I shake my head and reach for the phone on the counter. I dial Rob’s number from memory, refusing to look at her as the phone rings in my ear.

“Hello?” Rob answers.

“Rob. Devin.”

“What’s up? There an issue at the shop?”

“Yeah, a stubborn blonde one,” I bark.

“Say hello for me,” Jessie sings at the same time Rob chuckles on the line.

“She’s doing an external business evaluation. For some school project.”

I let out a low growl and slide my eyes over Jessie again. She’s leaning against the counter, studying me with a hungry curiosity. I leer at her the way an alcoholic does an open bottle of booze.

“I told her you would walk her through the whole operation. Is that a problem?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” I hang up without saying goodbye.

Jessie’s eyebrows dance and her eyes sparkle. “Where would you like to start?”

I need her out of my space. “Nowhere. Come back next week, when Rob is here. You’re his problem.”

“Sorry, that’s not the deal.”

I stare at her until she continues.

“I get to learn the business from you.” She steps closer, her index finger tracing the shop logo on my shirt. “We’re going to get real close.”

The devil inside me surges forward, desperate for her. I lean down, letting my nose graze her jaw. “And if I refuse?” I drawl. I ignore the way she smells like vanilla and sugar, and how bad I’d like to taste her. All of her.

“Rob would be very disappointed. There is another option.” She hops up on the counter and crosses her long legs. My gaze traces down them. Who wears shorts in the middle of winter? “You ask me out and I’ll leave you and your place of work in peace.”

“Sounds like blackmail.”

“Nope. Blackmail would be if I had a secret I was threatening you with. I’m just offering my services to your boss in a purely professional manner. Unless you want to make our arrangement a personal one—”

“Sexual harassment.”

“Sexual harassment would be if I was compelling you to date me in exchange for preferential treatment or professional advancement. This is the exact opposite. Date me and I’ll ignore you.”

“Fuckin’ semantics. Still manipulative bullshit.” I hate that she’s playing a game, one a part of me would enjoy losing.

“You didn’t leave me much choice. I’m just incentivizing the preferred behavior.” She grabs a fist full of my shirt and pulls me between her legs. I slap my hands on the counter, my fingers itching to dig into her thighs. Her green eyes lock on me. The tip of her nose nudges mine. “You know there’s something here. Why do you keep fighting it? Come on Devin, give in. Date me.”

She’s a siren, luring me onto the rock, and I can’t bring myself to give a fuck. I drag my callused knuckles over the soft skin at her exposed neck, brushing away the silky blonde strands. I take a deep breath, inhaling her sweet smell, and trail a hand down her back. She shudders with a soft hum at my touch, making my cock twitch in my jeans.