Their exchange had caught the attention of the other interns as well as the girls sitting at their table. While ultimately she was an adult and didn’t have to listen to her boss’s orders on how to care for herself off-hours, she didn’t want to disappoint him. He’d made it clear earlier he had her best intentions at heart. It didn’t mean she had to like it.
Nick examined her from head to toe and back up again. “Have you had anything to drink?”
“Just a couple of Sloe Gin Fizzes. Nothing—”
“I’ll drive you home and bring you back here in the morning.” Before she could protest, he added, “Say good-night to your friends.”
Kate stopped moving for a moment, biting her tongue and assessing the situation from all angles. She didn’t want to leave because she hadn’t finished catching up with Hannah or eaten dinner yet. But was it worth it to defy him, risking her internship, her career plan, over dinner and conversation?
Her mind made up, she snagged her purse. “Good-night,” she said to Hannah, giving her and the others a little wave as she accompanied Nick out of the bar.
The room had cleared out slightly since she had arrived, but they still had to squeeze their way through the mingling singles. Approaching the front door, Nick seized her hand and pulled her through the crowd.
As soon as they got outside, she couldn’t hold in her anger any longer and yanked her hand from his grip. “What is wrong with you? What makes you think you can storm into a bar like that after work hours and make demands of me in front of other interns?”
“I told you. I’m protecting you. Taking care of you since you’ve shown you’re unable to do it for yourself. Yes, I’m your boss, but . . .”
He took a single step closer, making her heart pound erratically. “But?”
“I’d hoped we could be friends, Kate.”
Friends. Of course. How naive to believe he had any romantic feelings toward her.
She cleared the tickle from her throat. “How did you know I was at the bar?”
“I followed you. I wanted to make sure you got home safely. Imagine my surprise when you stopped here.”
His admission shocked her. It had been several years since anyone cared about her well-being enough to check up on her. Sure, she had friends such as Hannah and Caden, but even Tom didn’t worry about her to the degree that he’d follow her home. Some mornings she’d left his apartment before sunrise, and he still didn’t bother to call her to make sure she made it home. But she wasn’t sure how she felt about Nick confronting her at the bar.
On the sidewalk, they strolled down the street and then cut behind the building to the parking lot. “I’ve been here for an hour and I didn’t see you.”
“I was watching from a nearby table.”
“That’s a bit . . . stalkerish.” She laughed, but the idea that she was oblivious to him watching alarmed her. And . . . aroused her.
“Does it scare you?” he asked, his fingers grazing hers.
“No,” she said, realizing it was true the moment it passed her lips. “But why were you watching?”
“I wanted to see you outside of the office. You’re always so stiff and reserved at work. Here you were much more relaxed. You smiled. I wanted to see that.”
“Oh.” She supposed it was true. If they became friends, maybe she’d get to see him less formal as well. “Speaking of work, David told me the media is already running with the whole BDSM angle of the murder. They’ve even revealed some of the details of how she died.”
He sighed. “I know. There must be a leak in the police department. We’ll have to find a couple of experts to present our position that just because someone is a sadist, it doesn’t mean he’s a murderer.”
“I don’t think people will believe that. Very few people understand that in BDSM sadists inflict pain on masochists who enjoy the pain. It’s easier to accept brainwashing and abuse.”
When they reached the parking lot, her stomach dropped as she spotted his Mercedes next to her motorcycle.
“You seem to know a lot more about BDSM than you let on,” he commented, remotely unlocking the vehicle.
“I’ve done some reading.” A bit uncomfortable with her boss knowing anything about her secret desires, she downplayed the amount she’d researched the alternative sexual lifestyle.
“There’s nothing to feel embarrassed about,” he said as they got to his car. “While I’m strictly vanilla, I wouldn’t judge anyone for what they enjoyed in the bedroom so long as it was consensual. Even if that person was you.”