Free An Alpha's Storm (Water Bear Shifters 1) by Sloane Meyers Page B

its small size, the bar boasted an impressive array of beers on tap. Aubrey had spent several nights here drinking beer after beer when she wanted to try many of the different brews that were available. This evening, however, she was determined to stop at one beer. Gary started in on a story about a spreadsheet for his department that had been messed up by too many people editing it, and Aubrey stifled a yawn as she tried to look at her watch without making it too obvious. She didn’t want to be rude, even if Gary was a rather dull drinking companion. He seemed to have a good heart, he was just a little oblivious to the fact that Aubrey had no romantic interest in him. Gary didn’t seem to notice Aubrey’s boredom. He kept ranting about how only people who had an actual business need to edit the spreadsheet should even be allowed access to it.
    “I mean, can you imagine? I spent eight hours one day working on that thing, and the next day some buffoon messed it up in about twenty minutes,” Gary said. He rolled his eyes, but then laughed. “I managed to fix it, though. I was the only one who could figure out what had gone wrong. Job security I guess.”
    Gary winked at Aubrey and then placed his hand on her arm. She stiffened up and started to draw back. He was taking their “friendly” drink outing a little too far.
    “Gary, look, I should probably get going,” Aubrey started to say. Before she could get any more words out, she heard an angry sounding roar coming from the front entrance. She looked up, and was startled to see Brett standing in the doorway. His huge physique filled the doorframe, and his face was flushed red with anger.
    “What the hell is going on here?” Brett asked.
    “Brett? What are you doing here?” Aubrey asked. She felt relief flood her at the sight of him. He would give her an excuse to get away from Gary.
    “I thought you said you didn’t have a boyfriend,” Gary said, crossing his arms and giving Aubrey an accusing look.
    “I don’t,” Aubrey said. “This is my friend. But I don’t get to see him much since he works a lot, so—”
    Brett let out another roar and kicked a chair across the room. “Your friend? You tell me you don’t have time for a relationship. Then I come here to surprise you when I get an unexpected day off, and you’re sitting her letting some other guy feel you up. I trusted you, Aubrey. You lied to me. I can’t believe this.”
    “Brett, it’s not like that. Gary’s just a coworker and—”
    “Oh, really? Do you normally let your coworkers hold your hand?”
    Gary chuckled, apparently enjoying the tense exchange between Aubrey and Brett. Aubrey gave Gary a sharp glare before trying again to explain to Brett.
    “I told him I would have a drink with him as long as he knew it was only as friends. But he overstepped his boundaries. I didn’t want him to hold my hand, and I certainly didn’t invite it.”
    “Your friend?” Brett spat out. “Seems like you have a lot of ‘friends.’ Does he come with benefits, too?”
    “Brett!” Aubrey snapped. “Why are you acting like this? You’re not even giving me a chance to explain. And, for the record, this is exactly why I don’t want to be in a relationship. I can’t deal with all the jealousy. I’m a loyal, good person. I won’t be treated like a cheater when I’m not even doing anything wrong.”
    Aubrey could feel anger bubbling up in her body, starting all the way down in her toes and making its way up to her eyes, which were furious and blazing by this point. She looked at Gary, who was smirking at her now, apparently thinking that he had caught Aubrey lying about not having a boyfriend. But she didn’t have a boyfriend, and this whole incident was just confirming for her that she did not want to get tangled up in a relationship. She was just fine on her own, pouring her time and energy into her work. She didn’t need anyone else.
    Aubrey stood up and grabbed her purse. “I’ve had