Page 22 of The Swap After Hours

Her tone turned serious once again. “No. I simply want you to enjoy yourself more. I hate seeing you working yourself so hard all the time.”

“Well, hopefully, I can cut back on a few things soon. I hired a new personal assistant and he’s proved to be quite competent. He’s already taken on a lot of responsibility.”

The relief in Mom’s eyes was evident. “Oh, honey! That’s fantastic! What’s his name?”

“Trevor Reed.” His name rolling off my tongue sparked images of the man in my head from the first day we’d met.

Sitting across from me at my desk, dirty-blond hair falling over his forehead as he furiously scribbled notes. Eyes the color of a cloudless day peering up at me nervously as I demanded to know who he was and why he was there. That full bottom lip lifting into a grin when I offered him the job.

Mom’s hand on my arm pulled me from my reverie. She stared at me curiously and I realized she must have been talking while I zoned out. “Sorry. Guess I have a lot on my mind.”

“I was just giving you these,” she said, handing me the leftovers. Concern lined her face. “Are you sure you’ll be okay driving home?”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks again for dinner. I love you.” I gave her a quick kiss then walked out to the driveway and climbed behind the wheel of my Porsche.

Usually, I loved the drive to and from my mom’s house. The roads along the countryside allowing me to really open her up in ways I couldn’t do in the congested city.

But this time I was too distracted. Shaken by the path my thoughts had taken as soon as I’d spoken Trevor’s name. I had no business thinking about his mouth…or any other part of his body for that matter. My cock twitched as my brain tried to take me on a path of imagining his body and what might be hidden under those dress clothes of his.

I pushed those thoughts away with a frustrated groan. Maybe I simply needed to give a swap party another try. I’d been working double time lately, barely having time to eat or sleep, much less taking care of my baser needs. And even though it hadn’t seemed to help much the last time, maybe this time would prove different.

CHAPTER 8

TREVOR

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

I finished sliding the last serving tray into the back of the catering van then turned to my best friend. “For the hundredth time, I’m sure.”

Doug laughed as he held his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, fine. I’ll quit pestering. I just feel bad making you work on your day off. You’ve been working so hard lately, and you deserve a little time to relax.”

I reached out and touched his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re not making me do anything. I volunteered, remember?”

“I remember. I still think you’re crazy for giving up your Saturday to cater with me, but I’m not going to turn away the extra help.”

“You’d do the same for me,” I said with an easy shrug.

He nodded in agreement as he craned his neck to peer around me. “So, is that everything?”

“Yep. That was the last of it. We’re all set.”

I stepped out of the way while he locked the door and then we both moved to the front of the van and climbed in. The engine rumbled to life but as I snapped my seat belt in place, I noticed Doug staring at me with a toothy grin.

“What” I asked warily.

“I’m just happy you’re here. Between both of our jobs, I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately. It’ll be good to spend time together.”

I batted at his hand when he reached over and affectionately tousled my hair. I yanked the sun visor down and using the mirror, started combing through my hair with my fingers.

Doug cackled when he heard my muttered, “You ass!” but there was no real heat behind my words. The truth was, I was glad to spend time with him too, although that wasn’t the only reason I’d volunteered to go with him tonight. Not that I was going to tell him that. In fact, I hadn’t mentioned anything that had happened when I’d gone back for our phones.

It wasn’t that I was worried Doug would be upset with me if he found out. If anything, he would be intrigued, probably wanting to check things out for himself. Also, he trusted me and knew I’d never do anything to jeopardize this job for him, but how was I supposed to try and explain it to my best friend when I didn’t even understand it myself?

I’d tried like hell to forget what I’d witnessed at the first party, I really had. I’d reminded myself that Donovan was an adult, and his extracurricular activities had no bearing on me or our working relationship. I’d also told myself it shouldn’t matter what he got up to because I wasn’t interested in other men that way.

So then why was it consuming my every thought? And why had it left me questioning everything I thought I knew about myself?

I’d spent the rest of that weekend replaying every second in my head, but strangely enough, it was the part with Donovan I seemed to fixate on. Especially when I was in bed at night, alone with my thoughts.

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