I pry my eyelids open and flinch in the glaring morning light. Yellow sunlight is streaming in through the windows. My head pounds, and my mouth is dry and sour. The slight movement makes my head throb even worse.

How much did I have to drink last night?

I’m not a heavy drinker. A few glasses of wine to take the edge off after work was about as tipsy as I ever get. I don’t have time to go out and party like I did in college. Luke keeps me too busy for that.

Luke. Fuck.

I swivel my head slowly, trying not to piss off the giant hammering away on the inside of my skull.

Luke lies next to me. He’s not wearing any clothes.

Neither am I.

Holy shit.

The events of last night are hazy. Once the drinks started flowing, everything after is foggy. Like something from a half-remembered dream. But it wasn’t a dream. Waking up naked in Luke’s bed is proof enough that what happened last night was very real.

Oh, shit. We didn’t even use a condom!

I inch my way off the bed, slowly and quietly. I can’t wake him up. I don’t want him to see me like this. It was fine last night, I was tanked up on alcohol and lust, but I can’t handle it in the harsh light of day. Worse, I might see regret in his eyes. I definitely couldn’t handle that right now. My head hurts too much to even think rationally.

I need to get away.

The world spins when I stand up. I freeze and wait for my head to clear. There’s a good chance I’m still drunk, but not in a fun way. Painfully, I locate the first of my discarded clothes. The tattered remnants of my torn panties. The image of Luke tearing them from my hips and flinging them away flashes in my head.

Fuck, that was hot.

I tiptoe out his bedroom into the living area. Gathering my clothes to my chest, I make to my bedroom, and I shut the door behind me quietly. For the first time since I woke up, I feel like I can actually breathe.

I walk to the minibar thinking about what happened last night. I wanted it to happen. I’ve wanted it for so long, but now I kinda regret it. Last night was a mistake. A beautiful, orgasmic mistake. Luke and I have crossed a line, one I’m not sure we can come back from. Things between us will change, and I can’t be sure it would be a change for the better.

I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, rip the cap off, and down it in one long gulp. It tastes better than anything I’ve ever had in my life. I can almost feel the hydration spread through my parched body. It’s a step in the right direction.

My head still hurts, though, and my eyes still feel sandy. I need something else. Sugar. I search the mini bar and find a bottle of some brown liquid. The writing on the label is in a language I can’t read, but I’m not going to let that stop me. I take a long swig from the bottle. It’s creamy and chocolatey, and I perk up a bit, starting to feel human again. Thank God for caffeine.

The whole point of his rule about not hiring attractive women to work for him is that they are too much of a distraction for him. What would he think about me now? If just being around a pretty girl was too much for him, how would he handle a woman he’d slept with? I sit on the bed with a groan. Last night is looking more and more like a terrible mistake.

My brain is too muddled to think this through. I need someone to talk to, someone who isn’t half-dead with a hangover. I fish my phone from my purse and call Emma.

She answers on the third ring, “Bitch, do you know what time it is over here?”

Her voice is loud, but it’s still good to hear it. “Yeah,” I say. “It’s like nine o’clock at night over there.”

She laughs. “Damn. I was trying to mess with you. But of course, you know the time difference, you nerd.”

“You’ll have to try harder than that.” I smile weakly. This is why I love her. She can always make me laugh with her cheerful chat, no matter how bad I’m feeling.

“Yeah, yeah. So how’s the trip? You better be taking lots of pictures to show me when you get back.”

“Things would be better if I wasn’t so frigging hungover,” I say.

“Well, well,” Emma says. “Look at you going wild now that you’re out of the country. I’ve been begging you to come out with me for months.”

“Yeah, well, if you took me somewhere like Bangkok, I’d go.”

Emma laughs. “Bangkok. Have you banged any cock yet?”

I groan at the joke. Not just because it’s cheesy, but because it hits too close to home. “Now that you mention it.”

“Shut the fuck up!” She screams. “You’re kidding me? You got laid?”

“I did.”

“I don’t believe it,” she says firmly.

“Well, it’s the truth.”

She laughs. “Who’s the lucky guy? Was it a local? Some swarthy Thai fisherman with really rough hands? Ooh, or a sweaty kick boxer?”

“No, to all of those,” I say with a sigh. “Are those the type of guys you think I’m in to?”

“I don’t know what you’re in to. Before you left, I would have said you’re into celibacy and lonely masturbation.”

“Ass,” I reply, but I can’t suppress a smile. She isn’t totally wrong.

Emma continues right along, “But apparently, Bangkok Jade likes to get freaky. Good for you.”

I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing.”

“Why not? It’s about time someone knocked the cobwebs off that pussy.”

I laugh. “You’re terrible.”

“Ehh, I’m just happy for you. So why aren’t you? Happy, I mean.”

“Because I slept with my boss.”

There’s a pause on the other end, then an explosion, “You’re shitting me! You and Luke-mother effing-Remington? The richest, hottest man in New York? Fuck me, I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be,” I mutter glumly. “I’m pretty sure it was a huge mistake.”

She laughs. “How huge are we talking? Like eight inches? Nine?” She pauses, then asks incredulously, “Ten?”

“Stop it, Emma. I’m serious. He’s my boss. I don’t know what’s going to happen between us now.”

“It’ll be fine,” she says. “It’s not like you got him drunk and had your way with him.”

“He was pretty drunk.”

“You seduced him. You sly, little minx,” Emma says, giggling maniacally. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Hang on. I was drunk, too,” I protest. “We both were.”

“Well, tell me everything, then.”

“We met with some clients, and things got a bit out of hand in the back of the limo. We ended up back in his room, and well…”

“He pounded you like a stubborn nail?”

I ignore her comment. “But now I don’t know what to do when I see him again. I feel like it’s going to be awkward.”

“It shouldn’t be. Unless you make it awkward.”

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“Look, you’re two consenting adults. You’re both single. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun. I mean, you did have fun, right?”

“I did.”

“And I’m sure he had fun with Sexy Jade,” she says. “So the best thing you can do is see how he reacts when he sees you and just play along. Then, it won’t be weird.”

“What if he fires me?” I ask, finally giving voice to my biggest fear.

“Then he’s an idiot and you sue his ass for wrongful termination.”

“I could never do that,” I argue.

“Well, whatever,” Emma says. “My point is that he’d be dumb to fire you after sleeping with you. So he’ll probably react one of a few ways. He might pretend it never happened, in which case, you pretend the same thing. He might acknowledge it and say it’ll never happen again. Or he’ll want to keep plowing your bean field. Then, it’s up to you what you want to do.”

“The problem is I don’t know what I want to do.”

“Liar,” Emma taunts.

I sigh with frustration. “How did I get myself into this mess?”

Emma laughs. “Well, when a boy has a rocking body and a cute butt, and a girl has worn her vibrator down to a nub, sometimes—”

“Okay,” I say, cutting her off. “I get it. I have to go.”

“Good luck out there,” she quips.

“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”