The tension I hadn’t been aware I was holding in my shoulders drains out. I draw in a breath, square my shoulders, then brace myself. "Do you want to fuck me?"
28
JJ
Do not answer that question. Don’t. It’s a trap, any which way you look at it. Say yes, and you’re damned. Say no, and you’re even more damned. So, what’s it going to be, eh?
"Yes." I widen my stance. "I want to fuck you."
"Oh." She draws in a sharp breath.
"But I’m not going to."
Her chest rises and falls. "Don’t tell me you’re getting an attack of conscience all of a sudden."
"I’m not a good man. I’ve done many things that are in the morally gray space, I admit. And it’s not the fact that you’re my son’s girlfriend that’s stopping me, nor our age gap."
"What then?"
I hesitate. "If I fucked you, once would not be enough."
Her cheeks color. "What are you trying to say?"
"I don’t believe in relationships."
"It’s not like I’m looking to marry you, either." She scoffs.
"I don’t sleep with a woman more than once, and with you, somehow I know that I’d break that rule."
"So, you don’t mind that you and I would be cheating on your son and my boyfriend, but there’s some silly rule you’ve made up that’s stopping you?"
I raise a shoulder.
"This is stupid. Have you even heard yourself?"
"Haveyouheard yourself?"
"Haveyou?" She props her hands on her hips.
"We can’t go on like this." I rub the back of my neck.
"You’re telling me." She laughs bitterly. "This crazy chemistry between us, then having to see you in the office. And then, you belittling me in front of the client I’ll have to work with moving forward."
I blow out a breath. "I’m sorry about that. I should have invited you to dinner with us."
"You think?"
"But I know Sylvie. She wanted alone time with me, and her company is our biggest account." Lena opens her mouth and I hold up my palm to stop her. "Doesn’t mean what I did was right. I should have handled the situation better. I apologize."
She blinks rapidly. "Can you repeat what you said?"
"I said, I apologize," I say through gritted teeth.
"The great JJ Kane, actually apologizing?"
"I see no shame in doing so when I am wrong. And I was in the wrong. While I’m coming clean, you may as well know, it was me who called and asked Sylvie to attend the meeting."
"Eh?" She frowns. "You… you made sure she attended the meeting? I don’t understand."