But he hadn’t achieved what he’d come in here to do—give Adam and Jake time to go through Grace’s briefcase and potentially download the contents of her hard drive. He’d known the second would be tough. Adam was supposed to take it with him into the bathroom, and if Grace said anything, he could claim to have just been watching out for it. But Adam hadn’t gotten that far. They had sat in the bar for two hours, surrounded by co-workers. By the time Grace had declared it was time to go home, they had blown their opportunity. Sean knew exactly who to blame.
“Maybe you were just too busy hitting on the target to do your actual job.” Sean was just about ready to throw down with Adam. Adam had done his damndest to steal Grace’s attention away.
Adam slammed his beer down. “You practically fucked her on the dance floor. What was up with that?”
“Not even close. I kept my hands to myself.” And that had been incredibly hard. All he’d wanted was to sink his fingers into her soft hair and tilt her head up for a kiss. After she’d relaxed and snuggled against him, Sean had remembered all the wonderful things about taking a submissive. Grace was wound too tight. She didn’t give herself permission to enjoy anything. He could change that for her. She needed someone, someone with her best interests at heart. Getting to know her had proven to Sean that she was a natural submissive. She wasn’t a pushover. She just placed almost everyone else’s needs before her own. She required a strong partner who could watch out for her and make sure she got what she needed.
He couldn’t be that man.
“That’s not what it looked like from where I was sitting,” Adam shot back.
Jake rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you two just beat the shit out of each and get it over with? Sean, the minute Kayla showed up, I asked her to dance. You didn’t notice that, did you? We were right beside you and Grace, but you didn’t notice, so don’t tell me we’re the only ones who fucked this up.”
“Eric Klein from HR walked up to the table just as I was getting ready to take the briefcase with me. He asked me a question, and by the time I was finished answering him, Kayla and Jake were back.” Adam frowned as he loosened his tie. “After that, we were surrounded. You knew this wasn’t a sure thing.”
But he’d hoped. He’d hoped this would be easy and then he could step back from Grace since he seemed to be getting in over his head. But busting Jake’s balls wouldn’t help anything. Taking off Adam’s might make him feel better, though.
Jake scooted out of the booth, his beer finished. “You know what you have to do, Sean. It won’t be the first time you’ve taken one for the team. I don’t understand why you’re so reluctant. Seriously, if you don’t want to sleep with Grace, we don’t mind.”
Adam’s fist pumped in victory. “That’s a plan, my brother. We’re better equipped to do it anyway. One of us can keep Grace happily occupied while the other gets the job done.”
Jake laughed. “Yeah, you just remember who takes care of communications. Have fun working, computer geek.”
“Stop it, both of you.” Sean knew he’d fucked up when every head in the place turned. He forced himself to smile. He lowered his voice. “You’re not sleeping with Grace.”
He wasn’t going to allow that to happen. He could handle this. He could handle Grace. She wasn’t different from the other subs he’d known. She was sweet and lovely, and he would walk away from her. She was just a job.
Jake shook his head. “Watch yourself, Sarge. You better not forget that she’s involved in this.”
“She is not,” Adam replied. “That woman is not in league with a damn terrorist. You’ve lost your mind if you think that.”
“Oh, she’s involved,” Jake said, picking up his jacket. “If Patrick Wright is here, Matthew Wright is working with him. If Matt is working with him, there’s no way Grace isn’t involved.”
“Those are some big ‘ifs,’ Jake.” Adam slid out, too. His face was set in stubborn lines. He’d picked his side.
Sean had picked his side, too. He just wasn’t sure it was the right one. He’d been burned before. “She keeps that case close. How many admins have briefcases with locks on them?”
It was a quandary. Every instinct he had told him that Grace Hawthorne was just what she claimed to be. And Grace wouldn’t be the first woman to figure out that sweet and submissive was an awfully good way to cover up criminal activities.
“I don’t buy it,” Adam said. “But I can see I’m the only one who hasn’t given in to complete cynicism. I’m going home. I have an eight o’clock meeting. I hate sales.”
Jake threw his hands up. “We’re not going home, asshole. I set up a date with the bartender. I had to convince her that you were drinking the Cosmo as a bet. She was pretty sure you were gay.”
Adam drew his hands over his chest. “Are you talking about double D’s?”
“Yeah, the blonde with the huge rack and an open mind. We’re due at her place in half an hour,” Jake said. “Unless, of course, you have to get your beauty sleep.”
“Fuck you, asshole. Damn, she’s hot. I want the back door this time,” Adam said eagerly. He was moving way faster than he was before.
And he was forgetting a couple of things. “You two better be careful. I don’t give a damn what you do off the clock, but you be discreet. None of this better get around that office.”
Jake held out a key. “Already thought of it. She wants us waiting for her.”
Trust Jacob Dean to have gotten some random waitress to give him the key to her apartment in exchange for the promise of multiple orgasms. Sean waved them off. “Good night, guys.”
They left, and Sean was alone. He took a long sip of his beer and thought about how Grace had softened against him. She’d tilted her head up, and he’d almost leaned over to brush his lips against hers. He’d wanted to order her to open her mouth and submit to him. She’d responded so well when he’d turned his Dom voice on and told her what he expected. She would respond the same way when he got her into bed. She would flower open for him once he’d trained her, and he would take care of her.
Damn it. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t get close. He had to keep it light. He would get in her bed, but he wasn’t about to open up to her.