Home > The Favor(22)

The Favor(22)
Author: Suzanne Wright

“That’s … wow. Just wow.” Hearing he’d had a vasectomy wasn’t as much of a shock, though. I’d once overheard Dane say that he had no interest in having children.

“Next time Travis bothers you, call me straight away,” said Dane. “I wish I could tell you he’ll leave you alone after we’re married, but I can’t guarantee that. If you and I were to divorce before the year was up, I’d be denied access to my trust fund—he knows that.”

“Are you going to confront him about this?”

“Yes. He’ll no doubt lie that you put words into his mouth.”

Probably. Because, as Hanna often claimed, the guy was a weasel. “He said something else.”

“What?”

“He said your father messed all of you up, and that the death of someone called Oliver made it worse.”

Dane’s gaze seemed to ice over; it honestly chilled me just a little. “Travis will no doubt say a lot of things to you,” he said, his tone neutral.

“Truths or lies?”

“Probably a little of both.”

“And you’re not going to tell me more about your father or who Oliver is?”

“You don’t need to know.”

I almost flinched. Not at his words, but at the way he’d said them. His tone had been sharp. Hard. So cold I was surprised the air hadn’t frosted. Making it clear I’d crossed a line.

Well, that put me in my place, didn’t it?

To be fair to him, this wasn’t a relationship. He didn’t owe me explanations. And there were plenty of things I hadn’t told him. Things I’d prefer to never tell him. So, yeah, I’d be a complete hypocrite if I pushed him on this.

I was more annoyed by the fact that I cared that he wouldn’t tell me. It shouldn’t hurt. There was no reason for it to do so. And yet, my chest felt tight.

Had I somehow let myself get pulled into the fantasy that our relationship was real? I hadn’t thought so. I’d thought I was doing fine at keeping it straight in my head that it was all fake. But maybe I was wrong, because I’d slipped here. Before the fake-dating began, I never would have asked him personal questions, and I definitely wouldn’t have felt hurt if he hadn’t wanted to share something personal.

Shit, this wasn’t good. Not at all. I couldn’t afford to let it all get blurred in my head.

We weren’t dating. We weren’t bed-buddies. Hell, we weren’t even friends. He was my boss, and I was his PA—that was the extent of our relationship. I couldn’t let myself forget that. Not even for a moment.

Wrapping my PA-cloak tight around me, I stood. “You have a conference call in fifteen minutes, so I’ll head back to my desk. Buzz me if you need anything.” I turned and made my way to the door.

“Vienna?” he said when I reached for the doorknob.

I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Yes?”

He watched me closely, those dark, far-too-perceptive eyes roaming over my face. He opened his mouth to speak, but then his cell phone began to chime. He reached for it, just as I’d known he would—work always came first to Dane. “We’ll talk later,” he said to me.

I nodded, though I wasn’t whatsoever looking forward to it.

Fortunately, he got called out of the office and didn’t return to the building before the end of the workday. That meant I could leave and spend the evening shoring up my defenses against this man who’d sneakily found his way around them without even trying or knowing.

I was almost home when Ashley called and asked if I’d meet her at the local ice cream parlor—apparently, Tucker had pissed her off again and so she’d stormed out of their apartment.

Inside the parlor, we sat at one of the metal tables. A few other customers sat around, filling the space with the sounds of chatter, laughter, and the crunch of ice cream cones.

I licked at my caramel ice cream, scooping up some of the chopped nuts and crumbled cookies that had been sprinkled over the top. Smooth and cold, the ice cream went down nicely. “Well, what did Tucker do?”

Ashley’s lips thinned. “We sat down to catch up on a TV series we’ve been following. He started ‘guessing’ what was going to happen. The first time he was right, I was impressed. The second time, I was suspicious. The third time, I was out and out pissed, because I knew it meant that the asshole had watched the episodes without me.”

I winced. “Oh.”

“He denied it at first. Said he’d never do that to me. But when I threatened to shred his football jersey with a blade if he didn’t tell me the truth, he admitted he’d watched the rest of the series while I went to church with my mother on Sunday. What kind of sick person does that?”

Actually, I’d done it to Melinda a time or two, but I didn’t say that. “Did he apologize?”

“No. He said I was overreacting. Overreacting would have been to ream his ass with my hair straighteners—don’t think I didn’t consider it.” Ashley licked at her chocolate ice-cream. “You still so sure he loves me?”

“Yes, I am. He did an unfair thing. He’s no doubt feeling shitty about it now.”

“And so he should,” sassed Ashley. “So, how are things going with you and your spectacularly hot boss?”

Ignoring the way my stomach dropped, I took another lick of my ice-cream. “Good.”

“You fucked him yet?”

“What do you think?” I asked with a wicked smile that made her laugh.

“I’m betting he’s well-endowed. He gives off that big cock vibe.”

I frowned. “Big cock vibe?”

“He walks like a man who’s fully secure in himself about that department.” She narrowed her eyes. “What’s with the look on your face?”

I blinked. “What look?”

“The one that says something’s bugging you. You weren’t wearing it until I brought up Dane. What happened? You two had a falling out?”

“No. Everything’s fine.”

“Girl, just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing.” I licked at the drips of ice cream that were running down my waffle cone, hoping she’d drop the subject.

“Are you worrying that you’ll never come first to him, what with him being a workaholic? Because I would.”

I almost laughed. Dane’s work would always come first—I knew that for a fact. Still, I vaguely answered, “Most workaholics struggle to balance work with other aspects of their lives.”

“True, but he’s already put you before his work. I mean, you told me long ago that he doesn’t get involved with his employees. He broke that rule for you. I don’t think he’d do that if he didn’t care for you.” She used a napkin to wipe at the ice cream that had dripped down her chin. “I’ll find out if I’m right when I see you two at the barbecue. I bumped into Melinda and managed to wangle myself an invite.”

My lips twitched. Ashley did that shit all the time. She seemed to know everybody.

“I’ll watch him with you, and I’ll tell you what I see,” Ashley went on. “I do hope Hanna’s wrong and he’s not a psychopath. You don’t want one of those in your bed.”

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