I look at the two men in question. Shane’s face is annoyingly blank, but Jace winks at me. Okay, another person I want to smack. Riku grabs hold of the hand that’s curled into a fist and pulls me toward my office.
“That sounds fine. Jacinta just needs to grab a few things from her office. Maybe the three of you should go ahead, and I’ll drive Jacinta over. That way we don’t need to catch a cab to the hotel later.”
My bodyguard needs a fucking raise. He read the room perfectly and diffused the situation in one go.
Jace’s face falls in disappointment, but I’m annoyed at him right now. How dare he make assumptions? Sometimes dislike is just dislike.
“So we’ll see you soon?” Shane calls after me. “Please, Alex will kill me.”
“Yes, Shane, I will be ten minutes behind you. I promise,” I call back, not turning around.
When we step into my office, Riku closes the door. I throw my arms around him and hug him tight.
“Thank you.” I exhale into his chest as his arms slowly come up to hug me back.
“Is something going on with you and Cole?” he asks into my hair, and I sigh before pulling away. “Because that seemed overly emotional compared to what you’re like with the rest of the employees.”
I step away from him and walk over to my desk. “Can’t I just dislike the guy?”
“You can, but I think there’s something more. Both of you seem particularly volatile when you’re around one another. Do you two know each other from a previous encounter?”
“I slept with him on Halloween, not knowing who he was. He also caught me snorting coke.” The words rush out of me like a dam has broken open. Fuck, did I really just admit to the coke usage? I can’t even look at Riku.
“Oh.” His voice rises in surprise, so I’m definitely not looking at him now. Then the unexpected feel of his hands on my waist has me turning around to face him. He has this wrinkle of worry in between his dark eyebrows, and his lips are slightly pursed. I kind of want to kiss them, but I hold myself back.
“Well, okay, let’s break this down. Did you enjoy sex with Cole?”
Huh? Not what I thought he was going to say. “Yeah, it was mind blowing, but he’s a fucking douche canoe, and now I’m his boss.”
“But you’re Jace’s boss too, and you’re considering sleeping with him.”
“Damn you and your logic, Riku,” I growl, pushing away from him and going around to the other side of my desk, needing a little bit of space between us. I can’t think with him just there. “And technically, I’m occasionally Shane and Alex’s boss too. But I don’t know. I was friends with the three of them first. Cole and I went from zero to a hundred in point two seconds. Not to mention he’s not a very nice person.”
“Let’s table that for a moment. What about the coke? Is that a party thing or something else?”
I refuse to look at him because I don’t want him to see the truth in my eyes, though that’s probably going to give it away within itself. “It was a one-time thing, a small rebellion on my part. It was nothing,” I lie through my teeth as I gather up the couple of sketches I was looking at earlier in the day and shove them into my portfolio. “Come on. I don’t want to be late and get Shane into trouble with Alex. Somehow, I don’t think this evening is going to go quite how I thought it would. We may need a secret signal to leave.”
“Okay, well, as long as that’s all it was. You don’t want to go down that slippery slope. It’s a hard one to come back from, trust me. Why don’t you just breathe, Jacinta? You’re wound so tight. Try to enjoy your evening and think before you jump down Cole’s throat,” Riku suggests. I hand him my laptop bag and portfolio while I grab my little pink handbag.
“Fine, but he better as well.” I hear him sigh like he’s dealing with two wayward children. I mean, he’s not far off, but there’s something that just makes the two of us act like that. Is it mutual attraction, or is it just disdain?
* * *
The guys’ penthouse apartment is warm, bright, and inviting when we arrive. “Something smells delicious,” I call out as the elevator arrives on the top floor.
“I’ll wait down in the car for you. Message me when you want to leave,” Riku murmurs, stepping back into the elevator as Alex hurries across the entry.
“Nonsense, I made enough for everyone, Riku. I was expecting you to join us.” Alex comes to a halt, and he runs a lazy eye up and down my figure, a smirk on his lips. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d rather be eating this one up. You look delicious.” He swoops in and kisses me, paying no mind to the fact that Riku is right there. It’s quick and intense and leaves me wanting more, but before I can respond, he has me by the hand and is dragging me across the room. “What would you like to drink? I’ve got wine, beer, and liquor. There’s also some juice or soda if you don’t want anything hard.”
When we step into their living area, I get a chance to look around. It’s this wide-open space with plenty of windows, a comfy-looking seating area, and a kitchen/dining area.
“There you are!” Jace exclaims, waving excitedly from the couch as Shane and Cole watch on. All of a sudden, the attention of five different men is on me, and I feel a little bit flustered.
“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.” The apology is automatic, even though I know we didn’t.
“Not at all.” Shane stands up and comes over to me. “Alex was just about to put everything on the table. Why don’t I show you where you can wash up?” He leads me down a corridor. “You had a deer in the headlights look going on. Are you okay?” he whispers.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I’m not used to being the center of attention.”
