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“How old were you when he left?”
“Four. My mother tried to track him down and eventually she did. He’d changed his name and was living a different life.”
“Fuck.” He seems sort of shocked by this information and I’m reminded again that it is shocking, that your own father would run out on his family like that.
“And then he died in a drunk driving accident.”
“I’m sorry.”
I shrug a little. “I’m mostly over it.”
He contemplates me for a few seconds. “I imagine it would be very hard for you to trust men after that.”
He’s perceptive. “I imagine you might be right.”
It occurs to me that Ace and I actually know very little about each other. I’m sure he’s googled me, like I googled him, as soon as we found out each other’s real names. But I don’t have much of an online presence. I was always too busy working for social media.
“Sounds like your father was a real asshole.” He’s watching me thoughtfully, like he’s picked up on my most deeply-buried and tangled emotional issue. Which is true enough. “Something we have in common.”
As sexy and astute as he may be, I remember why I’m here and what I’m supposed to be doing. “We don’t know each other very well.”
“That depends on how you define ‘know’.” His eyes glimmer in the golden lamplight. “That’s why we’re here. To get to know each other a little better. Besides, what I do know about you so far I really fucking like.”
I can’t help a small smile from escaping. “In a professional capacity, I’m sure you mean.”
“Yes. But also in an I’m-addicted-to-you capacity.”
That’s my cue. “Which leads us nicely into the reason we’re here tonight, Ace.” I say it gently, trying to stay strong. “To set some boundaries. You’re my boss, which means that…what happened between us can’t happen again. This job means everything to me. I’ve spent my entire life trying to get here.” I almost feel emotional about how true that statement is. “And, as…”—I wave a hand over the spectacle of him—“…gorgeous and perfect and hot and successful as you are, and as crazy as the chemistry between us seems to be, I can’t go there again.”
“Go where?” His blue eyes are dancing. He’s not taking this seriously at all.
“You know where. I mean it, Ace. We can be friends. Business acquaintances. I’m your employee and you’re my CEO. We’ll still see each other all the time. But that’s all this can be.”
He tops up my glass of champagne, which I’ve only taken a few sips of, that’s sitting on the chunky wooden coffee table in front of us. I’m resolved not to finish it. Then again, I might have just one more sip because this is harder than I thought it would be and he’s so beautiful and built and has those blue eyes, not to mention that this space is romantic and basically like living in a fantasy world.
But I can’t be lulled into an erotic haze again.
The stakes are too high.
“So,” I continue, “I just wanted to make myself clear, since we’re here to talk this through. We got…well, we got it out of our systems and from now on we need to keep our relationship purely professional. You’ll call me Dusty and I’ll call you Mr. Maddox and that will be that. No more Tex. No more Ace. Okay? Are we on the same page?”
Ace takes a long sip of his champagne. “Actually, no. We’re not on the same page at all. How about we discuss it in the hot tub?”
“What? No.”
“Come on.”
“No. I’m not going in the hot tub with you.”
“Why not?”
I say it patiently. “Because of what I just told you, of course.”
Mischief lightens his sapphire eyes in that way that makes him the most irresistible man I’ve ever, ever seen. “Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten anything out of my system, Tex. Quite the opposite. And there are a few things I need to say to you. But I’m not sure you’re ready to hear them.”
“What things?”
“As I said, I don’t think you’re ready yet.”
