Page 60 of Dare to Love Again

She grinned, having no problem obeying, since they were inside her office and the one across from her was Mr. Reinhart’s and, as usual, he wasn’t here. Standing on tiptoe, her hands on his chest for balance, she reached for his lips. He helped by bending his head. After a brief kiss, not quite a peck but much softer, when she would have pulled away, his arm slid around her waist, holding her in place.

His tongue slipped into her mouth, tangled with hers briefly, then he raised his head and affirmed quietly, “Now, we’re ready to go.”

Taking her hand in his, he led, and she followed, out the door and to the right toward the lobby. A loud bang behind them had them both twisting around.

Gerald stood in the hall outside his office, head turned toward the rarely used exit door with the rickety stairs out back—which is why they were rarely used. Esme frowned as the automatic closure slowly drew the door shut.

“Mr. Reinhart?”

He turned when she called his name, a rather strained expression on his face. His gaze landed on her briefly then shifted to Finn. Then he stiffened, leaning away slightly as if on the verge of following whoever left by the back door, rickety stairs be damned.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“You’re leaving?” Though he was speaking to her, his eyes remained locked on Finn.

“Yes, for lunch. Let me introduce, my, um—” Crap, what did she call him? My dominant? Master? Soon-to-be lover in the hayloft on Saturday night? Introducing him as her friend didn’t seem right, either.

“I’m Keiran, Esme’s boyfriend,” he supplied in her stead, taking a step toward her boss, his hand extended.

“Keiran Finnegan of Rossi Security,” Reinhart replied, taking his hand and pumping it once. “I know. I saw you on the news. Quite a feather in your cap, considering you’re a new agency.”

“Not our usual case, but yes, it has started our phone ringing, not that we needed it to.”

She listened to this back-and-forth as if from a distance, still marveling over Finn having referred to her as his girlfriend. It could have been tact, but he still gripped her hand, and she let the happy warmth that was becoming a familiar companion when he was around bubble up inside her.

“Perhaps I can send work your way.”

Gerald’s offer snapped Esme out of her pleasant haze. She glanced his way, puzzled why he’d think Finn would need drug dealers as clients.

Equally at a loss, he inquired, “Aren’t you a litigator?”

“Yes, in practice for twenty-two years here in LA.”

“Most of our clients are interested in home security. Anything else is domestic, which in Tinsel Town keeps us very busy. But thanks for the offer.”

“Ah...” was his vague reply.

“If you’ll excuse us,” he told Gerald, efficiently yet politely halting any further conversation. “I made reservations, so Esme won’t be late getting back.”

“I appreciate that, but take your time. Esme puts in long hours and deserves a little break.”

She tried to keep her jaw from hitting the floor or saying something rude considering he had recently put her on salary, so he wouldn’t have to pay her overtime. Fortunately for her continued future employment, he turned and disappeared into his office. Turning to Finn, needing to say something about the odd encounter and Gerald’s sudden benevolence, she stopped, watching as he wiped his hands on his pants.

“Sweaty palms,” he explained with a grimace. “Is he always that jumpy?”

“Lately? Yes. Can we go?”

He considered her for a moment, keen eyes narrowed and brows gathered in concern, but nodded, and led her out the front door. “Now, you seem jumpy. What gives?”

She took his hand and pulled him farther down the block out of view of the office windows. “I’m not sure, but the man you just met has been a holy terror for months, but in front of you was suddenly as sweet as pie.”

“He isn’t normally nice to you?” he asked in a hard voice.

“He isn’t mean, but I give him no cause to be. But something isn’t right. He’s always been demanding, more so recently, but his irritability is off the charts, and he’s never, ever, told me to take a long lunch. And...maybe I shouldn’t say.”

“You can trust me to keep a confidence, Esme.”

“Well, it’s not something I deal with every day, but it made me—suspicious. Like, maybe, my boss is doing something...” She stopped as a couple passed by, laughing. When they turned the corner, she looked the other way before moving closer to Finn and crooking her finger. When he dipped his head, she whispered, “Illegal.”

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