She waited for Hank to add some comments of his own, but the silence in her office continued to lengthen until she knew he was waiting for her reaction. She looked him in the eyes and said, “It’s true, of course, you know that. It came about in a rather different manner from what you would think, but I was out with Seth socially last night.”

She really hoped he didn’t ask for clarification on exactly how the date had happened. Somehow, it seemed a little strange to tell your boss that your mommy had bought you a date for $18,000. “I know that this is a very bad lapse in judgment on my part. I . . . I didn’t mean for anything to happen with him until after my work was finished there.”

Hank ran a hand through his hair, looking like he wished he were anywhere else. “Kid, I don’t need any details here, either. I’m not your daddy or your girlfriend. You are a grown woman and damn good at your job. I know this situation bends the rules all to hell, but I’m just going to pretend that I don’t know anything about this. As far as I’m concerned, I’m taking Suzy’s line and minding my own business. Just please make sure this doesn’t come back to bite both of us in the ass, okay? If you and Jackson can’t keep your . . . whatever . . . off each other, then be discreet about it until we finish up there. We sure don’t need him getting pissed and letting everyone, including Jason Danvers, know about our lapse of policy, so be careful.”

Trying to lighten the mood because Hank looked so miserable, she smirked. “Be careful? You aren’t talking about . . . ?”

He wadded a piece of paper off her desk and threw it at her. “No, you smartass, I’m not giving you a condom speech!” Even though she still had the urge to crawl under her desk and pretend this whole conversation had not happened, she could tell that he appreciated her attempt at humor.

Seth jerked out of bed as his phone shrilled from the nightstand. The clock beside it showed 8:20. Shit! When was the last time he had failed to set his alarm or even needed the alert? His internal clock usually had him up long before he needed to be. He grabbed the phone and saw the office number on the caller ID. “Jackson,” he barked.

“Well, well,” drawled Margie, “are we sleeping in this morning? Your eight o’clock is here. Should I send him down for a free breakfast while you finish up . . . whatever it is you’re doing?” It was times like this when he wasn’t sure if he loved or hated her.

“Fuck,” he snarled into the phone. “Tell Marshall that something came up and reschedule him.” When Margie chuckled, he knew what she was laughing about. Grudgingly he smiled saying, “Don’t even think of commenting on that or I’ll fire you . . . again.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, boss. Are you going to be here for your ten o’clock conference call or do I need to move that as well?”

Seth looked around the bedroom for the first time, wondering where Mia had disappeared. He didn’t see any of her clothing on the floor and the bathroom door was open, showing no sign of life. Absently, he scratched his head while saying, “No, I’ll be there soon.”

When he didn’t immediately end the call as usual, Margie asked, “Was there anything else?”

He knew this next question was a bad idea, but he asked it regardless. “Is . . . um . . . Mia there today?”

Sounding deeply amused, Margie said, “Yep, she just walked in the door. Might I say, she is just glowing today.” He knew there was no way that she could possibly know that he had slept with Mia last night, but damned if she didn’t sound smug. He had long suspected that she stalked him just for kicks in her spare time. Now he was starting to believe that maybe he wasn’t just completely paranoid about that assumption. He took satisfaction in ending the call without responding. That woman was a pain in his ass.

When had Mia left and why hadn’t she said goodbye? Fuck, Jackson, you sound like a woman. Isn’t this what you prefer? Avoid the whole awkward morning-after scene? You should be grateful that she made the walking away part easy for you. The problem though was that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to walk away. Last night he had fallen in lust with her in a big way. She took everything he had to give her and then demanded more. She was insatiable and he was even more intrigued by her than he had been at the start. His cock was hard and throbbing remembering her waking him in the night with him in her mouth. She had proceeded to suck him dry. He had tried to pull out when he knew he was on the verge of exploding, but she had tightened her grip, swallowing every bit of his load before letting him collapse against the pillows. When he had recovered, she had climbed on top, seating his cock to the hilt. He could still feel her hot pussy gripping him as he stroked and pinched her plump nipples into taut peaks.

Damn, there was no way he could go into the office with the hard-on he was sporting. He walked to the bathroom and started the shower. With the steam rising over the top of the glass enclosure, he took his cock in his hand once again and squirted some body wash onto the hard length. Slipping his hand up and down, he imagined Mia’s hands on him. As his body was jerking in release he thought, I’m locking the door when Margie goes to lunch and fucking Mia in the control room.

Mia had enjoyed a quick cup of coffee with Margie before escaping to the control room to get started. She had tried to appear ignorant when Margie had called Seth about his missed appointment. Maybe she should have woken him before she left this morning. She wasn’t sure what time he usually started his day. She was typically up early and most mornings had a jog or a walk on the beach before work. She had called a taxi and left his place around six a.m. That hadn’t been easy since she hadn’t known his street address. Luckily, she had found a magazine with a mailing label, before she had to resort to digging through his wallet for his driver’s license. She was surprised to find her car sitting in its assigned spot when she got home. How had Seth managed that? She had to admit, she was impressed. Hell, the whole morning after had felt good, until the embarrassing talk with Hank. She didn’t know what was worse, Suzy seeing her or Hank fumbling over the whole incident.

What was she going to do about the situation? She had fully intended to keep seeing Seth if he was interested, but now that was on hold. She didn’t think he would be thrilled about the whole situation, either. It was only a few weeks until things wrapped at the Oceanix Resort, but that seemed like a year at this point. She had never been with a man so in tune to her body. He gave her everything she needed without having to ask. He was rough when she wanted it and gentle when needed. Even after last night, her body still burned for him. She had been pleasantly surprised at dinner. Before she had had one too many to drink, she had been surprised by how easy he was to talk to. Once he loosened up, he was funny and charming. She had never had this kind of rapid-fire connection to a man before.

The one thing she hated though was how unprofessional this made her look at work. Sure, no one other than Suzy and Hank knew, but they were probably the two people that she admired the most at Danvers. Hank was her mentor and Suzy was her idol. She took pride in her work and her reputation and she couldn’t have everything completely blown over a man. Especially one who was likely just in it for the sex. Shit. Thanks a lot, Mom. If you had resisted the urge to buy me a man, this might not have happened. Now that the pot was stirred, it was going to be hell to pretend that nothing had ever happened . . . but she could do anything after another couple weeks, right?