She nodded again. “Excellent.” He knew of an out of the way place that wouldn’t be as busy that time of evening.
Behind him, the door opened, and his time with her was up. He dropped his hand from her face, taking a step back, but likely not fast enough for Gray not to have noticed their close proximity. At least her lips weren’t freshly moist and swollen from his ardent earlier kisses.
“I’m glad you’re joining us, Ms. Hoyt,” Seth remarked as if he hadn’t been contemplating sweeping Gray’s desk contents to the floor to have his wicked way with her on the tempting flat surface, damning the consequences of being caught.
“Please call me Jessica.”
“And you can call me Seth.”
Gray said, “Jessica, you can go on down to my secretary’s office. She’ll show you to your new office space and take you to HR. Unfortunately, I have a new dispute to settle. Seth, maybe you could stay behind and help me with it.”
“Sure.” He gave Jessica a friendly wave as she departed.
Gray closed the door. “When did you possibly find the time to have carnal knowledge of—and obviously partake in more than one round of sex with—my new employee before her interview today?”
“Last night in her motel room,” he admitted. Gray likely picked up on their sexual vibes the moment he stepped across the threshold.
“Oh? Would that be the other motel you own in town?” he asked, his eyebrows dangerously close to his hairline.
Seth shrugged at first, and then nodded.
He knew Gray would figure out their relationship eventually. He didn’t expect it to happen so soon. However, it would be foolish to lie about it. Gray had incredible sex-dar capabilities.
He had the innate ability to identify those people who’d gotten lucky the night before. Which was why Seth had completely expected Gray to notice his improved attitude. He might have told Gray he’d gotten laid, of course, without ever divulging who he’d been with.
Having Jessica greet him had certainly been a surprise. But he’d seen Gray take notice of the two of them immediately. Seth certainly couldn’t hide their connection.
“I can’t believe this.” Gray shook his head and stared at the ceiling. “Are you going to scare her off? Tell me now if I should start lining up a new manager, because this isn’t a job we can fill with just anyone off the street.”
“I’m not going to scare her off. It’s fine.”
“Are you going to keep on seeing her?”
“Yes.”
“To what end?”
“I don’t know yet.” He wanted to add, as if it’s any of your business, but in fact this sort of was Gray’s business.
“If you make it difficult for her to work here after you dump her, I’m going to kick your ass all the way back to the Enclave Inn.”
“Who says I’m dumping her?”
“It’s only a matter of time.” Gray sighed, slapping a file on his desk. He shook his head as if bitterly disappointed. Under his breath, Seth heard, “Man, I liked her, too. She was perfect for this job.”
“I never realized you had such a low opinion of me.”
“I don’t have a low opinion of you, Seth. Shit. I’ve known you for years. You’re a prince among men.”
“Exactly.”
“However, neither you nor Garrett have ever spent any length of time with only one woman. Ever! I’m not naïve. It’s only a matter of time before she’s hunched over her desk crying into her morning coffee after you part ways.”
“No. Wrong. Not at all true.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s different. Special. I’m not saying we’re about to stroll down the aisle in holy matrimony—”
“God forbid,” Gray said under his breath.
“—but I’m not about to ditch her over this minor thing. It’s not like I’m her boss, you are. Besides, once the construction phase is over, you’re the primary manager anyway. I’ll be back at my motel and away from the day-to-day operations here.”
“Still, if you break her heart and make her cry, I may have to beat the shit out of you.”