She winced. She really hadn’t “stepped” on them as much as she’d trod on them—hard.
It was only because Hailey started to describe the neighborhood—had the woman ever even visited Hyde Park?—and Rachel had had to step in and correct her. Her promotion was riding on it, after all, and Hailey had nothing to lose. She’d tried to do it tactfully, but she’d ended up contradicting what her boss had said. When she’d shot a glance at Hailey, the woman hadn’t even been hiding her glare.
Which meant Rachel spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in her cubicle, hoping to escape her boss’s wrath.
And her retaliation because she bet Hailey could beveryvindictive.
She checked the clock for the millionth time since the Threshold group had left. It was finally almost time for her to sneak out—sneakbecause she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She didn’t put it past Hailey to assign something “crucial” to her to get done before the weekend.
She didn’t want anything to mess up her date with Jamie. Shecouldn’t waitto see him. She’d wanted to call him and tell him about her presentation and how she’d rocked it, but in the end, she’d talked herself out of that. She’d just tell him tonight over dinner.
She checked the time again. Almost. And then she’d rush home and get ready—she had no idea what she was going to wear—and then she’d be with Jamie, and there’d be more conversation—shelovedtalking with him—and more kisses—that were as good as, if not better than, talking.
The way he’d kissed her on the stoop… The only word for it wasdelicious. She hadn’t wanted to stop. More startling, she’d wanted to do more.
Way more.
Opening a browser, she pulled up her favorite picture of Jamie that she’d found, one of him at a fashion premiere with his cousin Coco. Rachel hadn’t donemorewith anyone in a long time—specifically since the last time she and Kevin had been intimate, months before they’d finally agreed to get a divorce.
Could you become a virgin again?
Oh jeez—she was thinking about having sex withJamie, who according to Google was one of the hottest, most wanted men on the planet.
Yes, she’d spent every minute since the presentation reading about him online. It wasn’t stalking if he’d pointed out all the articles, right?
Groaning, she put a hand over her eyes. How was she going to measure up to his experience? What did a man like him like? She didn’t know anything about exotic sex. The most adventurous she’d ever gotten in the past was suggesting to keep the lights on. What if Jamiewaslike Christian Grey and had all these kinky things he wanted to do?
Okay—that’d be hot, actually. She shifted in her seat, her mind goingthere.
And then she imagined being naked, spread out for him, and she bit her lip in worry. Jamie was used to going out with the most beautiful women in the world. Had he ever evenseencellulite on a woman? Because she had it despite how much weight she’d lost in the past year.
She cringed, thinking of her thighs. Maybe she should wear pants tonight.
He said he wanted her and only her, but they hadn’t been that intimate yet. Jamie liked to win—he said it all the time. So once he “won” her and the chase was over, would he still want her, cellulite and all? She was just average, and he was used to the extraordinary.
“Hey.”
Jumping, she clumsily closed her browser and looked over her shoulder. She wilted in relief when she saw it was just Alice. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought it was Hailey.”
Eyes huge, Alice was still staring at the computer screen. “Was that Jamie on your desktop?”
“Yes.” She winced. “It’s a long story that I’m not sure I can tell you.”
Alice leaned in, dropping her voice. “Are you cyberstalking him?”
“No!” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not stalking if he was the one who had me look him up to begin with.”
“Uh-huh,” Alice said doubtfully. “Was he wearing a tux in that picture? He looked hot.”
He looked beyond hot. “I think it was just a suit.”
“Fancy suit.” Her friend folded her arms on top of the cubicle wall. “Want to go get a drink after work?”
Shaking her head, she checked the time. Five to five—a totally acceptable time for her to leave. She clicked to shut down her computer. “I can’t tonight. I’m having dinner with Jamie.”
“And you’re just telling me now?” Alice all but screeched.
“Shh!” She craned her neck and looked around. No one seemed to be paying them any attention, thank goodness.