Page 9 of Boss with Benefits (Boss of Seduction #6)

He looked at the full-sized bed, but she did everything she could to keep her eyes from drifting in that direction.

Unfortunately, she’d been in it when he knocked.

The creamy sheets were pulled back, rumpled, and there was a definite indention where her head had rested on the pillow.

The bedroom had similar floor-to-ceiling windows as the living area, so she steered him away from them in case someone was watching.

“You are being ridiculous,” she said. “You’ve slept with hundreds of women, and no one ever gets under your skin. You don’t want me, Brady. You’re just sore I broke it off before you could.”

“That’s what Deacon said.”

Oh, great . He was talking to his friends about her. That was a good way for rumors to spread about them hooking up. What was he thinking? If she was going to retain custody of her little boy, she had to be above reproach. Had he forgotten or did he just not give a damn?

Brady’s hands came up slowly. He cupped her face between them, gently.

His thumbs smoothed over her cheeks, and his eyes captured hers.

Passion shone in them. He wanted her. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind of how desperately he wanted her.

The problem was, she had to play the part of a saint. Their timing couldn’t be worse.

His head lowered, and his mouth got ready to capture hers. She turned her face away at the last second. Hurt flashed in his eyes, but he quickly recovered. She didn’t want to cause him pain. Maybe if she explained, it would make things better between them.

“You know we can’t,” she said. “I have to be a perfect angel. Remember? Your lawyer told me I should get married and buy a house before going to court. It’s the only way I can be sure of a win.”

Brady blinked. “Married? You told me you just needed a house.”

He looked at her in a slightly accusing way as if he thought she was trying to trick him into marrying her.

Insulting was the first word to come to mind.

She would blast him, but he wouldn’t remember it in the morning.

Unless he passed out in her condo, he wouldn’t even know he’d shown up to speak to her.

“You’re drunk,” she said. “And I’m not in the mood to deal with your issues right now. Let me call you a cab.”

“Wanna hear a secret?” he asked.

“No.” She went to the nightstand and grabbed her land-line phone. “Keep it to yourself, whatever it is.”

“If I could fall in love, I’d fall in love with you.”

The admission knocked her for a mental loop, and she dropped the phone.

It bounced. While she put it back where it belonged, back in its cradle, she considered taking advantage of Brady’s honesty.

They’d been partners for years, but she barely knew him.

The man definitely liked his privacy. Maybe she could get a few answers while he was vulnerable.

She sat on the edge of the bed. “Why do you think you’re incapable of falling in love?”

“I didn’t say I was in-cape-bull. Any fool can fall in love. But I won’t. I refuse to.” He folded his arms, reminding her of Axl when he was being defiant. “I’ll never love anyone.”

His somber as-a-matter-of-fact tone nearly brought tears to her eyes.

She’d always sensed a deep sadness beneath the surface of his easygoing grin and thought he was hiding behind a mask.

At work, he usually bounced between quirky genius and irritated boss.

Brady only seemed truly happy when he was gazing through a camera lens.

He scanned the room. She watched, curious, as he crossed the floor and collapsed into the corner chair. Not a graceful descent by any stretch of the imagination—more like surrendering to total exhaustion. Or to the booze. His eyelids lowered.

She leaped to her feet. “No, no, no. You cannot fall asleep here.”

If she was being watched by an overzealous investigator, Randy would have the proof he needed to at least show her morals were in question.

And her son was down the hall asleep.

That wouldn’t look good to the judge.

She pulled on Brady, trying in vain to get him on his feet.

There was no way she could lift him without his cooperation.

His head dropped forward, and he began to snore.

Panic set in. She couldn’t think of a way out of the mess she’d created by letting him in the door. How could she possibly fix this?

An idea came to her, and she prayed it would work. She fished his cell phone out of his pocket. Hopefully, his buddy wasn’t drunk tonight. She pressed Deacon’s name and waited for him to answer.

“Hello?” a groggy voice muttered.

