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“Yep, all good,” I said, taking my first sip of my third beer, annoyed that I was now old enough to be called ‘sir’.
Where had all the time gone? It was yet another reason why I should have stopped myself from thinking so much about Cassie. From what I saw of her profile, she’d just turned twenty-seven, and I was forty-five. Huge age gap.
But not impossible or weird.
I tried to silence the illogical voice in my head with another sip of beer. I wasn’t sure why I chose this place, but after work, I was just ready for a drink, and when I left my apartment, I just turned one way and picked a spot. Karaoke wasn’t really my thing, but at least the establishment was big enough that the singing didn’t control the whole atmosphere.
I glanced at the latest singers, a pair of sparkly-jacketed men, belting their song out in unison. When I turned back, my eyes drifted across the bar, and then I saw Cassie. I froze, my muscles tensing with what I knew was desire. I was well-enough used to it at my age.
Shit. This could go badly.
Even so, I didn’t look away, and Cassie was looking straight at me too, her expression stuck in one of surprise. I was sure I wore the same expression. It was like two animals facing off, unsure of who was going to make the first move.
Outside of the lab, she looked totally different. Still wearing black, but this time it was a figure- hugging mini dress with dark turquoise heels. Her lips were a fiery red, and I was glad she was far enough away so that she didn’t read the hunger in my eyes. Because I knew it was there. It was slowly taking over me, and the fact that I’d already had a little to drink wasn’t helping things.
Swallowing, I knew I needed to look away. To be sensible. Even if there wasn’t a big age gap, Cassie was my employee. I was meant to garner respect from them, not just show how much I was sexually attracted to them. She turned away first, and I let out a breath of relief. It seemed we weren’t going to acknowledge each other, and that was okay. Everyone had their work lives and their personal lives.
I spotted her whispering something to her friends, and I looked back to my own beer, sipping at it again, wishing it could teleport me back to my house where I would be safe. Safe from embarrassing myself or making her feel uncomfortable. But the beer was doing nothing against the stirring of my blood when I’d first laid eyes on her. I could literally feel myself hardening, and I whispered a silent plea to the universe.
Do not do this. You’re a grown man. Not some awkward middle-schooler who can’t control his erections.
But that’s what I felt like around Cassie. I assumed she made most people feel like that. It was disconcerting and uncomfortable, and I hated it, no matter the pleasure it gave when I thought about it.
I looked up when I saw movement coming from her table. My heart started pounding when I spotted her walking toward me, her gazed fixed on me. Stupidly, I turned around, not believing that she’d actually come up to me in a bar on a weekend, when she’d avoided me the whole of the past week after the babysitting incident.
What the hell is going on?
But the question was a feeble one. I was not upset. I turned to face her as she got closer, and my eyes moved from her face down the line of her body. The fit of that dress told me everything I needed to know, and it only fanned the flame of desire inside me. I wanted Cassie, and by the way she was looking at me as she paused next to me, putting a hand on the bar, I wondered if she wanted me too.
CHAPTER6
CASSIE
What are you doing?
The tiny voice of logic in my head which usually worked somewhat well was soft and easy to dismiss. The wine, the stress from the past week, and the music were all creating a bold mix of not giving a fuck inside me.
After I spotted Brad, and we stared at each other for what felt like a full minute, Sadie said, “Whoa. Is that him?”
I’d nodded and eventually tore my eyes away. I mean, who stares at their boss like that at a bar? Or anywhere for that matter?
“Yeah, that’s him.” I smiled quickly, going for casualness, but it was not achieved.
A tingling had spread all over my skin, and I felt hot and cold all at once. This was lust and attraction, old friends I knew well. And yet, it was taking hold in a way that felt like talons digging into me and not letting go.
“Geez, he’s a hottie,” Jane had whispered.
“You weren’t kidding,” Sadie agreed, and I shook my head.
“Doesn’t matter. He thinks he can use his hotness to influence others. That it absolves him from acting like he should. With decency and respect.”
Before I knew what I was doing, I stood up. “And I’ll tell him that.”
“You’llwhat?” Sadie had asked, trying to smother a smile. “Cassie, are you sure about that?”
“Yep. See you girls later. Put me down for a song. I’ll be back.” I turned, and with the confidence I was known for, I boldly walked toward Dr. Foster who looked both surprised and incredibly sexy.
He was still wearing his fitted gray pants, but the suit jacket hung next to him under the counter, and the tie was gone. The buttons at the collar of his expensive white shirt were open revealing a small vee of chest. It was tan, the same color of his exposed forearms.
