Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(31)
They stayed like that for a while, catching their breath. She couldn’t speak for Cole, but her mind was a blank slate in a state of post-coital bliss. When she felt his lips on the top of her head, her heart skipped a beat.
Was that a kiss? A tender, gentle kiss? Shit.
This was supposed to be about sex—only sex. Anything more than that was a string she couldn’t—wouldn’t—handle.
Her thoughts whirled in her head. Pull it together, Olivia. Cole didn’t do romance. She was starting to see things that weren’t there. But he had stayed at her apartment all night to take care of her.
Insta-regret reared its ugly head and as quickly as it had come, her peace was shattered.
She pulled away from Cole and cast a wary glance at the table, which not ten minutes ago had her own bare ass on it. For God’s sake, people would be eating lunch there tomorrow! How gross was that?
“It’ll be fine,” she reasoned. The cleaning crew would come through and shine the damn thing with some Pledge or something, right?
“Olivia?”
Cole stood and stepped up behind her, placing a strong hand on her hip. Her pulse quickened and she whirled on him, breaking the connection before she lost her nerve. He had a way of making her forget her resolve, as evidenced by their latest romp on the table.
“Look, this cannot happen again,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes, afraid of what she’d see. She already felt like a first class bitch. Seeing it confirmed in those smoky gray eyes of his? No thanks.
“What’s the big deal?” he asked, tucking in his shirt and zipping his pants. He flashed her a devilish grin, the one with the dimples that made her weak in the already shaky knees. “Pritchard said, and I quote, ‘I don’t care what it takes’. We’ll just tell him sex is part of the creative process.”
“Cole, I’m serious.”
“Who says I’m not?” he challenged, raising a brow and adjusting his tie with practiced fingers. “We’re good together. Why fight it?”
Olivia shook her head and sighed. “Look, maybe it doesn’t matter for you. You’re the boss. And a man. People would still take you seriously if you screwed every woman in this agency. But for me? It’s trouble.”
Cole had the audacity to laugh in response. “Sweetheart, as you keep reminding me, I’m your boss. Who exactly is going to get you in trouble for f*cking me?”
He did kind of have a point. They were already working long hours together. Maybe a few extracurricular activities could be kept a secret. It wasn’t like they were planning a future together. They weren’t even dating. She chewed her bottom lip, mulling it over.
“Fine,” she finally conceded, deciding to jump in feet first and do what she wanted for a change, even if it meant breaking the rules. After all, if anyone deserved to have a little fun, it was her. She grabbed her bag and started shoving files in it. “We’re adults. We both like sex. Might as well hang on and enjoy the ride.”
He looked skeptical. “But?” For all his angling, it was clear he hadn’t expected her to change her mind. She was pretty damn surprised herself.
“But you cannot tell anyone. Sleeping with the boss is a credibility death sentence.” She slung the weighty bag over her shoulder and turned toward the door. “I have a full schedule tomorrow. We’ll pick up where we left off next week. We still have some time to come up with an angle for Vixen. We can’t lose focus now.”
Chapter Thirteen
The sharp tang of disinfectant assaulted Cole’s nose as he stepped through the sliding doors of the White Plains emergency room. The eye-watering, throat-burning stink reminded him just how much he disliked hospitals. He hated the look, the smell, and most of all the fact that someone close to him had been admitted for care.
As much as he loathed the place, he knew his little sister Anna hated it more. That knowledge alone kept him moving forward when he wanted nothing more than to make a U-turn and cleanse his lungs with the fresh spring air outside. Anna needed him and he had promised himself he’d always be there for her, no matter what. He was determined to make good on that promise, even if it meant facing the ER and Olivia’s wrath on the same day. He hated to miss the team meeting and the last thing he wanted to do was leave her hanging, especially now. They were finally on the same page with regard to sex and he didn’t want to screw that up, but blood came before business.
Although their lives had taken different paths, he and Anna had remained close over the years. While he had chosen a life of corporate bliss, Anna was the consummate suburbanite with a white picket fence and a pile of unruly children who, although he loved them dearly, regularly reaffirmed his bachelorhood. Cole was nowhere near ready for kids.
He scanned the crowded waiting room. It was a busy day and most of the cracked vinyl chairs were occupied with miserable looking souls seeking relief. Young, old, working class, and homeless, the emergency room was the great equalizer. There they all sat, ignoring the hum of daytime TV and waiting for the overworked doctors and nurses to call them back for treatment.
No Anna though.
Cole hoped her absence was a good sign. He’d have been royally pissed if she and her daughter were still waiting. Traffic had been horrendous and it had taken longer than expected to get to the hospital. The idea of his niece sitting there in pain all that time was unbearable.