AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiled. “No, it’s not weird.”
I took a deep breath and glanced at the clock. It was almost nine-thirty, and I tried not to be disappointed when I stepped away from him, and he let me. “It’s getting late.”
“Yes,” he said.
I was nervous about what I was about to say but I needed to be clear with him. “I don’t want to play with you if we’re not going to play. Please don’t book me again if you’re only going to make me work. It isn’t all about the money for me. I… I need my kink satisfied, too.”
Shame flickered across his face. “Riley, I was out of line when I asked you about the money thing. I shouldn’t have done that, and I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” I said.
We stared at each other silently for nearly thirty seconds before I cleared my throat. What the hell was I still doing here? Could he tell I hoped he’d ask me to stay? How freaking pathetic was that?
I smiled at him. “Good night, Mr. Cross, I mean… Mr. Steele.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, and for a moment, I thought I saw the same longing in his face that I felt before he looked away. “Good night, Charlotte.”
CHAPTER 23
Riley
“Hey, Riley.”
I stuck the milk in the fridge before turning to smile at Sharonda. “Hi. Ooh, you took your knots out. Your hair looks awesome.
She grinned at me, touching the inky black coils that bounced around her face. “Thank you. I got some killer volume this time.”
“You did,” I agreed. I picked up my coffee mug and leaned against the counter as Sharonda poured herself a cup. “How are you?”
“Good. Happy it’s Friday. It’s been the week from hell. Do you have plans for the weekend?”
“Nothing too exciting,” I said.
Letting your boss eat your pussy on Sunday isn’t exciting?
I cleared my throat. “How about you?”
“Movie with girlfriends tonight, going to my parents tomorrow for dinner. Hey, I don’t suppose you have time to help me with something, do you?”
“Sure, what’s up?” I asked.
While Aiden and Deacon had personal assistants, the twelve financial advisors in the firm shared the services of an admin pool. Sharonda was one of three assistants who helped them.
“Okay, so Gary asked me to work on this Excel spreadsheet which is fine, except the formulas are,” she lowered her voice and glanced around the staff kitchen, “fucked beyond belief because Gary tried to do the formulas himself, and Gary is a moron.”
I laughed. “He has some issues with that program.”
“That’s a polite way of putting it. Anyway, I asked Amanda and Fran to help me figure out this one section because I can’t get the formulas to work. They both gave it a go, but it’s seriously FUBAR. Amanda suggested I ask you. She said you’re amazing with Excel.”
“That’s lovely of her, but I’m not sure entirely accurate,” I said.
“Can you look at it with me?”
“Sure,” I said. “My desk or yours?”
“Yours,” she said. “That new boss of yours is sexy as fuck, and I’m hoping to get a better look at him. I was neck-deep in reports when Aiden brought him around on Monday afternoon and barely said hello.”
I laughed and picked up my coffee mug. “All right, but I think Deacon is in meetings until lunch, so I'm not sure if he’ll leave his office.”
