Bereft (Seven Year Itch #2)(30)

“I can ask someone else, though, I think I remember you mentioning how much you liked musicals. It’s front row, Rach. It’s one night. It will give you time to gather what you want to say to your hubby. What do you say? Do you care to join me?”

I was dying to see the show, but when tickets were for sale I’d decided it was too late in the evening to travel on the train. The city wasn’t a safe place at night, and I wasn’t exactly a huge woman. “Since when have you paid attention to what my interests are.”

“Rach, there’s a lot more to me than meets the eye. I thought you figured that out last night.”

“Last night.” I tapped my fingernails on the desk. “Last night was…”

“A mistake?” He stood and shook his head. “I told you it was a bad idea.”

I began to playfully giggle. “Were you not in the bed with me? I enjoyed myself, more than I thought I could. I just think we should leave it there. I can’t get involved with you. I’m too old for you, and if you haven’t noticed I come with a lot of baggage. I don’t even know where I’ll be from day to day.”

“I told you I didn’t want a relationship, but if a beautiful woman enjoys my company, and I feel the same, I’m sure as hell going to take advantage of it. I don’t give a shit if you’re married, Rach. You’re stunningly delectable, every damn inch of you. Last night was my pleasure, but I agree with you. We should keep it professional. I’ll just return the panties. You don’t have to go with me.”

“No. I want to go.”

“And the panties,” he asked.

I pushed my chair away from the desk, standing and walking to the side he sat. I slid my body between him and his food, leaning my ass on the edge of the desk. I held the panties up with one finger in front of him. “You mean these?”

He went to grab them and I jerked them out of his reach. “I don’t wear these thong looking things.”

“Try them on. At least let me see them one time. Come on, just for a second.”

I rolled my eyes and looked at the clock. “People still might be here.”

“We’re the last two people here. I checked already. Besides, your door is shut. Take off your clothes and give me a show.”

“No, you’re crazy.”

“I like it when you fight. My dick’s already getting hard. Do you want to feel?”

Of course he was confident. The guy could have any woman he wanted. I still couldn’t believe he was interested in me. I wondered if I was some kind of bucket list challenge for him. Did he plan to gloat to his buddies at the gym, bragging about how he was nailing a married woman? “I thought we agreed this had to stop.”

“I don’t have a turn-off switch. I get what I want, and what I want right now is you, in those panties, spread eagle on this desk.” He patted the flat surface as he said it. “Let me f*ck you like I know you’ve been imagining all day.”

I had a choice to make. I could do the right thing and tell him it wasn’t a good idea, or I could give in to temptation and have another go at something that was sure to leave me satisfied.

The decision was simple.





Chapter 15


Rachel


Where was I supposed to change? It wasn’t like there was a dressing room, or a personal bathroom in my office. I wasn’t that high up in the company, well not yet at least. I held up the tiny amount of fabric. “Right now? You want me to stand in front of you and strip?”

He smirked and nodded. “You’re damn right. I want to watch.”

I kept trying to see Chad as the kid I’d once known him to be, but after his recent performance, and the way he was such a gentleman, I couldn’t look past his true identity. He was strong and powerful, with women fawning over him. I’d be a fool to pass up the opportunity for some cheer-me-up fun, and that’s exactly what this was. It meant nothing to either of us. We were two adults, enjoying the company of each other after a hard day. “You ignored me in the meeting,” I said as I dropped my skirt to the floor. “Why? If I’m so appealing to you, how come you didn’t give me a second’s notice?”

“After last night, I can’t look at you without my dick getting hard. Unless you wanted a different kind of presentation it was best if I kept my eyes on note taking.”

“Note taking. I saw you laughing several times.”

“I was laughing when I was messaging you.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled to an application before handing it to me. “Take a look for yourself. I had the dictation on, and when more than one person was speaking, I tried to jot down as much as I could. If I needed to go back and reference anything later, I’d have access to it. If you paid any attention to me in our other meetings you’d know I do this every time.”

I was shocked. He’d been listening the whole time. “I thought I was boring you.”

“Trust me, Rach, nothing about you is boring, you proved that last night, more than once if I remember correctly.”

My cheeks turned a crimson hue, I was sure of it. I’d acted on impulse, throwing caution to the wind. I’d done things with Chad I’d never tried before, and I liked it.

I lifted my top over my head, standing before him in only a bra and panties. When I knew he was paying full attention, I unfastened the back clasp and let my breasts fall free. Instinct told me to cover up. I brought my arms up to my shoulders, hiding both nipples from his sight.