“Leigh’s at the gym, you’re safe,” he said teasingly, and Olivia couldn’t help but smile. Jared was a lot more playful ever since he’d dumped Truck Stop, his evil black hole of an ex-girlfriend, and gotten together with Leigh. It was like seeing the true person she’d always known was somewhere in there, but he’d kept squashed down while he was with Thundercunt. Now he was completely himself and she loved it. Even if she’d hadn’t loved Leigh for herself, she would have loved her for the way she’d affected Jared’s life. “So… you like like Luke?”

“I’m starting to regret calling you,” she muttered.

“I’m kind of surprised you did,” he replied. “Normally you don’t want to talk much about your men.”

“I don’t have men,” she countered, drawing out the last word. “I’m not keeping anyone hanging on a string. I just have play partners, and unlike Andrew when he was going through his man-whore phase, I don’t even usually have sex with them.”

“But now you’re thinking about Luke as something more than a play partner,” Jared mused. He wasn’t asking, he was talking out loud and making the assumption. He wasn’t wrong either.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a bad idea,” she admitted, swinging her chair a little harder. She rubbed her hand on her jeans over her thigh, wiping at an invisible spot. Luke made her feel uncertain about a lot of things, which she didn’t like at all.

“Why?”

“Because he’s my boss.”

To her surprise, Jared didn’t argue that, as a silent partner, Luke might not really be considered her boss.

“So? Patrick was Lexie’s boss.”

“Yeah but…” Her voice trailed off and she made a face. Ugh, she so did not want to admit the truth.

“But…”

“That’s different. He’s the dominant sexually and Lexie is a woman. I’m not just the dominant, but I’m a dominant woman. Luke’s already struggling with being a submissive, how am I supposed to maintain being a dominant when he’s my boss?” Olivia hoped to high hell she didn’t sound as whiny as she felt saying all of that.

She was relieved when her question was greeted with silence. Which meant Jared was really thinking about his answer. Another reason she’d opted to speak with him; he was a highly empathic person. Even though he’d never been in this position, he’d do his best to truly imagine himself in her shoes. And he wouldn’t give her shit about it like most of their friends.

“Do you think he’ll try to abuse his position if you start a personal relationship?”