Play with Me (Novella) by Jones Lisa Renee

Author:Jones, Lisa Renee [Jones, Lisa Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780804178396
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2014-10-27T16:00:00+00:00

Part Seven

The contract …

I lie in bed, aching to be with Damion and thinking of every instant before and after our being here in this room. I replay every touch, every comment, every look. But of all the things my mind could fixate on, it does not go to those delicious and wonderful erotic moments but to his generic claim that I’m running from something. I am not running. I am choosing to be happy. I have decided that moving away from a veil casting unhappiness is smart.

Unable to stop myself, I grab my cell from the nightstand and type: I am not running from anything.

And obviously you aren’t sleeping, either.

I glance at the time on the digital clock by the bed—1:00 A.M. Sorry. Did I wake you?

No. I wasn’t asleep, either.

Why? I type before I can stop myself.

I have a lot on my mind.

Me, too.

Well, I hear your boss is a bear when he doesn’t sleep.

I hear your new secretary is, too. Poor everyone else.

Yes. Poor everyone else. Good night, Kali.

Good night, Damion.

I stare at my phone, thinking of how short our exchange was. He didn’t welcome conversation. He’s trying to do what is right. He’s trying get us back to where we started. Why am I wishing we were back where we stopped? Because he’s gorgeous and you’re human, I remind myself. But you also are not stupid. You need this job, not another orgasm.

* * *

I wake on my back to a beam of bright sunlight, my cell cradled to my chest, and trying to process why the eighties’ tune “Jesse’s Girl” is playing in my head. I blink and realize it’s the alarm and roll over to turn it off. I do not let myself cave to the temptation of reading the text exchange with Damion again. I can’t overanalyze it or I will make myself crazy. I keep my mind on the job and I get more excited by the minute. I am not just a secretary. I’m working directly with the CEO of a massive casino operation. There is no telling what I will learn and do in this role. If I end up in journalism later, I will be a better reporter for this, too. If I don’t, it’s because this job will lead me to better places.

I’m slipping on a pair of black strappy shoes to complement my pale-blue skirt and jacket when the room phone rings. Nerves flutter in my stomach at the certainty that it will be Damion—or, rather, “Mr. Ward”—and I grab the receiver with the hope that this call will usher us into a good day.

“Morning, Kali! This is Maggie.” Her perky-sounding voice fills me with disappointment.

“Morning.”

“Can you stop by my office before you start to work?”

Unease rolls through me, though she seems so pleasant I can’t believe anything is wrong. In fact, it’s logical that I need paperwork to stay here. “Oh, yes, sure.”

A few minutes later, I walk in to HR to have the receptionist greet me with a friendly smile instead of a cold shoulder.

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