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“No,” he finally said. “I’m not firing you.” He didn’t want her gone.

  But he damned well better figure out what exactly he did want from Lexie Parker before they drove each other insane.

  * * *

  Lexie’s heart beat hard in her chest as she settled in to work. She was used to confrontation with her sister. Not so much with other people, but she couldn’t let Kade treat her so badly, not for any reason. It hurt her feelings that he thought he could.

  A to-do list showed up in her email, and Lexie spent the next hour handling appointments and other research information points for Kade. If that’s how he wanted to communicate, then fine. When lunchtime arrived, she emailed him she was going out and would be back in an hour.

  On her way to the elevator, she heard her name being called.

  She turned to find Tessa, a perky blonde, and Becky, a redhead with pretty green eyes, catching up with her. “We’re going out for lunch too. Want to join us?” Becky, Derek’s assistant, asked.

  Lexie really did, but of course, she had to be at her sister’s doctor’s appointment. “I wish I could but I have an appointment I can’t cancel. Rain check?” she asked hopefully.

  Tessa nodded. “Of course. Oh! We’re going out Friday night. There’s a bar called Lights around the corner. Want to come along?”

  She mentally scanned her calendar, and as far as she knew, she was free on Friday. “I’d love to.”

  “Yay! Dress funky,” Becky said as the elevator opened. “We’ll get toasted and have fun.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” She really was.

  These women were doing their best to make Lexie feel welcome, and she appreciated the effort more than she could express. It had been a long time since she’d had a group of girlfriends of any kind, and she promised herself she’d do everything in her power to show up, be present, and not have to leave early for a Kendall rescue.

  To Lexie’s relief, Kendall’s appointment went smoothly. Her sister really seemed to want to feel better and had taken the initiative by scheduling a meeting with her doctor. For the first time in a long time, Lexie had hope that her sister would improve.

  She wasn’t sure what hope she had for any kind of relationship with her boss. For the rest of the week, they communicated by text or email, and he grunted thank you for his morning coffee. She picked up his dry cleaning and dropped it off at his apartment after work, to find he wasn’t at home. She made sure his lunch was prepared the way he liked it and sat in on meetings with potential investors for the app. But there was no real communication between them, their relationship barely professional.

  By Friday, there was no thaw or change. It bothered her on all levels because she didn’t like living or working in an armed-camp-like state. What frustrated her most of all, however, was that her anger at him didn’t dull the desire she experienced every time she looked at him. It wasn’t just that he oozed sex appeal, but she remembered their kiss vividly and knew what kind of chemistry they shared. None of that mattered, however, because he was her boss. Even if they were getting along great, she couldn’t cross that line again.

  She was glad Becky and Tessa had invited her out tonight. She needed a break from routine. It would be good for her to go out, have a drink or two, and just have fun for once in her structured life. And if she was really lucky, she wouldn’t think about Kaden Barnes at all.

  * * *

  Kade let Luke and Derek drag him out to his favorite steak house for dinner. They hit this place at least once a month, and Kade always picked up from here on Helen’s day off, when he was responsible for his own supper. He’d planned on hanging out in front of the television tonight, but the guys insisted they go out. For a prime porterhouse cut, he’d give up his planned solitary evening.

  “A toast,” Luke said, holding up his glass of single malt scotch.

  Derek raised his glass and Kade did the same. “What are we toasting to?” he asked.

  “To one full week with the same personal assistant. I haven’t decided if that means we should be toasting you for your achievement or Lexie for her ability to put up with your shit.”

  “I’ll drink to both,” Luke said, treating Kade to a shit-eating grin before tapping Kade’s, then Derek’s glasses and taking a long sip of his drink.

  “Fucking comedians,” Kade muttered. The last person he wanted to discuss was Lexie.

