“I won’t…”
“Good.” I gently push her off me and smooth her dress into place before readjusting my pants.
Her phone is still vibrating against the counter, but she doesn’t move to grab it.
Spinning her around to face me, I brush a few strands of hair away from her forehead.
“For the record,” I say. “This isn’t how I planned to have you the first time.”
“In that case, you should be aware that I wasn’t planning to ever have sex with you at all.”
I smile. “I appreciate your sense of humor.”
“Do you ever laugh about the fact that your friend literally calls you ‘the devil’?”
“All the time.”
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.Her phone sounds yet again.
“Should I ask for a permission slip for where I’m going next?” she says.
“As long as it won’t be inside another bar or a club, we won’t have a problem.”
“You’re not joking, are you?”
“No, Autumn.” I keep my voice firm. “I’m not.”
The buzzing is starting to sound louder.
“You should answer your friend.” I look over at her cell phone. “It might be an emergency.”
She slips away from me and picks it up. Hesitating for a few seconds, she keeps her eyes on mine as she answers.
“Sorry about that, Kylie. What’s going on?” She pauses. “What do you mean you can’t get past the right exit?”
“No, I can meet you that way instead,” she says. “Be there as fast as I can… Okay, I won’t. Bye.”
Without saying a word, I slip an arm around her waist and escort her to the door and outside.
Washington’s wet winds whip our faces as one of my men pulls her car in front of us.
“Can you promise no one from your staff will follow me?” Autumn asks.
I don’t answer that. “I caught the last of what my ‘friend’ said to you when I came in,” I say, “and although I don’t agree with his delivery, he has a point about recklessness. You shouldn’t get drunk in public again, and I own plenty of other bars in the city that you’d enjoy far better than this one.”
To my surprise, she doesn’t bombard me with questions. Instead, she waits for me to open the driver’s side door and then slides behind the wheel.
“I look out for every player on my team,” I say, switching on her headlights, “whether they like it or not.”
“What happens when they don’t want to play the game anymore?”
“I’ve never run into that issue.”
“But if you do?”
“Drive safely, Autumn.” I steal one last glance of her beautiful face. “Call me if you need anything.”
She stares at me as I shut the door, and for a moment, she looks as if she’s about to stay here with me, but she eventually shifts gears and pulls past me.
