waitress reappears with our food and we start eating. For some reason, mine tastes a bit flavorless today. I have to admit that Clara’s veggie burger looks pretty good.
“So,” says Clara between mouthfuls, “I want to know the reason you bought me from Greene.”
“Sounds pretty horrible when you say that I ‘bought’ you.”
“What would you call it then?”
She’s got me. I pretty much did buy her.
“I guess I’d say that I presented you with an opportunity.”
“My question still stands. Why?”
No harm in being honest I suppose.
“You’re good. I could tell that straight away. You’re passionate about the project and you can crunch the numbers quicker than anyone I ever saw. When I see something I want for me or my business, I pay what I think it’s worth and I don’t take no for an answer. Doesn’t matter if it’s a pot plant or a person.”
“So I’m like a pot plant?”
“What you are is an asset to the business.”
That, and I figured it would be nice to have a hot girl around the office. I decide not to mention that. You don’t get a billion dollars by paying out for harassment lawsuits all the time.
“Thanks. I guess,” she says before biting down on her burger again.
Chapter 15
Clara
Kyan and I spend the rest of the meal managing to avoid talking about anything too deep. Mostly we just stuck to chatting about what TV shows we’ve been watching and how we think the economy is going. Best of all, we’ve managed to avoid talking about the fact I saw him naked.
I think the worst thing is that I can’t stop thinking about it.
I try to put it out of my mind as he holds the door open for me and we walk out into the cool air of the night.
“How are you getting home?” he asks me.
“Subway I guess.”
“I’ll walk you there.”
“I didn’t know you were such a gentleman.”
“Don’t worry, I’m meeting someone downtown so it’s on my way.”
“You can’t even admit to doing one nice thing?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression,” he says with one of his trademark winks. It might be creepy from some guys but he knows he’s handsome enough to get away with it.
“Thanks for dinner,” I say, “…and thanks for being honest when I was grilling you. As honest as I’ve ever seen you, that is. Hope I didn’t annoy you too much.”
Whatever has happened before, he’s still my boss and I know I really need this job to work out, even if he has pissed me off.
“Yeah, you could say that I really laid everything bare for you this evening, huh?”
I feel the heat rising to my cheeks again. Why did he have to bring that up?
“And the only thing I really learned about you was that you’re vegetarian,” he continues.
“What else do you want?”
“Well, you got to see me naked so I figure there’s only really one way to make that fair…”
Even though I can feel my face glowing again, I punch him playfully on the shoulder.
“We’re being professional. Or have you forgotten that already?” I say.
We get to the steps leading down to the subway. Time to say goodbye. How are we supposed to do this?
I hold out my hand for him to shake like we’ve just concluded a business meeting. I feel dumb as hell the moment I do it.
“For real? I know I said we were supposed to be professional, but what the hell,” he says as he embraces me.
For a moment I’m enveloped in his thick arms, surrounded by the subtle, musky scent of his cologne. We keep the hug professional, not lingering too long, not squeezing too much. When it ends after a few moments I feel kind of empty, like I want to sink back into his arms for a little bit longer.
Don’t be an idiot, Clara. He’s your boss and that’s all. And anyway, he’s a jerk. Not as much of a jerk as you thought three days ago, but still.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says, “Don’t get too hung up on that report. You’ve got a few days.”
We say goodbye and I head down to the
“So,” says Clara between mouthfuls, “I want to know the reason you bought me from Greene.”
“Sounds pretty horrible when you say that I ‘bought’ you.”
“What would you call it then?”
She’s got me. I pretty much did buy her.
“I guess I’d say that I presented you with an opportunity.”
“My question still stands. Why?”
No harm in being honest I suppose.
“You’re good. I could tell that straight away. You’re passionate about the project and you can crunch the numbers quicker than anyone I ever saw. When I see something I want for me or my business, I pay what I think it’s worth and I don’t take no for an answer. Doesn’t matter if it’s a pot plant or a person.”
“So I’m like a pot plant?”
“What you are is an asset to the business.”
That, and I figured it would be nice to have a hot girl around the office. I decide not to mention that. You don’t get a billion dollars by paying out for harassment lawsuits all the time.
“Thanks. I guess,” she says before biting down on her burger again.
Chapter 15
Clara
Kyan and I spend the rest of the meal managing to avoid talking about anything too deep. Mostly we just stuck to chatting about what TV shows we’ve been watching and how we think the economy is going. Best of all, we’ve managed to avoid talking about the fact I saw him naked.
I think the worst thing is that I can’t stop thinking about it.
I try to put it out of my mind as he holds the door open for me and we walk out into the cool air of the night.
“How are you getting home?” he asks me.
“Subway I guess.”
“I’ll walk you there.”
“I didn’t know you were such a gentleman.”
“Don’t worry, I’m meeting someone downtown so it’s on my way.”
“You can’t even admit to doing one nice thing?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong impression,” he says with one of his trademark winks. It might be creepy from some guys but he knows he’s handsome enough to get away with it.
“Thanks for dinner,” I say, “…and thanks for being honest when I was grilling you. As honest as I’ve ever seen you, that is. Hope I didn’t annoy you too much.”
Whatever has happened before, he’s still my boss and I know I really need this job to work out, even if he has pissed me off.
“Yeah, you could say that I really laid everything bare for you this evening, huh?”
I feel the heat rising to my cheeks again. Why did he have to bring that up?
“And the only thing I really learned about you was that you’re vegetarian,” he continues.
“What else do you want?”
“Well, you got to see me naked so I figure there’s only really one way to make that fair…”
Even though I can feel my face glowing again, I punch him playfully on the shoulder.
“We’re being professional. Or have you forgotten that already?” I say.
We get to the steps leading down to the subway. Time to say goodbye. How are we supposed to do this?
I hold out my hand for him to shake like we’ve just concluded a business meeting. I feel dumb as hell the moment I do it.
“For real? I know I said we were supposed to be professional, but what the hell,” he says as he embraces me.
For a moment I’m enveloped in his thick arms, surrounded by the subtle, musky scent of his cologne. We keep the hug professional, not lingering too long, not squeezing too much. When it ends after a few moments I feel kind of empty, like I want to sink back into his arms for a little bit longer.
Don’t be an idiot, Clara. He’s your boss and that’s all. And anyway, he’s a jerk. Not as much of a jerk as you thought three days ago, but still.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says, “Don’t get too hung up on that report. You’ve got a few days.”
We say goodbye and I head down to the
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