Page 8 of Boss with Benefits (Boss of Seduction #6)

Brady downed a shot and signaled for the passing waitress to bring him another.

He and his closest friend, the only one who knew his real name, met for drinks once a week and twice for their shrink sessions.

They usually watched a game on the big screen, but he wasn’t in the mood tonight.

All he could think about was Jessica. Seeing her interact with her son at the zoo earlier had been enlightening.

She was even a better mother than he’d originally thought and deserved to keep her son.

The waitress returned with another shot for him and a beer for his friend.

Deacon openly flirted with her even though he was married.

It didn’t mean anything. He flirted with everything in a skirt, but he never followed through.

For some reason, his wife didn’t seem to mind.

That was what confused Brady the most. If he lived to be a thousand, he wouldn’t understand marriage. Or women.

Despite his friend’s attempt to stir up interest in the waitress, she made it clear she wanted Brady. Her fingers trailed along his arm when she set his drink in front of him, and her eyes invited him to make a move.

Problem was, he couldn’t stop thinking about Jess.

He lifted the shot glass to his lips and threw his head back, quickly downing the whiskey.

Another layer of gauze wrapped around him.

Cozy. Feeling numb, he leaned back in his chair and glanced up at the TV.

One of the players in red fumbled the ball.

A few guys at the corner table voiced their displeasure.

Loudly. There was also some grumbling from people at the bar.

Brady couldn’t remember who was playing.

“Hey,” Deacon said, snapping his finger in front of Brady’s face. “What’s up? Why are you working on a hangover?”

“Huh? What’d you say?”

Brady had to run the sentences through his mind twice before he caught the meaning. A nice, fuzzy feeling had settled over his entire body. He couldn’t feel his tongue. Or maybe he could and he was just imagining things. Weird.

“You okay, man?” Deacon asked.

Brady wasn’t drunk, not yet, but he was having a hard time thinking in straight lines. “Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“You know you can tell me anything,” Deacon said. “I’ve kept your secrets a secret so far, haven’t I?”

“That’s when I’m on the couch. You have to keep them for your doctor-patient con-fi-den... con-fi-den… you-know-what thing to make sense.”

Brady thought it was strange and kind of funny talking to a shrink didn’t bother him anymore.

In the beginning, he had fought Deacon on having regular sessions, but they were best friends.

Deacon knew what buttons to push. So they’d been listening to each other’s problems since college, long before his buddy got his license to shrink heads.

They’d been roommates, so maybe Deacon using him as his first patient was only natural

“I can’t stop thinking about Jessica,” he admitted.

Deacon scoffed. “Are you kidding me? This is about some chick? I thought you were immune to the effect women have on us mortal men.”

“So did I.”

Half-mockingly, his best friend said, “Tell Dr. Deke the whole story. Go ahead. What happened?”

“I’m not on the couch right now,” Brady said, feeling instantly defensive. “Stop talking to me like I’m on the couch.”

“I’m still your shrink, even if I’m not on the clock. You’re still protected under the doctor-patient confidentiality rule.”

Brady lifted his empty shot glass when he caught the eye of the passing waitress. In turn, Deacon shook his head at the woman. With a heavy sigh, Brady set his glass down on the table. He quietly prepared his story as people cheered around them. A few launched to their feet.

Both Brady and Deacon looked at the big screen to see what the fuss was all about. One of the teams had scored a touchdown. Brady still wasn’t sure who was playing or if he’d care if he knew.

He leaned over the table and spoke to his friend just loud enough for Deacon to hear. “I really messed up this time.”

“How so?”

“I have a secret. Big secret.”

“Uh-oh.” Deacon looked over the top of his beer mug. “Sounds bad. What did you do?”

“It’s more of a who -did-I-do thing.”

Deacon snorted. “Who was it this time?”

Brady winced. “I slept with Jess. My business partner.”

There was a long, awkward silence followed by…

“W-what?” Deacon squeaked. “Are you saying you gave in and had sex with the goddess you work with? What happened to not mixing business with pleasure, buddy?”

“Just a two-week thing. No strings.”

Deacon shrugged. “So what if you slept with your partner? What’s the big deal? Is she married?”

“No.”

“Boyfriend?”

“No,” Brady said. “She doesn’t have anyone.”

Deacon threw his hands up. “Then what is the problem? She’s beautiful, right?”

