No matter how hard Trent tried on Monday morning, he couldn’t keep his mind off of Zaira. It wasn’t that he wanted to anyway. The issue was that he had about twenty-four hours of work to do in what was usually a nine hour day for him.

Someone knocked at the door. Trent looked up, startled. It was Marcus.

“Hey Stone.”

Trent nodded. “Brooks.”

“So…I heard about Saturday night.” Marcus was grinning from ear to ear as he walked into Trent’s office.

“Word gets around really fast here,” Trent replied, giving his closest R.R. brother and best friend a fist pound.

Marcus sat down and leaned back in the chair. “What are you going to buy with your winnings?”

Trent shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet. Something to remember the night, I suppose.”

“Man…” Marcus leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You could be making a killing. You were making a killing as a gambler. Then one day you just quit.”

“I retired. I don’t quit,” Trent said. “You’re my best friend, dude. You know me better than that.”

“When most people retire, they cease working the normal nine to five,” Marcus replied.

“I work to keep my brain functional. After all, it is a muscle.”

“Then why retire from something that makes you more money than all of your other jobs combined?” Marcus asked. “And even if you have retired, I know you’re sitting on major bank roll. You told me this.”

“I told you because you’re the only one I trust with that information.” Trent sighed. “Marcus, I’ve been homeless and I’ve had the privilege of sleeping in billion dollar mansions. One thing holds true, money doesn’t bring happiness.”

“Very true.” Marcus stood. “Well, we’ll talk later. Gotta get back to work.”

“See ya around.”

Marcus stopped at the door. “Someone said they saw you there with Zaira.”

Trent nodded. “We went together, like old times.”

Marcus chuckled. “You’re something else. Are you two…um…having sex?”

Zaira appeared in the office entryway, in full business dress with briefcase in tow. “What business is that of yours? Marcus?”

“Uh…” Marcus scratched the back of his head. “I was just…yeah…good morning.” He exited the office leaving a glaring Zaira standing there.

“Really?” Zaira protested.

The first thing Trent noticed about her was her hair. It was pulled back and every strand except for some tendrils along her face was hidden. The hairstyle on her was exquisite. Her face was made up lightly and the rose coloring on her lips made them look extra kissable. Her black dress was tight, hugged her hips, and pushed up her breasts. As soon as his gaze dropped to her legs, he got a vivid vision of them wrapped around his waist.

By the time he was done assessing her from head to toe, his dick was rock hard and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Trent rose from his chair and greeted her at the door. “Good morning, Zaira. You look gorgeous today.”

It looked as though Zaira was trying to hide a smile, but her face brightened. “Morning. I had a meeting with a client earlier.”

He took her suitcase, her hand, and brought her toward the desk. “I’m not sure how much you heard, but I don’t want you to think that I was talking about what we did last night.”

She settled down in the second chair behind his desk. “I wasn’t eavesdropping either. I just happened to hear Marcus asking you if we had sex.”

“Marcus is my most trusted R.R. brother and my best friend. Are you okay with me telling him how I feel about you?”

Zaira leaned back in the chair and the sparkle in her eyes dimmed a bit and her forehead creased. He couldn’t tell if it was from indifference, worry, sadness, or something else entirely. Something akin to sympathy tugged at his heart, gripping it like a vice. He wanted to make Zaira’s doubt disappear; he’d do anything to make that happen.

He took her hand. “Zaira—”

“Trent…don’t. Not right now.”

“Then when?” he asked.

This was the part where he was supposed to tell her that he really really liked her, had been infatuated with her since she almost ran over him with her motorcycle, and would do anything in his power to prove himself worthy of her trust. But he didn’t know how to say the words, they didn’t come easily. And he somehow knew that by opening up his heart again, he’d be vulnerable. But Zaira was different. He had to believe that, first and foremost.

“Friends are forever, Trent. You know that right?” she asked.

“I do.”

“Then why would you want to mess that up?”

“Who said anything about messing up our friendship?” he asked.

Zaira bit her bottom lip, and then shook her head. “I know you’re into one night stands.”

“People change,” Trent said.

She pinned her accusing gaze on him. “Do they?”

He exhaled. “So what do you want me to be to you?”

Zaira pressed her lips together and the veins on her throat moved as she swallowed. She chuckled, sliding her palm down her face. “Trent, you and I…we used to talk about our sex lives with each other. The good, the bad, the ugly. And you know what? I loved that. If we were to become sex buddies it would never feel the same.”

“We can talk about anything you like. It doesn’t matter if we’re friends or lovers.” He stroked the underside of her cheek. “Do you understand?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“Now that you’ve reminded me about our talks, how was it for you? Good, bad, or ugly?”

Zaira lips curled up into one of those bright smiles of hers. She was even sexier when she blushed. “It was incredibly exhilarating and what I needed. And for you?”

“Being with you is what I imagined it would be and more,” he said.

“What do you think we should do about all this?”

“We can take it one day at a time. We don’t have to rush into anything. But all of this feels right to me and it’s not just because we had sex.”

“All right.” She nodded. “But you’ve got to promise me one thing.”

“And that is?”

“I don’t want to get between you and your work here. That would complicate things, don’t you think?” she asked.

She was right. No matter how much he wanted her, he had to admit that she was a sweet distraction. He’d earned her father’s earnest trust over the years. Now was not the time to let Loyd Wright down. He was hired to oversee the finances of the company and he doubted his R.R. brother would be happy about him overseeing his daughter instead.

He nodded. “I agree. Some complications might arise.”

“Good. You understand me. I understand you.” Zaira pushed her chair back away from him and stood. “Just a few more weeks and my contract will be over here soon, and then…”

She reached out and traced the seam of his lips, sending a strong sensation shooting down his spine straight to his dick. He parted his lips and let her delicate finger inside. She tasted like jelly or jam, maybe something she had for breakfast on the way over here.

“And then,” she continued. “We can fuck all we want and anywhere we want.”

“Hmmm, just try and keep your hands off me,” he teased.

She shrugged. “I can do that.”

“We’ll see.”

Zaira walked around the desk to the other side and sat in the chair facing him. “Today we’ll look at the capital assets report. I hope you’ve had your coffee already this morning.”

She was definitely Loyd Wright’s daughter—attitude, ambition, and all.