  Over the delicious meal, they talked about moving forward with their company, careful to avoid discussing Julian and his lawsuit in public. Never knew who might be lurking nearby for a story. Somehow Kade made it through dinner. He didn’t want to discuss the fact that he’d struggled to cut the meat, had needed help, and was generally frustrated by too many things at the moment.

  He downed the rest of the alcohol in his glass and signaled the waiter, planning to top off his steak with another drink.

  “What can I get you?” Andrew, their usual waiter, asked.

  “A refill,” Kade said, lifting his tumbler. “Macallan 18, neat, filled three-quarters of the way full,” he reminded the man. Although he served them every time they came in, Kade left nothing to chance. “I’ll also take a fresh bottle of natural spring water, room temperature, and a straw please.”

  “Of course.” The waiter tipped his head discreetly and headed for the bar.

  “You’re really going to do that straw and water thing again?” Derek asked.

  “You know he is, so why bother questioning him?”

  Kade shook his head. “Four or five drops of water helps a whiskey—”

  “Open up in the glass,” Derek and Luke said, repeating his often-used refrain at the same time.

  “If you remember, why ask?” Kade posed the rhetorical question.

  They did it to give him a hard time as only they could. Because they knew he liked his scotch a certain way, compounded by his need for routine. Only these two men could get away with making fun of him.

  The waiter returned and placed Kade’s fresh drink, bottle of water, and straw beside his plate.

  After the waiter poured the fresh spring water in a glass, Kade used the straw to deposit exactly four drops into his drink. Too much diluted the whiskey. This, at least, he could do without too much help. He’d had an appointment with an orthopedist, who’d merely confirmed the ER doctor’s diagnosis and had given him the same talk about not overdoing things. Though he’d said he’d take another look in a month and consider removing the splint then.

  Derek placed his napkin on the table. “I’m not ready to go home yet. I heard some people from work say they’re hanging at Lights. Want to stop by for a drink?”

  Kade hadn’t planned on going out late, but he couldn’t say heading home alone right now appealed to him either. “Why not?”

  “I’m in,” Luke said, signaling to the waiter for a check.

  “Who’s going to be at Lights?” Kade liked to know what he was walking into. “Is that where the coders hang out?”

  Luke accepted the folder with the check from the waiter before turning his gaze on Kade. “Actually it’s Tessa and Becky,” he said, flipping open the billfold.

  Kade’s stomach twisted at the mention of their personal assistants, who, he’d noticed, Lexie had grown more comfortable with over the course of her first week of work.

  He glanced from Luke, who was busy putting the company credit card down, to Derek, who, as usual, had a guilty look on his face.

  Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask. “Anyone else?” he asked, hoping that was vague enough to keep his friends from giving him a hard time.

  “Let’s go find out,” Derek said, meeting Kade’s gaze with an amused one of his own.

  He should have known better than to underestimate his friend and had a feeling he was in for an interesting night.

  * * *

  Lexie didn’t own funky clothes, so she borrowed an outfit from her sister. Dressed in a short black leather skirt and red bustier—she figured if she was going out, she was going all o
ut—and her own pair of heels, she joined the other women at Lights.

  She walked into the club to flashing lights and mirrored walls. All that was missing was a disco ball. Still, with the music flooding around her, her mood lifted even more. Her sister was having dinner with a friend, a guy Lexie knew and liked, so she was here with a clear mind and intended to enjoy it.

  She joined Tessa and Becky, who already had a table and were sitting with their drinks. “Hi, ladies.”

  “You made it!” Becky, wearing a black dress with a deep V and cut-outs on the sides, jumped up from her chair. “Here, sit.” She gestured to another seat and Lexie slid into it.

  They pulled their chairs closer together, easier to be heard over the loud music.

  “Nice outfit,” Tessa said, raising her drink in approval. The blonde wore a royal-blue bandage skirt and white cropped top.

  “You two look great,” Lexie said.

  Tessa flipped her long hair off her shoulder. “Thanks! Let’s order you a drink. You need to catch up. We’re on our second.”

