Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 110

Hm. That's weird. My middle name is Joan."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"No. It's Lynn."

I smiled at that. It was nice to see my bodyguard had a sense of humor.

"You don't find the John thing weird at all?" I asked.

Chloe shrugged and ignored the question. "You took too long," she said. "You lose your turn. I've never hired all my employees based on their looks."

Shots fired. I debated not drinking, but truth be told... I wouldn't have kicked my assistant, lawyer, realtor, floor administrator, or bodyguard out of bed if they wanted in it. Owning up to it, I took another sip of scotch.

Chloe gave me a small, teasing smile and said, "Thanks for the compliment."

It was the first time I'd seen anything resembling a genuine smile from Chloe, and I could actually feel it warm my soul a little.

"You already knew that," I said.

"Still," she said, taking another sip of her drink, "a lady likes to hear it."

"Well," I said, deciding to shoot my shot, "I've never kissed a woman with a gun before."

To my surprise, Chloe gave a lop-sided grin that told me there was a story there, and then took a long sip from her glass. I felt my cock stir at the implications.

"Care to explain?" asked once she'd finished her drink.

Chloe shook her head as she rolled the tumbler between her palms.

"Look, Mr. Upton," she said after a few moments of hesitation, "if we'd met in a bar or something, I'd be up for a good fuck, but we aren't in a bar and you aren't some random stranger. You're my boss, and one of the best ways to compromise my abilities is to get involved in... that way. It'd be a bad idea."

"Fair enough," I said. I hadn't exactly come home expecting to get it on with the bodyguard, but now that we were dancing around the idea, I found myself a little disappointed; only a little. Let's face it, I had a lot of attractive women at my beck and call. I could have called Erin, Danielle, or Natashya to spend the night with me. Hell, Ashlee would have left fiery trails in her wake trying to get here as fast as she could. It's not like Chloe was my one shot at happiness.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," I said, giving her a small smile

Chloe returned it and said, "No. I certainly can't"

She wasn't the best conversationalist, but I felt better after talking to her. Bobbi had served to get my anger and frustration out, but with Chloe, I established a rapport and felt like I made a new friend. If nothing else came from tonight, I could be happy with that. However, the night was getting late, and I was tired of punishing my throat with scotch. I decided to call it a night.

"Well, don't let me interrupt your cleaning. I think I'll turn in," I said as I climbed to my feet. "And Chloe. Could we be a little less formal? At least when we're in private? The 'Mr. Uptons' and 'sirs' feel weird."

Chloe stared at me for a long moment, from this angle, her features were hard to see clearly in the low light, making it nearly impossible to read any emotions on her face. That was difficult enough in plain lighting. She finally nodded and said, "I can do that."

Then she held her tumbler up. "One more?"

I sighed but nodded, unenthusiastic about the idea of swallowing more alcohol but willing to play along.

"I've never acted on a bad idea," she said.

My brow furrowed in confusion as I mulled over that one. Having already acted on several bad ideas, I knew she'd condemned me to take another sip, so I took one more swig from the bottle. I could feel the alcohol starting to affect my brain. When I lowered the bottle, I looked back down at her. Our eyes locked as she took a slow, deliberate sip.

Then it clicked.

I gave her a crooked grin and a nod.

"Have a good night, Chloe," I said. "I'll see you in the morning."

With that, I headed toward the winding path of the rooftop garden, seeking my bed.

To Be Continued.....