Page 3 of Boss with Benefits

The men exchanged an amused glance.

The women gave each other a look, but Jessica didn’t catch it. One of them leaned back a bit. No doubt the woman didn’t want to miss anything juicy. Jessica shot Brady a glare. Why did she always have to be the slut in his stories? Every time he came up with something like the ‘baby daddy’ game, he purposely made her look bad.

When she didn’t respond, he added, “I’m not raising the kid. Find yourself another sucker.”

So Brady wanted to play, huh?

She turned her entire body in his direction.

With hands on her hips, she said, “I don’t know why you thought the baby was yours when you’re impotent. Did you forget we haven’t had sex in over a year? Maybe you don’t remember, because you’re drunk all the time. Alcohol kills brain cells, you know.”

He gaped at her, speechless for once.

The metal doors opened, and she exited on quick feet before he could retaliate. “I’ll catch the next one,” she said over her shoulder. “We probably shouldn’t be seen together anyway.”

Fortunately, she was the only one to exit the elevator. She didn’t want the two well-dressed men hitting on her or the women asking nosy questions. In fact, she needed a few minutes to herself. The stairs were an option. It was only eight flights up to her floor. She was wearing heels, but she had a burst of energy fueled by irritation with Brady. He knew she hated it when his elevator games made her look like a bad person. She had to work in the same building with these people. It wasn’t like they were total strangers from another state.

Before she could head to the stairwell, the doors parted on another elevator, and she caught sight of an old friend. The young woman used to model for the same agency that she did jobs for as a teenager. They both squealed with delight and hugged each other. There were only two other people in the elevator at the moment. They looked mildly annoyed by the slight delay.

“Do you have a shoot with Brady?” she asked. “He didn’t say anything to me.”

Leigh shook her head. Her shiny black hair draped over her shoulders like a silky waterfall. “I’m here to meet with someone at the Bellago Agency. They’re about to open up a new office here.”

“I had no idea.”

“They’ll be a couple of floors below you.”

Someone cleared their throat, and Jessica apologized before entering the elevator so she could continue talking to Leigh. The doors slid shut, and they were on their way.

Jessica nodded in response to the information Leigh had given her about the agency. “Convenient. I’ll have to let Brady know. We need models for almost every single ad we do these days. Clients always want beautiful women and handsome men in their ads. Sex sells.”

A predatory glint lit up Leigh’s eyes. “Speaking of sex, how is Brady doing?”

“He’s good.”

“What about women?” Leigh asked. “Is he seeing anyone?”

Jessica hesitated. She toyed with the outrageous idea of telling Leigh that she was his lover now.Yes, he’s involved with somebody. Me!

Instead, she compressed her lips to form a tight line. Her shoulders lifted in a slow shrug. “You would have to ask him. I don’t pry.”

“Maybe I will. I’m not seeing anyone, and I always had an intense attraction to him. I didn’t do anything about it, of course. I was with Rudy, but that’s over. He’s still hot, right? Brady, I mean.”

Jessica experienced the sudden urge to slap her old friend and warn her to keep her grubby hands to herself. Ridiculous reaction. Totally uncalled for. Her fling with Brady was over and that was that. She wasn’t spending another night with him. They were done. It was a no-strings relationship, and it had run its course. He wasn’t going to live as a monk now just because he couldn’t have her.

“We should grab lunch sometime,” Jessica said. “Especially if you join the Bellago Agency. Put in a good word for us, and make sure they know our ad agency is a few floors above them.”

The elevator stopped, and everyone got out except for her.

That was a relief. She wanted to have a minute to herself.

She took a deep, shaky breath.

Why did she suddenly want to stake a claim on her boss?

Correction. Herpartner.

∞∞∞

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