On My Knees (Bridge #1)(71)
Author: Meredith Wild

“Nothing at all,” he rushed. “Maya, I just wanted to let you know that there may be a few minor details left on the documents that we need to clear up tomorrow. I’ll email you if anything comes up.”

I stared at him, nodding slightly. Was I going to play along with this? Dermott turned back and disappeared into the darkness toward his office where Jia was probably still getting dressed. Or not. A wave of guilt hit me that I’d left her there to fend for herself.

I fastened the last button on my blouse, threw on my coat, and reached around Cameron to grab my purse.

“You want to explain what the fuck is going on?” His jaw worked, and his eyes were wide with the anger that rolled off of him now.

“Let’s get out of here.” My voice was quiet, hiding the embarrassment of being caught in the midst of this totally fucked up situation.

We hadn’t left the block before he stopped us. He turned to face me, leveling his eyes with mine.

“Talk. Now. I need to know what the fuck went down in there.”

I searched for the right words, failing because I was still trying to figure it all out myself. I hated how it looked on the outside. He was obviously furious. I had no hope of explaining this one away as a non-sexual late night rendezvous.

I eyed him warily. He looked even bigger and broader in his coat. If I didn’t love him so much, his sheer size might scare the hell out of me.

“It was nothing,” I insisted.

“Like hell.” His breaths came slow, billowing in the cold air. “You need to tell me what the hell happened in there before I lose my fucking mind.”

I sighed, looking around nervously. I didn’t want to have this conversation with him, now or ever. I wanted to pretend this whole thing had never happened. I squeezed my eyes closed and decided to go with the truth.

“Jia came onto me.”

When I opened my eyes, a confused grimace pinched his features. “Jia? I don’t understand.”

“She and Dermott wanted me to…” I shook my head, trying to shake off the uncomfortable new memory. “I don’t know. Let’s talk about this later, please.”

“No. Why was your shirt unbuttoned?”

I threw my hands up. “She unbuttoned it!”

“You didn’t say no?” He shoved his hands through his hair, his jaw working anxiously.

“Well, not right away. I didn’t know what the hell was happening! She kissed me out of the blue. I was confused.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

I gasped. “What kind of question is that?”

“I don’t know. Are you, like, a lesbian?”

“Oh my God, did you get concussed in the military? Kissing a girl doesn’t make me a lesbian. I was stunned by what was happening. Not like I fucked her. Jesus.”

“Would you have?”

“Did I? I ran out of there and the decision, which wasn’t really a decision, probably cost me my job. I’ll be shocked if I don’t have a pink slip on my desk when I go back next week. Why were you there anyway?”

“It’s Christmas Eve. I thought you’d finish up early and we could get dinner. I guess that’s shot.”

I dropped my head in my hands, exhaustion taking hold over my mind and my body at once. “I’m sorry you had to see any of that. I have no idea what to make of it. Dermott…” I groaned and fought the surge of panic that welled at the very real possibility that I could lose my job over this debacle.

“Dermott, your boss?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes narrowed and his breathing slowed, the overall effect being predatory, and not in the seductive way I loved. I dropped my hands in my coat pockets, glad I could hide the dampness accumulating in my palms. The whole situation was wreaking havoc on my nerves.

“So if Jia was unbuttoning your shirt, what was he doing?”

I tapped my foot roughly against the pavement. I hated this. I hated everything about this conversation. No matter how I relayed the truth, he’d be furious, with them and very likely me too. No one was good enough for Cameron, not even me.

“Maya. Talk. Now.”

“He watched,” I blurted. “Until I ran out. Everything happened really quickly. They had this planned out, and I think I ruined it. Maybe…maybe she thought I was going to be more receptive to something like that because of that night at the club. I don’t know. She said if I did it, we’d both get promotions.”

I laughed at the incredulous notion that I’d fuck a friend on my boss’s desk for a promotion. Heaven help me.

“Mother fucker.” The muscles in his jaw bulged and he pivoted in the opposite direction.