“So you better get your ass on that train before it leaves the station for good.”
“But is it the right one?”
“You won’t know until he conducts his way through your tunnel.”
“Seriously?” But the thought of letting him do just that not only piques my curiosity, it turns me on. Kami might be right; I could do a whole lot worse than Jonathan. At least he’s not a stranger. But there’s so much on the line for both of us. Is it worth the risk?
Kami squeezes my hand. “Seriously, I think you should go for it, but it’s your call.”
Am I brave enough to step out of my comfort zone? Maybe? If I don’t do this, will I regret it for the rest of my life? Probably. If I ever want a hot, sweaty, explosive sex life, even temporarily, I need to ditch my hopeless romantic fantasies, and hope it doesn’t bite me in the ass.
I can’t lose sight of my goal or let my expectations rule my world any longer.
The rest of the afternoon passes in a blur. I barely see Jonathan again, but maybe that’s because I hide a lot in the copier room. At ten minutes to four, I walk around the corner to the bar and stand in front of the door. I take a deep breath and try to calm my nervous stomach.
“This is a really bad idea,” I mutter to myself.
But if I’m going to change, I have to start somewhere.
With a country song about a higher power taking the wheel blaring through my brain, I shove the door open and step inside.
Chapter Four
Jonathan
“Hey, Knight! What’s up?” Ian, the owner of the Brick, greets me with a welcoming smile. His boisterous demeanor is contagious. With his surfer-boy looks, no one would guess he’s on the downhill slide to forty.
“Not bad for a Monday.” I shake his hand.
Ian Brown has been a good friend since Jake and I stumbled into his bar five years ago after a long day at work. It’s been our hangout ever since.
“Where’s your buddy? He coming?”
I shake my head. “He’s still at the office. I’m actually meeting someone else here.”
“Oh, like a date?”
“It’s business.”
“Well, the night is young. After the shop talk, you’ll get lucky. You always do.”
With Kiera? I hope.And it’s time to change the subject because I don’t want anyone to know I’m even thinking about screwing my assistant. The fewer people who know, the more likely we stay under the radar. Neither of us need the drama or the hit to our reputations.
“We’ll see. You good, man?” I change the subject.
“I’m doing okay.” Ian smiles. “What can I get you?”
My drink depends on my mood. If my day is shitty, I knock back scotch on the rocks. If it’s halfway decent, I’ll sip vodka. But today, Kiera and I both need to keep a clear head.
“How about two Stellas and a couple of waters?” I slide onto one of the barstools.
“You got it, man.” Ian pulls the bottles from the fridge behind him and twists off the caps before setting down a couple of glasses of coldagua.
It’s presumptuous of me to buy Kiera a drink, but my gut tells me she’ll be here. She wrote that email for a reason. And she’ll pursue this proposition until she has a reason not to.
“Thanks.” I fork over my credit card.
He holds up his hand to stay me. “First round is on the house.”