Page 55 of Beneficial Misfortune

Wrong again.

The tattoos that cover his chest and back are anything but small. In fact, I’m pretty sure he has more ink than skin showing.

I manage to clear my throat, but not without drawing attention to myself. Attention that I desperately do not want right now, but even despite that, I can’t seem to pull my eyes away. I move up his chest until our eyes meet, his lips turn up in a smirk, and I get the feeling he knows exactly how fucking hot he is.

The others all follow suit, and thankfully, I have no more food to choke on because, despite the fact that I’ve seen Alex and Desmond naked, I’m still left speechless. Add in Oliver and Vincent, and I’m damn near drooling.

“Come on, Kat!” Addison yells as she races toward me with a bright smile on her face. “It’s family swim time!” Her words warm my heart, and she doesn’t even seem to realize it.

She tugs on my hand, and I push to stand, quickly pulling off my dress as I go. I get the feeling she’s not going to pause to let me get it off, and I’d rather not be weighed down by it.

Addison is in such a hurry that I don’t get a moment to let the embarrassment sink in, despite the fact that I can feel their eyes on me. I’ve been a blushing mess since I walked out here, and with all of them shirtless, I’m not sure I could get much more red, so at least that’s something.

It’s still a little early, but today has been a long day, and I’m exhausted. After a shower, I pull on some sleep shorts and a tank top and climb up into bed, grabbing my book off the nightstand.I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately, and I doubt I’ll get far tonight with the way my eyelids feel, but reading always relaxes me.

My eyes have just started drooping when a knock at the door echoes through the room, making me jump and drop my book.

Damn it, I have no idea what page I was on.

The knock sounds again, and I drop it on the table to worry about later before moving from the bed to the door.

It’s not until I’ve pulled it open and heat flares in Alex’s eyes as he looks me up and down that I remember I’m in very little clothes right now. He doesn’t say anything, watching me as I take a step back and to the side to hide behind the door as I feel my face heat.

“Um… What can I do for you?” I ask, unable to stand the stretch of silence.

Alex leans in, bracing his forearm against the door frame, looking completely at ease despite my lack of clothing, or maybe because of it, and damn him and his ability to make everything look good.

“Nate wanted to see you in his office if you had a moment,” he says with a smile as he continues to shamelessly look me up and down, making me feel more exposed than I am.

“Oh,” I say stupidly as worry turns my stomach.

Have I done something wrong?

“Ok, just let me change.” I hook my thumb over my shoulder as if he doesn’t know I’d change in my room and almost groan with how dumb that probably sounded.

Instead of putting my foot farther in my mouth, I simply move to close the door and change, only for it to stop abruptly.

Alex leans in closer, and I realize he’s stopped it with his foot.

“It’s nothing formal, no need to change.” His voice is deeper now than it was a moment ago. It rolls over me, and I have to bitethe inside of my cheek to stop myself from shivering as I clench my thighs together.

I’m not wearing any real underwear. Technically, the shorts I have on are underwear, but I sleep in them because they are comfortable. But they are in no way something I should walk around in outside of my room and definitely not something I should, under any circumstances, go and see my boss in.

Before I can say as much, he reaches out, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him down the hall. I stutter out weak protests, but if he hears me, he doesn’t acknowledge me, and before I know it, we’re standing in front of another door at the end of the hall.

Alex raps his knuckles on the door, pushing it open a second later without giving enough time for a response.

Not five minutes ago, I’d been cuddled up in my bed with a book on the verge of sleep, and now I stand in Nathan’s office, severely underdressed, with Nathan’s eyes burning into me from his spot behind his desk and Alex’s grip lighting me up from the inside out.

Fuck.

Chapter 19

He’s going to fire me.

Even if he wasn’t going to before, he probably will now. His eyes roam over me, starting at my face before slowly working their way down to my bare feet and back up again. Unlike with Alex, Nathan’s face is blank; there's no hint of what he’s feeling or thinking. It should be a good thing. At least he doesn’t look disgusted with me, but in our short few weeks of getting to know each other, he’d seemed more open with me. Whereas he gave people like Trevor and Barbara nothing, I was used to hints of his emotions.

Being on this side of him is terrifying, and for the first time, I think I understand why Trevor tucked tail and ran that day in my classroom.

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