“Parker stuffed me in his closet, told me to stay put.” I shrugged. “So I did.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “That was quick thinking of him,” she said. “And chivalrous, too, protecting you like that.” She grinned. “Real knight-in-shining-armor kind of stuff. Who’d have thought him capable?”
My eyes narrowed and I tried to keep cool. Lack of sleep had made me short-tempered. “I wasn’t a bit surprised,” I snapped.
Megan’s eyebrows went even higher and her grin faded fast. “Hey, I’m sorry; that was rude to say. Don’t be mad.”
I sighed, my irritation melting away as quickly as it had risen. “It’s fine. I only got like four hours’ sleep, so I’m a total bitch today. Ignore me.”
“Well, tell me how the date went,” she said. “You know, with the cop who can come arrest me any day.”
I laughed. “It was fine. Short. We had dinner, and then I came back here to work.” I left out the part about Parker being the reason the date had been so short. I already knew what Megan would have to say to that.
She looked disappointed. “That’s all? So, what, you didn’t like him? Was he boring? All the really good-looking ones are. Or they’re gay. He’s not gay, right?”
I shook my head. “No, definitely not gay.” The memory of riding behind him on the back of the motorcycle, my thighs rubbing against the denim of his jeans, sent a shiver through me. I wondered if he’d have his motorcycle tomorrow night. I lowered my voice, just in case Parker should come out of his office. “I have another date with him tomorrow night.”
“No way! That’s great!” Megan’s face split in a wide smile.
“Wait,” I said, suddenly frowning. “He didn’t tell me where to meet him or a time.” With everything going on last night, I hadn’t thought to get details. “He just asked me out.”
“He’s a cop,” Megan said with a shrug. “He can find out where you live. Maybe he’ll call you today.”
I shook my head. It didn’t matter. Not really. If the date happened, great. If not, oh well. But I did have to tell her… “He has a motorcycle,” I said, grinning. “We rode it to the restaurant.”
“You rode a motorcycle?” she asked in disbelief.
“Miracles do happen,” I said.
She laughed. “I guess so.” Leaning over the counter, she asked, “So, if you go out with him tomorrow night, are you going to sleep with him?”
My face heated, as did my blood at the mere thought of sleeping with Ryker, but I hesitated. “I don’t know…” I hedged. “It’s a little soon—”
“Did you not see that body?” Megan asked. “I’ve been fantasizing about it and I’m not the one having dinner with him! You have to promise me that you’ll at least think about it, just for the sake of those who live vicariously through you.” She made a sad, pitiful face.
I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning. “Fine. But find your own cop because even if I do sleep with him, don’t think I’m going to give you the details.”
“Excuse me?”
I squeaked in surprise, jerking around to see Parker standing behind me, a file folder in his hand, his eyebrows up nearly to his hairline. Oh God, had he just heard me talk about sleeping with Ryker?
“Um, nothing,” I managed, seeing Megan hurrying away in my peripheral vision. “Just chatting for a minute.”
He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then shut it. “Can you have this messaged over to Hamlisch & Thompson? As soon as possible, please.” He handed me the folder in his hand.
“Absolutely.”
“I’ve spoken with Stan,” he continued, naming our CEO, Stan Wurley, “and he wants me to temporarily take over Hinton’s duties for the international division until he hires someone.”
Aw shit. That sucked. My work load had just doubled.
“To help out, Sawyer will be handling some of my stuff in the interim as well,” he said. Sawyer was one of Parker’s underlings. “Hinton was scheduled for a meeting in New York next week, flying out Sunday night. Switch the travel plans to myself.”
I grabbed a pen and started scrawling notes while he talked.
“Meet with Hinton’s assistant, see what I need to get up to speed on with that account, and have it on my desk by this afternoon. Book yourself for the trip, too. We should be back on Wednesday.”
I glanced up. “Me too?” I hadn’t ever gone to an out-of-town business meeting with Parker before, but