Page 51 of Level With Me
My idiot dick jumped again, thankfully out of her line of sight.
“Is one of those for me?” she asked finally.
“Shit. Yes. Here—I didn’t know if you took cream or if you even drink coffee.” I pulled out the accouterments from my suit jacket and set them in a pile on the desk.
“Thanks,” she said.
Ask. Just ask now.
“Cassandra,” I said. Then I realized that her office door was open. I got up to close it, but Eli was sitting in the office directly across, and he looked up when I reached the door.
I hesitated. It would look weird as hell to close the door right now. “Will talking bother you?” I called to him.
“Cassandra talking always bothers me,” Eli quipped.
I gave a half-hearted laugh. Then I shrugged, perfectly casual, and closed the door partway. Inside, my guts were swirling.
But I’d had enough of this hemming and hawing. I clapped my hands together, then raised my voice. “Well, it’s great to finally get this review going, Cassandra.” I hoped it wasn’t obvious I was trying to ensure Eli heard. “I wanted to kick off by showing you the plan we talked about… it’s probably easiest if I show you.”
I reached down into my briefcase and pulled out a folder, then came around beside her and laid it open. I braced my hands on the desk and leaned down like I was showing her something important.
Eli was visible through the gap in the door, but he was tapping on his computer.
I dropped my voice low now, so only she could hear me. “I’m just going to ask you point blank. Did we sleep together?”
Cassandra froze. Her eyes lingered on mine a moment, then she looked down, pointing to something on the document. “No.”
Relief flooded through me. Okay. This was good. I closed my eyes, letting out a breath. “Thank Christ.”
When I looked at Cassandra again, her eyes were trained on the document in front of us.
She was avoiding looking at me.
A phone rang somewhere outside.
“Yo!” Eli said, loud enough that I said a little prayer of gratitude. I strode back to the door. He held up an apologetic hand. I smiled and shook my head, but now had a reason to close the door.
When the door clicked shut, I turned back to Cassandra.
Of all things, she looked like she was trying to suppress a laugh.
For a moment, I was too surprised to speak. Then a flame of irritation hit me. “What the hell is funny about this?”
Her smile faded, and she leaned forward onto the desk. “You.”
“What the hell happened on Saturday?” My voice was hard now, challenging her to cut the shit.
“You really don’t remember?”
“When I drink too much, I don’t remember anything. It’s why I never drink too much.”
“But you did, on Saturday.”
My stomach twisted. “For God’s sake, will you put me out of my misery? If we didn’t sleep together, what happened?”
“Why should I tell you?”
I wasn’t sure if she was joking or… if she was mad at me. Well hell, I was mad too. I let out a low breath, then walked over to stand opposite her, leaning on the desk once more. “Because I just signed my fucking life away. You know that contract gives you everything, with no obligation for you not to fuck me.”
