Not Safe for Work(91)

“So I told you I’ve been seeing someone. And…” My heart thudded in my chest. I resisted the urge to keep glancing at the restaurant’s front door, convincing myself Marie or Mitchell were not going to come through it at any second. “I’ve… It’s…” I stared up at the ceiling for a moment before I met Teagan’s eyes again.

She lifted her eyebrows. “Is it going well?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s great.” I smiled despite my nerves. “It’s really great.” Except… I couldn’t maintain the smile. “The only problem…”

“I’ve never seen you have this much trouble spitting something out. Is he a war criminal or something?”

“No, nothing like that.” I picked up a chopstick and absently turned it between my fingers.

Teagan folded her arms on the table and leaned toward me. “Jon, now you’re really worrying me. What’d you do? Knock him up or something?”

A cough of laughter escaped my lips. “Yeah. That’s it. You got me.”

She laughed, but then turned serious again. “So, what is it?”

Taking a deep breath, I laid my palms on the table and forced myself to look her in the eye. “I’m dating Rick Pierce.”

Her eyebrows shot up so fast, I was surprised one of the rings didn’t fly off. “You got your dick pierced?”

“Very funny. You heard me.”

She stared at me. “You’re not kidding, are you?” There was no humor in her voice, no teasing this time.

“No, I’m not.”

“You’re…” She closed her eyes for a second, then met my gaze again. “You’re really dating him?”

I nodded.

“Holy shit, dude.” She tapped a chopstick against the stack of empty plates. “So, you guys hooked up then, and it just, what? Went from there?”

“Basically.”

“How? He’s… I mean…how…”

I chuckled. “How did a guy like me score a guy like him?”

“Honey, how does anyone score a guy like Rick Pierce?”

“Oh, I have my ways. And no, I’m not telling you that story today.”

“So, what’s the problem? I mean, are you guys in a bad spot, or—”

“No, no. That’s just it,” I said, almost whispering. “There isn’t a problem between Rick and me. Everything there is…” I paused, then shook my head. “It’s perfect. He’s amazing. I mean, you’d never even know he’s the client who has Mitchell & Forsyth by the balls. Outside of work, he’s just…Rick.”

“I guess I can see why you’ve been so out of it at work lately.”

“You have no idea.” I forced a laugh, then exhaled hard. “I can’t focus. Not at work. Not anywhere.” I took a breath and reached up to rub a phantom crick out of my neck. “I can’t…I can’t think. If he’s there, he’s all I can think about. If he’s not there, I want him to be. I—”

“Oh my f*cking God.” Teagan stared at me with nothing short of disbelief written into the way her lips parted and her eyes widened.

I blinked. “What?”

“You’re in love with him.” It wasn’t a question.

I waved the thought away. “I wouldn’t go that far. It’s just, what we’re doing, it’s distracting.”

She shrugged. “So stop f*cking him.”

“That’s the other problem, actually.” I drummed my fingers on the table. “It’s not quite that simple.”

“Because it’s more than just sex, right?”

“No. Because someone found out. At work.”

“Someone, as in—” She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh shit. Like, Dawson?”

I nodded. “Dawson. All the partners.”

“Ouch.” As her hand slid down, she asked, “How did they find out?”

My face burned. “Remember how they said they only check the parking garage cameras if there’s a wreck or a break-in or something?”

She grimaced. “Jon. You didn’t…”

“I kissed him. That’s all. Just a…” Long, amazing kiss. The only reason I even stayed coherent that day. God, what a— I cleared my throat. “I didn’t think anyone saw us, but apparently someone did. So they checked the cameras. And I got called into a conference room so we could all watch the video together.”

She covered her mouth with both hands, just barely muffling her voice. “I would’ve been mortified.”

“Yeah. I would’ve asked for the ground to open up and swallow me, but we were on the fourth floor.”

“How convenient. So, what did they say? I mean, I assume you still have a job.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “For the moment, yes.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means they’re not firing me, but they gave me one hell of an ultimatum.” I lowered my hand. “I can keep my job as long as I keep Rick happy.”

“Keep—” She blinked. “You might have to spell this one out for me.”

“Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. Basically, they won’t fire me because that would piss Rick off. But if I split up with him, or I give him a reason to split up with me…” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’m out.”