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Jordan
Of course it was impossible to go back to work after that like nothing happened. Cat didn’t seem to have any problem with it, but for me…all the words kept blurring around in circles on the pages in front of me.
“I’m calling it a night,” I decided, jumping up to grab my coat. I draped it over my arms and started shoving everything into my briefcase.
“Giving up already?” she teased.
“It’s after midnight.”
“Only after midnight,” she countered.
“You don’t have a badge for the building’s security, so you’ll have to walk out with me. We can fix that later if there’s a need.”
As she reluctantly gathered her things and followed me to the door, I started to think of all sorts of uses for her having a badge that gave her access to the building. Such as more midnight rendezvous like the one we just had.
But I immediately shook my head, trying to get rid of that dangerous thought. That wasn’t just a one time only thing because she claimed that was all she wanted. That was all it ever could be, no matter what either of us wanted.
As we got onto the elevator and rode down to the lobby, a sick feeling started creeping into my chest. What have I done?
I rapidly cycled through all of the worst possible outcomes. I imagined Cat’s fiance finding out, then her father finding out. He’d beat the shit out of me and cut all ties. He’d destroy my reputation and make sure I never worked in this city again…maybe even the whole country or world. Mark Whitaker wasn’t that kind of of guy, really. But all bets were off when it came to his daughter, or so I imagined.
Of course the Heartstring deal would fall to pieces, and my whole life would be in shambles. How had I managed to go so long without ever sleeping with anyone I worked with, yet throw it all away in a brief few moments for a woman who was a million times riskier than all the other offers I had to shit where I ate?
The panic started building and rising up into my throat until I couldn’t stand it anymore. The moment we got out onto the dark sidewalks where a light sprinkle of rain was falling, I grabbed Cat by the arm and pulled her off under an awning.
“Listen, Cat. All jokes and games aside, I need you to know that will never happen again. Nothing like that can ever happen again between you and me. And…I hate to ask this, but you can never tell anyone about this.”
Her eyes glossed over with rage, but she still managed to play it cool. Somehow that was even sexier than when she was trying to seduce me. “I know it will never happen again. I believe I already told you that. And your second point was more of a command than a question. Still, what the hell makes you think I would tell anyone and why would you hate to ask that? You think I’m just dying to go bragging about it to everyone? I can’t have anyone finding out either, remember?”
“Maybe I’m the one who thinks I should be bragging about you,” I offered, trying my best to smooth it over. If she hated me, I had no security or assurance that she wouldn’t let all of this blow up in my face as vengeance.
But she didn’t look the least bit amused. Her eyes squinted with anger, and I could see the rage bubbling up even more inside. “Don’t try and sweet talk me or kiss my ass, Jordan. Those games don’t work on me, and the only reason I was attracted to you in the first place was because you didn’t do that very thing.”
“Well, good then,” I shot back. “Because we need to stop being attracted to each other. Call it a favor to both of us.”
“God, I don’t know how I missed that you were this full of yourself,” she seethed. “Or…I guess I knew, but it’s like us sleeping together just lifted the veil from my eyes.”
“I’m sorry,” I submitted. “I wasn’t trying to start a fight.”
“Right, you were just trying to butter me up as damage control,” she huffed, crossing her arms.
“God, how did I not realize what an insufferable…”
Her eyes widened and her brows lifted. “I would choose your next words very carefully.”
“Vixen,” I smirked, immediately regretting the choice of title. That was the opposite direction of where this needed to go. What was she doing to me? Even the biggest business tycoons couldn’t talk me in circles like this.
But finally, it worked— for better or worse. Her lips softened in a smile. “A vixen whose lips are sealed.” She mimicked a zip and lock across her lips before tossing away the invisible key. “Unless of course your secretary asks what we get up to in these late night meetings. I can be a very jealous woman, and I’m afraid I might have to tell her the truth just to put her in her place.”
“Jealous?” I scoffed. “And what about your fiance? Is he a jealous man? Because if so…some right you have…Maybe I’ll just go pay him a visit.”
“I should slap you,” she fumed, getting pissed all over again. All the smoothing over I had done dissipated just like that.
“I’m sorry,” I admitted. “Really, I am. Look…I’m just worried you’re not taking this seriously. I need this deal to go through.”
“So do I,” she said sternly.
“Then you understand those stakes, but if this gets out…Your dad is going to kill me, not you,” I explained.
