Nora digs her nails into my chest and I know she’s seconds away from coming. She rounds her hips on me, riding and grinding my cock while I lie back and enjoy the view.

I’ll never get tired of this damn view.

You would think starting each day by giving your boss an orgasm would be a frowned-upon practice but I’m certainly not filing anything with human resources just yet.

She collapses onto my chest, breathing hard. A laugh shakes her shoulders, small at first but then grows even louder.

“I guess you enjoyed that,” I say, pushing her hair out of her face.

She hums in satisfaction before rolling off me.

I sit up and watch as she walks away, admiring her perfect body as it disappears into the bathroom.

“We’re gonna be late again,” she says.

I stretch out on the bed. “It’s Friday. Everyone’s a little late on Fridays.”

She pokes her head in and raises a stern brow. “Do I need to review your time logs, Clive?”

I laugh. “I hope not.”

She smiles and steps back into the bathroom. The sink turns on, followed quickly by the usual sounds of teeth brushing.

I sit up and throw my feet onto the floor. If I don’t hop up now, she’ll start scolding me. That’ll just turn me on and we’ll be right back at square one.

“Clive…” she begins.

“I’m up!” I say with a chuckle.

I stand and make my way into the bathroom. After a quick rinse off in the shower, I start gathering my clothes off the floor. Nora’s already done her make-up and fixed her hair, leaving nothing left to do but slip into the outfit she’s already laid out for herself. I could probably learn a thing or two from her about preparation.

“It’s payday,” she says as she steps into her pants.

I nod as I button my shirt. “The best day.”

“Got any fun plans?”

“Oh, paying a bill or two, I imagine,” I say, keeping it vague. I spot her briefcase lying on the bed. “Do you mind if I use your laptop to check my balance?”

She smiles and turns back into the bathroom. “No, go ahead,” she says, her heels clicking along the hard floor.

I zip it open and pause.

LBB. The little, black harddrive.

It’s right here.

I look at the bathroom. It would take three seconds for me to pocket it and disappear. Meet up with Alex. Sell it and pocket a million dollars.

I reach in and pull out the laptop instead.

Nora walks back in as I sit down. I open the internet browser, feeling the urge to angle the screen away from her as I check my account balance.

Wait...

Well, this isn’t right.

I was definitely paid today but this isn’t my usual office temp pay.

“Something wrong?” Nora asks.

I refresh the page in case there was a glitch but it’s still wrong. “Yeah,” I mutter. “I think Ali might have messed up somewhere.”

“Why? Were you not paid?”

“No, I was paid, but this is…” I pause and look up into her knowing eyes. “Did you do this?”

“Do what?”

“This is three times my usual pay,” I say.

She doesn’t look the least bit concerned. “Weird.”

“Nora.” I close the laptop and stand up. “What are you doing? I haven’t accepted your job offer yet.”

“I know,” she says, smiling. “But you’ve been working very hard lately. We agreed that a nice bonus was in order.”

“We?”

“Yes, we.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me, your boss.”

“Don’t you find this a tad bit inappropriate?” I ask.

She tilts her head in amusement. “And how many nights have you spent here this week?”

“Using my dick as an alarm clock is one thing, Nor,” I argue. “Giving me a raise in exchange for it hoists up some red flags.”

She puts on her suit jacket. “It’s not a permanent raise, Clive. I just have a little idea how much money you make and it’s not enough for tonight.”

I frown. “And what’s tonight?”

“Dinner,” she says as she slides her laptop back into her case and zips it up. “You’re taking me someplace very, very nice for dinner tonight.”

“Uh...” I shake my head. “No, I’m not. I have a shift at Red Brick.”

“No, you don’t. I took care of it. Meet me on the roof at four.”

I blink. “You took care of it?”

Nora smiles and speaks slower. “You’re taking me to dinner instead.”

“No, you’re taking you to dinner. This is like giving a kid a twenty and letting him hand it to the cashier. It’s your money — and why the roof?”

Her smile doesn’t fade. “You’ll see.” She takes one last look in the mirror. Stunning perfection. “Four o’clock. Don’t be late. Want some coffee?”

I stumble over my tongue. “Sure.”

I listen to the determined tap of her shoes, easily picturing the exact way she walks through the condo. Wide, confident strides. Head up, shoulders down, with murder in her eyes.

Something isn’t right here.

But it doesn’t feel all that wrong, either.

* * *

I knew my answer the second the job offer fell from her mouth. Long before I had the chance to grab that harddrive and take off. Long before I sat down in this old, damn car and drove out here to the gym.

A salaried position at Little Black Book isn’t something anyone turns down, homeless or otherwise. I could work normal hours. Take nights off for something — anything — else. I could have hobbies. A life.

A life with Nora Payne.

That doesn’t sound all that bad.

