Page 136 of Dr. Bad Boy

Max, the bastard, walks past me grinning like an idiot. He stops in front of Beth’s desk, says something about squeezing into Gavin’s calendar and leaves.

I return to my seat, avoiding Beth’s curious gaze. Except I’m shitty at it because I’m watching her out of the corner of my eye. Surely it can’t seem that hard to believe I’d know at least one person on the shortlist of candidates interviewing for the spot opening up on the security team.

Gavin will spend at most five minutes with Hugh, but those minutes drag on forever.

Hugh and I need to talk. And it needs to be somewhere nearby and private.

I pull out my phone and confirm the conference room is free before texting another security officer to come and cover for me for half an hour, even though I don’t expect the conversation to take anywhere near that. No, what I have to say to Hugh will be brief and to the point—the time it takes me to regain my infamous control will take much longer.

The door to Gavin’s office opens, and as Hugh exits, Gavin crooks his finger at me. “A moment, Lachlan?”

I nod. “Be right there.” As Hugh passes me, I tell him to wait for me. My stomach is churning at the prospect of the upcoming confrontation.

Gavin shuts the door behind me. “So, you know this guy. Does he play hockey?”

Of course, that’s not really the question he’s asking. Hockey is code for kink. It's not a requirement at all for our security team, but after what Gavin and Max saw in the outer office, I understand his curiosity.

Fucking Hugh.

This is a disaster already.

I want to lie, tell him Hugh has zero interest inhockey, but the truth is he’s an even bigger player than I am.

“Yeah. For even longer than me.”

“Good to know.” And with that, Gavin opens the door.

When I walk through it, I’m greeted by the sight of Hugh, one leg on the floor, the other dangling from his perch on the corner of Beth’s desk.

Unlike Max, Hugh is the dangerous kind of flirt. Long on sex, short on commitment. And Beth deserves someone who’s long on both.

"What are the chances?" Hugh says, reaching across her desk, and for a sickening second, I think he's going to touch her.

White hot rage spikes inside me, but he just picks up her pen and twirls it in the air.

"I know, right?" She leans back in her chair and crosses her legs, her skirt crawling up her thighs an inch. She's wearing heels that dangle off her feet when she crosses her legs, and she does just that now.

My gut tugs hard at the creamy curve of thigh.

At the dangling heel.

And most of all, her throaty, dirty laugh that I'm never on the receiving end of.

"Common enough name," Hugh says, lowering his voice. "But I'm happy to share it with you."

Fucking hell.

I clear my throat. “Sorry to interrupt…”

Of course, I’m not. Beth glares at me, but Hugh just smirks.

Fuck, even after a decade, he can still push my buttons.

I'm done being polite. "Come with me."

As soon as I shut the door to the conference room, Hugh grabs me by the collar and shoves me against the wall, his face so close to mine, our noses are nearly touching.

My gaze drops to his full lips and for just a second, I forget everything and think about kissing them.

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