Emily smiled and avoided the question. “What did you do till 2 a.m.?”
Isabel rolled her eyes. “What else? Try to meet the perfect guy.”
Emily worried that she’d be late, or at least, too late to get on the elevator with Nate. But she couldn’t help ribbing Isabel just before she stepped out. “And did you meet anyone perfect enough?”
Isabel snorted. “No, just a bunch of broke losers. And I need a man who’ll commit, not some sleazebag who’ll dump me after the first night.”
“Sometimes hot sex is good.” Emily giggled. She sounded so unlike herself – but she felt like a completely different person this morning. She’d gone to work yesterday the same, boring, shy girl. But by the time she got home she was a horny mess, a woman who was desperate to be fucked. She needed a man to give her an orgasm, to show her what mind-blowing sex really was.
Isabel raised one eyebrow. “What happened to you?”
Emily laughed. Nate had happened to her – and he hadn’t even really happened yet. But she wasn’t about to share that news with Isabel yet so she just shook her head. “I was being silly.”
“I hope that’s all it is. I know you’ve never brought a man back home since moving in with me, so I hope you’re not being seduced by some sleazy old man. You know, you’re so young and innocent, it would be too easy for someone to take advantage of you. He’d promise you the world and give you nothing.”
“But you bring guys home sometimes, and then I never see them again.”
“That’s different. I’m experienced enough to have no-strings sex. You’re just an easy target for douchebag, and you believe in silly things like love at first sight. You’d get your heart broken and be miserable.”
Emily shook her head. “I have to go. See you tonight.”
She could feel Isabel’s eyes on her as she walked to the door and stepped out. A two-minute conversation was all it had taken for Isabel to crush her high spirits.
Emily mused bitterly as she headed to work. Was Isabel right? Was she really being foolish to want to be with Nate? After all, he was her boss. She might lose her job for this. And he might just break her heart – he did seem so easy to fall for. Had she fallen for him already? She tried to do a pulse-check of her emotions, but everything was blurred together.
***
By the time she got to 590 Madison Avenue, Emily was racked with doubt. On the one hand, it seemed like a terrible idea to sleep with her boss. On the other hand…
On the other hand, Emily really really wanted to have proper, grown-up sex. She was tired of the fumbling boys of her youth, and she was distrustful of the strange men in dark bars. Nate exuded an intensity and power that she wanted to experience physically. If she could just keep her emotions out of it, there was no way she could get hurt.
As she headed towards the building entrance, she saw a familiar figure stepping out of a chauffeur-driven Bentley, and smiled. When their eyes met, she felt a jolt of electricity travel down her spine, and she waited for Nate to catch up with her.
They walked towards the elevator and Nate said, “You’re late.”
Emily laughed. “What’re you talking about, I’m early.”
Nate looked at her and smiled. There was something predatorial about his grin, and Emily was hit with a crushing realization.
“I thought I should get face-time with the boss,” she admitted. “I didn’t want the job going to Brandon, that’s why I used to wait for you in the morning.”
“I hoped it was something more. I missed seeing you the last few days.”
“That’s why you called me up to your room?”
They stepped into the elevator and Nate turned to Emily. There was no-one else in there with them, and Emily wondered if he would move closer to her, maybe kiss her, or stroke her neck…
But he didn’t step closer. He looked at her steadily and asked, “Did you write the email?”
“Yes.” Emily rooted through her bag. “I put it in a flash drive, I can give you the drive –”
“No, email me as an attachment.”
“Ok.” She looked up at him and decided to ask. “I’m not going to lose my job over this am I?”
Nate shook his head. “As long as you deserve the job, it’s yours. We’ll make you full-time when the internship ends.”
Emily’s heart leapt, but then she remembered Isabel’s words: He’ll promise you the world and give you nothing.
Nate narrowed his eyes. “You trust me, don’t you?”
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. They were at the 41st floor. Nate stepped out and turned back to talk to her, holding his hand against the doors so they wouldn’t close.