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“And what makes you think I’ll take it now?”
“Because you’re a smart girl. You need a respectable job, with benefits and good pay.”
“Speaking of benefits…what’s up with paying my rent? Why would you do that? I can take care of myself.”
“Yes,” He laughed and took a sip of his wine. “You proved that to me when I pulled you kicking and screaming from the strip club.”
He was right, but I hesitated. “What’s in it for you?”
“I get you.” His voice was low and his words soaked into me, sending a rush of excitement and anxiety down my back.
“What does that mean? You get me? Do I have to walk around your office in my bra and panties all day?”
He laughed. “Would that be so bad?”
I cocked a skeptical eyebrow in his direction, waiting for a real answer.
“No,” he said, serious again. “As alluring as that visual image might be, no. The job would be a position within the IT department. I know you have crazy computer skills and I need someone to work on a special project. It relates to the Plush line and doing some formula changes. I figured that would interest you as well.”
I took another sip of wine, buying myself a moment to consider his offer. He watched me as I sipped and then grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket. He typed at the screen and then turned it to face me.
“This would be your starting salary,” he explained.
I nearly choked on my wine. I sputtered for a moment and covered my mouth.
The amount was obscene. It was nearly triple what I had been offered— starting salary at Spotlight and even that had been more than I had ever dreamed possible for myself.
“Cooper…” My voice trailed off, my thought not fully developed.
“Take the job Allison.”
“But what about…us?” I asked, immediately wondering if I sounded stupid using a term like “us” to describe Cooper and me.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
I paused, unsure how to explain my thoughts without presuming something that hadn’t been spoken. While Cooper and I had shared some dark things, and certainly had a moment of real, emotional connection, that didn’t mean he was interested in anything more than a physical fling when all his other options were shut down. I still didn’t know what he was up to with the actress, and God only knew how many other women were lurking in the background, waiting to get their claws into him. At my brief employment at Spotlight, I had seen firsthand how many women were ready and willing to throw themselves at him.
“I mean, how would it look to hire someone you have been, you know…” I got hung up midway.
“Sleeping with?” Cooper suggested.
“Yes. Sleeping with. I don’t want another fiasco like at Spotlight with people talking shit and making my life a waking nightmare.”
He shook his head. “First of all, my employees know better than to gossip about me. And secondly, it’s not something that I’m planning to broadcast around. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have dirt on you. Not that what we’re doing is dirty.”
“It’s not?” I asked, smiling.
“Not yet.” His eyes gleamed with suggestion and I felt myself getting aroused again. I thought briefly if I’d left a wet spot on the seat, or God forbid—my dress!
I looked down at the number again and then back up at Cooper.
“Okay,” I whispered.
His face lit up with a satisfied smile and he reached over to shake my hand. I laughed at his professional gesture, which seemed absurd, considering my wet panties were still bundled up inside his pocket.
“Now that we got that out of the way, I want you to come home with me,” Cooper said, suddenly deadly serious. His eyes locked back on mine and I knew, this time, I couldn’t look away.
I hesitated for a moment, my eyes searching his as my mind teetered back and forth.
