Duke’s eyebrows said he knew Nat was hiding something.
To distract them both, Nat crammed the rest of his bagel into his mouth. And he realized too late that it made his cheeks puff out like a chipmunk’s.
He chewed more quickly, then tried to slow down—because the entire point of stuffing his mouth was so he couldn’t answer any questions.
Duke snorted—he was onto Nat. He finished his sandwich and broke a cookie into two. “Want a piece?”
Nat made a strangled noise. He wasstillchewing his bagel.
Duke grinned and tucked the cookie half into Nat’s hand.
Another question popped into Nat’s mind.
He tried to swallow so he could ask it. By the time he could get his words out, Duke was unscrewing the lid of a juice bottle.
“You don’t mind that I’m fat?” Nat asked.
“Where did that come from?” Duke tipped the juice into his mouth.
“You said you want to have sex with me.”
Juice sprayed everywhere. Duke coughed for a long while, thumping his chest. “What?”
Nat gaped. “What?”
“Sex? With you?” Duke looked incredulous. “I’m your boss! When the hell did I say that?”
“In your job listing!”
Duke stared at him for a long moment. He blinked. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose, and cursed. “What the hell did Hubrie put on that job listing? Is that why he wanted the samples? It is, isn’t it?”
“What job did you think I signed on for?” Nat asked, bewildered.
“An assistant! To help me... unload. Fuck. That fucking fucker. He convinced me to hire you so I could ‘unload’. Holy fuck.” Duke grabbed a napkin and wiped the juice off his face.
“Um.” Nat felt as though everything was coming apart. “Does that mean you don’t need me anymore?”
“No, I still want you as my personal assistant,” Duke said hurriedly. “Hubrie was right about me giving him too many tasks from the company. But I didn’t intend for any part of your job to be... about sex.”
After receiving the news that he had been hired, Nat had spent several nights in bed jerking off, fantasizing about Duke.
He stared at Duke now, trying not to feel disappointed. “Oh. Okay.”
“We’ll—revise the hiring agreement.” Duke rubbed his face. “Fuck. I didn’t even look at the job scope; I trusted him to do this.”
“I mean... I’m fine with what I saw on the job listing. That’s why I’m here,” Nat said awkwardly. “Not that you have to do any of that. I’m just saying... I won’t think it’s some violation of ethics, because it’s what I agreed to in the first place.”
Duke sighed into his hand. “Okay. I... I’m sorry about all of that. Including Hubrie.”
“I didn’t think personal assistants were allowed to make hiring decisions.”
“No, he’s actually my butler, and not an assistant with the company. He’s not under any contract with HR.”
“Oh.That makes so much more sense. Especially with the Hell Master thing.”
Duke groaned. It was a low, guttural sound that went straight through Nat’s body.
Surely that wasn’t a sound he made in bed.
