“Fine,” she said casually, letting her arms fall to her side. “Let me show you around the joint then, good sir.”
Kate then used her best valley girl voice when explaining the most popular pieces of furniture, particularly the more expensive ones. She then sensually moved her hands around the pieces like a magician’s assistant, emphasizing the squeal of her voice for further amusement.
“And this is what we call the cream of the crop,” Kate exclaimed.
They’d arrived at the best piece of furniture in the store, which was a cherry oak coffee table. Kate bent over, looking him in the eye the entire time as she stuck her ass out as far as she could.
“This sleek varnish will make your guests slippery with excitement,” Kate said, octaves on her voice going up and shaking her hair for emphasis. “You’d be a silly dope to let someone else get their hands on this luscious thing.”
She ran her hands over the coffee table, bending farther down so that her ass curved perfectly in front of Devlin’s face. He smiled the entire time, clearly entertained by her willingness to play his game.
She snapped herself upward, her hair waving back and forth again. There was no one else in the store, so she figured, why not go a little crazy? He did things to her no one else had, and that was enough to push her a bit out of her comfort zone.
“You’ve done it,” Devlin said, still smirking and clapping. “I will take that coffee table.”
Kate came out of her character quickly, popping one of her hips out to the side and giving him a furrowed brow. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I never kid,” he said, moving closer to her.
“There is no way that you came all the way out here just to get a coffee table,” she said smugly.
Devlin tilted his head, never breaking eye contact. “Of course not,” he replied. “I needed to see you. And now, when I look at this table, it will always remind me of you.”
Kate felt herself blushing but didn’t want to allow his words to string her along so easily again. “Devlin …” she began, looking away. “I’m not entirely sure we should see each other.”
His eyes widened with horror, his expression almost escalating into panic. “Why do you say that?” he said breathlessly.
“I’m not sure why you’re so interested in me,” she began, pointing down at her clothing. “This is the way I normally look. Gerri bought me that dress last night, the heels, and had my makeup done and hair styled. I don’t often look that glamorous, so you’d probably be disappointed.”
Devlin frowned like it was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “Kate, I don’t care about that. Clothes are just a method of self-expression, and I would want to get to know you if you were wearing a paper bag last night.”
His comment made her wrinkle her nose, unintentionally, of course. He moved in closer to her, and she brought her hands back to her chest, a subconscious method of protection.
“I will prove it to you,” he said softly. “You pick a place, anywhere, I don’t care, and we will go there tonight. I'll do whatever you want to do because all I care about is being with you.”
His voice was velvety and very convincing. Kate mulled it over for a moment and then decided that she would see how things panned out, despite not really having faith that it would … with Devlin or with anyone at all.
“All right,” she said reluctantly. “I will think of something and let you know in a bit.”
He grinned, his eyes returning to their bright luminesce. “You won’t regret it,” he said, reaching for her hand.
She gave him her hand, and he kissed it lightly. Kate found herself looking at the place he had lightly touched her with his lips, even after he’d paid for the table and left. She kept thinking about what that mouth would feel like on the other, more sensitive parts of her body.
Phil noticed her daydreaming and, of course, interjected himself into her life without ever having been asked.
“He is just trying to buy your affection, you know,” Phil said.
They were counting out the register for the night, which often made Kate uncomfortable. Dana had a date with her partner, so she left early, which wasn’t something she often did when Phil was closing with her.
“How would you know that?” Kate replied back.
“I know how men think,” Phil sneered. “Especially rich men like that. They think they can win you over with their wealth. It’s pathetic, really.”
Kate ignored him for the rest of the procedure until she was locking up, with him standing behind her like a lingering shadow.
“Are you seeing him tonight?”
Kate was getting irritated by his nosiness and went off on him for one of the first times in their work relationship.