Page 33 of Spooked

I’d thrown up on his freaking shoes.

“Oh, please. He won’t even let me call him by his first name.”

“I bet he has some weirdFifty Shades of Greything going on. Has he mentioned his palm twitching?”

“What? No!”

“But he does have a sex dungeon, so there’s that.”

“It’s nothissex dungeon. It’s for the clients. I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.” And it was time to change the subject. “How are things going with Alfie?”

Her silence told me what her words didn’t. That the situation hadn’t improved, but she was trying to put a brave face on things.

“Getting better, I think? He said he’d help me to move some rocks tomorrow.”

“That’s great news!” Did I sound enthusiastic enough? I hoped so. “Maybe you could both take a day off and do something fun together? An indoor activity? Alfie’s a good guy, but you’ve both been under a lot of stress lately.”

In Boston, he hadn’t spent much time outdoors, so I could imagine that working on a farm every day was somewhat of a culture shock for him. And Meera got so enthusiastic about the project that she tended to forget he wasn’t actually an ecologist. Alfie had put his own plans on hold so she could follow her dream, and there had to be a little give and take.

“I guess that’s a good idea,” Meera said.

“Let me know how it goes?”

“Always. Update me on the hot boss?”

“Of course.”

“So you’re not denying he’s hot?”

“I’m going to hang up now.”

I was laughing as I did so, but no, I couldn’t deny it. Braxton Vale might have been a world-class asshole, but he was also incendiary.

CHAPTER12

BRAX

“She drank herself into a stupor, almost got abducted, and then passed out. What did you expect me to do, Carissa? Leave her there on the sidewalk?”

“You could have taken her home.”

“I couldn’t find her keys, and she was incapable of telling me where they were.”

“Ever heard of calling a locksmith?”

“At one o’clock in the morning? You’re really reaching now.”

“Why didn’t you put her in one of the rooms on the second floor?”

“Because she’d already vomited at least once, and I didn’t want her to ruin the soft furnishings. We were fully booked the next night. For fuck’s sake, Carissa, haven’t you ever heard of altruism?”

“My lawyer might want to speak with her.”

“Fine. Call her in for a deposition. I’ll give her the morning off, but I’m deducting the cost from your settlement.”

The bitch hung up, and Brax raised his hand to hurl the phone against the wall. Stopped himself just in time. Carissa had cost him three phones this year already, and it was only February. She just had that effect on people.

Brax took a calming breath instead. Carissa wouldn’t depose Meera, not at the moment, but her poking around still left him with a problem. It was becoming harder and harder to deny the effect his new assistant had on him. Not only was she smart and beautiful, but the magic combination of submissive with a hint of feistiness that she struggled to control made his cock stand to attention. If Meera had been compos mentis and willing last night, Carissa might very well have won the divorce war.

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