“Then, why would I waste words by saying something that’d never make you feel any better?”
She nods in agreement. “I guess I didn’t pass your test since I didn’t get a guy to buy me a drink.”
“I would say you passed the first lesson with flying colors.”
She raises an eyebrow at me.
“You slapped a guy in the nicest restaurant in all of Chicago. I would say you showed that you have more than enough balls to be a leader. Now, you just have to learn to be that person on a regular basis.”
She laughs. “So…your place or mine?” she asks.
I choke on nothing. Did she just say that?
Of all the ways I saw tonight ending, this wasn’t it. Sure, I hoped in my own twisted way, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.
She bites her lip, trying to keep her grin at bay. She’s not blushing or showing any signs that she’s embarrassed by what she said. She meant every damn word.
“Are you sure you want me to fuck you? He won’t take you back after this, if that’s a concern of yours. I’m not sure you’re ready for the severe consequences of saying yes,” I say, reminding her of the boyfriend—or ex-boyfriend.
“I’m not taking him back after this. And why are you asking me if I’m sure anyway? I thought you would say something about how managers always make a decision, and once that decision is made, they don’t go back on that decision. Managers just deal with the consequences, so be sure of your decision before saying anything.”
I smirk. “That does sound like me. But that was a lesson I was saving for later.”
She takes a deep breath and then exhales slowly while she thinks for a moment and then another.
She’s going to say no. She’s going to come to her senses and realize that fucking me is not going to solve any of her problems. It’s just going to create new ones. New problems that involve a complicated relationship where she fucked her boss and would have to come into the office tomorrow and every day after, wondering if the reason she got promoted, was getting special attention, was yelled at, or fired was because she’d fucked me.
And, as much as I know that the sensible thing to do is for her to say no, I’m begging her to say yes. Not to mention, my own experience. I know better than to fuck an employee. Jamie might have been the worst mistake of my life. I ended up losing the only woman I ever cared about.
“Your place or mine?” Olive asks again, more slowly this time.
I grin. “Mine.”
“Holy crap!” Olive says when I open the door to my condo.
I smirk as I hold the door open for her. “Are you going to go inside?” I ask.
Olive tears her eyes away from my condo and looks up at me. “Please tell me this isn’t your condo. Tell me that you have some rich friend you’re staying with or that this is your parents’ place.”
I chuckle and rub the back of my neck, feeling weird for the first time ever about how nice of a place I have. I’ve never cared what a woman thought, and I for sure have never felt ashamed to have a place this nice, but the way that Olive is looking at me right now makes me feel like maybe I should be ashamed.
“It’s not mine.”
“Thank God,” Olive says, exhaling.
She finally steps inside my condo while I walk in behind her, enjoying the view as I stare at her tight ass in the tight black skirt she’s wearing.
“Technically, it’s not mine.”
Olive flips her head around and looks at me. “What?”
I smile, loving throwing her off her game. “Technically, it’s not mine because I’m just leasing it for the year. I’ll decide after that if I want to buy the property or not.”
Olive’s mouth drops open, and then she slowly looks around my condo—up at the ceiling that’s two stories tall and around the large room that contains everything, except my bedroom and bathroom. Her eyes go over the kitchen that is full of stainless steel and granite, then across the dark hardwood floor to my living room where all the furniture is pointed at the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the city, and then over to the dining room that can easily seat twelve beneath a large chandelier.
“Where’s your TV?” she asks.
I walk up behind her and inch as close as I dare without touching her. Close enough that I can smell her and feel every emotion oozing off her body. Nervousness. Anger. Excitement. Need for sex.