Page 18 of Imperfect Player

“Tripp asked me to entertain Mr. Ambrose until he’s free,” I lie.

I’m not sure why I feel the need to explain myself to her, let alone lie, but what’s done is done.

“So?” I ask.

“I’d love some.”

I nod in the direction of my office before entering. Ethan follows, closing the door behind him.

There’s something about the sound of the door shutting that causes my body to tense.

I stand at the coffee machine, preparing to brew him a cup.

“I didn’t really want any coffee,” he tells me. “I just wanted away from . . . her.”

I turn toward him, smiling. “Not a Jessa fan?”

That would be a first.

“She looks at me like I’m a piece of meat.”

“I would assume you would be used to that by now.”

Ethan chuckles. “Not quite so up close and personal.”

I gesture for him to take a seat in the chair that’s situated at the front of my desk. He does, and as I make my way around the desk, he pats the seat next to him.

“I won’t bite,” he tells me.

Something in the look in his eyes tells me that if I asked him to, he most definitely would.

Gingerly, I take the seat next to him.

“Your text the other day was unexpected,” I say. “How exactly did you get my number?”

There’s that look again. His smile a mixture of sex appeal and mischief.

His eyes glance toward the doorway, then back to me.

Jessa.

“I should have known.”

“In her defense, I did tell her that we had very serious business to handle. A conversation that Tripp would be very angry if we didn’t finish.”

“Is that so?” I say, chuckling at just how convincing he is.

If I didn’t know better, I might actually believe him myself.

“It’s so. Very. Important.”

“Funny, I can’t seem to recall what we need to discuss.”

Ethan shakes his head, keeping true to character and his lie. “Business.”

“What kind of business?”

The kind where you splay me out on your bed and have your way with me? It’s the first thought that runs through my head, the thing I want most. The thing I most definitely cannot have.

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