“Okay—what’s the first rule we should have in place—you know to clear up any confusion?” he asked. She frowned over at him and the waiter chose that moment to bring the bottle of wine that he had ordered when he made the reservation earlier. He approved the bottle and waited as the wine was poured into their glasses. Knox could feel Beck’s eyes on him the whole time and he knew that as soon as the waiter left their table, she’d give him an earful. He thought back over what he had just said and worried that the pissed-off looks she was shooting him were because he had opened his big mouth and fucked up in some way.
“Okay, I can tell that whatever I just said pissed you off,” he said, “let’s have it.” He held up his hands and gave her the give it to me sign and she sat back in her seat, seeming to lose some of her fight.
“You don’t have to patronize me, Knox,” she said. “I’m not trying to be difficult by insisting that we have rules. I’m just worried that if things go south, I won’t have a job anymore and that’s something I can’t live without. Unlike you, I’m not part of the one percent of society. I need my job as your assistant to pay my rent and put food on my table. We’ve already touched on rule number one back in your office, earlier today. You don’t want any trouble with HR and I don’t want anyone looking at me like I’m sleeping with my boss to keep my job. This thing between us,” she said, motioning between the two of them, “can’t ever become public.”
Knox nodded and looked around the very public restaurant that they were sitting in together. “I’d say that we’re blowing rule number one completely out of the water right now, Honey,” he teased. She looked around the crowded restaurant and sighed.
“Right,” she agreed. “Well, we’re just two people having dinner together tonight, but from now on, maybe we could order in,” she said.
“So, no more fancy dinner dates then?” he asked. Beck looked around the restaurant once again, this time he could see the disappointment in her face and he almost wanted to veto rule number one before they even agreed to it.
“I’m afraid not, Knox,” she whispered. “I don’t want anyone around the office knowing that we’re having sex,” she said. God, that made what they were about to do sound so clinical and cold. She didn’t once call what they were about to embark on a “relationship” and he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or pissed off about that.
“Ace already has an idea that I want you, Beck,” Knox admitted. “Can you honestly tell me that Trinity has no clue that we’re going to fall into bed together?” Beck sipped at her wine and shook her head, as if not wanting to admit out loud that rule number one was already a fucking no-go.
“I’m sure she knows that I have a little crush on you, Knox. She has eyes,” Beck sassed.
“A little crush?” he breathed. “That’s what kids have on each other in middle school. I want you, Beck. Hell, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the first day we met. Asking you to be my assistant was purely selfish on my part,” he admitted. He was going to spill his guts and let the chips fall where they may, but he was pretty sure that this evening would end with him going home alone. Beck didn’t seem like the kind of woman who liked to be pushed into anything and he was about to give her a giant shove.
“How so?” she asked.
“I made you my assistant to ensure that I get to see you every day. I didn’t want a single fucking day to pass without seeing your beautiful face, and if that makes me sound like a sap, then so be it. I don’t give a fuck, but don’t tell me that this thing between the two of us is simply a crush, Beck,” he insisted.
“Right—so we aren’t crushing on each other than,” she teased. Knox groaned and downed his wine. He held up his hand, getting the waiter’s attention. And, when the guy nervously made his way over to the table, Knox told him that they were ready for their first course. He had pre-ordered their entire meal, down to the dessert, although he was starting to question if they’d even get to that portion of their meal. Things didn’t seem to be going very well so far, and he worried that at some point, Beck would just get up and leave him sitting there like a complete fool.
“I’d love to say that I understand why you are so upset about me calling my feelings for you a ‘crush’, but I don’t. It’s just a figure of speech and I thought that this thing between us wasn’t serious. Have I misread the situation?” she asked.
Knox could tell by her smirk that if he told her that she had misread the situation, she’d bolt. If casual was what Beck was looking for, that’s exactly what he’d give her, even if what he felt for her was anything but casual.
“No,” he lied. “You haven’t misread the situation. I’m just in a foul mood. My last meeting of the day wasn’t what I had expected and I think I might be taking it out on you.”
“Oh,” Beck breathed. “Is there anything that I can do to help smooth things over with whomever you met with? I am, after all, your assistant. Let me assist you,” she said. He could think of about a half dozen different ways that she could assist him and smoothing things over with his ex-assistant, Felicity, wasn’t one of them.
“No,” he said. “I handled it—but thank you.” The waiter brought out their first course and she looked down at it and smiled back up at him.
“I love sushi,” she gushed. “Did you know that or was this a very good guess?” He wasn’t about to admit to her that he had done a little research on her before their dinner tonight. He had called Trinity, once again interrupting her and Ace’s honeymoon, and pissing off his business partner and best friend. He was able to talk to Trinity for a few minutes before Ace ripped the phone from her hand and told Knox to take a hike. Trinity told him that Beck had been dying to eat at the new place in town and that her favorite thing on the menu would be the sushi.
“If I lied and said it was a good guess, would that piss you off?” he asked.
“Yep,” she said, shoving a big piece of sushi into her mouth and moaning around it. God, the little sex noises that she made while she ate her sushi made him hard. Knox wondered if she’d make those same noises when she had her lips around his cock, sucking him to the back of her throat.
“I called Trinity and she told me what you’d like for dinner. She even suggested this place,” he admitted.
“So, rule number one is definitely blown to hell then?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” he agreed. “But, I would agree to not telling anyone else, if that would make you feel better. We can be strictly professional when it comes to our relationship around the office.”
“This isn’t a relationship,” Beck corrected. “This is two adults, enjoying each other’s company and having sex.” She whispered that last part and he wanted to laugh. She was so confident but every time she mentioned, “Sex” she whispered the damn word.
“At least you didn’t call it a crush this time,” he teased. Beck rolled her eyes and shoved another piece of sushi into her mouth. “So, I’m going to be your dirty little secret then?” he asked. Beck smiled and nodded. “All right,” Knox agreed. “I think I can agree to that.”
“Good,” Beck breathed. “You’ll have Ace to talk to, you know if you need to talk to someone about me. And, I’ll have Trinity to gab with—you know girl talk,” she said. Beck smacked her forehead with her open palm. “Shit—and my sister,” she breathed.
“Your sister?” Knox asked.
“Yeah—Rainey,” Beck said. “I called her to ask her what I should wear on our date tonight and well, she knows that I’m seeing you. She even told me that dating my boss was a huge mistake,” she admitted.
“Well, I have to say that I’m thankful to Rainey for suggesting that dress,” he said. “You look incredible in it.”