“No. I took the notes and then he said goodbye and left. Here.” I hand her the notepad with the to-do list. She takes it but keeps her eyes glued to my face. I want to tell her something, but it’s not about the crazy chemistry moment our mutual boss and I just experienced.
I shouldn’t be feeling this way. I can’t be feeling this way. But in order to make it through, I need to constantly remind myself of all the reasons it’s a bad idea to give in to these feelings.
“Can I tell you something?” I lower my voice. “About Mr. Mulroney?”
Her eyes go wide and she glances over at Chuck and Daniel. “Hey, let’s take lunch early,” she says, raising her voice.
Chuck dramatically drops his pen on his desk. Daniel whoops and knocks his chair over. You would think it was eighth grade and the teacher just announced we were having recess for the rest of the day.
They both head for the exit, blowing out in a matter of seconds. Dana closes the door behind them, then resumes her seat on the edge of the desk. Her eyes lock onto mine. “I’m listening.”
I take a deep breath. “You can’t tell anyone.”
She hesitates — which is a good sign because that means she’s actually weighing the promise she’s being asked to make.
“All right,” she finally says. “As long as it’s not about murder. If it is, I don’t want to know.”
“It’s not about murder. It’s about something I saw my first day here, when I came back from lunch to bring that order of plants into the office.”
I nibble the inside of my lip. Letting this spill is a bit harder than I expected it to be. It’s too late, though. I can’t go back.
“There was a woman in there with him.” I lower my voice. “And he was spanking her.”
Dana’s eyes go as wide as saucers. “What? What do you mean he was spanking her?”
I gesture wildly with my hands. “I mean he was spanking her. Like, in a kinky way.”
Dana’s hands cover her mouth, but they don’t hide the giant grin there. “Oh… My… God.”
“Yeah.” I lean back in the seat. “I know.”
Dana giggles. “That is crazy.”
“You’ve never seen him do anything like that before?”
“No.” She laughs. “God, no. Wow… hanky-panky in the office.”
“You know, I figured it was a kind of a regular thing.”
She cocks her head, thinking. “I doubt it.”
“Really?”
She looks right at me. “You thought it was?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I mean it was my first day, so what else was I supposed to think? Also, he’s a certain way…” I let my words trail off.
“He’s a douche,” she finishes. “Yeah, he is. But he never brings women here. Not that I know of. And why would he? He’s not even here that much. He’s got a second office and two houses, one in the city and one in some vineyard north of here. Plus, the family jet, which means he can basically fly off to anywhere anytime he feels like it.”
“Oh.” I don’t know what to think about this new information. “Do you think he sees a lot of women?”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
“He’s so harsh.”
“But he’s handsome and rich, so most women probably don’t even notice his personality.” She stops talking and looks around. “If he’s stashed a secret recording device in here, I am so screwed.”
She stops talking and looks around. “I saw him Friday night with a woman, and it wasn’t the same one who was in the office.”
Dana giggles. “What, are you stalking him or something?”
That one hit too close to home. My face flushes with heat, but Dana doesn’t seem to notice.
“I’m just putting the clues together,” I say, hearing the defensiveness in my tone.
“And forming what exactly?”
I look past her shoulder and out the window where nothing ever happens. “I’m just trying to figure him out. He’s a jerk.”
“You’re wondering if he’s a womanizer?”
I look back at her. “Yeah.”
She shrugs. All signs point to her not caring.
I lean closer to her. “There’s another thing too. After I saw that happen in the office, he asked me in and wanted to know if I liked what I saw.”
Dana’s eyebrows furrow. “Huh?”
“He wanted to know if I liked what I saw, and then told me I could take part in it if I wanted.”
“What was he talking about?”
I stare at her in confusion. Did she not hear everything I just said? “The kinky sex play.”