Page 23 of Analysing Her Assets

“Shemesh is the name of my puppy. My mother wanted me to leave him with her for the weekend. But I wanted him with me. It’s funny how fast they grow on you, right?”

“Your mother can have Giddy. He hasn’t grown on me yet.”

Giddy heard his name and barked, grinning in his loopy, canine way. It was impossible that she’d only had him for two days. It seemed a lot longer, her orderly life before him a distant memory.

They crossed King George Street, passing under the ancient sycamore trees, and arrived at the dog park, where they freed their dogs. It was empty, everyone still at their Shabbat dinners. They sat on a bench and Tamar shivered a little. Gideon’s long arm reached behind her and then he was fitting the hood around her head. It was such an intimate gesture, yet he made it feel natural.

“It’s a bit chilly, Tamar, you’ll catch a cold.” He withdrew his hands. He said her name so softly.

It was now or never.

“I have a proposal for you,” she blurted out, avoiding eye contact and talking fast. “I think we could be good together. I mean sexually. I mean, I don’t want you as my boyfriend. I don’t want an affair. Or a relationship. Just a sex only thing.”

She paused, fisting her palms inside her hoodie’s sleeves. She was suddenly overcome with terror. What if he said no? He’d refused every other girl who approached him from Peaks. She hadn’t thought this through. How could she face him at work, after he’d turned her down? This would totally give him an edge over her. She wanted him more than he wanted her–and they were in direct competition. Every advantage counted. Oh, shit, shit, shit, she hadn’t thought this through.

She glanced aside to follow his Adam’s apple as he gulped.

“What do you think?”

He exhaled. He leaned forward, his elbows on his spread knees. She couldn’t see his face.

“Come on, Gideon, yes or no?” She wished he would speak already.

“I thought you have this set-in-stone rule,” he said harshly. “What has changed?”

She was thirty-three and alone and depressed about it and sick and tired of her rules.

“We...I’m attracted to you, and you told me you don’t usually, eh, get excited at work. And I thought we could reach an agreement: sex with each other, no strings attached, no HR notification.”

“Do you usually have no strings attached sex?” Great, now he was interrogating her. Gideon’s expression was hard to read, but it sounded like he was angry.

“You know I don’t. But...” She tried to formulate her logic into words. It had made perfect sense in her mind just minutes ago.

Her little sister pitied her. Said she had no life, and it hurt because she was right. Her other sister warned that men could deter her from her goals. But thinking of Gideon constantly was already playing havoc with her mind. And he was the first man in a long time, who was as good as she was in her profession. She had respect for him. Despite his goldenboyness, he was motivated. Marina’s suggestion to keep your enemies real close made a crazy kind of sense. If she stated her terms correctly, she could take care of her libido and maintain control at the same time.

“Look, we’re both running for the same job. This sex-only thing has an expiration date. The minute one of us, I mean me, the minute I become chief analyst, then I can’t sleep with one of my underlings. So, either you quit, if you want to keep having sex with me...”

“I don’t want to quit!” Gideon said. “And I might be the next chief. Go on.”

“So, the announcement of N’s replacement is December third—that’s a month from now. Until then, we can...eh, you know...act on our mutual attraction. It makes perfect sense.”

He was silent.

“Come on, Gideon!” She didn’t mean to sound so impatient, but this was mortifying without him playing hard to get. “It’s not that complicated.”

“Yes! Okay? Of course, it’s a yes.” She was grateful to him for saying ‘of course.’

They sat next to each other, the silence again stretching awkwardly.

“How do you wish to go about it? Except not involving HR, I mean,” Gideon asked.

“Right, let’s talk about the terms,” Tamar said. She was on surer ground here, having given thought to the matter.

Gideon licked his lips. “Can we kiss first?”

“No. Business first, kissing later.”

He grinned.

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