Playing a Player (Sweet Cravings #1) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,2

back to you soon, Rory. There are several other people stopping by today, so I can't make any promises."

"Keep me in mind." He stood up and walked over to the door.

"I will." How could I forget meeting you?

"Nice dress by the way."

I laughed awkwardly. "I was up late at my friend's wedding. Actually, she was my last roommate. And I was a bridesmaid. I didn't pick this out. I don't normally wear things like this."

He smiled. "It looks good on you. Oh, and here's my card." He pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to me. "Make sure to stop by the restaurant. I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Keira." He gave me one last smile and left.

What the hell was that? I ran to my room to change before the next interviewee arrived.

Chapter 2

I opened up my laptop and scrolled through the list of remaining applicants. Any one of these girls could be a serial killer. Or a man. A knock on the door brought me out of my trance.

I slid off the stool and headed to the door. I took a deep breath before opening it. Please just be a normal girl. I opened the door and smiled. "Hi, you must be Piper." I extended my hand to her.

She shifted uneasily before shaking my hand. As soon as her hand fell from mine, she grabbed hand sanitizer from her purse and squirted a large glob in her hand.

"I just washed my hands," I said.

"I'm sure you did." Her tone was accusatory.

"Did you want to come in?" I asked as politely as I could muster.

The girl nodded and walked past me. "This doesn't really look like the pictures."

"Lots of the furniture belonged to my previous roommate. I was hoping to split the cost of some new stuff with whoever takes her place."

"The price is a little high then, don't you think?"

"It's just half of what the rent is. It's the same that I pay."

"Does it at least include utilities?"

"No." This girl wasn't very nice.

"How often do you clean?"

"Whenever anything needs to be cleaned."

"My last roommate was really sloppy. I don't want to live with someone like that again."

"I really do clean a lot. I just vacuumed the living room and cleaned the bathroom. And I never leave dishes in the sink. That's actually a pet peeve of mine too."

"It doesn't look clean."

"Excuse me?"

Piper looked around the room. "Can I see your bedroom?"

"Why?" My answer was a little snappy, but I couldn't help it. Who was she to come into my apartment and criticize me? Besides, I was supposed to be conducting the interview, not her.

"To see if you're sloppy or not."

"Why don't you just believe me?" I thought about the clothes strewn around my room, which now included the hideous bridesmaid dress. I was sloppy. It was like this stranger could see right through me.

"Because you have shoes in the middle of your kitchen floor. That's a cooking hazard, surely."

"What?" I tilted my head and looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, my high heels from the wedding were still on the floor. "Oh, I got home late last night from a wedding. I must have just overlooked them. I promise that I don't usually leave shoes laying around. I keep all my personal stuff in my room."

"And why can't I see your room?" she countered.

"Well...um...like I said, I just got back from a wedding. And I didn't really have time to tidy up my room..."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Piper walked past me and out the door.

What the hell?

***

Seven interviews and seven duds. And Piper hadn't even been the worst. I put my face in my hands. There were only two days until the end of the month. If I didn't choose someone soon, I'd have to pay next month's rent solo. I could afford it, but I'd have to take the money out of my savings.

I bit my lip. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about Rory. Actually, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about him. He had been the nicest one. But I couldn't live with someone I was attracted to. That would be uncomfortable. And I had only asked him half of my questions because I had been too embarrassed. I barely knew anything about him.

He really was the best option, though. I picked up Rory's business card from the counter. His restaurant was open until three. I glanced at my computer screen. It was only