Page 3 of Lying to the Boss

“It’s a long story, and I’m afraid if I tell you, it’ll prove I actually am boring.”

“Hm,” I hum, taking another sip of my drink. I turn more fully to face him. “And what are you doing once you leave here?”

He holds my gaze intensely. “That all depends.”

“On?”

“Whether you ask me back to your place or not.” He says the words so confidently it almost makes me laugh.

“Bold,” I respond, finishing my drink and getting to my feet. I take my suit jacket and carefully put it on, tugging it so it settles in the right place. I take three hundred-dollar bills from my wallet and place them on the bar, pushing them across to the other side. Will hurries over. “For both of us. Keep the change.”

“Thank you, Mr. Monroe,” he says gratefully. I doubt our drinks totaled even a hundred.

I put my wallet away and face Tage. “Are you coming?”

His teeth sink into the corner of his bottom lip as he gets up, leaving his half-finished drink. The armless shirt and skinny jeans leave nothing to the imagination. It’s not the typical attire of this place, but somehow, he makes it look chic and fashionable rather than homeless.

We walk out of the bar, the doorman holding it open for us.

“Isn’t it a bit warm for a jacket?” Tage asks.

“A respectable businessman always wears a jacket,” I say as I pull my phone out and dial Blake, my driver. The moment he answers, I tell him I’m ready.

“Cab?” Tage questions.

I smirk, not giving him a word. Thirty seconds later, Blake pulls up in the Escalade and hops out to open the door for us. Tage gets in first, not looking as impressed as I expect. Normally I get a reaction. An ooh or an aah. Sometimes even a smile that tells me they’re really going to enjoy being spoiled for the night.

I follow Tage in. Blake closes the door and gets back into the driver’s side.

“Custom built,” Tage says as he looks around.

He takes the seat across from the door, while I take the one next to it. The back of the Escalade has been turned into something similar to a limo, allowing me to conduct business here when needed. It’s why I have it out tonight. I thought I was meeting clients, but as I said, Nancy was involved.

“You don’t seem impressed.”

He shrugs, giving me a cocky smirk. “I’m not into cars.”

Nodding, I say, “All right then. What are you into?”

“Bottoming,” he says firmly. “Especially for men like you.”

“Men like me?”

“With a lot of money, who want to be discreet, and won’t call me again.”

My eyes narrow. “Are you always so forward, or have you consumed more alcohol than I think? Because if you’re drunk, we’ll be driving to your house instead.”

“I had one and a half drinks tonight. I’m not drunk,” he says firmly.

“Well, at least I know I don’t have to work too hard then.”

“Only to make me come.” He leans back in his seat, giving me a knowing smile. He’s being bratty, and he knows it.

“We’ll see about that.”

Blake drops us off at the portico, then drives off to the garage to park the car and go home for the night. A nice surprise, I’m sure. He’d expected to be out much later tonight. So did I.

I pull my phone out and enter the code to unlock the door. The lock beeps, letting me know it’s been accepted. Tage follows me into the house.