Something Real (Whiskey Men, #2)(30)

I try not to be jealous thinking of the women that are no doubt going to be bidding for his time. I don’t have the right to be jealous. He’s my boss, and I’m just his assistant. One lapse in judgment doesn’t mean I have any kind of rights over him.

As we pull into the driveway, I jump out of the car before he can come around. My phone rings, and I’ve never been so happy to have a distraction. I take the bag from Ford and hold the phone up for him to see. “It’s Carrie. Thank you for the weekend, Ford. I had a really good time.”

Before he can say anything, I’m turning on my heel and making my way to the front door. I dig my keys out of my purse and let myself in, falling back into the door. I had rejected the phone call from Carrie, which is the first time I’ve ever done that. But I need just a few minutes to get my bearings before I talk to anyone.





Ford





I should not have let her out of my sight.

I texted her last night, just to check in, and for the first time since I’d met her, she didn’t reply to my text.

This morning, I dropped Ollie off at school and pulled into the parking lot at work on two wheels. I’m practically panting as I make my way down the hallway to the corporate offices.

Beau stops me as I walk past his office. “Good trip?”

I nod. “Yeah, good. I’ll fill you in later today. I’m late for a call.”

He doesn’t question me any further, and when I see Lily at her desk, I finally let out a breath of relief. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s not like she would just quit on me, but there’s something obviously on her mind by the way she’s not looking up from her computer screen.

I lean down into her line of vision. “Lily.”

She doesn’t smile. Hell, her lips don’t tip up at all. “Good morning, Ford. You have a ten o’clock this morning and then you’re free until two this afternoon. I set your coffee in your office just a minute ago. Everything has been confirmed for Ollie’s party on Sunday. I was able to get a private room, and food has been ordered. Is there anything else you need from me?”

My eyes light up at her choice of words. I want to tell her fuck, yeah, there’s plenty I need from her, but instead I tell her with a clenched jaw, “Yes, can I see you in my office, please?”

She nods, grabbing her pad of paper and pencil off her desk before standing up. I walk down the hall to my office, and when she comes in, I shut it behind her. “What’s going on?”

She shrugs. “Nothing… what do you mean?”

My jaw clenches in frustration. “Bullshit, nothing. What is going on, Lily? Talk to me.”

She’s looking everywhere but at me. “Vegas was great, but it was a mistake.”

“Mistake?” I ask her incredulously. Of everything I thought she might say, I never expected that.

She nods patiently. “Yes, a mistake. You’re my boss, Ford. I don’t want to lose my job and—”

I throw my hands up. “What? You think if you don’t want to sleep with me that I’ll fire you? Let’s get one thing straight. I need you here, Lily. Nothing you can say or do—or not do—will change that.”

She paces across the room. “Listen to me, Ford. I don’t think you’ll fire me if I don’t sleep with you. That’s not what I was saying. My life is different now. We need to just call it like it is. We had a weekend of fun, and now we’re back in the real world. I wasn’t looking for anything more.”

She obviously wants space, but I don’t want to give it to her. I trail after her across the room. “What do you want, Lily? What is it YOU want?”

She doesn’t answer me, so I press further. “You want to sleep around, is that it?”

She gives me an offended look. “No, I don’t want to sleep around.” I blow out a breath, my patience wearing thin, and she continues, “Since I was 18, everything I did was for Carrie. I told myself that I would live for myself now.”

I point at her. She’s standing with her arms crossed over her chest, and it’s obvious she doesn’t want to listen to anything I’m saying. “And what, Lily? What does that mean?”

She puts her hands on her hips. “Exactly what I said. I’m doing what I want, Ford. We had a fling, but because of circumstances, that’s all it can ever be.”

Speechless, my mouth falls open. I was ready to commit wholly and completely to her. Fuck, I would put a ring on her finger if I thought she was ready. I thought we had a connection this weekend. I thought that we were building a future. I’ve never been more wrong about anything in my life. Fuck, I had no idea that she thought we would make love and that would be it.

How the hell am I supposed to work next to her day after day, knowing what it’s like to have her ride my dick, screaming my name but knowing I can’t touch her?

“Fuck,” I grunt with my hands on my hips. This is not going how I wanted it to, and right now, I’m afraid I’m going to say something that I will regret.

How the fuck do I even deal with this when all I want to do is bend her over the couch and take her? I want to feel her body unravel again. I want to hear my name on her lips in that husky tone that tells me she’s so close to the edge her pussy starts to vibrate.