“Perfect.” He kissed me on the top of the head and then locked up the restaurant that had been his childhood dream one last time before ushering me to my car. He waited until I was safely inside before climbing into his own vehicle, a bittersweet sadness painted all over his face.
I briefly considered following him home and taking him up on that baseball-and-beer idea a few nights early, but Crystal Dawn was waiting for him, so I drove away, allowing him to lament in private.
For a Tuesday, my day had been busier than usual. Before meeting Dad at the restaurant to help him clean out the office, I’d had two closings and written an offer. I was still waiting to hear if it was accepted or not, but I had a sneaking suspicion my clients were going to be hearing some positive news very soon.
And as I drove to Bowen’s office just before closing time, it hit me how I too would be having an excellent weekend. With Bowen, my life was beginning to feel whole.
“Hey, Remi,” Emily greeted as I walked through the front door. She’d finally stopped looking at me like a walking train wreck after the bubble tea incident.
“Hey, that’s a cute shirt.”
She glanced down at the pale-pink blouse. “Thanks.”
“Bowen busy?”
“Nah, I think he’s getting ready to close up shop. Oscar was here earlier, so they spent the majority of the day moving stuff into his office.” She leaned toward me, partitioning off her mouth. “It’s gonna be weird having someone else around all the time. Bowen’s pretty laid-back, but Oscar practically gave me a script on how to answer his calls and a full notebook on his daily expectations, right down to his lunch and coffee preferences.”
“Yikes.”
She slanted her head, her blond hair brushing her shoulder. “Don’t tell Bowen I told you that.”
I laughed. “No worries. Your secrets are safe. I’m his girlfriend, not the HR department.”
“Good. Then wait until five to tell him I’m out of here.” She stood up and grabbed her purse. “Lock up behind me?”
“Of course.” I grinned, thoroughly enjoying the idea of Bowen and me having the office to ourselves.
With the door securely locked, I caught my reflection in the glass as I strutted toward Bowen’s office. I unbuttoned the top of my shirt down to a point where it could only be described as NSFW. What did I care though? I didn’t work there. I was merely a paying—well, almost a paying—customer. Which gave me an idea.
“Oh, Mr. Michaels,” I crooned as I propped my hip against his doorframe, finding him slipping a manila folder into his file cabinet. “I’m here to settle up my tab.”
The tip of his tongue swiped across his bottom lip as he appraised me from the other side of his office. As he walked around his desk, he opened his suit coat. Then he sat down in the very luxurious, very Bowen leather chair.
“Ah, yes. Quite an outstanding balance.”
Sauntering farther into the room, I ate up the playfulness of the hyped-up scene we were both committing to. I nearly lost it though when he swirled his finger in the air in front of his face. I gave him a twirl as I approached his desk.
“I’m so sorry, sir, for not taking care of my bill sooner. Will there be any additional interest?” I asked.
He leaned in, propped his elbow on the polished surface between us, and rubbed his chin. His fierce, dark eyes undressed me from where he sat. “So much interest, Ms. Grey. Gratuitous, I’m afraid.”
“Well, since your clock is so very wrong and Emily left not a minute before five, leaving us all alone in this great big office of yours, we better discuss my payment options.” I took a seat in the club chair directly in front of him and then made a meal out of crossing my legs, fully aware of how I had let my skirt ride up my thigh.
The side of his mouth hiked. “You’re welcome to pay your balance in full, but I also want you to be aware of some very flexible installment options.”
I relaxed into the cushy back of the chair and bit the tip of my freshly painted fingernail. “Flexible options, you say? That sounds promising.”
“That it does. I mean, only if you are completely satisfied with my services. Delivering a quality job is my number-two priority.”
He had me right where he wanted me, but damn if I wasn’t dying to know what he considered the top of his list. So I slowly uncrossed and recrossed my bare legs and dangled the high heel off the end of my foot. I could fight fire with fire.
His chest rose and fell as he studied me, his jaw flexing under his closely trimmed beard. With a lazy grin, his head fell to the side, but his eyes lit with so much challenge that I wondered if I even wanted to win this game anymore.
Knowing my weakness all too well, Bowen shrugged his jacket off and began to roll up the sleeves of his perfectly fitted navy dress shirt. Then he stretched and linked his hands together behind his head.
He was good.
He was really good.
I cleared my throat to gather what remained of my thin composure. “May I ask what is number one on your priority list?”
Half smiling, he tsked. “I’m more of a hands-on accountant. I like to get in there deep and pay close attention to those spots the other guys around town tend to skip over.”
Don’t laugh, Remi. Hold it together.
Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious nerdy Sirfriend was sexiest when he was carefree and up to no good.
I batted my lashes. “Do all your clients receive such personal attention?”
Slowly, he answered with a cocked eyebrow. “Nope.”
“That’s a relief,” I deadpanned, all along having known better. “It would be a shame if I had to pray for an untimely bankruptcy for all the clients who stiffed you on their invoices.”
“That would be an awful shame. I might have to come to you for a loan.” Upon rising from his throne, he prowled my way, but I didn’t budge.
“I don’t loan money to friends. It always goes…” I paused and glanced down to my lap. “South.”
He took a knee in front of my chair and ran a warm hand up my thigh. “Baby, I was born and raised in the South, and I’ll gladly die there.” Inching forward, he opened my legs so that his hips fit between them when he pulled me to the edge of the chair. “I can’t imagine a better way to go than”—he stretched forward, placing an ever-so-faint kiss to my neck—“broke.” Another kiss, this time closer to my ear. “Unemployed.” He sucked my earlobe into his mouth and raked his teeth over it before releasing it. “Indebted to you for the rest of my days. Working off every last penny with this very tongue.” He licked the shell of my ear. “And if it helps, I don’t have to be friendly at all about it.”
I panted, “Friendships are dumb.”
He held back from chuckling and therefore causing certain hearing loss, but there was no mistaking the humor in his shaky breath against my skin. “I can’t wait for the day when our friendship ends.”
Hold up.
I pulled back. “What’s that now?”
He shot me a teasing wink. “Just that, someday, we’ll be more. A lot more.”
I smiled. A real, chest-melting grin that felt like it washed over my entire soul.
“And with your poor genetic financial traits from your father,” he continued, “your inability to pay in full, and my terribly unfortunate future bankruptcy, it’ll be the responsible thing to do. We could file jointly to save on accountant’s fees. And postage. Then we’ll create a few deductions, maybe benefit from a little hard-earned income tax credit.”