Ethan chews, swallows then frowns. “I’d feel much better if you were seen by my personal physician.”

“I’m all better, honestly.” I wave him off and pick up another fry.

Ethan looks like he wants to say more about it. I glare at him to show him it’s not a good idea.

He sighs then asks, “Are you at least enjoying your time off?”

I shake my head. “No. Not really, no. In fact, if you could get Joe to put me back on the schedule that would be great. I don’t need the time off. I need the hours.”

“It’s paid time off, Avery,” Ethan says and takes another bite of his burger.

Whew, that’s actually a huge relief.

“Because you never take a day off,” Ethan goes on after swallowing. “You’ve accumulated over three weeks of sick pay.”

“Well, I’m not sick. I should probably save it for when I really need it. Honestly, I don’t mind going back to work. Being off throws off my whole schedule.”

Ethan sets his burger down then wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Actually, we need to talk about that.”

“We do?” I ask, confused.

“Lauren left. She met a guy or something,” Ethan tells me.

Lauren is Ethan’s personal assistant. Which is funny because why would he even need a personal assistant? The whole position seems pretty moot.

“I’m sorry,” I respond, not understanding what he’s getting at.

“The position is yours if you want it. It’s double what you’re making now and you can work the same hours.”

“It’s double?” I ask, hating myself a little for being tempted by the money. It’s seriously a bad idea. It’s not even a real job, it can’t be if Ethan’s position is purely superficial.

Ethan leans back, the corners of his lips threatening to pull into a grin. “If that’s not enough, I can triple it. Just for you.”

Chapter Eleven

Chase

I'm so tempted to follow Avery when she goes and meets with that flaming douchebag to ensure nothing happens to her like the last time he got angry. I can't do that though. It would be on the border of stalker mode. And I may be completely losing my shit for this girl but I am not up to stalking… just yet.

I’m not really sure what I am up to though. For the last two days I have not been myself at all. Avery has been consuming my thoughts. She’s been consuming me. I haven't done anything that I have been planning.

“Shit and fuck!” I growl loudly at the red light I am sitting in front of.

I want the light to change so I can move, so I can get my momentum back. This girl has got me stuck in her web. I'm not even sure I want to be there.

The light turns green and I am almost consumed with the idea of smashing my foot down on the gas pedal, to barrel down the road with all pistons firing. To break away from the people surrounding me and get back to an even keel.

But that will not solve my problem of being stuck all over Avery and her sexy ass. And what a sexy ass it is, holy fuck. That ass feels amazing in my hands when I squeeze and grope it, and yes I want to believe that I caressed her too but yeah I groped the fuck out of her ass. Those legs around my hips as I slam into her...

I push down on the gas pedal right after I am honked by the pickup truck behind me. “I'm going, I'm going,” I mutter.

I can't exactly tell what’s going on in my head. Logically I know I am most definitely stuck on this woman, but I also know she isn't the usual woman.

Fuck. My fingers keep tapping on the steering wheel. I look up at where I am while I’m driving and I cannot remember how I even got here. I’m right across from the gym I work out and train at. But how the hell did I get here?

I feel fucking amazing and completely blindsided. Two days and I want this girl around for a long time. Shit, a long time for me usually means six months. That simply doesn't feel too long thinking about Avery. But I don't even know her middle or last name.

***

Tags: Izzy Sweet, Sean Moriarty Pounding Hearts Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net