Eventually our limo arrives in the South Bronx, which is not even close to being the worst area of the Bronx, though it’s not exactly trendy either. We park in front of a little bar not far from Yankee Stadium under the watchful eyes of the locals. Travis walks two steps ahead, opening the door for himself without bothering to hold it for me.

Inside we find a seat at the bar and Travis orders us two scotch and sodas.

“Mr. Gable, is everything all right?” I ask tentatively.

“We have cameras,” he says as our drinks arrive.

“I . . . I don’t think I understand,” I say as I sip delicately at my cocktail.

“At HGVB, in the conference rooms, we have cameras. I just checked the tape this afternoon.”

I feel my cheeks heat up as I stare into my drink. “Oh.”

“I know my brother is—”

“Please, let’s not do this.”

“I just need to make sure you don’t fall for him . . . I mean really fall for him.”

I look up, surprised. “But you know that will never happen. The only reason I’m still with him is because you talked me into it.”

“Yes, but . . . I saw how you were with him.” For the first time tonight he lets his eyes roam over me and I instinctively shrink back, crossing my arms over my chest. “That didn’t look like just sex.”

“No?”

“No. It looked like lovemaking. You made love to my brother.”

I take a deep breath, knowing what tack I’m going to need to take but really wishing there was another option. “I have certain tastes,” I say quietly. “I like it to feel tender . . . even when there’s no real connection there at all.”

Travis studies me as I continue to stare into my drink. I try not to flinch as he brushes my hair back over my shoulder and then smirks with amusement.

“Please, Mr. Gable. I’m so embarrassed. It didn’t mean anything. He just . . . He kept questioning me about you and it seemed like the best way to get him to shut up.”

At that Travis barks in laughter. The patrons at the tables look up from their menus and conversations to see what’s going on before turning away from us again.

“I need to trust you. There is nothing more important in an employee than trustworthiness.”

“I bought cocaine for you,” I spit out. “I think you can trust me.”

“But it wasn’t cocaine.”

“I didn’t know that. Really, what more do you want?”

“Well,” Travis says with a cruel smile, “I wouldn’t mind seeing a live performance someday. The tape was grainy. I don’t think it’ll fetch much on the open market.”

My cheeks go from pink to red. “You wouldn’t.”

Again he laughs. “Trust, Bell. As long as I can trust you, you can trust me.”