“Than work for a man you can’t?” he asked, meeting her eyes. His jaw was clenched again, tight. She’d hurt him.
“I respect you,” she said as softly as he’d said her real name. “I do. What I mean to say is...I’d rather work for a woman I don’t have feelings for than a man I do. I shouldn’t have made it about respect. I do respect you. I don’t like you very much, but I respect you.”
“I came on your back.”
“I wanted you to come on my back. How would us having very good sex make me lose respect for you? I’m not a man. I don’t lose respect for someone just because he has the bad taste to sleep with me. I consider it one of your finer moments actually. I respect you more for fucking me.”
“I think about it sometimes. That night.”
His eyes met hers for a tense moment before glancing away again.
Flash placed her hand on Ian’s chest, over his heart.
“Welcome to the club,” she said. She patted his chest and dropped her hand to her side. “I’m gonna go before I do or say something stupid. I’ve been known to do that. Examples include the truck nuts incident and that time I welded your desk drawers shut.”
“Wait. You what?” He ran around to his desk. Every one of the desk drawers opened.
“Made you look,” she said.
Ian hung his head, slammed the top drawer shut so that all his pens and pencils rattled.
“You’re evil,” he said.
“Just giving you a hard time,” she said. “Gotta go, boss. I mean, ex-boss. Have a nice life.”
She hopped off his desk and headed for his office door.
“What are your plans now?” he asked.
“Dinner at Skyway,” she said. “Clover says they have truffle fries.”
“No, I mean, you know we don’t have any work scheduled until January fifth. Your two weeks’ notice is kind of meaningless considering you didn’t have to work this month, anyway. Are you starting with Clover next week?”
“Clover’s is closed until March, and she doesn’t need me to start until January. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the month off. It’s December, remember? Baking Christmas cookies, decorating Christmas cookies, eating Christmas cookies, lather, rinse, repeat. Basically eat cookies all month is what I’m doing. And sculpting. You?”
“No cookies. Work,” he said. “I bought a new house. A new old house.”
“Cool. Where at?”
“Government Camp. An old ski chalet.”
“Govy? You must like snow.”
“Love snow. We have two feet up there already. Great view from my new kitchen.”
“Sounds nice.”
“It’s a fixer-upper. I’m spending all month fixing and upping.”
“A ‘fixer-upper’ ski chalet is still a chalet, Bossman. It’s like saying you bought a ‘low-end’ Rolex or a ‘used’ private plane.”
“Fine. You win. I’m a spoiled brat, and I always will be. I didn’t earn what I have, but I’m trying to be worthy of it, okay? Which is why I didn’t want to keep sleeping with you, because when someone gives you power over someone else, you don’t abuse it. And whether you like it or not, I had power over you. More than you know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly. “I’m only saying I have the power to hire and fire. I shouldn’t sleep with someone I can fire. I did it for you.”
“Well, thank you very much for dumping me. It was very chivalrous. Good luck remodeling your chalet this December. You have to weld anything?”