I walk through the gym, scanning the faces for Alex. A few regulars notice me and acknowledge me with a head nod and I do the same.

Strange. This might be the last time I do that.

I hear him before I see him. He’s chatting up some woman who clearly just wants to use the treadmill in peace.

“Alex,” I say.

He twists around and smiles at me. I wave him over, gesturing for him to follow me into the locker room — and leave the poor girl alone. He’s not supposed to stop and talk to the customers in his jumpsuit anyway.

I wait in a quiet corner among the lockers. Private but not too private. I don’t think he’ll react to this very well.

Alex springs into the room with a mop and bucket. He rolls it in my direction and raises his lip at my suit and tie. “Hey, Mr. Fancy Pants. I didn’t think you worked here today.”

“I don’t.”

He wrings out the mop and plops it on the floor. “Come for a run? Because I must request you do it somewhere away from the redhead out there,” he jokes. “If she sees you, she’ll never look at me again.”

“Listen, Alex,” I say, keeping an even tone. “We need to talk.”

He barely looks up from his mop. “About what?”

“This job. I can’t do it anymore.”

He snorts. “It’s just cleaning toilets, man.”

“You know what I mean.”

His head finally rises. “You don’t mean the job job, right? Not that job?”

I nod. “That job.”

Alex tosses the mop back into the bucket. “What do you mean you can’t do it? Just swipe the damn thing while she’s sleeping. Easy peasy.”

“I can’t,” I say again.

His brow furrows in confusion for a moment before shifting to a frown. “Oh, this isn’t can’t, is it? This is won’t.”

“She’s a good girl,” I argue.

“She’s a what?”

“I mean, she’s a good person,” I correct myself. “And she doesn’t deserve this.”

“What the fuck do you care about some rich bitch?” he asks, growing furious. “She’ll manage. Meanwhile, poor, hardworking men like you and me get shit on. It’s time for us to get ours, Clive.”

I shake my head. “Not like this.”

He fumes. “What the hell’s gotten into you?”

“Look, I’m sorry, all right,” I say. “But I have to think ahead here and do the right thing.”

“The right thing?” he repeats. “The right thing for who? For you? For her? Sure as shit ain’t the right thing for me, man. What about me? I’m the one playing footsie with a bunch of criminals who would rather slit my throat than forget about this. While you, what? Fuck some hot chick? Is this cunt really worth throwing away a friendship for?”

I roll my fists. “You’re out of line, Alex.”

“No, you’re out of line!” He points at me. “I’m not about to let five million dollars slip through the cracks because your dick had an attack of conscience.”

I blink. “Five million?”

His face turns white. “No, not five, I meant—”

“You told me the deal was for two million. Remember?” I point between us. “One for you. One for me.”

“It was! I mean, it is, I just got confused,” he stutters.

He looks down, lying through his fucking teeth.

“You were going to stiff me out of my cut, weren’t you?” I ask. “You were going to hand over one million and pocket the other four.”

He wags his head. “No, no. I wasn’t—”

“Yes, you were.” My guts churn. “This was never about making it up to me, was it? You wanted a payday and you used me to get into Black Book because you couldn’t get in yourself.”

He twitches. “Clive, I—”

“You know what, Alex?” I flex my jaw. “I forgive you.”

He looks up. “What?”

“I forgive you,” I repeat. “I forgive you for losing your fucking shit in Iraq. I forgive you for nearly shooting my goddamn leg off. I forgive you for setting me up and trying to steal one-point-five million dollars from me—”

“Clive, come on, we can still split it. Two-point-five for you. Two-point-five for me.”

I bear my teeth. “I forgive you, Alex. Now, get out of my life. If I ever see you again, I will kill you myself. Do you understand?”

He recoils and drops his head again. “Wait. Clive—”

I ignore him.

Hell, I forget he even exists by the time I step outside.

* * *

Four o’clock. Don’t be late.

I board the elevator at three fifty-five, feeling more than a little uneasy. And excited. But mostly uneasy. I have no idea what’s going to happen when I reach the roof. I can’t remember the last time something like this happened to me.

Yes, I can. Never. It’s never happened to me.

The elevator opens on the top floor and I spot a door down the hall marked roof. My heart pounds harder with each step I take toward it. Just one quick flight upward and I reach the roof access door.

I open it and my skin chills, instantly touched by the thin, cold air up here.

“You’re late.”

I smile. “No, I’m not.”

Nora smirks at me from the center of the helicopter pad. My eyes bounce between her, the amazing view from the top of Chicago, and — of course — the giant fucking helicopter parked behind her.

I walk up to her and the amusement deepens on her face. “What is this?” I ask her.

“Our ride to the airport,” she answers. “The restaurant is a little outside of town.”

My guts churn. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in one of these. “How far outside of town?” I ask.

Nora smiles.