Page 57 of One Bad Idea

"What?"

"I wanted to see for myself."

"Seewhatfor yourself?"

"What kind of pussy calls the cops on girl trying to rescue her friend."

My breath caught. "Oh." I sat back in my seat. Of all the things I'd been expecting him to say, this wasn't even on the list. It was surprisingly chivalrous and more thoughtful than I ever would've imagined.

In a very quiet voice, I said, "Thank you. For everything, really."

He frowned. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don’t thank me."

"Why not?" I asked. "You did me a huge favor."

"No. I didn't."

"But—"

"I wasn't doing it for you."

A new rush of heat flooded my face. And here, I thought the whole blowjob thing had been awkward. But for some stupid reason, this exchange felt ten times worse, because I had no idea what to say.

Into the silence, I stammered, "Oh. Right. I mean, I know. You were probably doing it for Jax, right?"

"No." He paused as if thinking. "Sure, he told me to handle it. But I wasn't doing it for him."

"Then who?"

"Me."

I stared across the table. "I don't get it. Why you?"

His gaze met mine. "Why not?"

Huh?

That was no kind of answer, and now, I didn't know what to say.

Happily, I was saved the trouble when the waitress appeared with two sandwiches – the chicken salad for me and the pastrami for him. As she set them on the table, she looked to Jaden and practically cooed, "Can I get you anything else, Mister Bishop."

"No. We're good." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Thanks."

When she left, I couldn’t resist saying, "MisterBishop?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, you told me not to ever call you that."

"Yeah, but she's not you."

I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I didn't dare assume anything. If he were anyone else, I might think this was a gesture of friendship or maybe something more.

But this was Jaden Bishop. And for the most part, we hadn't been friendly. Besides, he was still my employer.