That look of anticipation that had been in her eyes just moments before was gone, replaced by worry that she’d overstepped the line of propriety with her boss just weeks into a new job. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I didn’t mean to pry. Really, I didn’t.”
The feel of her touch on my sleeve made a rush of heat race up my arm. Shaking my head, I said, “It’s okay. You weren’t being rude at all. You’re right. My father had an affair with Kane’s mother right around the time he and my mother found out they were pregnant with me. So Kane is just three months younger than I am. Stefan is two years younger than us, even though he acts like he’s more like ten.”
“He’s just more lighthearted than you, and especially Kane,” she said with a smile, obviously relieved she hadn’t committed a misstep. “Younger siblings get to do that.”
“I guess. I just wish he’d act something close to his age sometimes.”
“I think he relies on you for that.”
Her delicate way of saying that I was the serious brother only reinforced what I suspected she thought of me—Stefan was the fun-loving one, and I was the somber one. Ordinarily, I didn’t mind that. This was who I was in public. I wore my straight man role comfortably and left the frat boy antics to Stefan, who wore them like a second skin. Now, though, I wanted Olivia to like me as she did him, but I couldn’t change who I was.
If she wanted someone like Stefan, she wouldn’t want me.
I looked down at my watch and saw it was nearly eleven o’clock. The lights dimmed until the room was pitch black, and with the first beats of the bass from the DJ, the club exploded in light and sound. The glass bar and shelves behind it glowed in shades of neon blue and green lights, and the electronic light show lit up the dance floor, encouraging the Lady Godivas to begin their partying.
Olivia’s mouth hung open as she watched the dance floor fill with women well on their way to having the night of their lives and the half-naked men they’d brought with them. The Lady Godivas never left their good time to chance, so they always chose us to host their parties and always made sure they had more than enough men for whatever their members desired.
Leaning close to her, I said in her ear, “Let’s go to the second floor. The sound isn’t as loud up there.”
As the women and their guests gyrated across the dance floor, I took Olivia’s hand in mine and led her up the metal stairs to a secluded area above the action. The acoustics of the building created a pocket where we could watch the party and still be able to hear one another speak.
We sat down on a black leather couch as the party kicked into high gear, neither one of us speaking for a long time as Olivia stared down at the crowd below. It didn’t take long for the women to begin shedding their clothes and soon the only people fully clothed were Club X workers and Olivia and me.
“I didn’t realize this kind of thing happened down there in the club. I thought…” Her sentence trailed off and she returned to watching the action on the dance floor.
I tried to conceal my disappointment, but it was likely written all over my face. I’d hoped the reality of my business wouldn’t chase her away, both from being my assistant and anything else we might be in the future. “If this isn’t something you’re comfortable with, Olivia, it’s better we find out now before either one of us gets too used to working with one another. I understand.”
Her eyes grew wide, and she smiled as she shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not uncomfortable. I want to see more of what happens here. Don’t worry about me. I’m far more fun than I look.”
I nodded, wanting to believe she could handle Club X—that she could handle the life I led.
Chapter Five
Olivia
I wasn’t being entirely honest with Cash when I said I wasn’t uncomfortable with what was going on one floor below us. Maybe if I was there with Erin and Josie watching half-naked men thrusting and pumping into a bunch of drunken women I would have been into it, but sitting there with Cash made the scene in front of us even more erotic than it already was. I sensed his gaze on me as I pretended to be engrossed in the action, watching me instead of the Lady Godivas.
The brief touch of his leg against mine, his suit coat lightly skimming my arm heightened the electricity in the air, making paying attention to anything but him impossible. He appeared so at home there in the middle of all this debauchery, like he’d lived this life forever, despite how serious he looked each day as we worked together. That man who was all business had vanished leaving one far more sensual in his place. Maybe it was the music and lights, or maybe it was the near sex show unfolding just one floor away, but that tiny spark that had flickered inside me since meeting Cash now grew into a flame of desire that threatened to consume me.
He leaned in and said, “Why didn’t you ever try to become a member here, Olivia?”
I turned my head slightly and felt his lips brush against the shell of my ear. “What do you mean?”
“Your friends are members. Why didn’t you ever apply to be a member?” he asked in a deep voice that made me want to close my eyes and simply enjoy the tenor of it against my skin.
His question took me back to that night Jake had offered to bring me to this very place and why I’d said no. It wasn’t that I was frightened of what Club X may have been. The truth was far more mundane. “I was too busy trying to climb the corporate ladder. While everyone else was having fun, I was working thirteen hour days just to be sent on my way after a few years.”
Cash said nothing in response, even as I waited for him to speak, so I turned my head and saw him smiling at me. “I hear in your voice that you’re ashamed of what you just said. Don’t be. An intelligent woman like you should never be ashamed of wanting to succeed. Leave the partying to those people who don’t have a world to conquer.”
I felt my cheeks grow hot as I stared back at his piercing blue eyes full of admiration. I’d never met a man who spoke about work like he did yet looked so incredibly sexy. At that moment, there wasn’t a thought in my head about the corporate ladder or anything else but how much I loved the way he looked at me just then.
The music stopped and Stefan’s voice over the loudspeaker interrupted our moment with the announcement that tonight was all about the Lady Godivas. The crowd below erupted into cheers and catcalls as he promised a party to end all parties. Cash’s expression hardened, and he turned his head away from me. When the music began again just moments later, whatever had been between us had disappeared, leaving us as boss and assistant once again.