The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(55)

“Listen, Sue, why don’t you just e-mail me a list? I trust you, and I know you’ll do the best you can on the time you have. As for the drinks, Matt wants an open bar.” Big surprise there. Lately Matt’s life seemed like one big open bar. “Can you take care of the bartenders?”

Twenty minutes and negotiations on how many bartenders they would need later, Grace managed to get off the phone. It had been a productive day so far. The party was going to be fine. The contract with the Bryson Building had already started, and hopefully the money would start rolling in. They would need it to cover the party.

“Hey, you.” Kayla smiled down at her. She looked around the office. “Where’s that hunk of yours? It’s almost three. Shouldn’t he be rushing in with your afternoon coffee so you don’t have to hurt your dainty toes by walking? I haven’t seen him around.” She leaned in with a little grin on her face. “Do you have him tied up somewhere?”

He hadn’t even tied her up. They hadn’t gotten that far. Grace took a deep breath and tried for a casual smile. “He went back to Chicago.”

Kayla’s face fell. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s no big deal. It was a fling. I thought you would be happy. I’m slutting it up a little bit.” She kept her voice light, trying to breeze her way through this encounter.

It was obvious her friend wasn’t buying her tough chick act. Kayla pulled her out of her chair and hugged her. “You wouldn’t even know how to slut it up, hon. If you were sleeping with him, you were involved. Are you going to see him again?”

Grace shook her head. There was no pretending now. Her eyes welled up, and she choked back the tears. “No. I don’t even have his number. He left a note. It didn’t say anything about calling.”

“Asshole.”

“It was just a fling.” Grace shook her head. That was true. She had always known that was all it would be. Sean was always going to head back to Chicago. Grace had just thought she could hold on to him a little longer than she had. She had also thought that he would at least say goodbye.

“Not for you it wasn’t.” Kayla let her sink back into her chair. Kayla’s face flushed with anger. “If he were here, I would stomp on his toe and then call it an accident. He’s an idiot if he can’t see how awesome you are.”

Kayla looked cute in a sunny yellow dress and blue scarf that was completely incongruous with the weather. It was pouring rain outside, and the claps of thunder shook the building.

“He’s just a guy. Seriously, Kayla, it’s fine.” The weather matched Grace’s mood perfectly. The last thing she wanted was to have a heart-to-heart right here in the office with Kayla. She would end up crying, and she didn’t want to cry anymore. She’d cried so much the night before her eyes were still a little swollen.

Kayla studied her for a moment. She frowned. “I doubt that. I’m pretty sure you need some retail therapy or at least some time with Se?or Cuervo. But now that you’re single again, we should see about setting you up. You have to forget that jerk and get right back on the horse.” A startled look crossed Kayla’s face. “Unless…didn’t I hear that you went out with Adam Miles last night?”

She wasn’t sure what that had to do with getting back on the horse. Not that she was getting on any horse, or man, anytime soon. She’d given the whole flaming hot affair thing a try, and she’d gotten burned. “We went out for dinner and a movie last night. He’s a friend. And he’s gay. Jake was with us.” It couldn’t be a hot date if the guy brought along his boyfriend.

“Holy crap. How exactly was Jake ‘with’ you? Tonya in HR says those boys are wild.”

Grace felt her eyes go wide. “What are you talking about?”

“Tonya said she’s never had a night like the one she spent in between those two.”

“No. They aren’t bi. They’re gay. They just started a relationship. I can’t imagine that they would do that.” But she kind of could, in a totally hot, dirty way. They were two gorgeous men. The idea of them kissing had always done something for her. The idea of them kissing and then reaching out to the girl watching them really did something for her. “No. That has to be a rumor. You know you shouldn’t pay attention to gossip.”

“What else am I supposed to do? Work? That’s horribly boring, Grace. I would much rather think about your suddenly raging, hot sex life. And I didn’t mention anything about them being bisexual. Maybe, but according to Tonya, they were all about the girl. Has one of them made a move on you? I bet it’s Jake. He’s the dark, broody one. I bet he’s the aggressive one, too.”

“No, it wasn’t Jake.” She hadn’t meant to say that.

Kayla’s grin practically lit up the room. “Then it was Adam. OMG, Grace, what happened?”

“It was nothing.” Wasn’t it? It had just been a little kiss. And a whole lot of hand holding. And Adam’s arm around her waist for a lot of the night. But he didn’t mean anything by that. She wasn’t so vain that she expected a thirty-year-old hottie to be after her. A hottie and his boyfriend. Although, now that she thought about it, she’d never seen them kiss. Maybe they were just shy. She shook her head. They couldn’t be straight. “It wasn’t anything. I don’t know what happened with Tonya, but I’m strictly hag material, if you know what I mean.”