Brady’s jaw tightened. “Her stupid ex trying to take her kid… and that’s not the worst part. She has to live like a freaking nun until it’s over. Meaning I can’t touch her.”

“Is this one of your rescue things? You do like a damsel in distress.”

“That’s not what this is about.”

“But she needs your help, right?” Deacon asked.

“We were having a good time.” Brady threw his hands up and made a face. “We were having a great time. Now it’s over. Like that.”

He tried to snap his fingers, but couldn’t for some reason.

“So?” Deacon shrugged. “You would have dumped her sooner or later anyway.”

“Custody cases can take months.”

Deacon advised him. “You can always find someone to keep you company in the meantime. She isn’t the only woman in the world.”

Brady compressed his lips to keep the truth inside. He didn’t want to be with any other woman. At least not at the moment. Other women had temporarily lost their appeal. What had Jessica done to him?

“I don’t know what to do,” Brady repeated.

“If this babe means so much to you, help her get custody,” Deacon said.

“She doesn’t deserve this, man. Devoted mom. She won’t have sex with me ‘til her ex g-goes away.”

“If you help her keep him, she’ll be grateful.” Deacon winked. “Maybe really grateful.”

“Shut up.” Brady chuckled. “You are a j-jerk sometimes.”

“That’s why you love me.” Deacon paused before asking, “So what’s the real problem with her? Is she trying to catch you in the marriage noose?”

“Hell no. She dumped me. The whole thing was no strings. Her idea. She… insisted. Now she doesn’t wanna hook up again. Ever.”

Deacon rolled his eyes. “I still don’t see the problem, man. You’ve always worked that way. Love them and leave them.”

“But she left me .” He thumped his chest with a fist. “And I wasn’t done with her yet.”

“Count yourself lucky and move on.”

“I can’t!”

People close to them looked their way, and Deacon gave them a sheepish smile. Everyone returned to what they were doing before Brady’s outburst. The waitress, a walking angel if he ever saw one, brought him another shot despite Deacon’s protests.

He gratefully accepted.

Deacon grabbed a handful of pretzels. “I’m trying to understand this, seriously trying, but I don’t get it. You have beautiful models offering themselves to you on a daily basis. What is so special about this one woman that has you unraveling?”

Brady wasn’t sure he could put it in words. There was something about Jessica. When she was nearby, he couldn’t take his eyes off her, and when she wasn’t, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. The attraction wasn’t just about her appearance either.

He slowly shrugged, and he slightly slurred his words. “Everything she does is beautiful.”

“Wow. You have it bad, man.”

Brady threw back another shot of whiskey and glowered at the world around him.

He didn’t feel like spending time with people, not even his best friend.

Unfortunately, he was too drunk to drive.

If he left Deacon’s watchful eye, he might do something stupid like contact Jessica.

In his current state of mind, he’d probably beg her for another chance.

“Ugh,” he grunted. “What do I do, man? I have never felt this way. I’m supposed to dump them . I get bored. Jessica. There is something different about her. I think I could sleep with her for months, years… and never get bored.”

“There’s your problem,” Deacon said. “She dumped you, and you feel emasculated. So find a way to get her to agree to one more hook-up. Then dump her . You’ll feel better.”

They watched the game until they figured out who was playing. Brady switched to coffee so he wouldn’t do anything stupid. He wanted to make plans to help Jessica with her custody problem, but he couldn’t do it yet.

First, he had to sober up.

Then he needed to make sure he wanted to intervene before doing anything too risky. He had to reassess the situation. In other words, would helping her be worth the risk to his contented lifestyle?

∞∞∞

Against her better judgment, Jessica allowed Brady into her condo later that night.

She smelled whiskey on his breath before he crossed the threshold.

Part of her was annoyed, and the other part was worried.

For him. Brady never drank anything stronger than beer, and he kept those to no more than two in one evening. Why had he broken his own rule?

She led him to her bedroom, because it was on the other side of the condo from Axl’s. Finger to her lips, she motioned for Brady to be quiet until the door was firmly shut behind them.

Then she turned on him, hands on hips. “What is wrong with you? Why were you drinking? Did something happen?”

“Yeah, something happened.” He glowered at her. “We had sex, and I can’t stop thinking about you.”

His eyes raked down her body, and she pulled the tie around her silk robe to secure it, feeling suddenly naked. Exposed. Like him, she hated being caught in a vulnerable position.