He’s standing behind me in the door, sipping his own coffee from a thermos, an inquisitive look on his face that I don’t particularly like.
“Yeah, Maggie was just telling me about her old boss,” I mutter as I pour more quickly, ready to be finished and back downstairs. Something about the way Brian is lurking there reminds me of a hungry wolf.
“So, what did you think of that?”
“Think of it? I-I don’t know,” I lie, not eager to get any further into this conversation.
“Oh, come on, Ali,” Brian chuckles, coming up beside me. “You have to have some kind of opinion. Why do girls always act like they never think about sex?”
Yeah, now I’m definitely getting a creepy vibe.
I finish pouring Maggie’s cup, but as I slide it out of the way to start pouring mine, I spill at least a quarter of it all over the table.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Brian volunteers.
“It’s fine—” I protest, but before I can react, he quickly grabs a handful of napkins and begins mopping it up. “So come on. What do you think about what she was saying? Swinging? Sharing partners?”
“I really don’t know, Brian. I don’t even really have enough experience with relationships to think about something like that.”
“Okay. Well, what do you think Zander would think about sharing you?”
His question shocks me. I glance nervously up at him briefly to see him eyeing me in a way that sends a child up my spine.
“I…this conversation is making me uncomfortable,” I say.
I finish pouring Maggie’s coffee and flee the breakroom as quickly as I can without spilling both cups all over myself. I can practically feel Brian’s eyes on my back as I go.
To my surprise, when I get back downstairs, I find Zander sitting on the desk chatting with Maggie. He’s absolutely covered in dust and looks up as I reach the bottom of the steps.
“Well, it looks like someone deserves a raise,” he says with a smile. “I told you to put together a job posting, not hire someone before the day was even half over!”
Laughing, I hand Maggie her coffee and Zander the cup that was meant for me. “Well, what can I say? I’m that good.”
Zander looks over at Maggie with a sly expression on his face.
“She really is.”
I shake my head and try not to blush as Maggie does her best not to laugh. “Oh, come on a little college-level humor for the office never hurt anybody, right?”
“You look like you could use a shower, boss,” I say, eyeing Zander up and down. “You’re not going to finish up the day like that, are you?”
“You’re right about that,” he laughs. “Bennie dropped a load of gravel from ten feet higher than he was supposed to—sent dust everywhere.”
For some reason, seeing him all filthy like this has me even more turned on than when I saw him in his suit at the club. There’s something so manly about it that just makes me want to jump all over him right here in the lobby.
Not in front of Maggie though…
“You should probably head home and shower,” I say. “Clean off, change, and come back when you’re all freshened up.”
I try to hint at him with my eyes, subtle enough that Maggie won’t notice, that I certainly wouldn’t mind going back to his house with him and joining him for that shower. And of course, being the intelligent man that he is, Zander picks up on my hint and gives me a little smile back.
“You’re probably right, Ali. Maybe I should make you my personal assistant too.” He turns to Maggie. “If any calls from Bankers Concrete come in, forward them to my cell, please.”
“Yes, Mr. Francis.”
“Ali, walk me to my car? I need to speak with you about an HR matter.”