I wanted to speak, to ask what he was thinking, but he pulled away and left.

This time he was gone.

Recess (n.):

Temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity.

Andrew

I’d broken a lot of rules in my life, but sleeping with an intern was probably one of the worst ones. There was no precedent for this, and that terrified me.

The second I left Aubrey’s apartment, I did what I normally did after f**king someone I met online: I went home, showered, poured a glass of my favorite scotch, and pulled out my laptop—preparing to search for the next.

Except this time, I didn’t want to search for a next. I wanted to f**k Aubrey, again and again. I wanted to hear her scream a little louder, feel her body wrapped against mine, and see her face as I buried myself deep inside of her.

Damn...

I couldn’t believe this. I could count on one hand the number of women I’d thought about after I left a hotel, and it wasn’t because any of them were memorable in a good way. And the ones that were good, were just “good”—never amazing, like Aubrey.

A part of me felt bad for leaving her right after we finished, for not saying a word, but I had to leave.

I didn’t do pillow talk conversations after sex. Ever.

Even though I was more than tempted to drive back over there right now and claim her again, I had to make myself accept a very harsh fact: I was never going to sleep with her again. It was against my rules.

***

“Where is my coffee, Jessica?” I called her desk. “Why hasn’t Miss Everhart brought it to me yet? Is she late today?”

“No, sir.” She sounded confused. “It’s only seven thirty...”

I looked at the clock on my wall and sighed before ending the call. I was on edge for some reason, and I didn’t like it.

I’d failed to get any sleep the night before and I’d purposely ignored Aubrey’s midnight text. It’d read, “Can’t sleep...Can we talk about what just happened between us?”

The answer was no.

Our conversations were long over. There was nothing more we had to discuss.

We talked. We f**ked. That was the end of us.

I pulled up the Dating-Match website, determined to get her out of my mind. All I needed to do was find someone else, and she would become a drop in the sea of other endless women—a fleeting memory that I would halfway remember whenever I saw her gorgeous face.

There were hundreds of new women on the site now, but very few of them caught my eye. The ones that did seemed too good to be true, so I didn’t bother clicking on their full profiles.

Just as I was reading about a math professor, a cup of coffee was set on my desk.

“Good morning,” Aubrey whispered.

I didn’t answer. I continued to scroll through online profiles; she’d get the point eventually.

She sighed. “Andrew—”

“It’s Mr. Hamilton.” I looked up, immediately wishing that I hadn’t. She looked even more stunning today than she did yesterday. She was wearing the same grey dress she’d worn to her interview, and it was tighter today than it was on that day. Her hair was falling in soft curls that fell past her shoulders, and her blue eyes were bright, hopeful.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” she asked.

“Is it about your work?”

“No...”

“Is it about my work?”

“No...”

“Then no. Get out.”

“It’s about yesterday.” She stood still, making my c**k stiffen as she bit her lip.

“Yesterday was a mistake, a regrettable moment in both of our careers, and I assure you that it won’t be happening again.”

“That’s not what I was going to say.”

“Miss Everhart,” I said, standing up from my desk and walking over to her, “you and I work together professionally. If I had known the truth behind all of your ridiculous lies earlier, I would’ve immediately stopped talking to you. And then I would’ve reported you for stealing someone else’s information and using it as your own. The fact that you are a liar remains, and unfortunately—given those circumstances and the fact that I’ve already f**ked you, there’s nothing more that needs to be said between us.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but I pressed my finger against her lips.

“Nothing more,” I whispered, bringing my face close to hers. “Understood?”

“You are...” Her bottom lip quivered as she jerked away from me. “You are such an ass**le! I can’t believe that I slept with you!”

“Believe it. I’m sure it’ll be a very good memory for you since you hardly ever have sex.”

She shook her head. “Were you pretending on the phone, too? You’re nothing like the man I talked to at night, nothing like—”

“Please spare me the emotional appeal bullshit, Miss Everhart. I’ll have my next cup of coffee at noon. Thanks.”

“You’ll be waiting.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll get it when I feel like it.”

“You’re going to make me fire you over a cup of coffee?”

“To be honest, you might not want me to make your coffee, Mr. Hamilton.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “There’s no telling what I’ll put in it.”

“I f**king dare you...” I stepped closer.

“Is that a threat?” She shrugged.