“I heard he was jealous over a woman and slammed his hand into a wall because of her.” Becky shrugged. “At least that’s what Ava in HR said.”
“I heard the same thing, but he’s usually so self-contained I just can’t see it,” Tessa mused.
Becky swirled her drink in the glass. “Do you know anything?” she asked Lexie, who wasn’t about to take part in any conversation about her boss.
“Actually I don’t.”
Becky leaned in closer. “But you took him to the hospital, right?” she pushed, clearly not satisfied with Lexie’s reply. “He had to have said something.”
“Besides this hurts and when the hell will I get taken back? he didn’t say a word.” Which was true, as far as their visit to the hospital went.
What happened back at his apartment was an entirely different story and one that would never leave her lips. Not just because she’d signed that damned NDA.
Lexie was loyal. She wouldn’t want people gossiping about her that way. And no matter how angry she was at how Kade had handled the situation, she felt for the circumstances in which he now found himself. A rape accusation had to sting. And again, regardless of her frustration with the man, it didn’t change her perception about the story he’d told her. The situation had been a grab for cash.
The waitress returned with Lexie’s drink, and she gratefully took a long sip. The tart, sweetened liquor slid down her throat and warmed her insides on the way down to her stomach.
Over the next hour, they talked about clothes and makeup, hit on politics, discovered they disagreed and changed the subject, then moved on to where they’d gone to college and other get-to-know-you topics.
Lexie had finished her second drink and agreed to one shot of vodka for good measure, when a good-looking, blonde-haired guy asked her to dance. She had a solid buzz going, was feeling no pain, and loved dancing to the beat of the music. Her partner had good rhythm, a hot, surfer-boy look that any woman would find attractive.
The music tempo grew faster, and her partner stepped in closer, their bodies moving in sync to the rhythm. Between the good high she had from the alcohol and concentrating on moving to the music without missing a beat, she finally had what she’d been looking for tonight. A distraction from thinking about her hot, frustrating boss.
Chapter Six
Kade walked into Lights, a nightclub that lived up to its name, and immediately turned around to leave. The glare, heavy strobe lights, and neon flashing were enough to put his anxiety into hyperdrive. He liked things calm and predictable. Between the massive amounts of people and the bursts of light piercing his eyes, he was anything but at ease.
Nothing could make him stick around.
“Lexie’s on the dance floor,” Luke said, stopping Kade’s retreat with a hand on his shoulder.
Except that.
Kade drew a deep breath and turned around, wanting to see Lexie in a different atmosphere than work. Ignoring the triggers around him, he followed Luke through the crowd and toward the center of the club. Music pulsed around him, adding to the feeling of overcrowding in his brain, but he pushed on, expecting to see Lexie with the other women from the office. Instead he found her in the arms of another man.
Kade blinked against the flickering glare of the lights, trying to process the view. Lexie, his Lexie and personal assistant, dressed in a black leather skirt that ended mid-thigh and a tight red top with her breasts near to bursting out, moved like a goddess to the music. All rational thought fled from his brain as he watched her gyrate her hips and shake her curves against a surfer dude with wandering hands.
“Go easy,” Derek said, standing beside him.
Kade shot him a dirty look. “Would you?”
“When you put it that way, far be it for me to get in the way now that you finally realized what you want.”
“Maybe he should say who,” Luke added, both their voices loud to accommodate the pounding music.
Kade ignored them and strode onto the wooden dance floor, headed straight for Lexie. Just as he reached her, the song changed to one with a faster beat. She squealed in delight, looking up at the ceiling and lifting her arms in the air, swaying to the song.
Before her partner could grab her around the waist, Kade stepped between them.
“Kade!” Lexie exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him.
Things had been strained between them all week, so between the exuberant greeting and the glassy look in her eyes, Kade figured she’d been drinking. Which gave him a legitimate reason to get her off the dance floor and away from this guy.
“Let’s go,” he said to her.
“Hey!” Surfer Dude folded his arms across his chest, taking a stand. Too bad for him, Kade was bigger, bulkier, and had too much invested to back down easily.
“Casey, meet Kade, my big old mean boss,” Lexie said, oblivious to the pissing contest about to take place.
Yep, she was drunk, Kade thought, amused despite himself.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Surfer Dude informed him.
Lexie looked up at Kade with big blue eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her hips still moving in time to the music, her generous breasts swaying to the beat.
His cock couldn’t help responding, and he grew hard in an instant. “I’m taking you home,” he informed her.
“Hey.” Surfer Dude shoved him hard. “Don’t you listen? I said she’s—”
“With me,” Kade said, getting into the guy’s personal space. “And don’t fucking touch me.” He glared at the other man with a look that had most people cowering. One he’d perfected as he’d learned to box and worked out enough to overcome the geekiness of youth. “Now unless you want trouble, as in your teeth all over this floor, walk away now.”