  The cocktail waitress walked over, and Lexie, who hadn’t had alcohol in a good long while, ordered an old standby, an apple martini.

  While they waited, they talked about office gossip and other benign subjects, before inevitably the conversation turned. “Any idea how your boss hurt his hand?” Tessa, who Lexie had already determined enjoyed gossip the most, asked.

  Lexie blew out a long breath. She’d come out tonight to have fun and not dwell on Kade, the man who frustrated her in two distinctly opposite ways. She wanted to throttle him for the way he was treating her … and she wanted him because he was just too damned sexy for his own good.

  It didn’t help that she couldn’t stop thinking about the more intense, serious parts of Kade, the wistful one when looking at his brother, and the hurt one over an untrue accusation that threatened his entire world. Unfortunately, it was becoming harder to remember the man she could relate to because the jackass seemed to surface more often.

  “I heard he was jealous over a woman and slammed his hand into a wall because of her.” Becky shrugged. “At least that’s what Ava in HR said.”

  “I heard the same thing, but he’s usually so self-contained I just can’t see it,” Tessa mused.

  Becky swirled her drink in the glass. “Do you know anything?” she asked Lexie, who wasn’t about to take part in any conversation about her boss.

  “Actually I don’t.”

  Becky leaned in closer. “But you took him to the hospital, right?” she pushed, clearly not satisfied with Lexie’s reply. “He had to have said something.”

  “Besides this hurts and when the hell will I get taken back? he didn’t say a word.” Which was true, as far as their visit to the hospital went.

  What happened back at his apartment was an entirely different story and one that would never leave her lips. Not just because she’d signed that damned NDA.

  Lexie was loyal. She wouldn’t want people gossiping about her that way. And no matter how angry she was at how Kade had handled the situation, she felt for the circumstances in which he now found himself. A rape accusation had to sting. And again, regardless of her frustration with the man, it didn’t change her perception about the story he’d told her. The situation had been a grab for cash.

  The waitress returned with Lexie’s drink, and she gratefully took a long sip. The tart, sweetened liquor slid down her throat and warmed her insides on the way down to her stomach.

  Over the next hour, they talked about clothes and makeup, hit on politics, discovered they disagreed and changed the subject, then moved on to where they’d gone to college and other get-to-know-you topics.

  Lexie had finished her second drink and agreed to one shot of vodka for good measure, when a good-looking, blonde-haired guy asked her to dance. She had a solid buzz going, was feeling no pain, and loved dancing to the beat of the music. Her partner had good rhythm, a hot, surfer-boy look that any woman would find attractive.

  The music tempo grew faster, and her partner stepped in closer, their bodies moving in sync to the rhythm. Between the good high she had from the alcohol and concentrating on moving to the music without missing a beat, she finally had what she’d been looking for tonight. A distraction from thinking about her hot, frustrating boss.

  Chapter Six

  Kade walked into Lights, a nightclub that lived up to its name, and immediately turned around to leave. The glare, heavy strobe lights, and neon flashing were enough to put his anxiety into hyperdrive. He liked things calm and predictable. Between the massive amounts of people and the bursts of light piercing his eyes, he was anything but at ease.

  Nothing could make him stick around.

  “Lexie’s on the dance floor,” Luke said, stopping Kade’s retreat with a hand on his shoulder.

  Except that.

  Kade drew a deep breath and turned around, wanting to see Lexie in a different atmosphere than work. Ignoring the triggers around him, he followed Luke through the crowd and toward the center of the club. Music pulsed around him, adding to the feeling of overcrowding in his brain, but he pushed on, expecting to see Lexie with the other women from the office. Instead he found her in the arms of another man.

  Kade blinked against the flickering glare of the lights, trying to process the view. Lexie, his Lexie and personal assistant, dressed in a black leather skirt that ended mid-thigh and a tight red top with her breasts near to bursting out, moved like a goddess to the music. All rational thought fled from his brain as he watched her gyrate her hips and shake her curves against a surfer dude with wandering hands.

