Inked

“Your ‘business trip’? The one where you hooked up with someone else. Everyone is talking about it.”

He groans loudly. “That isn’t what happened at all. Why are people talking?”

I fold my arms across my chest, not about to back down now. “She’s black mailing you with intimate pictures. That’s why you have been in a bad mood, that’s why you have been pushing me away.

”

“What? No, that’s not it, at all.” He tuts loudly. “I had a shit time at the business meeting. My father sent me as a trust mission because he thinks that I’ve been doing well, and it all got fucked up. The woman there did proposition me, but I turned her down and then the deal got blown… and it also made me realize certain things.”

“So, you didn’t have sex with her?” My mind is a bit blown, I don’t know how to process this.

“No, I didn’t have sex with her. I wouldn’t do that for work reasons.”

Okay… that’s good news in a way… so why isn’t he looking at me? Why does this still feel so bad?

“What… what did you figure out?” It has to be that, doesn’t it?

“I figured out that me and you… what we’re doing is wrong.”

My heart sinks, I feel stunned to the core. “What do you mean? Me working here?”

I knew that his father didn’t like me, I could tell from the very first moment that I saw him. He just gave me a look that was so ice cold, I knew it came from a place of hate. And now that’s about to come out.

“No, no.” He shakes his head rapidly, calming me down at least a little bit. “That isn’t what I meant at all. I want you to remain working here. I love having you here and you’re good at the job. I just mean the other part.”

“The other part…” It hits me hard what that means. He means the sexual favors bit. “I see.”

Why am I disappointed? What the hell is wrong with me? This is good. This is an ideal situation. I can keep my job and I don’t have to worry about anything else. This is exactly what I want…

“Your pay won’t change,” he insists. “That won’t happen.”

“What’s going on, Isaac? I don’t understand this at all. Please explain it to me.”

He darts his eyes away and for a moment, I’m sure that this is about to go all wrong way and he won’t tell me anything again. I can almost feel him closing off, shutting down from me completely.

But then his eyes meet me again and relief floods me. “When the woman at the meeting said that I needed to have sex with her or she wouldn’t sign the deal, I realized that’s what I’ve been doing to you.”

I take a step back, considering these words. “So, it isn’t me that’s the issue?”

“No, definitely not. You’re amazing. It’s just the situation. You know, the arrangement.”

“So… if the arrangement wasn’t in place, then it would be okay?”

As he gives me a confused look, my pulse races, and I get a funny fluttering sensation in the pit of my stomach. I realize that I want to be with him again. I want to. I like what we’ve shared, and I want to carry it on. It would be even better if we didn’t have the arrangement hanging over our heads.

“What are you trying to say, Lexi?” he asks cautiously.

“I’m asking if I wanted to stay late to spend extra time with you, but not because of the arrangement, just because I want to, if that would be okay?” I cock an eyebrow at him. “That would be nothing like what happened to you. I can see that you’re worried about it being seedy or whatever, but it won’t be like that anymore…”

His face remains confused for a second before it breaks out into a smile. “Are you serious?”

I shrug. “If that’s what you want?”

“So, we would be more like dating? Seeing one another or whatever?”

“It doesn’t have to have a label, but yes.”

I love seeing that happy look on his face, it’s so much better than sadness. He’s far more handsome that way.