His Big Offer

“Sounds like a good time.” Chance laughs softly.

“You bet. Fast forward to graduation, and my parents make it clear to me that they expect me to be gainfully employed, because I’m a McLean, and McLeans contribute to society. So I got a retail job while I looked for a job that I actually wanted.”

The waiter appears with our food, interrupting me, but Chance waves me on. “Keep going.”

“It didn’t work. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to keep a job, even a crappy one. I had a string of bad luck. I got laid off, my position was downsized, and I’ll even admit that I did get fired. And every time it happened, my parents became more frustrated with me. It became unlivable in their house, so nine months ago I moved in with my best friend, Alice. I’ve been sleeping on her couch. Though now that I have a salary that’s way more than I ever expected, I’m hoping to get my own place really soon.”

“I can relate to that,” he says. “I had parents who were…very similar. They had dreams of me becoming a politician, and they did everything they could to push me in that direction. But it was never what I wanted, and they’re absolutely mortified with my current job. Which I have to admit makes me smile a little.”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry. It’s the worst. Because you love them but they just don’t understand why what they want for you is the worst thing that could possibly happen.”

“And when we reject their plan they feel like we’re rejecting them,” he says.

“Exactly.”

He laughs. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

“Are we, though?” I ask, shifting the topic. “You know how complicated this could get. Are you sure? Because now you know that this job is basically the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and if all you want is a little sex, then I’d rather keep the good memories of yesterday and move on.”

Chance clears his throat. “I would love for you to keep yesterday’s memories as good memories. But I don’t want to move on. At all. I said yesterday that it was easier to have a no sex in the workplace policy, but that’s not the only reason. I was never interested in anybody I worked with before. I was never tempted to break that policy until you walked into my office, and I don’t have any regrets. I don’t want to stop; I don’t want to slow down. I want to know as much about you as I can. And,” he lowers his voice, “I want to fuck you in as many creative ways as the two of us can think of.”

I snort into my drink. “Just wait until you read the article I’m working on. You’ll have plenty of ideas.”

“Oh really?” He raises an eyebrow and I see that lust in his eyes, the kind that lets me know that he’s thinking about taking me on this table right now. “I look forward to being very, very inspired.”

His eyes have gone dark, and I recognize that look. It’s the same one he had yesterday on the roof when he was all the way inside me on the verge of coming. Blood rises under my skin, and an unexpected hunger seizes me. And it’s not hunger for the amazing food that’s in front of me.

“By the way,” he says, “We’re going to post the one-night stand article tomorrow. I know we talked about having a backlog of articles but everyone is really eager to see the response.”

“Great,” I say, trying to ignore the flurry of nerves that just sprang into my stomach.

“It’s going to be amazing. You’ll see.” He glances behind me, and I realize that it’s not the first time he’s done that during the meal. “Are you okay?” I ask. “You keep looking over there.”

Chance clears his throat. “There’s a guy watching us eat. I’m used to it, because it happens a fair amount. This one just seems a little intense.” He smirks at me. “And it’s not usually men.”

I laugh and glance over my shoulder. I don’t see anyone obviously staring, but I don’t have as good a view of that side of the restaurant. “Well,” I say, “I’d take it as a compliment.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” He stops looking and focuses again on me.