Page 67 of The Broker

I pretended I didn’t see any red flags. And even if I did, I sensed it wasn’t enough to make me stop.

“This means we need to stop our arrangement of you cleaning my house.”

Alarm had her straightening in her seat. “What? Why?”

“It’s a weird situation, you working for me while we’re...”

While we’re what?Fucking?In a relationship?

I wasn’t sure what to say since we hadn’t defined anything yet.

“I get that, but I need the job, and,” she lifted a shoulder, “I thought you knew how to compartmentalize.”

This was a dig at what I’d told her when I’d said we weren’t allowed to kiss, and although I deserved it, it was still irritating.

And she wasn’t done either. “Plus, you need me.” She laughed casually. “We both know what your house would look like if I wasn’t coming once a week.”

“We need each other,” I corrected through clenched teeth.

I’d revealed a few things to her tonight, but I was still struggling to admit to myself what a difference she’d made in the last six weeks. Not living in clutter and mess had been one of the only things keeping me sane during my big transition.

She acted like she didn’t agree and announced it with a fucking smirk. The attitude she pulled lit me up, and a dark heat took over, seizing control.

“Say it,” I demanded in a voice so commanding it shocked us both.

Charlotte glanced around in disbelief, as if checking to see if anyone else had heard my order. “What?”

“Say that you need me too.”

I’d used a tone that was non-negotiable, leaving her to consider how she wanted to play it. Her eyes narrowed, she lifted her chin in defiance, and she sighed dramatically. “Fine. I need you too,” a devious look darted through her eyes, “Daddy.”

The word poured gasoline on the smoldering fire inside me, burning away all thought.

“I’m going to take you upstairs and fuck that bratty mouth of yours while everyone watches. Is that what you want?” I leanedforward over the table so I could demand her full attention, even though I already had it. “Would you like that, Charlotte?”

My attempt to shock her failed spectacularly. She picked up her cosmo and leaned in, balancing her elbow on the table. “I would.” She made a production out of sipping her drink, while keeping her sultry gaze fixed on me. “I guess that means we’re done talking?”

My impatience wanted to say yes, but we still had things to figure out. I shook my head. “I need to know what kind of relationship you want with me, because I don’t want to hurt you, and if we—”

“You won’t.”

It felt like I was suddenly two steps behind. “What?”

“You don’t have to worry about hurting me. It won’t happen, because I’ve decided you can’t.” She said it with the certainty of an inarguable fact. As if it was that simple and avoidable. “You decided you don’t have time for love, right? Well, no problem. I’ve decided I don’t have time for heartache.”

My mouth dropped open.

How the fuck was I supposed to argue with that?

“Here’s how I see this going,” she said. “Neither of us wants anything serious, so I say let’s just have fun and see what happens.” Her head tilted as she pondered something. “Friends with benefits, if you want to put a label on it.”

I stared at her, feeling a mixture of excitement and something vaguely like disappointment at the same time. This was exactly what I wanted, right? So why did it feel like it wasn’t enough?

It was foolish to ask, but I did anyway, wanting to clarify. “Friends with benefits, who are exclusive?”

Her throat bobbed with a swallow. “Well, if we’re exclusive, then how am I supposed to watch you fuck other people?”

Thoughts swam in my head. “You’d be okay with that? Being with other people while we’re together?”

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