Lust or Love (The Love Vixen #2) - Jeannette Winters Page 0,7

busy woman and don’t have time to…”

“Date?” he asked.

A chill ran through me. Date…What I’d give for a chance to date Jack again. The first time, we never got to really relax and enjoy our time together. On the few occasions we didn’t have a chaperone, my father had set a curfew. Maybe what I thought was so good between us was nothing more than wanting what was forbidden.

“We were discussing work, not…dating,” I clarified. “So if you’re going to work for me, we cannot talk about…seeing each other on a personal level.”

He laughed. “I don’t remember you being so…uptight. If anything, you were the fun one.”

“I’ve changed,” I stated firmly. I’m not that daydreamer any longer. The only happy endings I believe in are the ones I give myself.

I hoped Jack would get the hint, change his mind, and leave now. Instead, he asked, “I noticed the stockroom needed painting. Do you have a preference for color?”

So you’re staying? Really?

Opening my top right desk drawer, I started pulling out all types of papers. I looked at Jack, who seemed nervous. “What’s the matter?”

“Not sure what you’re going to pull out of there,” he said, with a smirk.

“I’m looking for the paint swatches. What did you think I was looking for?” I asked.

Jack smiled. “I don’t even want to guess.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“I drove your van yesterday, remember?” he said.

“I know. I gave you the keys. What does that have to do with my desk?” I asked.

He smiled. “Nothing, but I was thinking that I should fix your glove box.”

My glove box? My heart stopped and I felt my cheeks burn red. “You went through my glove box?” I knew what was inside.

“I wouldn’t say I ‘went through it’ as much as it practically attacked me. Just in case you’re looking for…it. I put everything back inside.”

“You…you saw…. the…”

“Your vibrator?” he grinned.

Since I hadn’t told him the nature of my business, he probably thought it was for my personal use. I wanted to crawl under my desk. I dealt with sex toys every day, but the fact that Jack thought it was mine and I ran around with it in my van for horniness emergencies, well, that was a different story. Did I really want to explain my business to a man who was so close to my father? Easier just to let him believe what he wants.

Holding my head up with what little dignity I had left, I said, “Don’t worry. I only have paperwork in my desk.”

“Now that is disappointing,” he winked.

I ignored him. When I found the right color swatch, I handed it to him and said, “If you go to ACE Paint and More on Main Street, I have credit there. They’ll bill me for whatever you need to get the stockroom done.”

He took the swatch and asked, “Would you like to grab dinner with me tonight?”

Jack was asking me out? This was not good. Thankfully, I couldn’t go. I had another demonstration. “I’m sorry, but I’m working tonight.”

He cocked a brow and asked. “At night?”

“Yes. I run my own business. I work a lot,” I admitted.

“That’s what Robert said. Maybe I can stay and help,” he offered.

Not with this. It was obvious Jack wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “How about tomorrow? I’m free then.”

“It’s a date,” he said, and left my office.

Damn it. Why do I do this to myself?

Jack hadn’t been gone for long when I called Allison. She might tease me and give me shit, but I knew she would at least listen to what I said.

“Miss me already?” she asked.

“I need your help,” I said.

“That’s a first,” she teased.

It wasn’t the truth. I’d asked her for help many times, just never about a man. Usually, it was something simple like what to wear to an event. But this was so much more important to me.

“I’m serious, Allison. I need to think of a way to get Jack to go away.”

“But you’re the one who hired him, remember?”

Can’t forget. That was all before I knew the truth. He didn’t need a job. My father, for some inexplicable reason, had lied to both me and to Jack. If I thought it could all be fixed by confronting my father, I would. But that would certainly make things worse. I needed to do this on my own. “Are you going to help me think of something or not?”

“I know someone who can.”

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“The Love Vixen,” Allison said.

“The