Showered and dressed in my regular work suit and tie, I jumped on the trolley. All traces of Chaz the janitor were gone except for the memories of last night blazing in my head.

When I’d woken up that morning, I’d cleaned up Trent’s office, from the condoms on the table, to the dried spunk on the desk and floor. Not that I didn’t want to remember it. It was branded on my brain. But I needed to convince Trent I was, indeed, the janitor and trustworthy enough to keep what we did under wraps. I wanted to show him I was responsible, since obviously I wouldn’t be able to impress him with my marketing skills anytime soon.

I stepped off the trolley to meet Steph for our standing Tuesday morning breakfast. I needed the coffee and Steph wanted answers. She’d texted me throughout the night, as I found out when I finally checked my phone. If I didn’t show up today, she threatened to call the cops. I didn’t blame her. I should’ve at least let her know I wasn’t going home last night, but like I had any clue until it happened.

I walked across the street to the corner cafe. I saw through the window that Steph had snagged a table inside. Her glare was as cold as the chilly morning weather.

“Did you order?” I asked, pulling off my knit cap. I didn’t see a cup or food in front of her.

She shook her head.

I guess that meant it was my treat. “The usual?”

She nodded.

I waited in line as two other people ordered first. When I got to the front, Ben, the owner, leaned in. “What did you do?” he whispered.

“Ditched her at a party last night.”

Ben grimaced. “Ouch. Not cool, Charlie.”

I sighed. “I know. It was a strange . . . turn of events. Can you put an extra shot in both of our lattes, please? And add a touch of hazelnut syrup for Steph. I gotta start with the kissing up ASAP.”

He nodded. “And the usual banana-nut muffin and yogurt with granola?”

“Yeah.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks, Ben.”

“Good luck.” His grim face told me I’d need it.

I took a deep breath before turning to take a seat with Steph. Her long blond hair was tied back in a loose bun, her cheetah leotard replaced by a pencil skirt and blouse. The darkness under her eyes matched the overcast sky. Her arms were crossed.

“I’m sorry.” I figured I’d open with it. Because I really was. I didn’t mean to make her worry.

She didn’t move for a few seconds, then leaned forward. “What happened?”

Steph and I had only been friends for a short time, but she’d always been kind to me. One of the VPs had asked her to reach out before I even started the job at NetSmash, to help me move to my new apartment and get situated. She knew where I was coming from and never seemed to have a problem with it. I knew I should probably keep what happened last night to myself, but I owed Steph the truth, a real explanation so she wouldn’t hate me. I felt horrible for letting her down.

“Before you say anything, please tell me this has nothing to do with . . . your prior life.” She swallowed and it was then that a waitress brought over our coffees and breakfast.

I waited until she left to speak. “I swear to you, it doesn’t.”

“Thank god.” She picked up her latte and blew on it before taking a sip. “Hazelnut. Nice touch. Now get to it.”

I cupped my mug with my hands, warming them. “I ran into the CEO last night.”

“Trent Davis? You mean in the bathroom?” She unwrapped her muffin and broke off a piece.

I shushed her. Not everyone in the cafe needed to know.

“And?” She lowered her voice. “Did you get in trouble?”

I thought about that for a minute. “Depends on what you mean by trouble.”

She raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“He thought I was the janitor.”

“Because of your costume?” She pressed her lips together. But soon she chuckled and then couldn’t contain herself and covered her mouth as she laughed. I let her have her moment. I was just glad she wasn’t angry anymore.

“So what? He ask you to clean his office or something?”

“Not exactly.”

“Okay then?” She still chuckled as she buttered the piece of muffin and popped it in her mouth.

“He did ask me to clean up his spilled coffee.”

“Oh my god!” She squealed. “You’re kidding.”

I shook my head. “Afraid not.”

“But you told him who you were, right?”

I shook my head again and put a spoonful of yogurt in my mouth.

“You cleaned up the spill?”

I glared. “What was I supposed to do? Tell him I was just hanging out in the executive bathroom for the hell of it? He’d think I was some sort of freak. You know my track record. I wanted to keep my job.”

“The custodial position?” She smirked.

“Very funny.”

“Charlie . . .” She reached out and put a hand on my wrist, her face now serious. “Trent wouldn’t think that about you.”

“You don’t know that. I’ve heard how much of a stickler he is when it comes to following the rules. I wasn’t going to take any chances.” Of course, now that I knew him . . . better, I doubted he would’ve been upset enough over bathroom trespassing to do anything drastic. But now I had bigger problems.

Steph ate more of her muffin. “So, you went back to his office and cleaned up the spill? And then left? That couldn’t have taken you all night.”

“Um . . .” I might’ve been able to get away with telling her I left after I’d finished and turned my phone off. But I’d already lied to Trent; I didn’t want to lie to my only friend as well. “We sorta hit it off. And well, one thing led to another . . .”

Suddenly Steph was choking on her coffee. Thankfully, she didn’t spit it out all over the table or me. Her eyes watered and it took a while for her to stop coughing.

“Sorry.” I handed her a napkin.

She wiped her mouth. “You’re telling me you had sex with the CEO?”

I looked around, just to be sure no one we worked with or Trent himself were here. “A couple times, actually.”

“Holy mother of God,” she said, a hand on her heart. “You went home with him?”

“No.”

“Then where did you—?”

“His desk and his couch.” I took another sip of my coffee. “You should see his office, Steph. It’s really nice.”

Her eyes were like saucers. She blinked. Then she whacked me on the shoulder.

“Ow! What the—?”

“And you gave me that sob story about being worried you’d lose your job over hanging out in the executive bathroom? That’s low.”

“I was worried about that! It’s just not all I’m worried about.”

Steph shook her head. “I’m not following.”

“He still thinks I’m the janitor. And I told him I’d call him tonight.”

“Charlie!” She leaned in. “You’re playing with fire here.”

“Parker said Trent’s never on the lower floors. He comes in early and works late. I only need to lie low until he forgets about me. The man is a CEO; it shouldn’t be long before I’m just another guy.”

“I take it you’re not calling him then?”

“What for? Like this could ever be more than a one-time thing. He’s the boss, Steph!”

“And when he doesn’t hear from you, he’s going to be pissed. Why wouldn’t he ask around about you? Or tell someone else in the company what happened? You’d be found out in a second.”

I sighed, finishing up my yogurt. “He won’t tell anyone.”

“How do you know?”

“We did some pretty kinky stuff. I get the feeling he wouldn’t want that to get out.”

“What kind of stuff? Never mind. I don’t want to know. I’d like to continue to be able to look you in the eye.” Steph closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

“It was stupid. I know.” I looked out the window and watched as people skittered by in rain boots, awaiting the downpour. “I couldn’t help it. The man is hot, funny, kind . . . and fucking irresistible. I haven’t been with anyone that made me feel the way he did. I’m not used to wanting to sleep over.”

“Still, you’re only making it worse for yourself. After tonight, if he finds out who you are, he really will fire you. For lying, embarrassing him, and leading him on.”

She had a point. And it only reinforced why I had to make sure he never found out who I was. And why I couldn’t call him.

Steph fished her phone out of her purse. “We better get going. We’ll talk more about this later, Loverboy.”

I gave her a sideways glance. “Loverboy?”

“I’m allowed to make fun of you for what you put me through last night.”

I sighed as we both got up. “Fair enough.”