Page 24 of Better Left Unsaid

I plucked them right off his finger and smiled after I hopped down. “This was fun. We should do it again sometime.”

“The part where we get interrupted and I’m never going to know whether or not you would have actually come? Because I can go without doing that ever again.”

I shook my head. “No, the part where I got mixed signals.”

“Eh, it worked out.”

“Really?”

“Sort of.” Before I turned to leave and let him get back to washing his hands, he said, “Oh, and Maria. . .”

“Yeah?”

“Next time don’t wear panties.”

My cheeks were burning. I’d never blushed so hard in my entire life. I was blushing at the prospect of going commando. I’d never done that before. Going commando? What would it be like? I didn’t think I ever cared to know. For Dom, I might actually try it, I decided.

Chapter Seven

Dominic

I sat, oneleg crossed over the other at the ankle, my hands on either side of the chair as I leaned back, curiosity crossing my expression. “You have news for me?” I asked, peering over to where Jeff was pouring himself a drink at the bar he had in his office.

The guy was a smug ass, but he was the best in the business, and he knew it. He wore the most expensive suits, walked with his nose in the air, and thought the whole damn world revolved around him. He was the very definition of a tool. You could call him that straight to his face, though, and it wouldn’t faze him.

In our lines of work, it was easy to get caught up in the whole thing—a.k.a. the influx of cash. I supposed you could say what we did was lucrative. Although, like with everything else, it wasn’t a sure thing and could go bye-bye at any given moment. That was why I tried not to let said cash get to me.

“Single malt?” he inquired, holding up the bottle.

“I’m good,” I answered casually, my hand now grasping my ankle.Any day now on enlightening me as to why I’m here.

“Suit yourself. A client gifted me this shit, and it’s the most expensive crap I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming.” He held his glass up and went to sit down behind his desk. “Cheers to the rich motherfucker who gets more deals than he deserves.” Then he took a long sip, hissing through his teeth when he let up, staring at the glass before setting it down.

“Jeff, you said you needed to see me. What’s it about?” I pushed, seriously wondering if he even remembered asking for this impromptu meeting.

He sniffled, scratching his nose before clearing his throat and holding his hands together on the desk. “Right. Well, I suppose the most important question is, are you seeing anyone?”

Excuse me?I couldn’t see how that was any of his business, but before I could tell him to shove his question where the sun didn’t shine or to start explaining himself, there was a light tap on his door. A voluptuous blonde popped her head in, her lips pursed as she breathed heavily, her eyes fixed on Jeff. “Wes Myles is on the phone. Says it’s urgent.”

I watched the exchange enraptured. I didn’t expect anything less from Jeff, to be honest. Oh, to fill you in on where my head was at—I would’ve bet my car, Spitfire, that he was sleeping with her. They were obvious—her gaze trailing down his body, him smirking like a jackass. Then there was the wink. From him, not her.

“Why don’t you tell him to call me back, sweetheart? I’m in a very important meeting with a VIP client.” VIP client my ass. We were all VIP to Jeff. But with that, she was gone, the door closing behind her. “Now where were we?”

I harrumphed, tapping my fingers on my calf. “Figures you’d be such a cliché that you’re sleeping with your secretary.” With the way he casually called hersweetheart, I prayed for his sake he had a good labor and employment attorney on speed dial because, at this rate, he’d need them at some point. It was men like him who gave us all a bad rep. I mean, sure, he was single, so he could do what he wanted, but this was a douchebag move if I ever saw one.

He brushed me off, getting comfortable as he leaned ridiculously far back in his chair. “Did you see the rack on that one? Come on! I’m nothing if not an opportunist. I saw an opportunity to share a bed with her and took it.” He shrugged. “We weren’t talking about my sex life. We were discussing yours. So you got a woman?”

That was a loaded question if there ever was one.No, actually, I don’t. What I do have is a complicated relationship with my best friend who doubles as my occasional fuck buddy. More occasionally than not lately, but that’s a whole other story. Oh, but it’s a secret because no one knows about us—minus her half sister—and we’re hoping no one else will find out.“What’s this about?” I probed, wanting more information before I answered one way or another.

“I’ve got a cologne company who wants you, but they have some requests. If we can make it work, then it’s a done deal. And when I tell you it’s a campaign you’re going to want to be in on, I mean it.”

What cologne company? Better yet—“Requests?”

“Well, they also have a new perfume line, so they want a couple for the campaign.”

That didn’t sound like a big deal. “They can’t pull in any female model for the gig?” I modeled with women all the time. Now should really be no different. So why did I need to be in a relationship with the woman?

Jeff took another sip of his expensive drink. “Well. . . .”

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