Page 45 of Employing Patience

“I approve.”

“Thought you might.” Joey’s all smooth movements and steady gaze as he keeps coming closer. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“Which time?”

“At the club.”

“I said a lot at the club.” My heartbeat gets faster though. Like I can sense something coming. “You’re going to have to be specific.”

“You said to let you know when my head and body are both on board. Good news, boss.” Joey leans in. “I’m ready. And I have half an hour to kill.”

My breath catches, threatens to suffocate me. The things he’s saying are dangerous with a capital D because if he’s serious, I plan to take him up on the offer. I’m done with the games. I can’t keep running in circles for the guy, but I can’t bring myself to stop either. I like flirting with him. I like that glimpse of possibility. What I don’t like is the thought that none of it is as real on his end as it is on mine.

But the longer Joey looks at me like that, gaze never wavering, the less I’m about to hold back.

It’s time to put an end to all of this shit. Maybe he’s after more time off, or a raise, or some kind of promotion, I don’t know, but what I do know is that tonight, I’m calling his bluff. We’re both adults. We both claim to want this. So what would happen if I said yes?

“What do you plan to do with that half hour?” I ask.

“You.”

I laugh at how simply he says it. “Me, huh?”

“Sure. If you’ll let me.”

I shrug and roll my chair back. “Ready when you are.”

Joey’s eyes widen, but I don’t say a thing. Just sit there, waiting. Curious about what he’s going to do next. All the possibilities flash through my mind, and I’d love for any one of them to come true. Joey has sufficiently wrapped me around his finger with no plans to let me go.

To my total surprise, Joey rounds the desk.

“Just stating,” I say, “that there is absolutely no pressure on my end. You have my consent, but nothing that happens in here plays any part in your job.”

“I know.”

“So this isn’t the type of situation where if you walk away, I’ll fire you. Or if you suck my dick, I’ll promote you. I don’t play those games. In fact, if you suck my dick when you have no interest in sucking it, then I’ll fire you.”

Joey’s eyes burn brighter, lips curling at the corners. “You want me to suck your dick?”

“I’ve wanted it since the day I hired you.”

“You’ve got good taste.”

“Or terrible taste, depending on how you look at it.”

Joey laughs as he scrapes his hair back into a ponytail. The sight is so damn erotic my cock jumps in anticipation of what might be about to happen.

“Because I’m your employee?” Joey asks.

“Exactly.”

“Why don’t we pretend for tonight that I’m not?”

I snort. “Don’t think it works that way.”

Then Joey sets his hands on my thighs. Strong, veiny hands that slowly shift my legs open wider. “We’re the ones making the rules,” he says before slowly folding to his knees.

I never thought I’d see the day Joey Manning was on his knees in front of me. Fuck me, it’s a view. Shrewd eyes, hard features, determination set into every angle. The slightest chunk of hair has fallen out of his knot, and this time, instead of ignoring it, I reach forward to tuck it behind his ear.

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