Page 13 of Entice

It took her a minute to realize he was talking about something to drink. “Beer please.” She should have water or soda, but she enjoyed beer with pizza. Plus, she was eating and wouldn’t be driving for a while.

“Here you go.” He handed her a tall glass filled with amber liquid.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He took a seat next to her. “You mentioned something happened at the office today? I haven’t had a chance to read all my email yet.”

“Yeah.” She took a sip of her beer before setting it on the coaster on the side table. “Since you said you’re the sole owner, I’m going with Johnson works for you.”

“Yes. He came in about three years ago. I’ve been considering opening up to a partnership. What did he do?” Jordan set his beer down and looked at her. Tension in the room ratcheted up.

“Not so much me. I can take care of myself. But he was rude to Valerie and Kendra.”

“What did he say?” Jordan’s voice grew low and cold.

Crystal shivered. “He told Valerie she was incompetent. He said Kendra was ignoring his complaints, and he was a partner.” Her voice filled with anger.

“Hey.” He held his hands up. “I’m on your side. I’ll talk with Johnson. I told him if he ran off another receptionist, there’d be hell to pay.” The tension lessened.

“Thank you. Valerie works hard, and Kendra does too. They don’t need this kind of crap.”

“Oh?”

Crystal shifted under his pointed gaze. “I know not everything runs smoothly in an office, but I don’t think a lawyer should abuse their staff.” Why did she feel the weight of his stare like a naughty child sent to the principal’s office? Although she wouldn’t mind if Jordan took her over his knee.

Whoa! Where didthatthought come from?

“Thank you for being honest with me, and I agree with you.” The doorbell pealed, and Jordan jumped up. “Dinner. Be right back.”

The interruption couldn’t have come at a better time. What in the hell had she been thinking, envisioning Jordan spanking her? She worked for him, and even with a signed employment contract that said she had a job no matter what happened between them, they were still co-workers. Hadn’t she learned workplace romances never worked?

The smell of pizza hit her senses before Jordan walked back into the room. Her stomach growled.

“Food. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got half meat lovers and half cheese. Plus a salad.” He slid the box onto the large wood coffee table. “I’ll go grab some plates and utensils.”

Crystal opened the salad box so it was ready when he came back. She dished up some salad, drizzled dressing over it, and took a slice of pizza. They ate in silence, both hungry. Jordan sat back after he finished off his fifth slice of pizza.

“I can’t believe you ate five pieces,” she said, closing the salad box.

“Breakfast was a muffin, and since I missed lunch, I was starving.”

“What happened? You said you didn’t plan to be in court all day.”

“Problem with a witness.” He turned toward her. “Tell me about your research and what questions you have.”

Crystal turned and adjusted her legs under her, making sure her skirt covered her legs. “Well, I started working with the acronyms you left me.”

“Did they not make sense?”

“Hardly. I tried looking them up on the internet and became more confused.”

“I see.” He rubbed his chin.

Crystal’s stomach churned. She wanted to work with Jordan, but if he was having second thoughts… “I’m sorry I’m not more informed about the lifestyle.”

“Don’t be. You were upfront with me. I’m trying to think of a way to bring you up to speed a bit quicker.”

“I know what SSC and RACK mean—safe, sane, and consensual, and risk-aware consensual kink—but what does it mean in the lifestyle? Safe for whom? Sane? That can mean a million things. Consensual is self-explanatory. Isn’t all of this a little subjective? Who decides what’s safe or sane? I get the risk-aware part. You’re aware of the risk but do it anyway as long as everyone consents.”

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