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I finally checked him out, but he refused the change, electing to put it in the tip jar instead.
“No, really,” he said. “I need five minutes with you.”
“Here?” My heart fluttered in my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins.
He couldn't be serious, could he? He couldn't want...then again, it's not like I knew his kinks. Maybe he was into the public thing, the thrill of getting caught.
While I could get behind that, and while I knew that a lot of his friends were accustomed to getting frisky at the office, that wasn't something I could do here.
It's not like I owned the place. Not even close.
Crossland tilted his head, studying me. “I’m surprised you didn’t give me an instantno,” he said. “But no, kitten, that's not what I meant. Do you have a break? So we can talk?”
My heart sank, my mind repeating the wordsso we can talk.
The phrase triggered every abandonment trauma I had, a string of past friendships and partners all leading with that exact phrase before cutting me out of their life completely, pairing it with excuses that I was too much to handle or my baggage was too much or my commitment to my sister was unhealthy.
“Sure,” I said doing my best to keep my tone even.
What the hell was wrong with me? This was a business transaction. Crossland and I weren't actually dating.
Had he given me the most intense orgasm of my life? Yes.
Was he by far the best kisser ever? Absolutely.
Did he make me laugh on a daily basis? One hundred percent.
But when it came down to it, he was still just a business partner.
Shit. I hope I wasn't about to get fired.
I made sure to check with my coworker that he was good to handle the front, even though we were in the midafternoon lull before coming around the counter and taking a seat at one of the far tables across the coffee shop.
“This is good,” Crossland said after we took our seats across from each other.
He'd taken a sip of the flat white I'd made him, licking a few stray drops off of his lips.
I couldn't help but track the move, my mind directly linking back to what that tongue had felt like between my legs.
I crossed one leg over the other and took a deep breath. What if he was about to fire me because of the line we'd crossed? I told myself over and over again not to depend on completing this contract and getting the ridiculous amount of money he'd offered me, but all my preparation obviously didn't work if the cracks in my heart were any indication.
Damn it, I'd already dreamed of how much that money could change mine and my sister’s lives. And now I'd gone and ruined it all for the sake of a little game I'd started while tipsy?—
“I thought that I'd given you enough living expenses to no longer work here,” Crossland said, totally shocking me out of my train of thought.
“What?”
He took another sip of his coffee before setting it down. “If you needed more money, you should have just told me.”
“I don't. Wait, I’m confused.”
“So am I,” Crossland said, leaning back in the chair and looking so damn good in the silver suit he wore.
I mean honestly, who looks that good?
“I thought I gave you enough living expenses so that you wouldn't have to work here. I need you to be able to go to India on a whim. That's what my real girlfriend would be able to do.”
“Oh,” I said, understanding finely dawning on me. “Right. The living expenses were wonderful. And I really do appreciate it. But our contract is for three months. Three months, Crossland, and you'll be gone. I'll still need my job.”
