He shrugged, acting a little more casual than usual. "You've worked hard enough. Silvy can take over for you." He glanced at Carey and it clicked. "What did he offer you?" I asked. My boss' puffy face turned beet red. "Nothing." His quick answer wasn't convincing. "Go hang out with your friend. You need the rest." If I was naïve, I would have been deceived by the care in his voice.
I turned my gaze to Carey’s table. He nursing his second drink of the night. He looked as though he's an innocent bystander minding his own business. When I turned back to my boss, he had already taken my tray and given it to Silvy. Silvy didn't look bothered that she's doing waitressing duties instead of bartending and she shooed me away as she went over to the other side of the counter. "If I were you, I wouldn't waste any more time of a patient man like him."
Carey raised his glass at me, and I marched over to him. "How much did you pay them?"
"Sit." He tapped on the bench. He looked casually sexy in a way that screamed danger. His tie was looser and a couple of buttons on his shirt were undone. My gaze wandered to that small v that showed a glimpse of skin and wondered what it would feel like to touch him. When I met his gaze again, his eyes flashed with carnal knowledge that made me ashamed of what I was feeling.
"How much did you pay them?"
"Whatever money you were going to make the rest of your shift, plus extra."
I rolled my eyes and slumped onto the bench without realizing what I was doing. "This is serious, you realize that? You're jeopardizing my job."
He flashed a smile and leaned forward. "I don't know," he said, gesturing to the bar, "your boss doesn't look bothered. But I'm simply wondering why you care so much about waitressing when you supposedly work at one of the top law firms in the city."
The low light of the bar concealed my heated cheeks. I'm not a good liar. I never expected that he would ask about my work or why I was there, so I came up with the first thing I could think of. "That party was the last time I expected to see you."
He cocked his eyebrows. "And here I was thinking you and I were connecting on a deeper level. Is my game really that bad?"
There was nothing wrong with his game at all. "I shouldn't have been there."
"It doesn't matter. I want to see you again."
He was close. So close that I could see the color of his eyes even under the dim lighting. They were deep pools of brown that almost looked black. His mouth was just as tempting as that night. And sometime during this little talk, he had placed his arm across the bench behind me, making it look like we were an intimate couple.
I shook my head. "You and I can't happen under any capacity."
"Why not?" He sounded like the thought was preposterous. As though the opposite was inevitable.
"Our stations in life. For one. I am a waitress. I never went to college like I said. That was another lie."
He bellowed with laughter. "You sound like a Victorian maid. Who said anything about long-term relationships or a relationship at all?" If my face wasn't redder, it deepened more. "I want you," he continued, more seriously now. “I want to knowwhether I was a fool to not do what I should have done all those years ago.”
My breath caught in my throat. It felt like he had moved that much closer to me and our lips were only an inch from kissing. "I've always wondered what it would be like."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You and I. It has always been a preoccupation of mine when I was a teenager."
"You hated me."
"My cock knew no difference."
This was brand new information. Carey had not only ignored me, but went out of his way to make sure I was miserable. Whenever his friends showed any interest in me, he would do or say something to dissuade them from asking me out. "Why are you saying this now?"
"Come on. Are you saying you've never felt anything for me? I know you hated me as much as I did you, but you must have wondered."
I did. Plenty of times, but I thought my feelings weren't reciprocated.
He took hold of my chin. "I know. I've thought about it a lot."
He leaned in closer and was about to kiss me until I pulled back and glanced at the bar. My boss was busy serving a customer. The rest of the bar wasn't paying attention to us, but it still felt wrong. Part of me wondered if Nolan Senior's people were around. Ready to report on my success or failure. I was being paranoid, yes, but with that man, one couldn't be too careful.
"Not here."
His eyes twinkled. "Your place or mine."
He's quick.The idea of Carey and I entwined in sheets not only lit a fire in my loins, but it also held a danger I have neverfelt before. No. I should resist. "I don't remember agreeing to have sex with you."
