Page 29 of Dirty Mind
Charli opened the door leading from the back deck to the kitchen. Her smile was soft, her eyes wary, when she looked at me. “I saw a key for the guest house,” she said, gesturing to a glass bowl on the counter. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took my things down there. You said you wanted me to stay, to work for you, are you sure?”
I nodded, unable to get the words out.
“Okay.” She rubbed her hands on her bare thighs. She’d changed into short black shorts, a sleeveless denim shirt tied in the front, and flip flops. “I hope you don’t expect professional attire, since we’re working from home today, right?”
I nodded again, clearing my throat to find my voice. “Whatever you want to wear is fine.” An image of her standing outside my shower wearing nothing at all flashed through my mind, but I had to shut that shit down if we were going to be working together. “Um, I have a song writing session with a couple of friends this afternoon.” Which would be the reprieve I needed to get the hell out of this house and get my head together, I hoped. “But we can go into my office and get you set up before I go.”
“Sounds good.” She hooked a finger over her shoulder. “Will I need to grab my laptop first?”
“No, there are two desks set up in there and an extra computer.” At her questioning look, I said, “My last assistant worked from my home office too. Just made it easier for both of us.”
“I see.”
“There was nothing between us.” Jesus, why had I volunteered that? She hadn’t asked, but I wanted her to know I’d never screwed around with anyone who worked for me before. “She was older. Married with a couple of kids.”
She frowned, like she was trying to make sense of that admission. “Okay.”
I raked a hand through my hair. “Look, we can’t pretend this is… normal. Like you’re just some new employee my team hired for me. We’ve had sex and—”
“And you want to forget it happened,” she said, raising her hand. “I get it. Say no more. It’s forgotten. Can we get down to work now?”
She was gutting me with her indifference, but I deserved it. She probably felt like I was jerking her around, wavering between wanting her and swearing her off. “I’m sorry I—”
“Do. Not,” she said, anger sparking her jade eyes. “Apologize. Again.”
“Fine,” I bit off, trying to figure out how the hell to navigate this new landmine I’d created. “Let’s head into the office then.”
“Lead the way.”
I walked into my office. It was neat and tidy, thanks to my housekeeper, but I still felt unsettled, like I didn’t know how or where to start. “Have a seat,” I said, gesturing to the second mahogany desk tucked into a corner beneath a bay window, facing the backyard.
She sat down in the swivel chair, pressing on the side handle. She lowered it a few inches to accommodate the height difference between herself and my last assistant. “Where would you like to start, Dade?”
I stood there like an idiot, staring at her, trying to wipe the image of that goddamn shower scene out of my mind. “Um, why don’t you fire up the computer? I’ll print off the passwords you’ll need, my schedule for the upcoming year, and we can create a to-do list around each of the events.”
“Sounds good.”
“Uh, we should probably go through my email too,” I said, watching her fire up the computer. “Professional, not personal. It’s been re-directed to my label, since I’ve been without an assistant, but I’ll let them know they don’t have to do that anymore.”
“Okay.”
She wasn’t being abrasive, though I could feel an undercurrent of annoyance and I couldn’t blame her after the stunt I’d pulled. Luring her back in, only to panic and push her away again. What the hell was wrong with me?
“I’m just gonna grab us a couple of waters. You want anything else?”
“No, thanks.”
Cool professionalism, that’s probably what I could expect from her from now on. It should be a relief, but her detachment felt like a gut-punch. I didn’t want this woman to be cool and detached with me. I wanted her to be warm and open, to hold me and kiss me and…
But I couldn’t have that. I’d drawn the line and I had to make damn sure I didn’t cross it again. For Charli’s sake.
By the time I returned with a couple of bottles of water she was waiting for me as she fired off a text. “I have a gig at Jimmy’s tonight,” she said. “With Max and a couple of friends. Their singer has bronchitis and they didn’t want to cancel.”
I nodded like an idiot, not sure what to say. She was going to be spending the evening entertaining a bunch of rowdy drunks who’d no doubt hit on her, alongside the man who’d made no secret of the fact he wanted to date her. And I was jealous as hell, even though I had no right to be.
“But I can work ‘til seven,” she said, glancing at the time on her phone. “To make up for the fact we’re getting a late start today.”
We were getting a late start because I’d been pinning her to the wall, pounding her like a maniac, and she acted like we were getting a late start because of a goddamn flat tire or dental appointment.
