I nod. “Anywhere you desire.”
“Anywhere?”
“Anywhere.”
She hums, thoughtful. “Okay.” She swings back to her desk and pulls up Google. “I’ll book it now.”
“Great.” I start back to my office. “See what a good boss I am?”
“You’re an amazing boss,” she drones sarcastically. “I’ll expect my gift tomorrow morning.”
Damn it. Lunch was the gift. “Of course.” I flash her a smile as I turn at my door. “Wanna ask Mac if he wants to join us?”
“Piss off.” She picks up a pen and lobs it my way, and I shut the door just in time for it to collide with the other side. Then I laugh. Then I stop.
“Shit.” I have a half hour until the weekly catch-up meeting. I dart to my desk and tap “Gifts for women” into the Google search bar. Then I balk at the screen when the results spring up. Where the fuck do I start?
I DIDN’T REALLY THINK THIS through. I’m sitting at the table with Gina dodging questions like my life depends on it, and I have done since we arrived. We’re now on dessert, and I’m exhausted.
She points her spoon at me. “And if you’re going to hijack my computer, at least turn it off when you’re done.”
“Are you done?” I ask, dropping my spoon to the table and swiping up my water. “This was supposed to be a relaxing birthday lunch. You’ve done nothing but give me an earache since we left the office.”
“Because you’re a dickhead.”
I look at her tiredly across the table, wondering when it became acceptable for an employee to speak to their boss in such a way. I know when. Since Ty Christianson hired Gina Savoy. “If you want to talk about overstepping marks, you win every time.”
She recoils, offended. She has a nerve. “Says he who stares at my tits every day.”
“Oh, behave. I haven’t taken a peek for days.”
“Yes, and why is that, Tyler?”
“Maybe because I’m worried Mac will slug me one if I take liberties.” I shrug and wave the waiter for the bill as Gina curls her lip. “Or maybe because they’re sagging in your old age,” I add, and she gasps her horror, peeking down at her puppies. “Hate to tell ya, girl,” I sigh. “But they’re not as pert as they were seven years ago.”
Gina picks up her napkin and lobs it at my head, and I laugh, catching it. “It’s my birthday. You can’t be mean to me today.”
The bill lands. “I just bought you lunch,” I point out, flipping the small folder open. The pound signs hit me. “Three hundred quid?” I look up at Gina, who’s smiling smugly. “Did you purposely book the most expensive restaurant with an available table?”
“I’m worth it.”
“Don’t expect that gift.” I throw my card in the folder and a waiter is soon back with a PDQ machine.
“I better have a gift,” she warns. “Don’t piss me off any more than you have already—with your stupid moves and lusting after a certain someone.”
“Gina, I needed some information from the system. Calm that overactive imagination of yours.” I stand from my chair and tap my PIN into the machine. Lord, if Gina finds out I slept with Lainey, she’ll have my guts for garters. Lainey. I fall into a daydream, running over Friday night again, and yesterday. She wants me. She might deny it at every turn, try to push me away, but I can see it in her eyes. Feel it on her skin. The fact that she’s an employee has been pushed to the back of my ill-thinking mind, when I know it should be at the very front. I’ve been busy with calls and meetings today, but she’s not been far from my thoughts. Not far at all. Apart from a brief nod at the catch-up meeting earlier when I forced myself not to look at her, I’ve not been able to snatch an opportunity to see her, and it’s grated on my nerves all morning. I need to see her. And do what? Tell her that I won’t hurt her so she should continue fucking me? I frown to myself.
“Ty?”
I jump. “What?”
Gina nods to the card machine in my hand. “You want to give that back?”
I look down and notice I’m holding it tightly and the waiter’s hand is resting on the side. “Sorry.” I give it up and stuff my wallet back in my pocket. “Let’s go.”
My strides are long and determined on the way back to the office, Gina continuously muttering under her breath because she’s struggling to keep up with me. “What’s the rush?” she asks as I push my way through the glass doors of our building and march toward the elevators.
“I have a meeting with Sal, remember? You’re supposed to organize my life.”
“You have plenty of time,” she protests, scuttling along beside me.
“I need to prep.” I reach for the button to call the elevator, but another hand reaches it first and collides with mine. My arm retracts quickly on instinct, a flurry of electric shocks racing up my arm, and they all collect together and explode in my chest. I don’t need to look to see who’s standing next to me. I can’t be sure if I’ll keep it together, and with my eagle-eyed assistant with me, I really need to keep it together. I stand back, and it falls quiet. Until I hear Gina hum her thoughts. Then I realize how strange it must look for me to be ignoring my partner’s assistant. So I force myself to face Lainey. And nearly die. As I did when I glanced briefly at her in the meeting. For the love of everything in the world, why does she have to look so spectacular today? Of all days. When it’s paramount I control myself. Her glossy hair is a mess of waves piled up haphazardly. And her lips look plumper and lusher smothered in gloss. And her eyes bluer and more sparkly. And her body wrapped up neatly in black cropped trousers and a loose slinky nude blouse. My cock is instantly hard. My mind empty. Say hi!
“Hi,” I mumble, quickly looking away.
“Hi,” she says in return, facing the doors.
“Hi!” Gina chimes, so fucking over the top. The doors open and I wait, just in case I catch her as we enter the cart. She doesn’t move. Neither do I. But Gina dances on in, turning to face us and giving each of our guilty faces a moment of her close attention. “You two going to stand there all day?”
I shake myself back to life and walk forward, just as Lainey does the same. We collide. Sparks fly. “Sorry.” I catapult back, out of her way.
“Sorry.” She flinches. And though we now aren’t touching, more sparks fly, probably making Gina have to duck to dodge them. Lainey laughs nervously, and I laugh like a clown. It dries up the second I hear myself. I sound like a madman. Coughing, I step back and sweep my arm out in gesture for her to lead on, which she does in a hurry, placing herself in the back left-hand corner of the lift. I avoid Gina’s eyes and put myself in the far right-hand corner, as far away from Lainey as possible. It’s not far enough. Her presence is electrifying. Gina must be feeling the atmosphere.
The doors close and we start a painfully slow climb to the thirteenth floor, Gina wedged in the middle of us. There’s no conversation, but I’m in no position to remedy that. I have plenty of words swimming in my mind, but none of them are appropriate in front of my assistant. I want to ask Lainey how she is, try to gauge where she’s at after our kiss outside her apartment last night. Did she do what I did? Did she wish she was in my bed again? Did she get herself off thinking of my tongue on her body? Of my dick inside her pussy? God, the sounds she made as I pounded into her. Her rosy cheeks and the way her eyes were glazed over with lust. How utterly lost in the moment she was. Fuck, I want her again. But I’m in a lift with my assistant right next to me, and that combined with recalling waking alone the next morning is enough to stop further lurid thoughts. It was the first time a woman had left my bed without the subtle nudge from me to leave. Monumental. Fucking horrible.