Page 52 of Teasing Her Grumpy Boss

He hung up. Stared at the phone. Stared at his timesheet. Stared out the window. Horribly afraid Lara was right.

* * *

After work he walked slowly to the bar. He didn’t want to tell her. This was Lucy—‘leave it when the going gets tough’ Lucy. She of the goldfish-sized attention span, who’d never held down a job for more than a few months.

The minute Lucy found out the club was going to be put up for sale she’d pack her bags and move on. But Daniel wasn’t ready for her to. He wanted to be able to finish with her himself before she departed.

Simple solution. He wouldn’t tell her—not yet. An omission, not a lie. He’d buy himself a little more time to slake the crazy lust he had for her.

He was sure it would go. She was like the holiday he hadn’t had in a while. That was why he was tempted to come and hang out at her bar. Play pool, sit on the balcony with her and watch the world go by. Spend half an hour reading the paper. Spend a whole hour in bed together and not even doing anything.

He’d ride it out a while longer. Then he’d be back to normal and embracing his overly full schedule again instead of wishing like crazy he could dump half the load and focus on the aspects he really enjoyed.

He rubbed his hand across his forehead, the ache for her burning into him again. It really would fade, wouldn’t it? This desire to be with her? Because if it didn’t, then he was the one in really big trouble.

FOURTEEN

You make your decisions spontaneously

Daniel arrivedat the bar earlier than usual. He had a look in his eye that hit Lucy’s concern switch immediately. Something was up. What?

‘Lara’s been in touch.’

‘Oh, yeah?’ Feigning casual interest. Of course this had been going to happen. Only ever a short stint. Just like normal. She’d been chasing dreams. ‘She’s coming back?’

‘No.’

‘No?’ Her heart started the acceleration process—speedway-style.

‘She’s…ah… still deciding on her future.’ He looked down at the bar, his brow pleated.

‘Oh.’ She shuffled a couple of coasters. ‘So you’re needing me for longer than the three weeks, then?’

He nodded sharply. ‘Yeah. I’m not sure how long for—play it by ear, shall we?’

Were they talking about her job as bar manager or something more?

She wasn’t about to ask. Daniel was a cool player. She’d play it even cooler. Poker face. Hope for the ace. ‘Sure.’

Someone to sleep with. That was all he was supposed to be.

But he was no longer a good-looking but two-dimensional suit. He was arrogant but understanding. Tough but gentle. Focused but funny. And she was so far in love with him she couldn’t think straight any more. All she knew was that she lived for the nights when, like tonight, he pulled her close and she could pretend to herself that he needed her. That maybe, just maybe, he cared.

As soon as she woke he hugged her to him. ‘What are you doing this morning?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Maybe go into the club and get ahead on the accounts.’

‘No, don’t do that. Why not go for a swim? You haven’t been in ages.’ He swirled a pattern on her stomach with his finger. ‘You could meet me for coffee.’

Um. No. She needed to maintain boundaries. Correction. Re-establish boundaries. Carve them in stone. Bed mates. Just good sex. Between utter opposites. Nothing more—and it would be over in the foreseeable future. She didn’t do vulnerable, remember? But she was more vulnerable now than she’d ever been in her life.

‘I really should get a few things done.’

‘Leave the club for a while, go and swim for a bit, have a sauna. Relax.’ He smoothed over her muscles as he spoke, heading south. They were far from relaxing, they were gearing up for another round of Daniel’s full attention. Excited.

‘Okay.’ It was hard not to agree with any thing the man said when he was doing that. She’d agree to anything so long as he didn’t stop.

A couple of hours later once she’d snoozed and showered she decided against his advice. She wanted to have the club in top-notch order for when Lara got back. Have the books balanced, the stock management under control and more punters through the door than ever before. She’d got her hopes up that Lara might keep her on. She was comfortable there. It wasn’t too big, it was stylish and it was fun. And, yes, she wanted to stay on. For the first time she wasn’t looking to jump ship to another opportunity as soon as one appeared.

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