She raised her chin. “Nothing. You got your way. Happy?”
“Yes, I am.” Had she called me Bosshole? I narrowed my eyes. Surely she didn’t. I must be hearing things. It wasn’t even a word.
By the time Eric pulled up at the curb, I’d given up wondering if she’d actually called me Bosshole.
But I couldn’t give up the knowledge of how her skin felt beneath mine or how I’d raged in like an idiot on a white horse as soon as she was in trouble without thought of how it might look if it ended up on social media. All I could think about was murdering that piece of shit for touching my Donut Girl. Thank God I decided to go tonight. I wouldn’t think aboutwhyI’d decided to go—about how easy it was to act like a hero when I knew it couldn’t lead anywhere.
To what end was I doing this? It was never going to be anything. My father was right about one thing: Don’t trust a woman who was trying to seduce you who had less money or fame than you.
You are so dumb, Curtis. She doesn’t even respect you—like most of the other women you’ve been interested in. Please have some respect for yourself.
The voice in my head was right. I just had to figure out a way to honor it. Besides, I’d taken on more than I could handle with the secret account—I had no room for inappropriate thoughts about my PA. With the stress of running the company and trying to save my position, my creative brain had gone into hiding, and if I didn’t nail down my concept soon, I was going to look like a bigger loser than my father gave me credit for.
I couldn’t let that happen. In fact, I’d do anything to prove to my sperm donor that I had what it took to run Knight Advertising. As much as I hated myself for it, I still wanted his approval.
It was time to make it happen.
CHAPTER 16
FAITH
Typical man couldn’t even apologize properly.I’m sorry you got that impression.I rolled my eyes again. Idiot man. Drunk me—yes, I was willing to admit it now—was proud that I’d said something and stuck up for myself. At least I’d managed not to blurt how gorgeous he was. Him holding my wrist was the hottest thing that had happened to me for a long time—how sad—and that included the months I’d been sleeping with Mark who had no idea that female orgasms were a thing. It made me wonder what else Curtis’s fingers were good at. And now my vagina was awake again.
It hadn’t helped that I was sitting between Curtis and Jack, their thick thighs bracing mine on either side. Jack’s feltnice, but Curtis’s felt like it was burning a hole through my tailored trousers. I looked down at where our legs touched, letting my gaze wander to his crotch. There was a slight, somewhat lengthy bulge. How big was it in all its glory? The bulge didn’t tell me much.Thankfully, I wasn’t drunk enough to reach over and feel for myself. Maybe I should’ve had that extra beer.
Eric pulled over and stopped the car, making me look up.Oops, busted. I’d been caught trying to check out the package. Curtis smirked but said nothing. It was all I could do not to say that I wasn’t trying to get a good look at his penis, honestly, I wasn’t—okay I was—and I had no interest in his penis or anyone else’s. It wasn’t a crime tolook, for goodness’ sake.
Eric came around to open Curtis’s door. Jack smiled. “Nighty, night, Faith.”
“Night, and thanks for the lift.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank my brother. He never could resist helping a damsel in distress, especially a pretty one.” He winked. Normally someone winking would be slapstick or corny, but Jack made it cute. The gene combination that created the Knight men was lethal.
Also, I would take that to mean that he didn’t really care about me in particular—it was more his habit of saving people in general. From what the others said tonight, he would help you whether you were a man or a woman. He was just a good guy.
I swallowed the discomfort burning my throat. Suddenly it hit me: There was something going on in the company I didn’t know about, something I was caught in the middle of. Not that I didn’t suspect it before, but things didn’t add up. My head started aching. I wasn’t sober enough to work through these thoughts.
“Are you coming?” Curtis asked as he bent and peered into the car.
“Ah, sorry. Yeah.” I slid out and carefully stepped onto the sidewalk. Concentration was a must when trying to appear more sober than you were. I suspected that any self-beliefs of succeeding were delusional. Once I was steady, I said, “How did you know I lived here? I didn’t tell you.”
“It’s in your personnel file. Nice place, by the way.” Amy’sseven-story walk-up had ornate stone framing around the windows, and it was in great condition. It really was a cute building.
I tried not to feel the embarrassment making its way to my cheeks. Things were what they were, and it was my fault, so I might as well dive into the mud of admission and roll around in it. “It is, but it’s not mine. I’m crashing with my best friend while I’m in my loser era. She’s a lawyer, and I needed somewhere to stay while I found a job. I’m saving up to rent my own place. Thanks to your aunt giving me the job, I’m close to being able to afford something small. Anyway, Amy is the best friend ever, and I’m lucky to have her.” I gave him a small smile—I really was grateful for the job, even though it had become… complicated.
“You didn’t grow up in New York City?”
“No. My mom lives a couple of hours north, and she doesn’t really want me there, which is fine since I’m an adult.” He frowned. After a beat of silence too long—yep, I’d made it awkward by oversharing—I shrugged. “Anyway… thanks again for saving me and for the lift. I appreciate it.” Why had I said all that? Now he thought even less of me than before, if that was possible, and I still had to turn up and work for him on Monday. Knowing how rich people thought, he likely knew I’d brought it on myself and believed all my problems were well-deserved. He and Mom would get along well.
He peered at me, his five-o’clock-shadowed jaw set, the muscles bunching. I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes, but it was unsettled and almost angry. I would’ve taken a step back, but being near him was too addictive, and he wouldn’t hurt me—I didn’t know a lot about him, but I knew that. I settled for lowering my gaze first to his lips, then to the exposed column of his throat. My fingers itched to trace along his jaw and down the cord of artery protruding from his strong neck, skim down it, and keep going.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple drawing my attention. Hecleared his throat, and I blinked, coming out of my trance. Finally, gruffly, he said, “Not a problem. I’d do the same for any of my employees.”
Welp, that was that, then. As much as that reinforced my idea that he had no particular positive feelings toward me, the reminder was definitely for the best. I had to stop all neck, butt, and sausage-shaped-protrusion gazing ASAP.
“Aha. Excellent. Okay, bye.” I focused on walking in a straight line to Amy’s building. Footsteps sounded behind me. I didn’t turn as I said, “You don’t have to walk me to the door.”
“I might be your least-favorite person, but I’m always a gentleman.”
