“But what if we get caught?”
“That’s what will make it exciting. Press her against a wall, run your fingers through her hair, get physical.” Dane was starting to regret his decision. Selena would be eager to let Dane take her over one of the tables in the training room. That would be worth tempting fate over.
“I can’t believe you’re advising me to be so . . .” He covered his mouth. “Wouldn’t that be sexual harassment?”
Dane burst out laughing, unintentionally. “Oh, Anthony. You’re going to make a very nice friend for Selena.”
Anthony swallowed. “But you really think it might work?”
“If she likes you at all, she’ll be all over that. But you have to read her responses. If she resists, stop immediately. She’ll let you know.” He paused, worried about Anthony’s reluctance to properly seduce the girl. “Youhavebeen with a woman, right?”
“Of course.” Anthony’s face relaxed into a stupid grin. “Recently, in fact.” His expression tightened back into the soulful scowl of the brokenhearted. “But that was different. And I’m going to put an end to it.”
Dane appraised Anthony. “You’re involved with another woman, right now?”
“It’s kind of complicated.” His eyes darted away from Dane and caught on some object in the distance. “But I can’t talk about it.”
“You sure? I’m a good listener.” And damn curious now.
“Maybe some other time.” He blew out through his lips. “But I don’t know how she’s going to take it when I tell her. She was already jealous when I stood her up last week.”
The wheels were turning. “You had a date with her last week?”
The cocky grin Dane had seen Anthony sporting last week returned with a vengeance. “It wasn’t a date. She told me it meant nothing. She actually called it a ‘dalliance.’ Who says that?”
Val said that. Dane tapped his finger on the table. How could he exploit this information? “You know what? I think you should give her one more night of fun before you end it. Let her have tonight.”
“But you said to go get Selena right away.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He nodded, thinking. “Well, the thing is, if you respect Selena the way you say you do, you should put an end to the other relationship first. Right?”
Anthony sipped his beer, not committing to an answer either way. He waited for Dane to get to the point. But Dane didn’t have a point yet. He was still trying to figure out how he could get Anthony to do something so obviously wrong.
“Last week, I recall you asked me about a woman you were interested in. That wasn’t Selena, was it?” He hoped the kid would be honest about this at least.
“No.” He licked his lips. “But I’m not fickle. I liked Selena before. It was just that I admire the other woman so much. And she showed some interest in me. I couldn’t resist.”
“It’s okay, Anthony.” That was the angle he needed. “If you admired her so much then, I’m assuming you still hold her in some esteem?”
“Oh, yes. Very much. She’s incredible.”
“And she’ll be disappointed when you break it off?”
“I suppose so.”
“There you go then. You’ll give her another night with you, enjoy it for what it is, and then in the morning, let her know you’ve decided to let her go.” Dane threw a twenty onto the table. “You ready to head back now?”
Dane added Selena to his To-Do list. He’d need to get her out of the way to keep Anthony from becoming distracted from Val. Plus he now had a stop to make to Morty’s floor. This had been a very eventful day and it wasn’t even two o’clock.
Dane,
I came down to your office, but you weren’t there. Could you come see me? Or call me tonight?
Noelle Constance | CEO Fleetwood Capital LLC
I can’t stop thinking about you.
Noelle Constance | CEO Fleetwood Capital LLC