  “Go easy,” Derek said, standing beside him.

  Kade shot him a dirty look. “Would you?”

  “When you put it that way, far be it for me to get in the way now that you finally realized what you want.”

  “Maybe he should say who,” Luke added, both their voices loud to accommodate the pounding music.

  Kade ignored them and strode onto the wooden dance floor, headed straight for Lexie. Just as he reached her, the song changed to one with a faster beat. She squealed in delight, looking up at the ceiling and lifting her arms in the air, swaying to the song.

  Before her partner could grab her around the waist, Kade stepped between them.

  “Kade!” Lexie exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

  Things had been strained between them all week, so between the exuberant greeting and the glassy look in her eyes, Kade figured she’d been drinking. Which gave him a legitimate reason to get her off the dance floor and away from this guy.

  “Let’s go,” he said to her.

  “Hey!” Surfer Dude folded his arms across his chest, taking a stand. Too bad for him, Kade was bigger, bulkier, and had too much invested to back down easily.

  “Casey, meet Kade, my big old mean boss,” Lexie said, oblivious to the pissing contest about to take place.

  Yep, she was drunk, Kade thought, amused despite himself.

  “She’s not going anywhere,” Surfer Dude informed him.

  Lexie looked up at Kade with big blue eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her hips still moving in time to the music, her generous breasts swaying to the beat.

  His cock couldn’t help responding, and he grew hard in an instant. “I’m taking you home,” he informed her.

  “Hey.” Surfer Dude shoved him hard. “Don’t you listen? I said she’s—”

  “With me,” Kade said, getting into the guy’s personal space. “And don’t fucking touch me.” He glared at the other man with a look that had most people cowering. One he’d perfected as he’d learned to box and worked out enough to overcome the geekiness of youth. “Now unless you want trouble, as in your teeth all over this floor, walk away now.”

  “Kade!” Lexie said, outraged.

  Casey raised both hands in defeat. “Fine. She’s not worth it,” he muttered before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

  “I lost my dance p
artner,” Lexie said, pouting, her pretty hot pink lips turned downward in a frown.

  Kade wanted to seal his mouth over hers and nibble on those plump lips until she opened for him and he could taste her sweetness.

  Before he could do just that, she grabbed him around the waist.

  “Dance with me!” She moved to the music, her soft body pressed sweetly against his, her belly flush against his now raging erection.

  Kade was many things, but a dancer wasn’t one of them. The crowds were getting to him. The noise was causing a beat throughout his system that was ramping up his nerves. And the lights made him feel out of control. None of which he liked. All of which had resulted in problems in the past.

  He needed to get the hell off the dance floor and find a quiet corner to calm the fuck down. He needed to be alone with Lexie.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, off the wooden floor, past Derek and Luke, who’d gotten themselves drinks and had been enjoying the show he put on.

  He continued on beyond the crowded bar to a hallway that had a line of people waiting for the restrooms. Shit. A big red EXIT sign beckoned at the far end, and when he reached it, the door was propped open with a milk crate, letting fresh air into the packed area.

  “Thank God,” he muttered.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, pressing herself up against his back, whether on purpose or because of the many people, he didn’t know or care.

  “Outside for air,” he said over his shoulder. Never letting go of her hand, he stepped outside and walked down a small alley until the music faded enough for him to be able to hear again, which, in turn, enabled him to start to calm down.

  “Oh, it feels good out here,” Lexie said. Lifting her long hair up, she leaned forward, letting air blow against her damp neck. “Whew!” She shook out her hair, which had the effect of wriggling her ass.

  Kade let out a low groan. The woman was going to be the death of him. He leaned against the brick façade of a building and took in the cool night air. Closing his eyes, he breathed in and out slowly, counting upward by four and down by four, until his heart rate slowed to a comfortable beat.