That hadn’t stopped Darcy from throwing a light cardigan over it, though she’d had to bargain with Remi. The trade-off was wearing a pair of dangly earrings, which were already driving her insane.