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“Do you have any idea how negotiating works?” he asks.
“Well, I’ve never had to negotiate so…”
He continues to smile for a moment longer. Then he leans back in his chair and looks me in the eye. “You ask for something, offering something in return. And if the trade is beneficial, it’s a deal.”
I swallow hard and clear my throat.
“I think I’ve already given you enough, wouldn’t you agree?” I say, shifting in my seat. I have to squeeze my thighs together to quench the fire that’s been building since the moment I walked through that door.
One corner of his mouth turns up, so very slightly. His tongue darts out, and he licks his lips, obviously sharing my memories. “If I’m not mistaken, you were on the receiving end of that one.”
I feel my cheeks flush, and I’m sure he’s noticed the change in my breathing by now. “So… you want me to… repay you… the same way. With my hands. Is that what you’re saying?” I stutter.
The fact that I can’t even say the words out loud makes me feel like a twelve-year old in health class. What the hell is wrong with me?
“No, Makenna. I don’t want a hand job,” he says with no effort at all, making the differences in our level of experience apparent. “There’s a fundraising benefit in two weeks. A silent auction. I’d like you to join me.”
I don’t know what surprises me more, the fact that he just asked me on a date or the fact that I was dead-on about the charity fundraisers. “You want me to go on a date with you?”
“We’ll have dinner. You’ll meet new people. I’ll bid an obnoxious amount of money on something I don’t need. Then we’ll leave. Call it whatever you’d like.”
I call it a date.
“Tell me what Callisto means.”
His jaw clenches, and his eyes grow distant. For the first time since I’ve known him, I see a hint of pain there. “Not now, Makenna.”His tone is cold and firm, and I’m smart enough to know when not to push him past his limit, so I let it go.
“Two weeks?” I ask.
His face softens when he realizes I’m not pushing. “Yes.”
“And Jaxon keeps his job?”
“Yes.”
“Deal,” I say, holding my hand out over his desk in an offer to shake on it.
He smiles again and accepts my hand. I get the feeling Jaxon was going to keep his job anyway, but I got a smile and a date with Cal Suppato.
Maybe there is hope for the world.