“Is this Deacon? Brady’s friend?”

The man on the other end was immediately alert. “Is he okay? Did he have an accident? I put him in a taxi myself, so I know he wasn’t driving.”

“Brady is fine,” she said. “He showed up at my condo drunk out of his skull and passed out. I need him gone. Now.”

There was a lengthy pause.

“Is this Jessica by any chance?”

Her eyes narrowed on her unwanted visitor in the chair while speaking to his friend. “Yes. Did he tell you my ex is suing for custody of my son?”

“He did indeed.”

“Then you know I can’t have him staying the night here. Either you come get him or I’ll be forced to call someone else, like the police.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go that far.” She heard rustling and imagined he was trying to get dressed in a hurry. “I’ll pick him up.

“I’ll text you my address. Hurry. Please. I might have a private investigator watching my condo.”

Deacon chuckled. “Don’t worry, hon. If there’s a private eye on your case, he’s watching the building, not your bedroom door.

All he saw was your boss go into the building.

There’s no way for him to know or prove Brady came to see you.

But just to be sure, I will make sure anyone out there sees me load him into my car. ”

Relief flooded through her, making her so happy she didn’t bother to correct his use of the term boss . “Thank you.”

“On my way.”

After Brady’s friend hung up, she got dressed.

Then she made it a point to pace in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area.

Any investigator with a brain would be watching from his car with binoculars.

She made sure anyone watching from the street would see she was fully-clothed and walking around her home, not rolling in the hay with her partner.

∞∞∞

Her first impression of Deacon: he was all talk.

He was one of those guys that acted like a straight-up ladies’ man when he was actually faithful to his wife.

The moment she opened the door, his appreciative gaze traveled down her body until it reached her feet.

She was thankful to be in a pantsuit instead of her robe.

For some reason, even though she was positive she’d woken him from a deep sleep, he was wearing a three-piece suit.

It seemed strange to her he hadn’t just thrown on a T-shirt and jeans.

His gaze lingered on her breasts a second longer than necessary. If she didn’t need his help, she would slap his face. Hard. Men like him came on strong with every woman of consenting age they met, but they ran away if the woman showed any real interest in return.

“Where is he?” Deacon asked, while smoothing back his blond hair with one hand.

“Bedroom.”

His brows shot up. “Really?”

She glared at him. “We went in there to talk so we wouldn’t wake my son.” Her eyes darted to the hallway leading to Axl’s bedroom. “And you need to keep your voice down so you don’t disturb him either.”

Deacon nodded. “Understood.”

“I’m afraid Brady is out cold. Can you manage him without help?”

“This isn’t my first rodeo, darling, and he’s never totally passed out. I’ll get him moving. Don’t worry.”

She forced a smile. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He glanced around her condo as he stepped inside and checked out the sleek modern style she’d copied from a magazine. “You have a lovely home. Pricey. You must do well.”

“I’m part owner of Brady’s advertising agency.”

“Got it.” Deacon chuckled beneath his breath. “Then you do very well. Brady has the Midas touch. Everything he does produces pure gold.”

She couldn’t argue with his assessment. “This way,” she said.

They went down the hallway, careful to be quiet so they wouldn’t disturb Axl. She carefully shut her bedroom door behind them and gestured to Brady snoring in the chair. He hadn’t moved a muscle.

Deacon glanced around the master bedroom.

His gaze lingered on the bed, and she saw the dirty smirk slide across his mouth.

Despite her explanation for Brady’s presence in her bedroom, Deacon suspected they’d been doing more than just talking.

Then she recalled Brady’s telling his friend about their affair. How much did he know?

Curious, she asked, “What did Brady tell you about me?”

Deacon froze, and she could tell he was weighing his options, not sure how much he could say without breaking Brady’s confidence. “Well... he told me you were partners.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “When he showed up drunk tonight, he let it slip he talked to you about our two-week fling.”

