But I don’t. She’s always struggling to give me glimpses of herself.

The tension is thick enough to choke a person, so I untie my black tie and rest it over my shoulder. She takes out a purple pen and a notepad with the Underwood Banking logo stamp at the top of the page from her worn purse.

“Me paying you a hundred bucks a month isn’t enough, so I’ll cook you dinners on nights you’re here, and I’ll buy groceries,” she says, changing the subject, writing on the pad “food items,” drawing a heart over the I. Her penmanship is girly and cursive. “What kind of food do you like?”

“You don’t have to do that.” I wave my hand at her dismissively.

“Yes, I do.”

“No. End of discussion.”

She exhales loudly. “Yeah. Um, no. You’re not my boss when I clock out from work, and I’m going to do what I want. Again, what do you like to eat?”

Classic Gia. Always wanting to have the last word.

Rolling my eyes, I’m not in the mood to argue, so I’ll let her believe she won this argument. “Anything but Brussels sprouts and nuts.”

She scribbles it down on a pad. “Are you allergic to anything?”

“No, not that I know of.”

She places the pad in her purse, and I turn my whole body to face her.

“You’re sassy,” I say bluntly. And beautiful, not as uptight as I thought, and I’m going to fuck your brains out when you give me a chance. If I were to say that out loud, she’d call the cops on me so quick I wouldn’t be able to finish my sentence. When I inhale her scent, she smells like she rolled in a tub of fresh apples.

“Well . . . You’re a whore.” She shakes her head and stands up from the stool. “I’m still traumatized from the smell of the couch in your office. Be a gentleman and take her to a hotel.”

I want to tell her that she’s the reason why I needed to have a dirty fuck on that couch, but I don’t. When I fucked N—that is her legal name—I was imagining it was Gia.

Black hair replaced with brunette.

Icicle-blue eyes replaced with amber.

Tawny skin replaced with pale.

Big tits replaced with small tits.

“I prefer the term pussy enthusiast.” I stand and tuck the barstool under the breakfast nook.

My dick is digging into my zipper, and I don’t even bother to hide my erection as I adjust it.

Rainbow glances down, and her cheeks turn cherry red before she bites her lip and glances away.

Her ritual every time she’s around me.

“I’m about to shower. I’ll see you at work in the morning,” I say before heading to the bathroom.