Page 74 of Tempt Me

But she didn’t do any of those things. Instead, she hissed at me. “What the fuck was that?”

“What?”

“Don’t give me those doe eyes and pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Why’d you put on the airhead act?”

“Airhead act? I was trying to help.”

“I needed you to be my capable PR consultant, not some Barbie.”

Barbie? The vodka in my stomach roiled. “Then you should’ve introduced me as your consultant. You dismissed me, and I didn’t know what you wanted. I acted the way I thought you needed.”

“I didn’t mean to dismiss you.” The stiffness went out of her spine. “I just…I didn’t know what to do with you once you were here. It’s a delicate time in my business with this partnership on the line.” She rubbed the space between her eyebrows. “I’m sorry I’m not better at this shit.”

I wanted to reach out and pull her into a hug. We probably could have gotten away with a friendly embrace, but we couldn’t afford to take that chance. Not after the photos. Not when Jamila’s new product launch was on the line. So I tried to put all my affection into my gaze as I said, “It’s okay. I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

“You can be the real you around me, you know,” she said. “Next time, call me out. You don’t have to wear that mask. Though maybe not directly in front of Kenneth. Wait until after the release.”

The first genuine smile of the evening broke across my face. “I’ll do my best.”

“I will too. To make up for this disaster of a dinner, I’d like you to come hiking with me this weekend.”

“Hiking on Memorial Day weekend? Might a sleepover be involved?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely. Bring an overnight bag and a swimsuit, no pajamas necessary.”

I held in a squeal. A long weekend with Jamila sounded like heaven. I’d buy some cute hiking boots and put my hair up in a bandana. I thrilled at the imagined snap as she whipped it off and pushed me against the rough bark of a tree.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

Her eyes went molten. “I like the sound of that.”

Insufficiently screened by a potted plant or not, I tipped toward her but froze when my phone buzzed in my hand.

Jamila licked her lips, teasing me. “Guess you’d better go,” she whispered, her voice husky.

“See you at work tomorrow, boss.” With a flip of my hair, I sauntered out of the restaurant and slid into a Toyota that smelled like Axe body spray and hope.

22

“Where are you going?”

If I’d been thirty seconds faster, Mother wouldn’t have caught me with my hand on the front door latch Saturday morning.

Slowly, I turned. “Out?”

I tugged down the high-tech hiking shorts I’d bought on my lunch hour yesterday. I’d rolled them up, half-hoping when Jamila saw the exposed lengths of my thighs, we wouldn’t have to go through the pretense of a hike, and the only exercise we’d get would be in her bed.

“In that?”

She should talk. She wore a burgundy cashmere robe over her silk pajamas.

I cursed the swishy fabric that must have alerted Mother I was sneaking out. I liked my shirt though. It clung to my curves in a way I hoped Jamila would appreciate before she tore it off. It even had snaps instead of buttons.

Mother cleared her throat.

“We’re going hiking.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What about Representative Crawford’s picnic?”

---