Hey, Clive. Are you finished with those payroll sheets yet?”

Ali speaks to me over the wall between our desk.

I type a little faster, inputting the last line of numbers to complete the task. “As… a… matter… of fact.” I hit save and close it. “I just finished. Syncing with the server now.”

Ali hops up to look at me over the wall. “Really?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Not bad, temp. You’re quick. Quicker than Ira, to be honest…”

“Thanks,” I say.

She stretches her arms over her head. “All right. Just need to finalize, send to the boss lady, and we’re done for the day. Might make it home before my kids for once.”

Ali mumbles a little more to herself before scuttling off down the hall toward the restrooms.

Getting out of here early wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, truth be told.

Tonight, I have a sub to seduce.

My desk phone rings. I reach to answer it, quickly clearing my throat. “Accounting,” I say.

“Hey, it’s me.”

I lean back. “What can I do for you, Ms. Payne? Ali just stepped out…”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been waiting for her to go pee or something for like three hours.”

“Okay…” I chuckle.

Nora sighs. “Look, I hate to do this, but I have to cancel tonight,” she says.

I twirl my pen in my fingers. “Something come up?” I ask.

“No, not exactly. More like I made plans with you and almost stood up one of my closest friends by accident. She has a book signing tonight. Been planning it for weeks and I promised I’d be there. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.” My gut twists with disappointment. “Book signing? That sounds fun.”

“Yeah. They usually are.”

“Is she a big deal, or…?”

Nora chuckles. “Actually, kind of. She’s Melanie Rose.”

I stop twirling my pen. “Melanie Rose?”

“Have you heard of her?”

I sit forward. “Yeah, I’ve heard of her.”

“She’s the one who recommended Red Brick to me, actually.”

“You don’t say?”

“So, I… guess we’ll meet up tomorrow?” she asks.

Ali passes behind me and slides into her desk chair.

I shift to a more casual tone. “That works for me, ma’am.”

Nora chuckles. “She’s back, huh?”

“Yes.”

“When she asks, just tell her it’s me asking for the payroll reports.”

I nod. “Right away, ma’am.”

I hang up and Ali’s head instantly pops up over the wall.

“Was that boss lady?” she asks.

I turn up my hands. “She wants those payroll reports,” I say with a chuckle.

Her eyes roll. “If you’re early, you’re on-time. If you’re on-time, you’re late. Am I right, temp?”

“When you’re right, you’re right.”

She falls out of sight again. I listen to the soft tapping of her keyboard behind the wall as I look straight ahead, my guts twisting in disappointment.

The quicker I finish this job, the better.

This time next week, I could be anywhere. I could do anything I want. That’s the freedom money buys you. That’s the freedom people with money take for granted. No work and all play. This time next week, that could be me. Finally.

I just have to get that client list.

To do that, I have to gain Nora’s trust.

To gain Nora’s trust, I have to earn it. I have to get her to let me in but I have to stay focused. She’s not just any new sub, that’s for sure.

No matter how much I might want her to be.

I had her in front of me. Naked, wet, and willing. She begged me for it, just how I like it. If our time hadn’t have run out, I would have ruined her. There’s no doubt about that. I told her I could control my urges but I’m not sure how true that will be once I get a real taste of her.

But even in the world’s best-case scenario… I don’t have a chance in hell with Nora Payne.

She’s a certain type of woman and she expects a certain type of man and I’m not it. She’ll figure it out eventually.

My only hope is that I’m long gone by the time she does.