Page 44 of Employing Patience

Okay, maybe I hadn’t had total control when I said that, even though it’s true. “Will you be here Friday night?”

“No.”

“Pity. I was going to wear my sluttiest shorts. Just for you.”

“Like those grandpa ones you were wearing the other night?”

I cluck him on the chin. “I guess you’ll never know.”

Then I walk away before we can go around again on the shift thing or I say more than I should. My brain might be fighting me on giving in to my urges with him, but when Art’s around, my brain goes offline.

If it’s offline, it can’t fight me.

Problem solved.

And with the way it was pumping lust into my system at the mere sight of Art, it makes me think that I’m more ready than I thought. Regrets, no regrets. I owe it to myself to try.

Now I need to find the right moment.

12

ART

I need to go home. I should go home. It’s nearing five on a Friday, and sitting around in my office because the man I can’t get off my brain is downstairs is as pathetic as I’ve ever been. The way he tempts me should be illegal.

My gaze drifts back to my security monitors, to the bar, where Joey is pulling drinks. He’s so charismatic that people are drawn to him. Tip him big. Try to sleep with him.

I see you, I tell his image, not for the first time.

Damn … I’m screwed.

He says he’s straight, he plays the part of a flirt, but I saw it in his eyes the other night. Curiosity. Want. My body burned having him that close.

But I won’t make a move based on a hunch, and actually, given the clusterfuck I’ve gotten myself into, I doubt I’ll ever make a move at all.

Ethics? Moi?

No one would believe it.

There’s a light rap on my door, and my gaze flicks back to the security cameras. Joey is missing, and that was definitely his knock. I know his knock because he makes so many damn visits up here.

With a deep breath, I switch off the feed and wait.

A moment later, Joey cracks the door open, and his head appears in the gap. “You free, boss?”

“Would it matter if I wasn’t?”

He gives me that smile I knew would come. Boyish, carefree. I watch as he steps inside and purposely closes the door behind himself.

“I was about to head off,” I tell him. But I don’t make a move, and by the way he looks at me, we both know it’s a lie. “What do you want this time?”

“I’m on a break.”

“Lucky I supply a break room, then, isn’t it?”

Joey grins, and damn, I love that one. The one where he senses a challenge and it excites him. It excites me too. I can’t stop picturing what that kind of grin tastes like. “Thought you might like my company. And to see my mega-slutty shorts up close.”

My gaze immediately drops to said shorts. They have more tears than material, including a very tempting one near his groin. Thank fuck I keep the temperature constant in the bar, even though it’s not overly cold out tonight.

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