“That was cute,” he said slowly.

“Now I forgive you.”

“I think it’s sexy when you’re snarky.” The heat in his eyes gave credit to his statement, and I found myself squirming in my seat.

“That wasn’t really the point.”

“I get your point, but I still find you incredibly sexy. Even if you need to brush your hair.”

Shit. Shit. Shit! I’d forgotten that I mussed my hair when I stormed from restaurant number one. I touched my hair, feeling self-conscious when I never had before. “Excuse me.” I jumped from the booth and rushed to the bathroom to salvage what I could of my hair.

What is this jerk doing to me?

* * *

PRESENT

We arrived back to the city around mid-day. Dash drove us to his apartment, showered, and changed. Did I mention he dragged me into the shower with him? He hadn’t spoken a word to me but manhandling apparently wasn’t off the list.

The air around us felt different. He didn’t feel like Dash and that scared me. When he handed me a shopping bag I hadn’t seen before, and ordered me to get dressed, I was even more confused.

Soon, I was wearing a tight gray pencil skirt and burgundy top with a modest neckline. It was the type of attire worn in an office setting, and I wondered why he had me dressed for the occasion. We arrived at his office building and rode to the very top floor.

We entered a large suite, and straight across were a large desk and a woman tapping away at the computer with a phone plastered to her ear. “Mr. Chambers is unavailable at the moment, but I can take a message.” Dash moved forward to stand in front of the desk and waited while the woman took the message. When she hung up and turned her attention to us, I got the full effect of this woman’s striking features. “Good morning, Mr. Chambers.”

“Good morning, Celesha. Apologies for my absence. I had personal matters to attend. This is Willow. She’s going to be your temporary replacement.”

Dash just disappeared inside a room, leaving me standing alone with his secretary after dropping that bomb. He didn’t even bother to offer me an introduction so I could only assume she was his secretary.

Celesha’s surprise was nothing compared to mine. She recovered and stood up to shake my hand. She was beautiful with slender cheeks and dark curly hair that wasn’t wild but tamed and don’t even get me started on the length of her legs. They would put Lake’s to shame. And then she spoke.

“Hello, Willow. I’m Celesha Amsel. Dash’s personal assistant.”

For fuck sake! She even has an accent. I guessed German. I’d never thought it was an especially sexy sound until this woman, who looked like sex on legs, spoke.

And she was Dash’s personal assistant. I couldn’t help but wonder how personal her job description got. I know my assumptions were cliché, but the two incredibly attractive had worked closely together. I’m sure the desire and opportunity had arisen more than once.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” My own voice sounded gruff and strained and every opposite of sexy. I felt frumpy and out of place. She moved around the desk, bringing her ridiculously high heels that were a bit bold for office wear into view. She towered over me, but I didn’t feel protected or womanly the way Dash made me feel. I felt intimidated though she seemed nice enough.

“Why don’t I show you around?”

“Sure.”

I moved around the private office suite with Celesha. She showed me a kitchenette and small living area. There were three other rooms within the suite. Immediately to the right of the entrance was marked Storage. Straight across was Dash’s office. I stared at the third door curiously. “And this room?”

“This is Mr. Chamber’s private quarters. He keeps a spare bedroom whenever he’s working late but rarely uses it.”

Or whenever he wants sex with his morning coffee and lunch.

“Have you worked for Dash long?” Her eyebrow lifted at my tone and use of his first name and I wanted to scream, “I had him first, bitch!”

“Only for a few months,” she finally answered, unfazed. “He hired me in Germany. My husband had just lost his job a few months before when his company downsized. To help with the finances, I started looking for a job and applied for the assistant position.”

“You moved from your home to the United States for an assistant position?”

“When Mr. Chambers interviewed me, he asked if I was willing to relocate. At first, I declined since my husband was looking for a job and my working would be temporary. Mr. Chambers asked what my husband did, and the very same day, he brought him in to interview him. He offered us both jobs here in the states.”