A Bargain with the Boss

“You’ve known him how long?”

“A few weeks,” she admitted.

Jackson gave her an indulgent smile. “He’s not what you think he is.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Then, let me put it another way. He’s not what you want him to be.” Jackson’s sharp eyes took in her messy hair and what had to be smeared makeup.

In that second, she knew she was caught. And it was humiliating. Jackson thought she was going after Tuck. He thought she wanted to domesticate Tuck. She could only imagine he thought she was one of a long line of gold diggers out to become Mrs. Tuck Tucker.

She had to get out of here. “Good night, Jackson.”

“I like you, Amber.”

She gave a chopped laugh of disbelief.

“You’re too good for him,” said Jackson.

“I don’t want him.”

Jackson’s smile was indulgent again. “You want him to be a better him.”

She opened her mouth to deny it.

But Jackson spoke overtop her. “There’s only one reason a woman wants that.”

“There could be a hundred reasons why a woman wants that.”

“You might not know it yet. But you’re falling for him. Don’t fall for him, Amber. You’ll only get hurt.”

“Advice to the lovelorn, Jackson?”

“Advice from a guy who knows Tuck.”

“Well...” She had no good comeback to that. She truly didn’t know what to say. All she knew was that she wanted the heck out of this conversation right now. “Thank you.”

She turned sharply away, then realized he’d seen her partially undone zipper.

She swallowed. She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. He’d obviously already guessed. He’d come to all the wrong conclusions afterward, but he knew full well that she’d just slept with Tuck.

* * *

When she looked up and saw Amber, Jade closed her textbook and pushed the wheeled bed tray off to one side. “Welcome back to the real world.”

“I’m on my way to the office,” Amber told her, moving closer. “We landed about an hour ago.”

Taking a private jet to Scottsdale and back had been a surreal experience for Amber, but there was no disputing the convenience.

“How was it?” asked Jade with enthusiasm. “Warm? Great? I looked up the resort—nice.”

“We were pretty busy working.” Amber had struggled all night long, then especially during the flight back, to keep focused on the work and not to think about Tuck.

Jade gave a mock frown. “You didn’t spend hours at the spa?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“I was hoping to live vicariously through you.”

“I could lie,” Amber offered.

“Would you? That would be nice. I’m so bloated and tired and achy, I’d kill for a massage or a few hours in the hot springs.”

“The weather was great,” said Amber. “The hotel was gorgeous, the food, rooms. The beds were really comfortable.”

“Was that a Freudian slip?”

Amber didn’t understand Jade’s point.

“Beds,” Jade elaborated. “Plural?”

Amber realized it was a joke, but embarrassment made her mind go momentarily blank.

Jade’s eyes went wide. “Wait a minute.”

“It was a figure of speech,” said Amber.

Jade’s surprise turned to concern. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t do anything.” At least nothing that was Jade’s business, nothing that was anybody’s business, except hers and Tuck’s. And they were forgetting all about it.

“You slept with him?”

Amber didn’t want to lie, so she didn’t answer.

Jade reached for her hands. “Oh, Amber. You’re usually so smart.”

“It wasn’t stupid.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’m not getting hurt. It just...happened.” Amber realized how trite that sounded. “It was only the once.”

“He’s your boss.”

“Only for a little while. Dixon will come back and then it’ll all be over. Tuck barely shows up at the office.”

When Dixon got back, Amber fully expected Tuck to return to his previous life. He might want to impress his father, but he wasn’t likely to give up the parties and vacations in order to work his butt off.

Last night she’d had a few moments of optimism. But she knew Jackson was right. Tuck liked his life exactly the way it was. Last night Tuck had told her what he thought she wanted to hear. He probably always told women what he thought they wanted to hear.