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Within a minute, the coughing lessened enough for him to take a drink and drag in a few ragged gasps of air. I’d traded thumping for rubbing. To help him. It was totally to help him and had nothing to do with me wanting to touch him.
“Are you crazy?” Byron demanded in a rough voice when he could speak. “Of course I’m not going to date you. You’re my boss. It’s expressly forbidden in the employee handbook. If anyone found out,I’d lose my job.”
Okay. That was the answer I’d expected. I was prepared for this.
“Sure, but what if I wasn’t your boss?”
“Huh?”
I leaned forward, my forearms resting on my knees. “What if I was some guy who’d walked up to you at Chester’s yesterday and flirted with you? Would you join me for coffee?”
Byron glared for a second before shaking his head and chuckling. “You’re crazy. Nobody does that.”
“I would have. What would you have said if I weren’t your boss?”
I’d expected him to keep his face lowered in embarrassment, but that little minx looked me straight in the face with a smirk tilting one corner of his mouth higher. “I don’t know. Depends on how cheesy the flirting was.”
“Top. Notch. You’re worthy of only my Grade-A, best flirting.”
Byron looked at me for a heartbeat, then broke our stare to make a soft noise like a giggle. “I probably would have agreed.” His wide eyes jumped up to my face. “To coffee.Justcoffee. But this is all nonsense, because you are my boss, and dating isn’t permitted. The risk is too big.”
Oh, that last sentence. Did he even know how dangerous that sentence was?
“In our world, risks are taken every day if there is a big enough potential reward to help mitigate those risks.”
“It’s not only about the risk-reward ratio. You have to take into account the person considering the particular move. For instance, you’re an aggressive risk-taker. You’ll take bigger risks—not because of the rewards, but because you have a larger protective cushion than most people.”
I grinned at Byron, resting my chin on my hand. Was it wrong that I got so turned-on by the man’s big analytical brain? “Go ahead. Say it. I’m rich.”
Byron didn’t say it, but he did roll his eyes at me. “Whereas I am not much of a risk-taker because my protective cushion, should things go disastrously wrong for me, is nonexistent.”
“So, what you’re saying is that the potential reward has to be life-changing.”
“Oh yeah,” he muttered as he picked up his bagel.
There was no planning it better than this. All the pieces were falling into place. This idea had been spinning in my head for most of yesterday and had kept me up well into the night. A door had opened in life to let me have a shot at this amazing man, and there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to take it.
“I have a unique bargain that I’m willing to strike with you.”
“I shouldn’t even be listening to this,” he grumbled before taking a bite of his bagel. Mine lay forgotten on the box table. My stomach was tying and untying itself in knots of excitement and nerves. The solution to getting him to agree to a dating trial had solidified late last night as I’d replayed our conversation at the restaurant in my head. Either he was going to consider it, or he was going to be so insulted that he’d throw me out and start searching for another job.
This time, I waited until he’d finished chewing and had swallowed his bagel. “Go on ten dates with me in exchange for ten years of your brother’s care.”
“What?”
“Ten dates. For each date, I’ll pay for one year of your brother’s care in the new facility that he needs to move to. I’ll pay for all of it. Everything related to your brother Ronnie. Let’s say, two hundred and fifty thousand a year to cover it all.”
Byron’s mouth opened and closed several times as he stared at me. At last, he shut his mouth and shot to his feet. He paced his apartment, but there wasn’t a lot of space for him to move. It didn’t seem to bother him as he shoved both hands into his messy hair.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“I haven’t. I like you.”
“Yeah, I’ve kind of picked up on that.” His voice was a little high-pitched and incredulous as he spoke.
“I hope you’ll consider it. This is life-changing money, right? It will give you some much-needed breathing room. The chance to build your cushion. You’re still young. It will give you a chance to enjoy your life.” There was a lot more I wanted to say about how he could take care of himself better, but I didn’t want to piss him off. Besides, I wanted the job of caring for him.
“I know. Trust me, I know what kind of difference it would make. Do you understand how much money we’re talking?”