Page 49 of Game Change

I open my mouth to argue with him, but I notice that the buttons on my shirt are gone as well. I look at the floor and spot three of them. The front of my pants has white stains that look like dry cum, and my panties are torn and hanging off my thigh. I lift my weight and pull my pants up.

“Where the hell is my other boot?”

He finds it and starts to bring it to me, but there’s a loud knock on the door before the knob begins to jiggle.

“Maybe he passed out in there,” I hear Heath say. “And I’m going to need a set of those keys.”

“If you don’t move your scrawny little ass out the way before I snap you in half,” I hear Ernestine say.

When I hear keys start to jiggle, I panic.

Of course, his office has nowhere for me to hide, so I dart across the room and dive under his desk just as the door opens. I hear heavy footsteps behind me, and my boot is thrown underneath the desk. The heel hits me on the shoulder, and it stings.

“What the hell is going on here?” I hear Ernestine ask, and I pray that she doesn’t notice the buttons on the floor. I also pray they don’t detect any remaining sex smell.

“Mr. Kincaid, are you okay?” Heath’s annoying voice says. “I’ve been knocking and calling.”

I’m usually a light sleeper, so how the hell could I have missed all of that?

Maybe because you were in an orgasm-induced middle-of-the-workday nap, you ho.

“Uh, I’m fine,” he says. “Um, I think I’m feeling a little under the weather. I fell asleep.” He clears his throat three times.

“Youthinkyou’re feeling under the weather?” Ernestine asks. “You fell asleep?” she asks again in total disbelief.

“Are you deaf, Ernestine?” Heath responds. “I’ll go make you some tea, unc—” After a loud throat clearing, he says, “Colin. What you need is vitamin C, not to be nagged to death.”

“Why is your shirt so wrinkled?” Ernestine asks. “Where are the buttons?” I put a hand to my mouth to cover my shocked gasp at Ernestine’s questions. I can only hope and pray that Colin will come up with a convincing lie, but I wonder if I’m the reason for the discarded buttons. Either way, he’s reimbursing me for my damaged shirt.

“They must have fallen off,” Colin says before loudly clearing his throat. All hopes of him coming up with a believable story are dashed. The man is a complete idiot.

“The buttons on your shirt just fell off?” I can hear the disbelief in Ernestine’s voice. “All of them? At once?”

“It happens sometimes,” is all he says.

I close my eyes and imagine my hands wrapped around his neck. The man is too damn stupid to live.

“What the hell is going on here?” Ernestine asks. “Buttons do not just fall off shirts.”

“Well, I’ll get you the name of my haberdasher, Mr. Kincaid,” Heath chimes in. “Are you done interrogating him about his clothes now, Ernestine? If he says his buttons fell off, then that’s what happened.” Even in his staunch defense, I can hear a slight hesitation in Heath’s voice. He doesn’t buy Colin’s story but will defend him to Ernestine.

“And has anyone seen Brynne? She’s been gone for hours, and I’m worried.”

“She told me earlier she was going to work on door schedules,” he says. “Maybe she’s using one of the empty rooms to do that.”

I roll my eyes at him. This comment is not as dumb as his buttons falling off, but it’s close. Why on earth would I leave the comfort of my own office to do door schedules somewhere else?

“Or maybe she went home?” he suggests.

“She didn’t go home. Her coat is in her office, and so are her phone and purse. I’ve checked everywhere, and she’s not here.” I hold my breath and wait to hear what he says next. Whatever it is, I hope it puts Ernestine at ease, but given his previous stupidity, I don't have high hopes.

“I have no idea then, Ernestine. I’ve been asleep,” he says. I can imagine him covering his face and running a hand through his messy hair.

“Why are your pants wet?” she asks.

His chair is pulled back, and he abruptly sits down and pulls himself under the desk where his knees end up in my face. I reach around and pinch his calf hard. He lets out a little yelp.

“I’ll see you both later. I don’t want to get you sick,” he says. He does a series of loud and blatantly fake coughs. “If I see Brynne, I’ll tell her you’re looking for her.”

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