Brazen Bossman: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 24

“Safer than walking or taking the subway.” He says matter-of-factly as he opens the door to the restaurant, letting me step in before him.

“I have lived in New York my entire life. If anyone can handle themselves in this city, it’s me. I dare someone to mess with me. I’ll break their nose.”

“You are very confident about that.”

“I have two older brothers who have ensured I can handle myself with the best of them.”

He seems to accept that response with a nod. Then he speaks briefly with the hostess before we are taken to a table toward the back with very few patrons around us.

The Blue Room is a fusion sushi restaurant inside of a converted warehouse, with exposed brick and metals. With a mix of dark wooden tables, and high-backed, white leather booths, it’s the perfect mix of chic, casual, and intimate.

“I’ve never been here before,” Nathanial says, as he takes his seat in the chair across from me.

“Really? It’s one of my favorite sushi places in the city.”

Once we have placed our orders for drinks, we are left alone to browse the menu. I stare down at the options, and I can feel his eyes on me. It’s as if he’s watching every move I make.

“What sounds good to you?” I ask, trying to break the ice in some way.

“You’re the expert here, why don’t you order for us?”

I wrinkle my brows in confusion.

“Really? The notoriously picky Nathanial Lennox wants someone else to choose what he eats?”

“I’m not as picky as you all like to assume. I just know what I like and don’t like. I don’t have time to move outside of the usual during office hours. Once I’m done for the day, however, I’m known to be quite adventurous.”

“I guess we’ll be testing that theory then.”

Nathanial

I didn’t think through the fact that I was going to be watching her fucking eat while I’m trying to tell her we need to keep things simple between us, even though deep down, I want to complicate the fuck out of us.

The way her tongue darts out to lick sauce from her lip, or the way she moans softly when she tastes something she really likes, makes the point of this dinner a distant memory for me.

“Do you not like what I ordered you?” she asks, as she clearly notices I haven’t touched my food yet.

“It looks amazing. I was just distracted.” I clear my throat and then pull a pair of chopsticks from the paper sleeve.

“Try the one with eel sauce first. It’s incredible.”

“You have a way with food, don’t you? Food and publishing,” I ask her, as I give the sushi a slight dip into soy sauce and place the entire thing in my mouth. It’s sweet, salty, slightly tart, and fucking delicious. “Mmm.”

“That reaction should answer your question.” She giggles. “My family owns a restaurant in Brooklyn. I’ve been around food and cooking since before I could walk. You could say it’s in my blood. As for publishing, it’s just something I love. I love books. Reading them, learning about them, learning the process.”

“What kind of restaurant do your folks own?” I ask, genuinely curious about her and her story.

“Italian. My father was a second generation immigrant and had this dream of owning a restaurant that would celebrate his family’s roots. He made it happen.” She dips another piece of sushi into the soy sauce and pops it into her mouth.

“And he still runs it? Your father?”

I see a visible shift in her posture, and she takes a sip of water. “My father passed away when I was twenty, so my mother runs it now with my two brothers. I help in the evenings and weekends.”

Shit.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you? It was a long time ago.” She gives me a smile.

“And what about the things I ask you to do in the evenings?” I ask her, because now I kind of feel like an asshole for always assuming she had time.

“I stay up late and I do them. It’s not ideal, but I’d do anything for my family. They need my help right now, so that’s what I’m doing.” She wipes her mouth with her napkin. “Nathanial, I know we didn’t come here for me to tell you my life story.”

I place my chopsticks down. “No, we didn’t, but I do enjoy hearing you speak about these things.” I take a sip of water and continue, “I wanted to talk to you about what happened today.”

She nods in agreement. “Before you start, I just want you to know I don’t regret it, at all, so because I don’t, I don’t want you to regret it either.”

“The last thing I feel about touching you is regret, Piper. What I do feel though, is concern.”

“What? Why are you concerned?”

“I know you felt the same thing I did in that room, just like when I nearly kissed you a few days ago. Had we lost our heads, things would have been taken far. Too far.”

“I know exactly the feeling you mean.” She shifts in her seat a bit.

“I can’t explain this pull I have toward you, but it’s distracting and impossible to ignore. If I’m speaking frankly, I know once I had a real taste, I’m not sure I’d be able to stop wanting more.”

I watch as she places her hands in her lap and moves ever so slightly in her seat.

“If you’re trying to discourage me from wanting a repeat of what we did today, I can promise the things you’re saying to me are having quite the opposite effect, Mr. Lennox.”

I can see the flushed, pink hue beginning to crawl up her neck, just as it did when she was splayed over my desk.

“That’s the issue we are facing, Piper. If we take this… friendship… any further, we run the risk of causing very large problems, not only for me, but for you as well. It’s unethical and against everything I stand