“That’s what I like to hear.” He grinned at me and for a moment, I forgot that I hated him and his handsome face. “Does that mean you’re game for some morning sex?”

“What?” I screeched and he just laughed and walked back into his office. I followed behind him, feeling hot and bothered and mad as hell. Not at him for being so inappropriate, but more so at myself for wanting to bend over his desk and let him take me from behind.

***

“How was day one?” Lacey asked me, her tone excited and anxious at the same time, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Lacey was one of those people who always wanted the best for her friends, but she also enjoyed a bit of drama. And when I say a bit, I mean a lot. There’s a reason why she’s my best friend and a writer. Lacey was the friend who would tell you to do something crazy because she wanted to see what would happen, but then when you were about to do it, she’d beg you to stop because she’d feel worried and guilty that it wasn’t going to go well. That’s honestly one of the reasons why I love her. Lacey gave me strength by encouraging me to do the things I secretly wanted to do, but didn’t dare doing. It was amazing what having her in my life had done for me. She’d shown me how to fly; she hadn’t given me the wings, but she’d showed me that I had them.

“It was hard,” I said truthfully. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be the modern day Pussy Galore,” I continued quickly, before she could be all encouraging and tell me that it was going to get easier. I didn’t want to hear that it was going to get easier. The only thing that could possibly get easier was me—and Scott’s ability to get into my pants again. “The character from James Bond, by the way. Not some hooker.”

“I knew that.” Lacey laughed. “I’m the one that introduced you to James Bond, back in high school, when I liked that guy, Jason Connery, whose dad looked like Sean Connery. Remember I made you watch all those Sean Connery movies because I was going to try and impress Jason with my knowledge of all his dad’s movies? And then we realized his dad owned that used car dealership and his name was Shawnie Connery and we laughed because his name was a city.”

“Oh yeah,” I laughed. “How could I forget Shawnie Connery and the weekend of James Bond and Indiana Jones?” I giggled, thinking back to that weekend and how we’d practiced remembering lines for Lacey to impress Jason with. “Well, then you know exactly what I mean when I say I’m not Pussy Galore,” I said and I heard Lacey giggling, most probably because I’d said pussy again. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to play a role like this.” I groaned. “He wanted to have sex in his office this morning and it was hell telling him no. I thought my panties were going to drop off when I saw him.”

“Wow, really? They were going to drop off because he’s so incredibly sexy? Even panties know the allure of Scott Taylor!” She giggled and I sighed.

“You do not even know, Lacey. He’s just so hot and he has this twinkle in his eyes. Argh. When he looks at me and smiles I feel like my heart is going to explode and it’s like we have this connection. And did I tell you how blue his eyes are? They’re almost magical. They’re intoxicating. I literally feel like I’m floating in the ocean when I stare at him.”

“And you don’t want to drown, do you?” Lacey said. “He lied to you, Liza,” Lacey said, her tone strong. I knew she was being serious now. She only called me Liza when she was being serious. “You don’t want a guy that lies; trust me, they aren’t worth it.”

“I know,” I sighed. “It’s just so hard.”

“It’s hard, but not as hard as it will be if you give in to temptation and get your heart broken. Don’t make me come down there,” she threatened.

“Are you going to come?” I asked her eagerly, hopeful.

“Soon,” she said. “I’ll be there soon,” she said again and then added, “And trust me, you don’t want me to come because I’m consoling you because you’re crying day and night and knocked up with a baby on the way.” I groaned inwardly as Lacey went into her dramatic mode!

“Yeah, you’d better come before I do something stupid and make a fool of myself.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Lacey said unconvincingly.

“You know I have and I would.” I laughed.

“So what’s your plan of action, then?” she asked me curiously.

“Exactly what I was paid for,” I said and tried not to sigh. “I’m going to lightly flirt and tease, then on Saturday I’m going to give him a sexy lap dance and get him aroused at his office party and embarrass him.”

“But couldn’t he get in trouble?” Lacey sounded concerned. “Now we know his ex hired you and not his friends; we know that it’s not intended to be a joke. At least not a funny one.”

“That’s his problem, not mine,” I said and pouted, though internally I was feeling a tinge of guilt. Did Scott really deserve to be the subject of gossip the next week, just because we’d had sex and he’d made up an excuse for me to leave? “He lied to me, he most probably is a player that makes girls feel like he likes them so he can have a one-night stand and then he ditches them,” I said, trying to convince myself that I was in the right.

“You think so?” Lacey said, trying to play devil’s advocate.