“I’m not thinking that at all.”
“Your pupils are dilated like they were on the plane. You know the door is shut behind you. You know that I could stand up and rip your clothes off you right now, spank that cute little ass of yours until you submit, fuck you until you make that wonderful moan you make when you come. You’re worried that you want me to do it, but it won’t happen. If we do this, it’ll be professional. You’ll be there to look after my child, nothing else.”
I see it. Hunger in her eyes. Then a flicker. I know that flicker. It’s disappointment. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?” she asks. “You could deny offering me ten thousand for the house visit. Fire me if I complain. How can I trust you?”
“My lawyer is drawing up the contract right now. We’ll both have copies. If I don’t pay, you’ll be able to take me to court and win.”
“Why me?”
“Why not? I need a nanny, and you seem competent to me.”
“You don’t know a thing about me.”
“I know more than you think. I know you want me to kiss you right now.”
“I don’t.” Her voice falters as she speaks.
I get up and walk around the desk, leaning down toward her. She looks up at me and swallows hard, her eyes slightly glassy. I know that look. Half fear, half anticipation. She’ll never make a move, but she wants me to. I breathe in her scent for a moment before pressing my lips softly to hers. I let my tongue slip into her mouth for a few seconds, making her ache for more as I pull away. “So you didn’t want me to do that?”
She looks up at me, then looks away, saying nothing.
I move her chin with my hand until she’s facing me. “Life is all about choices,” I say. “Some tough. Some easy. You’re making an easy one tough by reading too much into things. I need someone to look after my little girl for a month. I know you need money, and I know you care about your fellow employees. Say yes and stop worrying about what it might lead to.”
“What might it lead to?” Her voice is faint like she’s trying to keep the question from spilling out.
“It can lead wherever you want it to go, Bex. It can be like it was in the plane. No one needs to know what happens between us except us. A closed-off world. A place of freedom. Best of all, you won’t need to worry about anything but doing your job. I will pay for everything you need. Your colleagues will be safe. I will get you whatever you want. All you need to do is your job. By the new year, you’ll have all the money you need to live your dream, and all those people out there will keep their jobs. Say yes.”
She looks like she’s about to, but nothing comes out of her lips. She shakes her head. “I can’t work for a criminal.”
“I’m not a criminal.”
“You promise me.”
“I swear to you, I’m just a businessman.”
“Yeah, right,” a man’s voice says from the office doorway. “That what you tell yourself at night?”
I clench my fists before plastering a smile on my face. “Detective Brody. What can I do for you?”
He looks at Bex. “He tell you he somehow made bail despite murdering his wife, and my witness has clammed up thanks to his goons?”
Bex looks at me, her mouth falling open. “Is that true?”
“I’m being harassed by Chicago’s finest is what’s happening.” I walk over to the door. “You’re trespassing. Get out of here right now before I have you suspended.”
“I’m going to take you down, Hunter, if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Who let you in here?”
“Melanie Harrison called me. Said you threatened her. Doesn’t look good, Hunter, does it? Slapping her around the face and putting the boot in for good measure.”
“She’s lying,” Bex says, turning to face him. “I was here the whole time. She threatened him when he fired her.”
He looks from me to Hunter and then back again. “You willing to stand up in court and swear that?”
“Yes.”
He looks furious, pointing his finger at her. “You’re picking the wrong side,” he snaps. “You want to change your mind about what you saw?”