Deacon’s eyes narrowed. “I am the keeper of his secrets. You aren’t getting anything out of me, lady. But I will admit he talked about you earlier. The guy is crazy about you.”

“He is?” That surprised her to hear.

“Duh. He showed up here drunk, didn’t he? I’m sure he must have said something damning considering his state. I know liquor loosens his tongue. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t usually drink more than a beer or two.”

That brought up an interesting question.

“Why was he drinking hard liquor tonight?” she asked.

Deacon hesitated.

She sighed. “Based on what he told me before passing out, I think I already know. I just need a little confirmation.”

Deacon hung his head for a moment and sighed.

Then he put his hands on his hips and confronted her with the truth. “I haven’t seen him do shots in years. He was messed up tonight, lady, and I think you know why.”

She kept her mouth shut. Staring at people without saying a word gave them permission to keep talking. Sometimes they said more than they meant to, and that was what she wanted now. Brady had taught her the tactic.

Deacon didn’t let her down. “You have the guy twisted in knots,” he said. “I don’t know what you did to him. I mean, you must be really something in the sack for him to be so broken over you ending things.”

“We agreed at the start it would be a two-week fling.”

Deacon shrugged. “Whatever. All I know is my buddy is a mess because of you. I don’t see how the two of you can work together after this. You can’t dangle the carrot in front of the horse’s face on a daily basis and not expect him to keep trying for it.”

She folded her arms. “What are you saying?”

“Be a decent person and quit. If you don’t feel the same way he feels, sell him your part of the agency and walk. Quit before you do some real damage.”

“Since you know Brady so well, I’m sure you realize he doesn’t want marriage. Or any other sort of commitment.”

“Doesn’t mean he wants to be dumped.”

She made a frustrated noise deep in her throat. “I will make it clear to him once he’s sober that we can go another round after the custody issue is settled. Okay? He’ll get over me real quick if I make myself available. He only wants me because I put an end to it before he could.”

Deacon grinned. “Exactly what I told him.”

“So glad we agree. Now can you get him out of here before the investigator thinks I’m doing two men at once?”

Brady groaned when Deacon pulled on him.

“Wake up,” Deacon said. He gave Brady a gentle slap on his cheek. “Open your eyes, buddy. We gotta go.”

Jessica shook Brady with one hand on his arm. “You’re going to get me in big trouble if you don’t wake up and leave. Come on.”

One of Brady’s eyes popped open. “Huh? Jess? Is it you?”

“That’s right, stud,” she said. “You passed out in my bedroom.”

Both eyes opened wide, and he looked around. “I’m in your bedroom?”

“My son is asleep down the hall, and a private investigator might be watching my condo. Get up, and get out.”

Brady gaped at his friend as if noticing him for the first time. “Deacon? What are you doing here?”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “We’re having a party. It’s over now. Go home.”

Deacon helped Brady to his feet and held onto him as the big guy wobbled.

Her hands flew to Brady’s chest to steady him.

His arm automatically went around her shoulders, while the other snaked around Deacon’s.

They walked him to the front door. He didn’t lean very much on her, so she figured he was putting twice the weight on his friend. Deacon didn’t complain or stumble.

When they reached the door, Jessica pushed his arm off her. “You can take it from here, right?” she asked Deacon.

He nodded. “I got him.”

Brady gave his friend a dirty look before turning his vulnerable gaze in her direction. He slurred his words slightly. “Hope I didn’t wake your kid or say anything… dumb.”

She forced a smile. “Not at all. See you tomorrow.”

He glanced at his watch. “Is tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll see you later today.”

“Sleep in if you want,” he said. “We don’t have a meeting or anything. You can sleep.”

She laughed without humor. “I have a kid, Brady. Mothers don’t get to sleep in. I’ll be at the office on time as usual.”

With a gentle push, she got both men out the door. Then she shut it before any of her neighbors could happen along and see them. No one could prove they were visiting her as long as she didn’t get caught talking to them. All she had to do was go to bed now. Problem solved.

Or was it?