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“Avery,” he said, walking toward me with open arms.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. He leaned in for a kiss, but I turned my face away just in time, and he planted his lips on my cheek instead. When he pulled away, he was smiling brightly.
“I was hoping you'd join me for dinner tonight,” he said.
“I can't,” I said. “Not on such short notice. I appreciate the offer, but I have a job to do here, the girls and Spencer need me this evening.”
“Ahh, that's right,” he said, clasping his hands together. “Tomorrow then, yes?”
“Do you really think that's a good idea, Charles?” I asked. “I mean, you're doing business with my boss, and I'd hate to be put in an awkward position –”
“It's more than a good idea,” he teased, his lips curling up a bit at the corners. “It's a marvelous idea. I'll pick you up at seven, yes?”
“Uhh –” I contemplated a way to say no, but before I could, Charles was nodding his head.
“Seven it is,” he said.
He reached for my hand and planted a light kiss upon it before turning to leave. I had to admit, the view of his ass on the way out was pretty nice. I could certainly do worse than a handsome, successful French billionaire. He was no Spencer, but Charles was still very nice on the eyes. I couldn't help but smile, thinking to myself how nice it was that someone of his stature would be interested in somebody like me.
Just as Charles was leaving, Spencer came through the front door. The two men passed each other by, and Charles greeted Spencer.
“What are you doing here?” Spencer asked, looking between Charles and myself.
“I just came by to talk to Avery,” Charles said, his voice remaining neutral.
“About what, may I ask?”
“Personal reasons, Spencer,” Charles said. “Nothing to do with business, I assure you.”
He kept on walking, but the tension between them was palpable. Spencer turned his eyes toward me, causing the heat to rise in my cheeks.
“What was that about?” he demanded.
I wanted to say, “Geez, it's nice to see you too,” but I'd left my snark at the door.
I cared too much for my job to get a smart mouth. Instead, I smiled sweetly and answered the question.
“Charles asked me to dinner tomorrow night.” I said flatly.
“And?” Spencer asked.
He slammed the front door as he stepped inside. His voice was raised, and his jaw was clenched tightly as he walked toward me. I was taken aback by the gruffness in his voice. He looked like he wanted to put his fist through a wall and I couldn’t figure for the life of me what had upset him so much.
“And what?” I stammered. “He didn't really give me much of a choice, so I guess I'm going.”
Spencer shook his head. “No, I don't like this.”
“You don't like what?” I asked.
“You and Charles,” he said bluntly. “Something isn't right with him.”
I'm not sure why, but the idea that Spencer thought that he could tell me who I could and couldn't spend my time with, tell me who I could and couldn't date, pissed me off. He was my boss, not my father, and most definitely not my husband. Who I spent my time with outside of work was none of his business.
“Are you saying that because he's your business partner,” I hissed. “or because I refused to fuck you the other night in the kitchen?” The uncharacteristic boldness in my tone and statement surprised even me.
Spencer froze. I knew I'd made a mistake when his eyes narrowed, and his fists balled up at his sides. I'd brought up the kiss and how he'd tried to touch me. Not that I hadn’t wanted it – I very much had. I'd wanted him every bit as much as he wanted me, but I also loved this job too much to risk it. Deep down, I was angry at him for putting me in that situation. It had been awkward after that, he'd been distant, and we'd pretended like it hadn't even happened.
Until that moment.
