Page 41 of Filthy Liar

“Anytime.” He picks the lemons off his rice bowl. “I need to remember to tell them to leave these off next time.”

I laugh. “More for those of us who love them. I grew up eating them like oranges. Love me some acid on my food. Limes, too. So good.”

“Get out of my office,” he says fondly. “Jason is waiting for you.”

I grin. “I’ve missed this. Don’t tell him I said this, but I am genuinely sorry that I deceived you guys before. Working here was a genuine joy. You were my friends for real.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” He winks. “Now get out so I can be a picky eater in peace.”

I’m giggling as I arrive in Jason’s office.

“Wilson entertained you?”

“Something like that. He was always my fav, you know.”

“I’ll choose not to be offended by that,” Jason murmurs. His desk is spread with takeout containers, and the echo of a time long ago hits me right in the chest.

“You were my secret favorite for other reasons.”

“Were?”

“I don’t have favorites any more. Life got too complicated for that.”

“Fair enough. Sit. Eat.”

I dig in. “Wilson’s changed. He’s softer.”

“Becoming a father will do that to a guy, I’ve heard.”

My head swivels to the doorway, to the hallway I just came from, then snaps back to Jason. “He has a kid?”

He nods. “Two of them now. A girl and a baby boy.”

“Aww.” That makes me happy. “What are their names?”

Jason smirks. “None of your business.”

I deserve that. “Okay.”

“No, for real. He keeps that secret. We don’t know, either.”

That honestly doesn’t surprise me. “I’ve missed a lot.”

“You haven’t been watching?”

How do I explain that I left because I couldn’t spy on him? I turned my back, and I meant it. I stayed away foryears. “No.”

His gaze is piercing. Analytical. “There’s more to it than that.”

“Isn’t there always?” I part my lips and tease the corner of my mouth with the tip of my tongue. Wet, slick. Pink. I’m offering him a distraction and we both know it. “Have you interrogated me enough?”

“I thought it was the other way around.” His gaze stays locked on my mouth.

Do you want me on my knees?

I would suck him off for the joy of it, but if he thinks I’m offering my mouth to get out of this conversation, that’s fine, too.

But he’s not done with questions. “Why Melinda?”

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