“Oh.” James touched the side of my face where my bruise was still slightly visible. “It kills me that anyone would think I did that. I would never hurt you.”
I grabbed his hand and moved it back to my waist. “I know, James. Try to ignore him. The last thing you want is to get in a bar fight with one of your employees. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“Then he should probably stop hitting on you.”
“He’s not. And what about Sierra hitting on you?” I gave him a playful smile.
James laughed. “I think she’s had too much to drink.”
“I hope that’s the reason. I mean, I’m sitting right there. What is her problem?”
He grabbed my hand and spun me around before pulling me back in close.
“I don’t think any of them really care to get to know me, ” I said. “They just wanted to meet you.”
“I’m sure that isn’t true.”
“The only one talking to me was Zach and he was doing it to piss you off.”
James laughed.
“The woes of dating a celebrity.”
“Baby, I’m not a celebrity.”
“You basically are. And everyone that works for you idolizes you.”
“I only care about what you think of me.”
I stared into his eyes. “Do you wish you were an author?”
“I’m happy exactly where I am.”
“You know, if you wrote a book it would automatically be a best seller. You already have name recognition.”
“I’m happy exactly where I am,” he repeated. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
I stared into his eyes. “What do you and Mason talk about when you run together?”
James smiled. “Guy stuff.”
“What does that mean?”
James spun me around again.
“Does that mean you talk about me and Bee?”
“Sometimes.”
“Good or bad things?”
“Let’s just say I know who’s going to win our bet.”
“What?! You know when Mason is going to propose to Bee?!”
“I can’t say anything else.”
“James, you have to tell me.”
He laughed. “There’s no way I’m telling you. I have inside information. And you’re just going to leak it to Bee.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
“Penny, you’re a terrible liar. I told Mason I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
I pursed my lips. “Husbands and wives don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Some bro code breaks marriage code.”
“It does not.”
“No, it doesn’t. But we’re not married yet. Ask me again next Saturday and I’ll tell you.”
“Fine.” I sighed. “I was thinking about calling off the wedding, but I guess I can’t now.”
“Very funny.”
I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him. His hands slid down to the top of my ass as he kissed me back. He didn’t seem to care at all that his employees could see us. And the way he was kissing me made me not care either.
“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked. His voice was low and seductive.
“Are you caving?”
“No, but I think I’ll be able to get you to.”
I shook my head back and forth. “If you cave we can leave right now, though. And you can do whatever you want to me.”
He lowered his eyebrows.
“If not, your new friends are waiting for you.”
James laughed. “You mean your new friends.” He leaned in a little closer to me. “I’m not caving, Penny. But I guarantee that this game will be over by the end of the week.”
“Is that so?”
He winked at me and grabbed my hand. I reluctantly followed him back to the table.
“We have a game to play,” Sierra said.
Hopefully it wasn’t who could flirt better with James. “What’s the game?” I asked.
“Two truths, one lie. We’ll go around and each say two truths and one lie about ourselves, and then everyone else will guess which thing is a lie.”
“Okay, let’s play.” I took a sip of my beer.
“I’ll go first,” she said. “I haven’t been to church in years. I flunked chemistry in high school. And I have never had a one night stand.”
“The last one was a lie,” Tavon said.
“Nope.” Sierra’s cheeks blushed.
“What do you mean that’s not a lie?” Tavon asked.
Sierra shrugged. “It wasn’t my lie.”
“We’re going to have to fix that.”
Sierra laughed.
“Well, you probably didn’t flunk chemistry,” Zach said. “So I’m gonna say that’s the lie.”
Sierra shook her head.
“You really flunked chemistry?” I asked. “I hated science too.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I had to retake it. I just hated that class so much.”
“How on earth did you get this internship?” Tavon asked and lightly touched her shoulder.
I tried not to laugh. Tavon had clearly found his mission for the night. Sierra was in trouble.
“Okay,” Tavon said and cracked his knuckles. “I’ve lost more money in blackjack than I care to admit. I’ve never broken a bone. And I have a huge penis.”
“The huge penis thing is a little subjective, don’t you think?” Zach asked.
James laughed. This was the most inappropriate game ever to play with your boss. James smiled at me. But he seemed to be enjoying himself. Now that the inquisition was over, he probably felt a little more comfortable.
“Oh, no. It’s huge.” He winked at Sierra. Her cheeks got even redder.
“The blackjack thing?” I asked. I couldn’t picture Tavon in a casino.
“Yeah. You got me. I don’t even know how to play blackjack.”
“Okay, my turn,” Zach said. “I’ve been in several bar fights. I was in foster care growing up. And I play the piano.”
I pressed my lips together. Was that why he knew what abuse looked like? Because he was in foster care? Was he abused? I felt bad for giving him a hard time. He was just trying to help me.
“Well, there’s no way you play piano,” Tavon said.
“No, I do play.”
“Really?” Sierra asked. “Are you really good?”
Zach shrugged. “I’m okay.”
“You’re lying about the bar fights,” James said.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, when you grow up in foster care, you don’t need to go out seeking fights. Your turn Penny.”
I didn’t know what to say. I felt like I needed to apologize to him for being so defensive when he was just trying to help me. But James wasn’t abusive. I’d try to talk to Zach about it again later. Maybe he’d believe me now that he had hung out with James. “Um. Well, I didn’t have a date to prom. I was seduced by my college professor. And I’ve… gone skinny dipping.”
“I’m sure you had a date to prom,” Zach said. “That’s your lie.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I never even had a normal date until college.”
“You’re kidding,” Tavon said.
“No.”
“What’s her lie, James?” Tavon asked.