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Lance glowered at his son and snapped, “No, she wasn't, because nothing happened!”
Again, he thought he saw Kayla flinch. Glancing out of the door, he was at least certain she was solid with tension. He could see it in the way she hunched her shoulders as she leaned over her desk.
“Nothing at all?” Lewis gaped at him in astonishment. “Dad, I think you're losing your touch.”
Lance gritted his teeth further. He most definitely wasn't losing his touch. If he had wanted to, he would have taken Kayla right there on her breakfast bar. He would have made love to her all night long if he could, but all the while that little voice had been screaming in the back of his mind, and it had been the only thing stopping him.
From the way Kayla had gazed up at him after their mind-blowing kiss, he suspected she had been having similar mixed feelings on the matter.
“No, nothing at all,” Lance assured his son, though even as he said the words, he knew they weren't true. Something had most definitely happened, but how was he to admit it to Lewis when he couldn't even admit it to himself?
Chapter 7 - Kayla
Work that day was perhaps the hardest thing Kayla had ever had to do. Not only was it awkward and uncomfortable trying to pretend nothing had happened between her and her boss, it was also infuriating because a part of her wanted to charge into his office where the door was now closed and ask if he had meant what he said to his son that morning.
Had their date really meant nothing to him? She knew it was stupid and irrational and they had promised to forget anything had happened, but Lewis didn't know any of that. For all he knew, his father had been on a date with some drop-dead gorgeous supermodel and he'd had wickedly hot sex all night long after a wonderful meal.
No, he'd had her. One drink in a bar followed by a fight and finally an amazing kiss that had clearly left them both wanting more, even though they both felt horrendous shame and guilt for those whose backs they were going behind.
Lewis was bad enough for flirting and teasing, but she couldn’t even begin to imagine how he might react if he knew the truth. Maybe it was best Lance had suggested the date didn't go anywhere. She didn't want to have to sit there listening to him talking about her as if there was ever any hope for a second date. They both knew that wasn’t possible.
Kayla might have been stuck on that train of thought all day, automatically going through the motions of work, if it wasn't for the man who stepped into the office just after lunchtime.
Hearing the footsteps before they approached the doors of the waiting area, Kayla cringed. It couldn't be.
A glance at the clock told Kayla it couldn't possibly be Lance's two o'clock appointment, so who else could it be? The answer didn't bear thinking about, yet she most definitely recognized those stealthy bootfalls coming from the hall.
Her entire body tense, she glared at the door opposite her desk, waiting with a clenched jaw.
And almost the instant that Stan barged through the door she was on her feet, glaring at him. “Stan, what are you doing here?”
Tall and slender yet muscular, Stan was swift and agile, and in an instant he reached the desk. It was the only thing that stood between them as he leaned over and said, “I needed to see you. I need to talk to you.”
Kayla cringed, because she had heard those words from his lips a million times before.
“I have nothing to say to you, and you have nothing I wish to hear,” Kayla said firmly. “You should go. This is not appropriate, Stan. I work here!”
“Please, Kayla, I miss you. I just want to talk.”
Kayla's body quivered. Those were the last words she wanted to hear. She had heard them too many times to count. The first few times she had believed them. She had believed everything Stan said to her at some point or other. But after three years of constant letdowns and her only gifts being bruises, Kayla had finally wised up.
“You should leave before I call security,” Kayla asserted, her hand moving for the panic button on the underside of her desk. She had worked for Lance for years, but never had she been forced to use it before. In fact, she couldn't remember ever coming close.
Yet, here she was.
“I'll go on one condition,” Stan told her in typical Stan blackmail fashion. “Promise me you'll meet me later? I need to talk to you, please, Kayla. I've changed. I swear.”
She had heard that a million times before, too, and believed it all too many.
“I don't have time for this, Stan,” Kayla said desperately, hoping he would get the hint and go. “I'm working.”
“Then just say you will meet me and I will wait for you,” Stan insisted. He leaned over the desk and reached up with one hand to cup her face. Kayla jerked away from him, desperate not to ever feel his hands upon her again. It was quite the opposite of how she had felt with Lance the night before, and it frightened her immensely.
“I…I'll meet you if you go now!” she pleaded with him. “If my boss—”
She cut herself off, terrified of what Lance might do if he heard her. She remembered all too well the anger in his gaze as she had told him her past the night before. To him, Stan was just another scumbag like the one who had taken his late mate from him.
And Kayla couldn't say she blamed him, but the last thing she wanted was for him to get into trouble for her, especially if their date really had been nothing.
