Page 124 of Pretty Little Thing

Well, this isn’t right.

I was definitely paid today but this isn’t my usual office temp pay.

“Something wrong?” Nora asks.

I refresh the page in case there was a glitch but it’s still wrong. “Yeah,” I mutter. “I think Ali might have messed up somewhere.”

“Why? Were you not paid?”

“No, I was paid, but this is…” I pause and look up into her knowing eyes. “Did you do this?”

“Do what?”

“This is three times my usual pay,” I say.

She doesn’t look the least bit concerned. “Weird.”

“Nora.” I close the laptop and stand up. “What are you doing? I haven’t accepted your job offer yet.”

“I know,” she says, smiling. “But you’ve been working very hard lately. We agreed that a nice bonus was in order.”

“We?”

“Yes, we.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me, your boss.”

“Don’t you find this a tad bit inappropriate?” I ask.

She tilts her head in amusement. “And how many nights have you spent here this week?”

“Using my dick as an alarm clock is one thing, Nor,” I argue. “Giving me a raise in exchange for it hoists up some red flags.”

She puts on her suit jacket. “It’s not a permanent raise, Clive. I just have a little idea how much money you make and it’s not enough for tonight.”

I frown. “And what’s tonight?”

“Dinner,” she says as she slides her laptop back into her case and zips it up. “You’re taking me someplace very, very nice for dinner tonight.”

“Uh...” I shake my head. “No, I’m not. I have a shift at Red Brick.”

“No, you don’t. I took care of it. Meet me on the roof at four.”

I blink. “You took care of it?”

Nora smiles and speaks slower. “You’re taking me to dinner instead.”

“No, you’re taking you to dinner. This is like giving a kid a twenty and letting him hand it to the cashier. It’s your money — and why the roof?”

Her smile doesn’t fade. “You’ll see.” She takes one last look in the mirror. Stunning perfection. “Four o’clock. Don’t be late. Want some coffee?”

I stumble over my tongue. “Sure.”

I listen to the determined tap of her shoes, easily picturing the exact way she walks through the condo. Wide, confident strides. Head up, shoulders down, with murder in her eyes.

Something isn’t right here.

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