Page 51 of A Secret and a Lie

The best kiss of my life.

Six of the most glorious words I’ve heard, which are the only explanation for my lighter mood over the last few days. I’m starting to think that bugging Gen’s phone was beneficial, even if I haven’t actually gotten any useful information other than her commentary about our date when speaking with her friend. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve taken on more of the Crawford Enterprises duties now that we’ve closed on an acquisition deal, and I haven’t heard from Jackson in two days.

It’s felt like a glimpse through the window of what my life could’ve been like if Genevieve and I had met in an alternate universe. Now that I’ve taken a peek at what could’ve been, I’m struggling even harder with reality.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I somehowknowthat this call will pop my bubble of reprieve with the sharpest needle on the market.

Fishing the phone from my pants pocket, I curl my lip. I was right.

With a groan, I swipe to answer, snapping, “What?”

“Where are you on her dossier?”

I lean back in my desk chair, a headache blossoming at my temples. “Why are you calling me right now? I’m at myfuckingjob, Jackson. We agreed that we’d schedule calls or that you would only call after eight in the evenings.”

“Can you talk now or not?”Asshole.

Jackson and I have never gotten along, but that’s worse than ever these days. I blame him for my last op going south. He should’ve given me the updated intel instead of deciding to sit on it until he thought it’d be relevant. It nearly got me killed.

While it’s not his fault thatMadam Allisonis my current assignment, he’s been a bigger dick than usual. And the callousness in which he treats everyone is irritating. He’s not a nice guy, which is probably why all four of his ex-wives left him. What I can’t figure out is why they’d agreed to marry him in the first place.

Just then, there’s a knock on my office door, and my assistant enters, dipping his chin curtly as he places a folder on my desk and leaves, shutting the door softly with asnick.

“Make it fast,” I grit.

“Can you get to her little black book, or wherever she keeps a list of those damn secrets?”

“Maybe.” I don’t know where she keeps her secrets, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s not at her office. I’ve been hoping to stick to my less-risky approach to this op, but it’s clear that’s no longer an option.

“Have you fucked her?”

Jesus.“No, and I’ve told you a million fucking times, I amnotfucking her.” Not like this.

“Look, I get it. You don’t want to be where a thousand men have been before you, but you need to have sex with her so we can nail her for solicitation. Right now, everything is circumstantial. We can probably piece together who the clients are, but weneedthe sexual encounter either way.”

Rage rattles my hands, and if I could reach through the phone and rip out his throat, I would. He’s obscenely offensive.

It’s not that I don’t want to have sex with Genevieve, it’s that I want her to want me without being paid. I want her on her knees for me of her own volition, willingly submitting to me.

What Jackson doesn’t know is that I’ve been crafting a plan, something ironclad. But the solution I’ve been working on is something she’ll be decidedly unhappy about.

But I won’t be. I’ll enjoy every second of it.

I’ve made mistakes, done countless things I regret, but this won’t be one of them, even if she hates me for it. I won’t be satisfied until she’s permanently at my side, in my bed, kneeling at my feet.

Rubbing at my jaw, I resist the urge to kill this cocksucker. Fuck it, I still might, who knows.

“I’ll see if I can dig up some dirt on a few of her other clients, but I’m not fucking this woman on behalf of the government.”

I’ve already killed for them; they can’t control where I stick my dick, too.

“Whatever you dig up, better be good enough to hold her tight little ass,” he warns, and I swear my mandible nearly cracks in half with the force in which I grind my teeth. “Otherwise, your dick better find its way inside her.”

“You’re a goddamn asshole, Jackson.” I hang up before he can retort.

“Thanks for doing this,” I mutter into the comms unit.

“This is way more interesting than the paperwork I’m supposed to be filling out,” Drake remarks from the nondescript van across the street. “The lights are out, and her phone isn’t picking up any audio. Nick in cyber remotely hacked into her cameras, and her kitchen is dark.”