Page 18 of Puzzle for Two

Zach gave Alton another dubious look, opened the box and…didn’t understand what he was looking at.

Lying in the folds of creamy tissue paper were three pairs of women’s panties. Two pairs of white lace and one pair of black satin.

“Uhhhh…” Zach glanced up in alarm and caught Chico’s brown gaze in the Bentley’s rearview mirror. He blanked that image out, and looked at Alton.

Alton said in a perfectly ordinary tone, “I’d like you to wear these whenever we’re together or speaking on the phone.”

“You’d… No.”

“No?” Alton looked startled.

“Nope.” Zach handed the box back to Alton. Tried to, anyway, but Alton put his hands up as though Zach were offering him a ticking bomb. “Thank you? I guess. But no.” Zach pushed the box at Alton again, and again Alton put his hands up.

“But… Why?”

“Why?”

“Are you offended?” Alton seemed genuinely confused.

“You’re my employer. Of course I’m offended!”

“But…Zach.”

“Alton.”

“Hear me out, if you will,” Alton urged. “These will go a long way to making our little charade seem real.”

“Towhom?” Zach asked. “Who the hell do you think would know?”

“Iwould know.” Alton licked his lips. All at once his face was pale, his eyes fever-bright. Zach’s disquiet shot up another few degrees. “I would know you were wearing them, and it would help me stay in character.”

“Yeah, you’re already enough of a character, Alton.”

Alton gave a shaky laugh. “But you can’t be this naive. You’re a-a man of the world.”

If byman of the worldAlton meant Zach must be aware that some men liked to wear women’s panties, sure. He was a man of the world. Or at least, a man who occasionally read a magazine.

Zach said, “I’m not telling you—I’m not judging. I’m just saying…whatever, butI’mstrictly Fruit of the Loom.”

Alton blinked, said quickly, “You don’t even have to really wear them. Just let methinkyou’re wearing them. It would help—”

“Help?”

“—if I knew these little bits of lace and satin and elastic were caressing you, clinging to your body. If I could picture this soft cotton cradling your testicles, imagine delicate lace rubbing, straining against your penis.”

Zach’s jaw dropped. He made a strangled sound that was somewhere between a hysterical laugh and protest. Alton put his ice-cold fingers against Zach’s lips.

“Wait. Don’t say anything else. Yet. If youshoulddecide that perhaps you want more from me, just tell me you’re wearing the black panties.”

What in the hell was happening?

It wasn’t like Zach felt under assault or threatened. Embarrassed, yes. Discomfited, yes. But with each passing moment, he was less offended and more, well, sorry for Alton, who was clearly getting worked up about the idea of Zach in ladies’ undies. A fetish for women’s underwear wasn’t a sign of anything except an interest Zach didn’t share. That wasn’t the point. The point was his employer was making an unwanted sexual advance. And trying to gaslight him into thinking there wasn’t anything wrong with it. That was not okay.

Zach lightly batted Alton’s hand away. “Don’t take this personally, but I prefer we keep things strictly professional.”

Alton stared for a moment, as if digesting this, then said, “I’ll pay you an extra one hundred dollars an hour to wear these any time we speak, whether in person or on the phone.”

Seriously?

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