Christine holds the phone to my face and the glare of the screen is momentarily blinding. "Was this before or after I threw up?" There's a look of semi-concern on her face.

Alicia jumps in. "I think that was after," she says. "Look at your face; your eyes are telling the camera that you just Jackson Pollocked the wall in the bathroom."

"That girl's night out was the best," I say, laughing. Christine is the one friend who epitomizes the 'work hard play hard' mantra. We recently celebrated her 22^nd birthday by throwing a surprise party, and to say it was memorable is an understatement. It was downright epic.

We all laugh—Christine, Alicia, and I. We are at the UN Delegates Dining Room at the UN sipping cocktails; there's the sound of businessmen talking in the background, and Christine has her phone out, scrolling through old Instagram photos. We're all taking a trip down memory lane.

"I swear, the world would be a better place if women ran it," Alicia says, looking around the dining room. "At the very least, there'd be a lot less conflict in the world. Christine and I both nod in agreement. Men are always trying to one up each other it seems.

"How are you and Derek doing?" I ask Alicia, changing the subject.

"Besides packing on an extra 10 pounds from him insisting that we eat out almost every day of the week, I'd say it's good," Alicia smiles. "And of course the sex is amazing."

I seriously doubt it's better than the spontaneous session Connor and I shared in his shower yesterday morning—the heat from his body and the hot water ushering my entire body into the flames of desire, but I keep that thought to myself.

"Is that the guy you met on the subway?" Christine asks. "I still can't believe that even happened. That's one of the craziest things I've ever heard. You should really put it in a book."

Christine and Alicia continue to chat about everything from what they're currently binge watching on Netflix, to the barista at Starbucks who always manages to misspell their names in the morning.

But my mind is still stuck on Connor, and in particular, the last words out of his mouth, “You have to go now because if you don’t, I’m going to fuck you again.”

Do I want that?

The sex was amazing … the best I've ever had—his lips on my most intimate areas and me being so at ease with it, but Connor is my client—one of the most important clients at Gage Price, and I can't mix business with pleasure. It's just not a good idea.

"Oh, I see him," Alicia jumps up excitedly. "It's Derek. Excuse me for a moment ladies. I'll be right back."

Once Alicia walks off, Christine gives me a gentle nudge.

"What's wrong?" she asks me. "Your mind seems like it's on another planet. Is everything okay? Alicia and I have been chatting away and you're sitting here and cold and quiet as an ice cube."

"Sorry, I'm fine," I say, shrugging her off.

"Give me a break," Christine says. "I've know you for too long Natalie—we go way back. I know when you've got things on your mind."

"Okay, okay … you're right," I confess. "It's Connor."

"Prince D'Avington? What about him? Wait—you don't mean to tell me that you and he—"

I cut her off. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Oh my God!” she exclaims in a loud whisper. “Are you fucking serious?! He's insanely hot; was it good? Tell me it was amazing!"

"What is this, a game of 20 questions?" I laugh.

"It was good,” I say after a pause a sip of my Cosmo. “No, not good … amazing. And yes, he's hot."

"Good for you girl," Christine says, taking a sip of her martini.

"No, that's the problem. It's literally tearing me up inside. On the one had, he's strong, and charming, and insanely good looking, but on the other hand, I don't want to risk mixing business with pleasure. You know as well a I do—that never ends well. And I'll be up for a promotion at Gage Price soon; I don't want to do anything that's going to jeopardize that."

"You're overthinking this," Christine says. "It's fine. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to work your ass off for him and the firm, you can have a little fun too."

See? I told you. That's typical Christine advice: work hard play hard.

"Ugh, I'm just so torn," I say. "He's a client, and what we—I—did was totally unprofessional. But I literally can't get him out of my mind. There are images that I can't get off repeat."

"That good, huh?"

"He makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful woman on the planet."

"They all do, when they're trying to sleep with you," Christine says.

"But this felt so … authentic, and don't roll your eyes; I know his reputation. I'm not the first women he's ever seduces in a shower."

"That's what they all say."

"I mean it though!" I insist. "What we shared felt so real."

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know. I don't think I can allow anything like that to happen again. But he was so hot … you have no idea, and he kind of … made me."

Christine raises her eyebrows. I can practically see alarm bells going off in her brain.

"Well, no one should make you do anything," she says. "You have to be comfortable with everything."

"I know," I say. "I'm resolving right now—and you're my witness—to not let things progress any further with Connor."

"Pinky promise?" Christine asks, sticking out her pinky finger. We lock fingers and I promise her that I'll never do anything that I'm not 100% comfortable with.

But as soon as I agree, I start second guessing myself. Just thinking about him makes me wet.

Is it true?

Can I really resist Connor?