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He scrubbed his hand through his hair and sighed. "Do you have a minute?"
"Sure." She stepped closer and leaned against the leather visitor chair in front of his desk. "What's up?"
He looked at her and then away, his jaw hard. "This is uncomfortable," he muttered.
The thought fluttered through her mind that he was going to fire her. Oh God, no, not today of all days! I shouldn't have broken down; I shouldn't have said all those stupid things! He wouldn't be so heartless, would he, when he knew what a difficult position she was in?
He gestured toward the chair. "Sit. Please."
She slid over the arm and into place, hands in her lap like a good girl, afraid to say anything.
"I don't want to offend you, Emma, so please don't take this the wrong way. It's not a comment on your character."
Oh God, oh God, oh God…
"I have an apartment downtown, in the Belltown neighborhood. It's been empty for three months. I was thinking that you could stay there. And that I would take you up on your offer."
It took several seconds for her brain to make sense of his words. As they sank in, her heart seemed to stop. He wanted her to be his mistress?
"I don't want you to think this is out of pity, or that I don't respect your independence."
Her heart lurched into motion again. He was serious! Oh God, he was serious. What was she supposed to say?
"You're not offended, are you?" he asked warily.
She blinked. "No, I don't think so. I mean, I offered, right? And it would obviously help me out. A lot." She chewed her Up. "If I said yes, how often would you want…" She trailed off, finishing the question with her eyebrows.
"I don't think I need it every night. Maybe, oh, Monday, Wednesday, Friday? With something big on Friday to last me through the weekend? You'd have the weekends off, of course."
"Of course!" Was she really having this discussion? "Er, what type of'big' did you mean, for Fridays?"
He shrugged. "Big. You know, lots of it. I'll leave the details up to you."
"Ah. Are there any particular, um… .flavors that you prefer? It might help me to have a starting point."
"I'm happy with most anything, so feel free to use your imagination." He smiled, meeting her eyes. "It sounds like you're willing?"
His warm gaze went straight to her loins, despite his insane proposition. She never would have guessed he would be up for such an arrangement. Never! Yet he'd said himself that she'd described the perfect male fantasy.
She could stand up and slap him, then storm out of his house. But it wasn't what she wanted to do. What she wanted-against all common sense-was to say yes.
"I need to think about this," she said instead and shifted in her chair, distressingly aware of the arousal pooling down low, imagining him doing wicked things to her body three times a week.
"The choices will be all mine?" she asked, for clarification. "You'll take what I give you?"
"If that's the way you want it, although I'd appreciate it if you'd consider requests."
"Of course I would. I'd want you to be happy, after all. Isn't that the point?"
"I'd like you to enjoy it, too," he said. "I shouldn't like it to be a dreary chore for you. So be creative. Explore. Try new things. I'm up for it."
"Apparently so." She smiled, but he didn't appear to get the joke.
"You're proving very difficult to hire for a position you suggested yourself," he said with a touch of impatience.
"What do you expect? I've never done it before! I mean I've done it, but never for money. Never like this."
"It will be awkward for us both at first, I imagine."
"Yeah, I think so," she said, relieved that he felt the same way.
"Just like it's awkward discussing payment."
"Very awkward. Extremely awkward."
"I can get a prepaid Visa card for you, so you can buy what you need. I know there will be a lot of shopping involved. And then should I pay you by the hour? Or would you prefer a set rate per night?"
Emma swallowed. How much did call girls make? A couple hundred a visit, at least. But if she was already getting her rent free and he was giving her spending money, that was worth a lot right there. And she wasn't going to be a call girl. Being a mistress was different-wasn't it?
"How about we do it by month?" She gathered her courage. "A thousand dollars."
He blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair. "Hoo. Steep."
"It's probably less than the going rate."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I do."
He grimaced. "I don't know. It sounds like a lot."
She shrugged. "Take it or leave it: I'm not going to sell myself cheap. Besides, it's cheaper than a girlfriend, right? And not half so troublesome."
"Or I could do it myself."
"What fun is that? Besides, I don't see any signs that you've been satisfying your appetites." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I'd make it well worth it. I'd do my best to please you, however you want."
He cleared his throat. "You make it hard to refuse."
"Then don't. You'll enjoy it, I promise. And if you don't…" She shrugged and sat back. "We can always end the arrangement. Just promise not to make me move out of the apartment before I find someplace to go."
"No, of course not."
"And I probably shouldn't keep cleaning your house. That would be too weird, and you don't need a housekeeper anyway."
"I don't know about 'weird,' but it's true that I don't need someone to vacuum. I can do that myself."
"Then we have a deal?" Her heart fluttered, sensing that something momentous was about to happen in her life. Something insane and life-changing.
There was a long moment of silence, his thoughts unreadable on his face. And then: "What the hell. Let's do it!"
Oh boy. She smiled shakily. "How soon can I move into the apartment?"
"As soon as you like." He opened a drawer and took out a set of keys, then began scrawling information on a piece of notepaper. "Here's the address. There's parking under the building; the apartment has its own space. There's also a storage room in the basement. Will you need any help moving?"
"I have friends who can help."
He pushed the keys and piece of paper across the desk to her. "We can straighten out the utilities and the rest later. I know that moving is a lot of work, so I won't expect you to start your new duties for a week or two. When do think you'll be able to begin?"
She blinked. It was all so businesslike. "The Friday after this one?"
"Excellent! Could you have di
He wanted her to cook for him, too? Apparently he was looking for one-stop shopping for all his appetites. That Visa card had better be loaded with plenty of cash if she had to buy groceries for romantic di
"Sure, if that's not too much for you. Given the price you asked, it seems a reasonable request."
"I can handle it, if that's really what you want." Damn. He was a sneaky negotiator, throwing that in at the last moment.
"It might be nice. Nothing too rich, though. I'm trying to eat right." He stood. "Okay, then."
She stood, too. "Okay, I guess." She turned and walked blindly to the door, but before she stepped through it a few crucial issues fought their way to the forefront of her stu
"Two things."
"Yes?"
"One: you will get a complete physical and show me the paperwork saying that you're free of sexually transmitted diseases. I'll do the same for you. And two: this will be a monogamous relationship. I care about my health, just as I'm sure you care about yours."
He looked confused. "A physical? Why would that-" His eyes widened as if in sudden understanding. "Oh. Oh, you think-"